“We arrived during an unseasonable series of heavy rain storms, and it felt like we were suddenly in a war zone…”

The horrible state of the country’s road infrastructure was one of the factors which caused a US investor to recently become disillusioned in his investment in southern Belize; and while today he is saying that there is renewed hope in the project—which he had initially thought could have been a rip-off—the problem with Belize’s road network still remains.

Two and half years ago, Rob Enderle, the principal analyst for the Enderle Group, a US consultancy which focuses on personal technology products and trends, and a columnist for TechNewsWorld, invested US$400,000 on two lots sold to him by Sanctuary Belize (a project controlled by Americans), which advertises itself as “The world’s only 5 eco-lifestyle development – 14,000 acres including a rainforest jungle, tropical savannah, river reserve, full-service marina and the second largest barrier reef on the planet.”

Enderle told Amandala that he and his wife have been going back and forth between the US and Belize since the purchase, but their last trip was December 10 to 20, 2013. They came to check on the progress of the project, and to get a better feel for the country and whether they can live here – how long they could be in Belize without feeling some sort of disconnection pain, he said.

Last Monday, Enderle wrote an online column for Tech News World captioned: “Retiring in Sanctuary Belize: Tarnished Dreams.”

He said that, “We arrived during an unseasonable series of heavy rain storms, and it felt like we were suddenly in a war zone. There were crater-like potholes on most roads, and many were so deeply submerged we could no longer see the road bed. While the current was slow, hitting a deep pothole under the water was like an extreme off-road experience. This was true even on the Hummingbird Highway, the Belize equivalent of an interstate. One of the most lucrative businesses, based on the condition of the stores, seemed to be selling tires, suggesting that replacing them was very common,” Enderle wrote.

Enderle said that he was planning on building a dream home in Belize for his retirement years. He said that he is approaching 60 and the plan was to begin building on his property in 2014; but after his experience here, he said that he would be trying to get a refund.

According to Enderle, when he arrived at Sanctuary Belize, in Sittee River, Stann Creek, a lot of it was under water, and he had not seen a lot of progress since his last trip – three months before. He said that there had also not been much progress over last year, and it seemed that the agents of the project were more focused on selling properties than developing the infrastructure needed by the investors.

Enderle, who told us that he is “feeling extremely disappointed,” said they had led them to believe that there was some rigor on how the project would be implemented, but he had spoken with one of the project leaders, Luke Chadwick, who told him that he (Enderle) really did not understand that this is the way things happen in Belize.

“The prices to build the model homes appear to be twice what you would pay in the states, and they don’t come with the land, according to what we were told during this trip,” Enderle also wrote.

He also said that, “The big hospital and airport that were supposed to go in lost funding, along with a casino, because the Canadian government cried foul and stripped the funding….

“This appears to be a common occurrence in Belize and likely is keeping it from getting to critical mass as a major Central American state. As you drive across the country, you see a lot of ruins of recent business ventures that failed largely because they were long on promise and short on execution,” Enderle wrote in his column.

In today’s column, though, Enderle speaks more positively of “Retiring in Sanctuary Belize: Renewed Hope” –although he has indicated that, “We’ll be exiting from the project ourselves, but because of some things that were done in the heat of the moment and no longer because we have lost faith in it.”

He said that, “After my Belize retirement update appeared last week, a number of things happened. Most initially were rather painful, but eventually I was placed on the phone with Rod Kazazi, the project CFO who is based in the United States.

“Since we both had a financial background, he was able to address most of my concerns by informing me of solid programs that ensure the project will be completed. Had I met him sooner, I doubt I would have had to raise the alarms in my column, as there have been a number of recent improvements that put my mind more at ease about the project.”

Enderle noted, though, that, “I still believe that with any purchase you need to do due diligence – something we had not adequately done ourselves – but the in-depth review I’ve now undertaken gives me substantially more confidence in the integrity of the company…”

In a press release issued today out of California, Sanctuary Belize announces the latest developments with the project, saying that, “After two years of design and construction,” they are today opening their private beach club which featuring pools, hot tubs, dining pavilions, satellite televisions and an authentically Belizean menu on white sandy beaches.

It added that today’s opening of the beach club fulfills a key developer promise made to early buyers.

According to the project press release, “The country of Belize has quickly become the ideal destination for retirement and investment due to its Qualified Retirement Program (QRP), foreign income exemptions and rapidly appreciating property values.”

A Belize Tourism Board publication says that, “Anyone forty-five years and older from anywhere in the world can qualify for the [QRP] program. A person who qualifies can also include his or her dependents in the program. Dependents include spouses and children under the age of eighteen. However, it can include a person up to the age of twenty-three if enrolled in a university.”

Some benefits of retiring in Belize include tax breaks, easy access to land for development and construction of a retirement home, close proximity to the United States and Mexico, and a strong and stable Belize Dollar, the BTB publication also says.