Melange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine – Debbie Austin
Congratulations, Albert & Michael… on your 5 year business anniversary. It has been an absolute pleasure working with you both, promoting your Saba properties and by extension, promoting the island of Saba as the true gem that it is.
The love you have for Saba certainly shines through on your website and Blog, and your gracious, genuine nature is also evident in the way you interact with others — we have experienced this first-hand. So, I extend hearty congratulations on behalf of the Mélange team, and we wish you continued success in the years ahead.
Paul Van Doesburg – USA + Saba Property Owner
Congratulations Albert & Michael on 5 years of splendid work!
Looking to your portfolio I can say — you changed the real estate market on the Unspoiled Queen. I think you both brought a personal touch to the real estate business on Saba. This is exactly what the island needs.
Wishing you lots of success for Saba Island Properties in the years to come.
Ricky Lawrence – Saba Property Owner
Michael & Albert are great people to work with. Their website set-up is fantastic.
When it comes to creativity in marketing, they are the best.
I have only good words to say and look forward to working with them in the future.
Jeanne Vandenberg – Saba, Dutch Caribbean
I really enjoyed working with Albert & Michael – Saba Island Properties!
What stood out most for me was their kindness and helpful ways. I’m not very savvy in using the computer, scanning documents etc. but they stopped by my home several times to assist – always patient and ready to help whenever I called.
I highly recommend Albert & Michael because they’re very knowledgeable about all aspects of real estate and the coordination of a sale, as well as working with the notary, which needs to be so precise with documents and procedures when closing on a property.
They know their business! Thorough – Caring – Professional — Authentic… and they like what they do. Thank you both.
Chris Ramsey – Saba Property Owner
I can not say enough great things about working with Saba Island Properties. Albert & Michael make life easy!
With me living in the states, I have found them to be trustworthy, quick to respond to any problems my tenants might have or questions that I have. They always keep my rental units occupied with long-term rentals. Albert & Michael keep my units fresh and up to date style wise.
Again, I highly recommend the use of their services.
Jeff & Ikuyo Sandford – Property Owners – Saba
Michael & Albert bring the unique qualities of “having been there and done that” to representing the properties they have in their portfolio.
Like all of the their clients, both on the rental side and looking to buy a property on the island, they have also been in position of having many questions, regarding the island in general and how things are done, having at one time been in the shoes of a newcomer.
They are always upfront and professional in their answers and quick to respond. We have owned property for over 10 years on this lovely island and consider both gentlemen are a welcome addition to the island and a invaluable resource to anybody interested in buying property.
Dr. Vaughn Huckfeldt & Dr. Rachel Robson – Saba Residents & Home Owners
As medical school professors who had been on Saba for several years, we had fallen in love with the island and wanted to stay. But we never thought we would be able to buy our own home on Saba. Working with Albert & Michael at Saba Island Properties made our home ownership on Saba not just possible, but easy.
Albert & Michael worked closely both with us and with the sellers of Island View Villa to help us put together a sale that was mutually beneficial. Then, they shepherded us through the process of meeting with notaries, getting deed documents drawn up, and all the other legal processes involved in purchasing a house that would otherwise be very daunting for American ex-pats like us. Albert & Michael were unfailingly gracious, generous, and kind in all of the help they gave us. Before we decided on the house we most wanted to buy, they took us to a wide variety of properties, all of which were beautiful. At each place they were happy to answer all our questions. It was always a pleasure to work with them as they provided an exceptional level of service.
Throughout the entire process, it was very clear that Albert & Michael consistently put our interests as home purchasers ahead of their own as realtors. We are not the wealthiest of home-buyers… yet we were treated by both Albert & Michael as if we were major investors. I think this is because Albert & Michael recognize that every home purchase is a major investment for that home buyer.
That empathetic adoption of our perspective is really remarkable.
Saba is an incredibly beautiful island full of friendly people. It is a dream to own a home here. Albert & Michael made that dream possible for us. If you also want to live that dream, and are looking for the most charming and helpful real estate agents on one of the most beautiful islands in the world, you should talk to Albert & Michael.
Dr. Vaughn Huckfeldt & Dr. Rachel Robson – Saba Residents & Home Owners
Tanya & Jon Manning – USA & Saba Property Owners
My husband and I would like to share our remarkable experience we’ve had working with Albert & Michael of Saba Island Properties.
Being fortunate enough to have a wonderful property on Saba, but unable to visit as often as we had planned, we had to turn to someone on island to help us be sure that our wonderful cottage was looked after and maintained, as well as finding renters to keep her walls filled with life.
When we decided to start renting our cottage our absence created quite a challenge to manage a rental from off island. While we had some good Sabans to help us along the way, not being on island to oversee things put us in a position where that one bad apple renter left us scrambling when rent went unpaid for months. Try as we might to contact this errant renter to remedy the unusual situation, we found ourselves with very few options, until we contacted Saba Island Properties.
Even though we weren’t clients Albert came to our rescue not knowing who we were or what our intentions might be. He spent many hours on our behalf from knocking on the front door and filing a formal notice to overseeing finding a contractor to make repairs and upgrade the house until our situation was resolved. Of course we knew that this type of integrity and generosity, coupled with local knowledge and a willingness to be so available to our many, many emails and phone calls, was the company we wanted to manage our rental and represent us when it came time to sell the property for other endeavors.
For the years we’ve worked with Saba Island Properties we’ve had total confidence our property was being represented at its utmost. Their local knowledge, professionalism, courtesy, understanding, commitment, sympathy, reputation, and availability allowed us to enjoy having our lovely property from far away. For this we are grateful. Just like the wonderful and unique atmosphere that is Saba, these two fit in perfectly.
Melody Barnes & Marland Buckner – Richmond, Virginia
Our vacation at the Haiku House on Saba was perfect – and our experience began before our plane landed on the island.
Michael and Albert thoughtfully and expertly took care of our pre-vacation requests to ensure — from the moment we arrived — we had everything we needed and even a few things we hadn’t requested: groceries for breakfast, a list of fun restaurants, advice regarding taxi service, tropical flowers in the house, the list goes on and on. Their gracious support continued through our week on the island.
Michael and Albert’s deft touch extended to their management of the spectacular Haiku House. Sitting high above the Caribbean sea and tucked into the rainforest, the beautifully decorated, well-equipped and perfectly maintained Haiku House is stunning in every way. On six of our seven days, we lounged comfortably by the pool and enjoyed “sundowners” on the lower-level deck; we had everything we needed. On the seventh day – glass walls retracted — we relaxed in the large great room and enjoyed watching the clouds and storms spill over the mountains.
During our week at the Haiku House, we toured the island a bit, but why would we leave such a beautiful house? We had a wonderful, relaxing week and are forever in Michael and Albert’s debt for ensuring it was so.
Stacey & Timothy Guidry – Dallas, Texas
Saba came to us before we visited Saba.
We are exploring investing in island property for financial diversification and the joy of possibly retiring there. We had met someone who owns a business and lives in St. Eustatius so we thought we would travel there to look at property. We contacted Michael & Albert at Saba Island Properties and discussed our thoughts about the ideal property in St. Eustatius. After hearing our requirements they said we must come see Saba. Of course we had never heard of Saba so we were intrigued and began researching and viewing photos/videos of this incredible place. We had to see Saba.
We let Michael & Albert know of our travel plans and they sent us listings of several properties for us to consider. They invited us to their porch the day before we went to see properties and took so much time getting to know us, to understand reasons why we didn’t want to build but possibly purchase an old Saban cottege and helped us understand the path to possibly becoming a resident of Saba when we retire. So much to talk about and think about that night! The next day they showed us 5 very different properties within the price range we had set forth, including one that we had nixed because of location. They were very intuitive and I believe set out to match us with the perfect properties based on what they heard from us but perhaps unknown to ourselves.
We truly think of Michael & Albert as new friends after spending time with them. Never was there any pressure or hard sales tactics; they were more of consultants than real estate agents really… lending their years of expertise to suggest repairs that are needed right away or could wait. Or suggesting improvements to maximize ‘rentability’. They told us and we believe that its a big decision and encouraged us to re-visit several times before selecting a property and making an offer. We are in the planning stages of our next trip to Saba and continue to think about the properties we say and our future life in Saba.