Why private island owners dream turn to nightmares

Owning your own private island
might seem like the epitome of luxury. 
No neighbours and complete privacy may be your vision of paradise, but
new research shows that buyers are increasingly eschewing private islands.

There are now 600 private islands
for sale around the world, ranging in price from just $50,000 (£31,690) to $100
million (£63.3 million).  Keep
reading to learn more about why island living may not be all it seems.

Pitfalls face island buyers

“A lot of people get seduced by
the island dream without thinking of the realities.”  That’s the view of BBC star Ben Fogle who believes that
people forget about the high maintenance costs of islands when buying.

The Daily Mail reports that ‘it appears that the rich and famous who
stump up the millions required for their own Robinson Crusoe experience,
haven’t bargained for trouble in paradise – which often includes no
electricity, bureaucratic red tape, endangered species and exorbitant maintenance
costs.’

Endangered species often leave
island owners unable to build, with Nicolas Cage selling his $3million island
in the Bahamas after an endangered reptile put paid to his dreams of building a
luxury home.  And, it is often
difficult to connect electricity to a remote island.  Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, put Allan Island near
Seattle on the market recently for $13 million after failing to be able to
connect electricity to his home there.

The number of private islands
available to buyers has increased threefold since 2006.  You can now snap up everything from a
remote Scottish isle to a Caribbean island.