Have a clear target

It's not just a business plan to start a business, you need to be just as focused and specific about the details when you start looking for and buying an island. We need to be clear about what we really want to do with the island, what we want to do with it, and what we want the title deeds to say. We need to know how big an area we need, what kind of beach we want, what kind of vegetation, how long we plan to spend there, etc. If we want to go diving, we should check whether the area is suitable for this activity. If you want to create a holiday paradise to attract tourists, check the possibilities for building and access, etc..

Thinking of Buying an island in Belize? Or how to get an Island for sale in Croatia?

Choosing the right location

One of the most important aspects is the location. What is the climate in the region, what is the weather like and does it meet our expectations? Check whether there is a history of seismic activity in the area, whether there are volcanoes nearby that could threaten the safety of the location, whether there are tsunamis, monsoons, tropical storms in the area?
Even if it is not a typical disaster zone, we need to be aware of the seasons, for example, if it is a tropical climate, we need to know when the rainy season is, when we can enjoy the sunshine and whether we have time off to spend our holidays there.
It is worth finding out which territorial waters the land is located in, which country has jurisdiction over it, and how suitable the legal environment is for us and our activities there. We should also think about pirates, because there are still geographical areas where piracy is common, which can make our peaceful private lives very difficult.

Purchase price of the Island

This is a critical question. And when it comes to the purchase price, we should not only focus strictly on the purchase price, but also take into account the additional costs. If, for example, the price tag of an island is €1 million and we have exactly that much, it is far from enough, as we have to take into account the costs of the transfer, the lawyer, the tax, the annual tax, etc... And that's not even mentioning the possible costs of development and renovation if we wanted to personalise the island to our taste.
It is also worth knowing that banks are not used to granting loans to buy an island, even if you offer the property as a guarantee. It is very difficult to accurately assess the value of a small piece of land at sea. If you can't afford it, you should move on. Do you know how much does an island for sale in Greece cost?

Buildings on the Island

Let us also assess the selected site in terms of the buildings on it. What properties are on the island, what condition they are in, if any, and if they need to be renovated, what the cost will be. If new buildings will have to be erected, what permits will be needed to carry out the works, how can they be obtained and what will be the cost of transporting the building materials. We need to know that building on an island does not cost as much as building on the outskirts of Budapest, where you won't find a fire engine on the corner and the building contractor next door is not exactly next door...

Access to medical care

The first pot could have been the proximity of the hospital and medical staff, as this is one of the most critical elements of a private lifestyle. Nobody thinks about it until they need medical care. If we think of a trivial case like a broken arm or an animal bite, we need help and treatment, but if we are 300 km away from the nearest medical facility, we will have a hard time starting the speedboat with a broken arm or navigating to the hospital because of dizziness caused by an unknown insect bite. And that's not even mentioning the more serious cases.
Be sure to choose a place where quality medical care can arrive at short notice. But even if there is one nearby, find out what kind of insurance you need to take out to get paramedics to get on a helicopter and actually come to your aid without having to foot a bill of tens of millions of forints later.

Drinking water possibility

Fresh water is perhaps even more important than medical care, because we rarely need to call an ambulance, but we need to drink it every day, and several litres of it. Without it, we can have the best beaches, cool ourselves under the shade of the palm trees, but our mouths will taste bitter if we take a sip of seawater. In the most fortunate cases, there is a freshwater supply in the ground. If not, you can install a water purification plant to turn seawater into drinking water at a very reasonable price, or you can install rainwater harvesting basins. If the cost of this is too high, we will have to arrange for enough drinking water (preferably a few thousand litres) to be delivered.

Wildlife on the Island

The study of local flora and fauna is no less important. Find out what flora or fauna might be harmful to your health on the land you are considering and buy the island with this in mind.

Nearest Land

Proximity to the mainland is important not only for health care, but also because of the difficulty of getting to your own island. If your dream island is, say, 300 km from Panama, you'll spend days travelling back and forth, and you may not want to waste your precious time travelling. It doesn't matter how far we have to travel to the nearest shop. And if it's a long way to civilisation, you'll need to stock up on everything, because it's a nuisance to remember that you're out of beer at a romantic sunset. In Scandinavia there are islands for sale nearest to the Land country.

Electricity

Although it can be romantic to dine by candlelight and ponder the moonlight and the silky waves, the lack of electricity can be inconvenient after a while, and your food can quickly go bad without a fridge. It's best to have some sort of electricity already, but if not, we have to create it ourselves. We should always think of alternative solutions, but we can use anything from a conventional generator, a mini hydroelectric power station or a wind turbine to generate power, or if we live in a sunny area, a solar cell system is an obvious option.

How reasonable is the investment

If you want to buy an island, you have to be prepared to make a substantial financial investment, so it is not always the same what return you can expect. If you have so much money that you can't even count it, then go ahead and buy an island, the selfies on Instagram look great, let the envy of your friends eat you up :D
But if we didn't win the money in a lottery, but earned it, then we should reconsider point 1 to see what we really want to do with the island. We can take a leaf out of the book of other investors (Richard Branson) who have created a money-making resort paradise on their private island. Like him, we can build one or more luxury apartments, even a hotel (if we are in the high-investor category), and rent them out to the eccentric rich, who are willing to pay a hefty price for a few days of peace and quiet on our exclusive island.