Considering the Dominican Republic?

I would be interested in anyones experience in purchasing and/or investing in a single family home or villa on this Island. I notice through looking at listings many properties are in gated communities and a great many also have bars on the windows and doors.
I do feel for rental purposes a secure and safe environment for clients is important for successful rentals.
I will be traveling in January to look around and get a feel but would like to know where to target my efforts, or am I even looking at the right Island? I am looking for property with a beach.
Realtors and agents are welcome to respond. Pre-sales on developments are questionable as I know someone who lost their money on this.

tks

Peter

 

Hi Peter,

The Dominican Republic is a very nice island to live and to invest. There is a lot of development going on and the market is hot.
We moved here 3 years ago to start up a small scaled hotel for mainly young active people. Most of them are surfers and kitesurfers as we are located on the main surfspot in the Caribbean.
We are not located right on the beach but it's just a few minute walk and just outside the surferstown Cabarete.
After setting up this hotel very successfully and running it for 3 years we need a new challenge and are looking to do something else. We are planning to move to the States to set up 2 new businesses. Our hotel is excellent running and we receive a lot of clients also in the lower seasons, because of it's location and the very laid-back atmosphere.
Our Hotel is for sale. If you are interested send me an email and I will send you all the info and photo's.

We first purchased the 2 lot's we builded on. In short it works like this; First find a good and reliable real estate agent. He or she can help you through the whole process, which makes things a little easier.
After you find the lot's/ villa you pay a deposit of 5 or 10%. You arrange the whole transfer at the lawyers/notary office. You transfer the amount minus the deposit to the notary, who will transfer the amount to the seller afterwards. Make sure all the titles are oke and the property is on the sellers name or his company's. This is a common mistake buyers make....

If you have any more questions let me know and I am happy to help you.

R. Ybo

 

hi Pete

Ive just started looking into buying abroad but a friend recommend The Dominican Republic due to its increasing popularity as well as the island itself. Ive not long posted on the main forum before I saw this one for the Caribbean. Ive been looking at a deal on Punta Perla properties, I know you said that you know someone who lost money on a pre-sale but the developers are offering guarantees. Ive asked on the other forum if anyone has had experience of this sort of deal, if its true to its word it does look a very good offer.

 

Hi Guys,

Most people do buy in gated communities,even outside of this you will see many properties that have bars on the windows and doors as looks as though they are holiday homes to local families living abroad.
It is a superb island and well worth a visit,driving around from a to b you will see a lot of properties with the for sale sign up.

 

Hi Pete,
i represent an interesting Eco development over there, but also have a lot of real estate and legal contacts in the Dom Rep.
There are a few sub markets within the country now and lots of different opportunities for the overseas buyers as the country is fully embracing foreign investment. There are new Luxuary resorts built or being built and completely new and interesting areas of the country opened up with the new International airports. There is also the tradition destinations further North of the country that offer a different experience, but can be seen as good value.
It really depends on what your objectives are for the purchase and your tolerence to risk , as you mentioned your friend experienced problems before.
Many feel that the Dom Rep offers the last real investment opportunity in the Caribbean as the market is not yet fully mature and there are still areas of real beauty that are starting to embrace tourism and real estate.
However, there are endemic problems with immature markets and it does make sense to work with a good independant agent that can paint the full picture of all the issues for an overseas buyer. I would be happy to help in any way
Mark

 

Pal101... I bet you're a sales agent for Punta Perla... quite the punta perla fan, aren't you...? I came across a thread I started a while back in which you started yapping about Punta Perla. Checked on your other posts... and guess what... Punta Perla again!

This guy is right about the DR, that its increasing in popularity, but Punta Perla is the biggest bull**** project I've ever heard of. Developers are offering guarantees? Cute sales marketing trick... everybody knows there are no guarantees in real estate. Where does the money come from...? Out of the pockets of those idiots who fell for this project?

Funny how Punta Perla has been selling its **** for several years, yet, you visit the "project" to have the security guy ask you why the heck you're there, cuz there aint anything to see there...

Heard about an exec landed in jail, tied to Punta Perla... well... you know how to use the web. You don't have to come into forums and ask other ppl about the project. Just google it... enough bull**** to find about this "project".

 

Folks come to the North Coast if you want beauty and convienence.

Sosua where I live is 8 mintutes to the international airport. There are beautiful beaches all along the coast and the mountains just about go down to the beach.

I personally don't like beach front or being close to the beach because the Salt plays havoc with metal and even finished wood. I know people who had the doorknobs rust before they even moved to their new homes.

I have property in the mountains a bit higher up. Air is fresher and always a breeze. Beach is 5-10 minutes away and I don't have to deal with the salt for the most part.

I have a condo across the street from the ocean and replace water heaters every year or two.

Punta Cana is in the middle of nowhere totally devoid of culture which is an important part of living here for me. It was developed just because of the nice beaches with All Inclusive resorts. BORING... why travel far for an all inclusive? Just go to the nearest one for an equal experience!

one is a picture of my property and another is of two gals working in a restaurant.
Escott

 

Actually, there are beautiful beaches in both places. In fact... personally, I like the beaches in Punta Cana better than up on the north coast.

You say you LIVE in Sosua..? Well, Sosua and Puerto Plata have been a destination for YEARS now. Punta Cana is boring...? Well... Sosua used to be boring once! Everything is relative my friend... From an investment point of view... BORING might be a better investment where prices are relatively lower than a place where there's more action, because once Punta Cana is done constructing, the prices will be a LOT higher! Return on investments are much higher then!

 

I am not going to argue that Punta Cana is a good investment as I agree that it is. But it is like driving though the cornfields of Kansas to get there. Not very pretty. There is also NO dominican town less than an hour away (Higuey) where you can eat typical dominican food and see the beautiful Dominican women, go to a tipico to have a beer and dance, listen to a concert etc.

I am also embarrassed to say that although I live 1 block from the main Beach in Sosua I haven't been there in 6 months. I have been to Playa Grande which is an hour away 3 weeks ago but not to Sosua which is in my back yard. Beaches have too much sand and are dirty I prefer my pool.

The prices in Punta Cana are not lower than Sosua. They are higher. What I am saying is for a place to live (NOT INVEST) The North Coast is much more beautiful. That being said I have done very well on investments here. Sold 2 lots in a gated community I purchased for 15 and 19k for a total of 34k plus fenced them in and landscaped 30 ft around the Fence for 333,400 US dollars. Sold a restaurant I bought and never opened for 2x what I paid in 7 months. Sold a property on the Main road from Puerto Plata to Samana for 150k to a partner I had 65k into for 1 1/2 years. Just made a deal on a condo I paid 58k for 4.5 years ago for 168k. Heck I bought another piece on the Highway for 30 per m2 and was offered 45 per m2 before I even closed on it by the same broker who sold it to me. Didn't take it and put it on the market 1 year later for 80 per m2 and got offered 70 m2 which I turned down and raised it to 90 m2.

I believe I would do just as well in Punta Cana so YES I like it as an investment just not a place to live.

Do a search on "Haciendas El Choco" and let me know what you think. I have a small finca there where I raise goats, sheep, fruits and veggies 14660 m2. The picture with the stone walls above and the barbed wire above it is a pasture for my animals on the farm.

I think the whole country is a good place to be now and I think Punta Cana is a worthwhile investment for anyone but as a place to live it is BORING. How much time do YOU spend on that beautiful beach?

My favorite place on the Island is Cabrera. It is a middle class Dominican Town with little tourism. Most of the tourism is High End Villa Tourism. People rent Mansions for upwards of 30k US for a week. They are building a 16million dollar villa there now

I also like Jarabacoa which is in the Mountains and a bit cooler. NO BEACH but the entertainment is at the rivers and a bunch of fun.

I am not competition for you as I don't actively broker properties with the exception of friends who I sometimes act on their behalf. Punta Cana is probably a better place to be for Commercial investments right now.

Good luck!

 

Higuey is just 45 minutes away from Punta Cana, and you do not need to go that far to get to a town populated by local Dominicans.
Punta Cana is quite different from the north- of course when I do sell mi clients on Punta Cana, I show that it is simply a different product from the north coast. Some people like teh north- and believe me, many do not. So they come here.
I never blast any properties up there in order to sell here.

I am not sure what culture you are talking about- both places are beach areas. You would need to go to Santo Domingo or Santiago, etc. If you are looking for museums.

What is boring for you, may be exactly what someone else is looking for.