I'm buying land with a house already on it. Seems like less hassle. But either way is fine. I did previously look into buying a lot and building. Actually I was looking in a casual way for years before finding my dream property and going for it, so I looked at many options.

Not specifically related to building a home, but one thing I found while looking is there are a lot of scammers. Especially if you are basing your search in a tourist town like Negril. Upon hearing you are interested in buying, *everyone* has a property to sell you. They don't necessarily own the property they are trying to sell though ...

I wound up going through a realtor. That does limit selection, since a lot of properties are never listed with realtors, but it guarantees what you're looking at is legit.

Also for any real estate transaction in Jamaica, get a good real estate attorney. I can recommend one. Even if you are experienced buying/selling/building property in the US, it's really different in Jamaica. You need a good attorney to protect you.