User Agreement

1. We are a search platform — not a broker

Bonaire Brokers is a search platform and listing aggregator for property on Bonaire. We are not a broker, real estate agent, makelaar, or real estate agency, and we provide no legal real estate representation.

We provide a platform and, for Brokers, Buyers, and for FSBO sellers, listing tools and exposure — we do not give professional advice. Decisions about price, terms, and whether to buy or sell are yours, and you should take independent legal, notarial, valuation, and tax advice.

2. Who this covers — and what it costs

Bonaire Brokers is free to use — searching, listing, saving, and getting in touch all cost nothing. The only money that ever reaches us is a single fee charged on the 'For Sale By Owner' ("FSBO") sale, and it fits the way property costs normally work on Bonaire. On a purchase the buyer pays the buyer's costs (kosten koper) — notary fees, transfer tax, and, on a brokered sale, the broker's commission. On an FSBO sale through Bonaire Brokers there is no broker commission; in its place a single 0.5% fee to us forms part of the buyer's costs — far less than a traditional Broker commission.

• Buyers — free to use. Searching, saving favorites and searches, getting recommendations, and contacting brokers or sellers cost you nothing. On a Broker-listed property you pay the usual buyer's costs to the broker and notary and nothing extra to us. On an FSBO property bought through the Platform, a fee to Bonaire Brokers forms part of your buyer's costs — in place of a broker commission — unless the seller has chosen to pay it (sections 5 and 9).
• Brokers — free to list. No listing or membership fee, and we take no commission on a broker's ordinary sales.
• FSBO sellers — a single 0.5% applies (sections 7–10); using our contract generator you choose whether you pay it or it forms part of the buyer's costs (kosten koper). Nothing is owed if your property does not sell.

We are not a real estate broker, makelaar, appraiser, notary, or legal or tax adviser, and we do not represent you in any transaction.

3. Your account & information

You must be at least 18 and able to enter a binding contract. You agree to give accurate, current information and to keep it up to date, to keep your login secure, and to be responsible for activity under your account. You may close your account at any time by contacting us.

4. Using your data — your consent

To provide the services you ask for — searching, saving listings, recommending properties, and connecting you with brokers and sellers — we need to process personal data such as your name, contact details, preferences, and messages. We do this in accordance with the Wet bescherming persoonsgegevens BES (Wbp BES) and our Cookie & Privacy Notice, which explains what we collect, why, how long we keep it, and your rights.

Where we rely on your consent for a specific purpose — for example optional analytics, personalised recommendations, or marketing messages — your agreement here, and the choices you make in the cookie notice and your account settings, are that consent. Your consent is given freely for specific purposes, and you can withdraw it at any time by adjusting those settings or contacting us at info@bonaire-brokers.com; withdrawal does not affect processing already carried out. We do not sell your personal data.

5. Buying through the Platform

Listings are provided by brokers, sellers, and aggregated sources, and may not be accurate, complete, or current. We do not verify them and they are provided for information only. We are not a party to, and take no responsibility for, any negotiation, agreement, viewing, or transaction between you and any seller or broker. Always verify the facts and take independent professional advice (a makelaar, surveyor, notary, lawyer, or tax adviser) before you commit to buy. See sections 4 and 12 of the Terms of Service.

Buyer's costs can include FSBO fee. When you buy a For Sale By Owner property through Bonaire Brokers, you agree that a fee of 0.5% of the sale price forms part of the buyer's costs (kosten koper) and is payable to Bonaire Brokers at completion, normally settled through the notary alongside the other buyer's costs — unless the seller has agreed to bear it (section 9). This 0.5% takes the place of a traditional broker's commission. When you buy a broker-listed property you pay the broker's own commission as part of your buyer's costs in the usual way and owe Bonaire Brokers nothing.

6. The FSBO service (sellers)

If you list a property yourself through the FSBO service, you publish and manage your own listing and deal directly with interested buyers. We provide the listing tools and exposure on the Platform; we do not act as your broker or makelaar, do not negotiate or represent you, and give no valuation, legal, or tax advice. You are responsible for the accuracy and legality of your listing, for owning or being licensed to use every photo and description you upload, and for complying with all applicable laws (see section 6 of the Terms of Service, which applies to your listing content in full).

When you create an FSBO listing it is recorded in our database with the date it was created and the date it was published, whether or not it is published for public display. If you later sell that property through a broker, the broker pays our 0.5% fee under the Broker User Agreement — so the fee cannot be avoided by moving an FSBO-originated sale to a broker, and you owe nothing further.

7. FSBO success fee — 0.5%

For the FSBO service a single fee of 0.5% of the Gross Sale Price (defined in section 8), plus any applicable Bonaire turnover tax (Algemene Bestedingsbelasting, ABB), applies if your property sells. By default it forms part of the buyer's costs; section 9 sets out who pays it. There is no fee to list, and no fee if the property does not sell.

The fee is earned when a binding purchase agreement (koopakte) for the property is signed with a buyer who was introduced to, found through, or who inquired about the property via the Platform during the period it was listed. The fee becomes payable on or before the date of the notarial deed of transfer (leveringsakte). On Bonaire a signed koopakte is binding; please obtain professional advice before signing.

8. How the fee is calculated

The "Gross Sale Price" is the total price for the property stated in the koopakte, in US dollars, excluding transfer tax (overdrachtsbelasting), notary and registration fees, and other closing costs. If part of the consideration is non-cash (for example included movable property or an offset of debts), we will agree a reasonable US-dollar equivalent in writing before calculating the fee.

9. Who pays the 0.5% — buyer's costs or seller

By default the 0.5% forms part of the buyer's costs (kosten koper): the buyer pays it to Bonaire Brokers at completion, normally settled through the notary alongside the other buyer's costs, in place of a broker's commission. A buyer who buys an FSBO property through the Platform agrees to this when they use Bonaire Brokers (section 5).

When you prepare your sale using our contract generator, you (the seller) may instead choose to pay the 0.5% yourself, or to leave it as part of the buyer's costs. Whichever you choose is recorded in the sales agreement. We charge this fee to one side only — never to both the buyer and the seller for the same sale.

The fee is due on a completed FSBO sale however it is allocated. If the party designated to pay it does not pay at completion, you, as the FSBO seller who used our service, remain responsible for it. You agree not to structure a sale so as to avoid or reduce the fee. (If a broker completes the sale of your FSBO-listed property, the broker pays the 0.5% to us under the Broker User Agreement, and you owe nothing further.)

10. Protection period

If your FSBO listing ends or this Agreement is terminated, the success fee still applies if a binding koopakte for the property is signed within 18 months afterwards with a buyer who was introduced through the Platform, or with whom you or the Platform were in contact about the property while it was listed — unless another licensed intermediary genuinely introduced that buyer. When your listing ends, we will, on request, give you a written list of the buyers introduced through the Platform so it is clear which ones the protection period covers. This protects against a listing being withdrawn only to complete the same introduced sale fee-free; it is not a continuing obligation to use the Platform.

11. Cancelling & withdrawing your listing

You may cancel the FSBO service free of charge within 14 days of accepting this Agreement, as long as you have not asked us to publish your listing before then. If you ask us to publish it within those 14 days, you accept that we begin providing the service immediately. After that, you can withdraw your listing at any time; doing so does not, by itself, end the protection period in section 10. No success fee is due unless and until a sale completes under sections 7–10.

12. Liability

Our liability to you is limited as set out in sections 12–14 of the Terms of Service, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, and subject to any rights you have under mandatory consumer-protection law that cannot be excluded. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of any buyer, seller, broker, notary, or other third party.

13. Changes, governing law & contact

We may update this Agreement; we will change the effective date above and, for material changes, give notice on the Platform or by email. This Agreement is governed by the law applicable in Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands (including the Burgerlijk Wetboek BES and the Consumentenbeschermingsverordening BES), and disputes fall to the competent court for Bonaire (the Gerecht in eerste aanleg van Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba), without depriving you of any mandatory consumer protection. Questions? Contact Bonaire Brokers b.v. at info@bonaire-brokers.com or +599 795 77 77.