40 For Sale In Cayo, Belize

The 40 acres has about 1000 feet of creek frontage with small mountains, valleys, forests, and jungle. The large creek has many beautiful little waterfalls and swimming holes. Small mountains surround the property, providing great views. About 15 acres of fairly level land with fertile soil perfect for building, farming, orcharding and/or a pasture for horses. There are gently sloping mountainsides all around the valleys that are great for building sites. Many hummingbirds and other native birds, gibnut, deer and other native species have been seen on and near the property. Wild sapodilla trees, plum trees, avocado trees grow in the jungle. A hidden valley in back of property has a vibrant Cohune Palm forest. Access road to property goes through beautiful cleared valley with fruit tress and many palm trees. Adjacent properties are very large parcels (18-100 acres) and most are not developed, providing much privacy and natural beauty.

The 40 acres is located about 1/2 mile south of Unitedville off the Western Highway. See the orange-colored rectangle below:

Survey Map

As you can see, the property is located in the Cayo District of Belize. It is about a 90 minute drive to the beaches in Belize, as well as to the international airport near Belize City. Closest neighboring house to the property is about 0.8 mile away - a nice couple from England.

As of May 2006, public electricity runs to the neighbors house (0.8 miles/1.2Km away).

Property taxes for the 40 acres per year is approximately US$110.

All about weather in Belize: http://www.belizenet.com/weather/climate.html
Dry season, which varies somewhat, is roughly from November through April. Still, there is some rainfall during these months.

Wildlife: Belize has snakes, as all tropical places do, although we saw none when we spent months hiking all over the land. Small fish in the creek. Typical numbers of mosquitos and other biting/stinging insects, though overall not bad, I'd say. Cayo is known for fewer mosquitos than most other areas of Belize.

Building: You can pretty much build whatever you want, as there are no residential building permits necessary in Belize, as far as I know.

Road: The public access road to the property is stated as such in all official surveys of the property we have seen. The road from Western Highway to the property is gravel or solid rock-based the whole way, and does not require a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get to it.

Bridge: The 40 acres is on the south side of the creek, so a small bridge will be necessary. We have gotten several quotes for building a 35' bridge. A simple log bridge with cross planks will run about US$4,000. You can get more quotes from local architects and from lumber mills in Spanish Lookout area. Simple bridge building is a fairly common practice in Belize, so you shouldn't have any difficulty getting it done.

Hiking the back high borders of the 40 acres, you can look back
to see views of the adjacent mountains and forest:

Belize is only as big as Massachusetts. Belize money is 2X US money: $1US = $2 Belize. Official language is English. All roadsigns, official documents, etc are in English. English measurements, too - gallons, feet, inches, etc. Belize is an easy 2 hour flight from Miami.

People in Belize are very friendly and go out of their way to help you out. Everyone seems relaxed and smiles happen easily. It is quite easy to make friends here; there is a growing expat community in the Cayo District.

Temperatures are warm sub-tropical. Abundant sunshine. Sunsets can be outrageously beautiful here. The cloudscapes are very dramatic, with impressive thunderclouds rolling in, mountain-high cumulus cloud formations, and many layers can be seen. This area gets from 50-100 inches of rain a year, depending on location. Dry season is from mid-Feb to June. Usually some sunshine every day of the year, as rainfall tends to come during mid to late afternoons.

Fruit and veggies are very inexpensive. A bag of 130 delicious oranges is $5.00!

Many expats from the Untied States and Europe live in the Cayo District. The Cayo District has some of the most scenic attractions in Belize: clear, meandering rivers, lush jungles, green hillsides, thundering waterfalls, huge cave systems, and two of Belize's most important Mayan ruins. It's rich with wildlife and a favored destination for ecotourists. It is also home to the nation's capital of Belmopan, and the new US Embassy. From Belmopan, you can take a bus to any part of Belize

West of Belmopan, it's a beautiful drive along rolling green countryside dotted with small, picturesque villages and farms and cattle grazing until you reach the city of San Ignacio, where you will find hotels, restaurants, and the Saturday market. In Cayo, you will also find the modern-day Mennonite settlement of Spanish Lookout where you can find the best prices on food, housewares, and farm equipment.

There are several large Mennonite settlements in the Cayo District, both "modern" Mennonites and Amish-style Mennonites. The Amish Mennonites travel 4 hours to get to Saturday market from their farms on horse and buggy, arriving at the market at 5am to sell their produce. They are very sweet and noble people. The modern Mennonite community, in Spanish Lookout, use modern machinery. They have carved out very impressive lifestyles for their community. They build their own roads and bridges and are very self sufficient. They provide most of the dairy, eggs and chicken products for Belize. They also offer many different essential goods (tools, machinery, household stuff, etc) for the best prices in Belize. The Mennonites build prefab and/or pre-designed wood houses. They will build a 12'X20' cabin for you made from local hardwoods for about US$5,500.
Here is some info about building costs for housing: Midwest Lumber Price Sheet

There are many attractions in Belize, from immense Mayan ruins to amazing labyrinthine caves to world class fishing and scuba diving on the world's second largest barrier reef. Some links below for you: