Dominican Real Estate

[mark1957222]

Hello guy's, I was thinking seriously about moving to the DR but after checking out several real estate sites i don't see how I would be able to afford it.
Here are links to a Century 21 in DR, the first are the low end, they run about $60,000 and are nothing but shacks. The second are the "vila's", like an average house in my area here. Anything you might want to live in starts at $300,000 and goes up fast from there

http://www.juanperdomo.com/eng/res22.htm

http://www.juanperdomo.com/eng/res8.htm


A little about my situation. I am on a fixed income, getting SSD and after doing some research I can continue to receive my SS checks if I live in another country as long as I keep my US citizenship.
I quess I thought that for a poor country, the per capita income being $200 per month, you could live there fairly cheaply.

[Don Tomas]

Renting is super cheap, much cheaper then buying especially from real estate sites that list prices in US$.

Also WHERE you want to live is very relative to prices. You can pickup a 1500+sq.ft. condo in Santiago for $50K.

Try a search like this http://www.google.com/search?q=Biene...lr=&as_qdr=all

[Rocky]

I don't know you're financial situation, nor would it even be wise to post it, but I can tell you that if you want to give it a shot, you can come down, find a cheap hotel for a few days, then find a cheap apartment for a month or two or three, while discovering if you like it here, and where to find the really good deals on rentals.
You should be able to find decent accommodations for approx. $400 US/month.
If after an extended stay you are still happy with the area and the DR in general, then you can start shopping real estate, but from the inside.
Just as an example, I bought a 1 bed condo in a very nice complex in Sosua, that would sell for approx. 50K. ( I bought it a few years ago for a fair bit less)
There are monthly condo costs, of course, and this may not be your cup of tea, but it's just an example.
The point is that internet prices are often quite high.
When you live here and have friends & contacts, usually you can find a pretty decent deal after a certain period of time.
This period of time, also allows you to truly know if this is where you want to live.

[PapiQueRico]

http://www.investmentsonthebeach.com/

Go to Brasil.

Two bedroom houses on the beach for $65,000

Three Bedrooms, Guest house and pool for $130,000. Only drawback is the the sand might blow into your living room

[ajax718]

http://www.investmentsonthebeach.com/

Go to Brasil.

Two bedroom houses on the beach for $65,000

Three Bedrooms, Guest house and pool for $130,000. Only drawback is the the sand might blow into your living room

Or too many chicas trying ro blow you in your livingroom

Remember, real estate is always much cheaper in non-tourist areas. Listen to Rocky's advice about living there first and getting a feel for it. Also, people have told me iter is safer to live in an apartment complex rather thaan own a house. Less chance of your place being burglarized

[tampabukkake]

If you are looking for something reasonable (In Puerto Plata) I suggest you use Rosemary Faehnrich Real Estate

http://www.rf-asesores.com/

Rosemary has a lot of houses and apartments

She found my 2 BR/2Bath with Service Quarters 1 block from the Malecon for 10,000 pesos a month!

also for purchase a 3BR/3Bt Service Quarters Oceanview NEW Condo about 2200 sq ft $110,000 !

Rosemary doesn t charge the renter a fee, she gets her commision from the owners.

[weyland]

This is a great thread. Anyone with useful web addresses, phone numbers or contact names, please continue to add them to this thread. No point in going into too much detail about specific properties, as prices and availability can change too quickly, but general tips on what to look for and what to avoid would be useful. Then guys like me who must actually find properties to buy or (more likely) rent can fight it out for themselves once they arrive in the DR. It is a waste of time trying to negotiate from abroad as everyone quotes fantasy prices.

Thank you for starting this thread, Mark.

[sicpup71]

If you are looking for something reasonable (In Puerto Plata) I suggest you use Rosemary Faehnrich Real Estate

http://www.rf-asesores.com/
She found my 2 BR/2Bath with Service Quarters 1 block from the Malecon for 10,000 pesos a month!

>>>> 10,000.00 DOP = $299.280 USD

1 DOP = 0.0299280 USD 1 USD = 33.4135 DOP

[Don Tomas]

http://www.investmentsonthebeach.com/

Go to Brasil.

Two bedroom houses on the beach for $65,000

Three Bedrooms, Guest house and pool for $130,000. Only drawback is the the sand might blow into your living room

There is ONE HUGE BONUS you forgot about Brazil.

They recently changed the law, the minimum is now only US$50,000 and you get Brazilian citizenship (and passport after background check) with the property!!!!!

Note: if you fail the background check you still get a stateID but no passport.

You actually get the stateID and Brazilian SS# immediately, it takes less then 24 hours!

[Don Tomas]

She found my 2 BR/2Bath with Service Quarters 1 block from the Malecon for 10,000 pesos a month!

For referrence one of my ex's rented a very similar pad in Santiago in a Dominican "middle class" neighborhood for RD$4,000/month but with only one bath, plus a seperate bath in the service quarter, which she used as her masterbed.

[PapiQueRico]

There is ONE HUGE BONUS you forgot about Brazil.

They recently changed the law, the minimum is now only US$50,000 and you get Brazilian citizenship (and passport after background check) with the property!!!!!

Note: if you fail the background check you still get a stateID but no passport.

You actually get the stateID and Brazilian SS# immediately, it takes less then 24 hours!

The law that grants residency based on investment includes property?

I thought the investment needed to be in a business that creates jobs. I know they lowered the ammount from $200,000 to $50,000, bt I was unaware that a house would do the trick.

Can you fail the background check for mongering, or perhaps for not mongering enough?

[Don Tomas]

The law that grants residency based on investment includes property?

I thought the investment needed to be in a business that creates jobs. I know they lowered the ammount from $200,000 to $50,000, bt I was unaware that a house would do the trick.

Can you fail the background check for mongering, or perhaps for not mongering enough?

I am 90% positive it includes property.

I believe it refers to a criminal background check.

[RearWindow]

My first trip to Sosua, I started looking at real estate, found one place near the beach 1BR ,bath, open floor plan for 48k. Didn't buy, but that seems to be faily reasonable.I'm REALLY looking next trip.

[ChicaRider]

If you want to live like the average Dominican who makes $200 a month, there are 1000's of places to rent or buy, that are "dirt cheap" but keep in mind, they usually don't rent or buy the places in the neighborhoods you'll likely want to live in...

[RearWindow]

If you want to live like the average Dominican who makes $200 a month, there are 1000's of places to rent or buy, that are "dirt cheap" but keep in mind, they usually don't rent or buy the places in the neighborhoods you'll likely want to live in...

Do I want to live like the average Dominican..NO. I did the Costa Rica barrio thing for a year. so I'm not a newbie here...I just want a good place to return to year after year now, AND make it work in those senior years.

[mark1957222]

I understand that most of the people are dirt poor and have next to nothing. The thing is there seem to also be a lot of very rich people there, that drive the high-end prices way up. There are many villas in the $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 USD range. Usually in places that are very poor everything is relative to the per capita income.
Even where i live now, in NE PA, a nice 3 bedroom house will go for about $300,000. I am within two hours driving distance of both NY and Philly. But if you take the same house in central PA, where there are no good jobs within driving distance, you could buy it for around $100,000.
Not to get into detail here but I have been "retired " now for just over 10 years. When I was working I made very good money working for a fortune 500 company that did a lot of work for the military. Right now (on SSD) I make less than half of what i was making 10 years ago.
It is becoming very hard to make ends meet here (USA) anymore. I was under the impression that I might be able to live very well in a country where the per capita income was so low.

[mark1957222]

My first trip to Sosua, I started looking at real estate, found one place near the beach 1BR ,bath, open floor plan for 48k. Didn't buy, but that seems to be faily reasonable.I'm REALLY looking next trip.

I saw some of those places "apartments" one bedroom one bath. They looked like abandoned crack houses. There were holes in the walls and floors and wires and pipes sticking out from the sockets. If you mean 48K US dollar, do you realise you can get a nice room at BB for $50 a night and live there with all the Chicas full time (I am sure you would get lots of free pussy) for 48K at $50 dollars a night you can live there for almost 3 years. Why buy at those prices?

[weyland]

you can get a nice room at BB for $50 a night and live there with all the Chicas full time (I am sure you would get lots of free pussy) for 48K at $50 dollars a night you can live there for almost 3 years.

This is an odd post.

Firstly, what happens after the 3 years are up and your capital is gone? I would expect to rent for at least 10 years if I spent the same amount as for a purchase.

Secondly, what makes you think you would get lots of free pussy (or any free pussy for that matter) at BB? Living there full-time would soon get old, and there would be constant friction if you brought in outside guests. A better option would be the apartments Billy has been proposing to build above Field of Dreams. Does anyone know if any more progress has been made on this?

The reasons to rent rather than buy in the DR are the uncertainties and complexities of the law about titles, the high chance of being deliberately scammed, and the difficulty of finding a competent and honest lawyer. No doubt some of our veterans will proudly post that they have this or that reliable contact but, while this may be true, it will never apply to 99% of us, at least until we have been living in the DR for many years. So I expect to be renting for those first years at least, and perhaps forever.

At the same time I will be alert for news of "fire sales". There are many genuine ones in the DR because of economic instability and also the emotional instability of many gringos who try to make a life there. But my first, second (... nth) thought will always be "if it sounds too cheap to be true it probably is". I would probably only buy, and from someone I had known for some years, a property I knew very well through visits so I would have already been made aware of any downsides. And even then I would first arm myself with garlic and silver bullets.

If you buy or rent in Sosua or Cabarete you will be paying a premium. You can buy nice places cheap (not at all like "abandoned crack houses") away from the tourist areas, but your problem then is security. As an isolated gringo you will stick out as an obvious target for thieves so, as Ajax has posted, I would only consider this in an apartment block.

[ChicaRider]

I saw some of those places "apartments" one bedroom one bath. They looked like abandoned crack houses. There were holes in the walls and floors and wires and pipes sticking out from the sockets. If you mean 48K US dollar, do you realise you can get a nice room at BB for $50 a night and live there with all the Chicas full time (I am sure you would get lots of free pussy) for 48K at $50 dollars a night you can live there for almost 3 years. Why buy at those prices?

FIrst of all, I dont care how long you "lived" at BB... you're not going to get much, if any FREE pussy...and why would you want to live in a hotel room in Costambar surrounded by low-rent putas???

As for the general rent vs. buy scenario...it would be assinine to look at a hotel long term when you can get a pretty decent condo in Sosua, POP, Cabarete, Santiago, Santo Domingo, etc... for around $500/mo. or less... that's 8 years or more for the same $48k...

For around that $48K USD (well, $50-60K) you can actually still buy a very nice furnished 1BR in a nice complex in Sosua... Tradewinds, The Palms, Club Residencial, Las Canas, etc... many expats live in these places and they would never be desrcibed as abandoned crackhouses... I can't even imagine the places you're referring to... Beyond Sosua, you can find nice condos in that price range in most of the other popular areas as well... they won't be huge beachfront oceanview units, but I doubt there's many places in the world you're going to find that.

[mark1957222]

why would you want to live in a hotel room in Costambar surrounded by low-rent putas???

That made me LOL . Isn't that the only reason you go to DR and spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year. To hunt down those "low rent putas".