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You Just Bought a Private Island. Now What?

Creating your own private-island paradise is doable, but it won’t be easy, warns expert developer Doug Kulig

You see it listed online: a seven-acre island off the coast of Belize, surrounded by clear blue water and striking distance from an untouched barrier reef. Price: 492,000 pounds, or around $760,000. “You couldn’t buy a 1 bedroom in Williamsburg for that price,” you say to yourself, and after a few clicks and a phone call, you’re the proud owner of a tropical haven 12 miles from the resort town of San Pedro (immortalized by Madonna's La Isla Bonita).

So … what next?