So we’ve been looking for properties in Puerto Rico online for a while now. We’ve found a few that we are pretty interested in, but it really depends on what we are looking for in a property.
1) On the one hand, I could see buying a property that we could both live in and use as a guesthouse to earn income. It would be fun to live in the same place that you work! A gorgeous tropical guesthouse with a pool, ocean views and a couple of acres. Most of these are very expensive. In fact, they are between 2 and 3 times the cost of a single family home (like the second example).
A Guesthouse Possibility with ocean views (thanks Nick and Miri for checking it out!)
2) On the other hand, I could see just a single family residence with about 1-2 acres of land that is about 5-10 minutes from town and the beaches. I would like to have enough land that we could grow fruit, have a vegetable garden and some chickens, maybe start a CSA or small farm.
Small House with about 1 1/2 acres near beaches/town
3) Then, there are beachfront properties which are about as much as an inland guesthouse (double to triple the cost generally of the smaller houses). They are pretty cool, but never have much land (usually less than a 1/4 acre) and I’ve heard the maintenence costs are higher due to the sea salt and higher levels of hurricane and tropical storm damage. Plus, they are not usually set-up to be used as guesthouses and we wouldn’t be able to afford them just to live in.
Beachhouse -Beachfront property
4) There are also other properties like the one we put an offer in on in Lares that is very remote in the high mountainous jungle, but with quite a bit of land. For example, for about the same price (approximately $150k) as the second example -a 1 1/2 acre 3 bd/2 bath house in Aguada that is 10 minutes to the beach like the second picture, we could buy a property with between 6-15 acres, two dwellings and natural springs or wells. The downside? About an hour to the beach and the rest of civilization.
Country House on 6 acres
At this point we really need to hone in on our “dream house” or goal because if you don’t know what you’re looking for, it’s hard to know if you’ve found it. With our houses here in the Greeley area, we knew what we wanted; for our personal residence: a single family home, two car garage, 3 bed/2bath (that is now 4 bed/3 bath due to basement finish), AC, fireplace, walk-in closet and a view. When we bought it, it didn’t have AC, a fireplace or even a yard, but it had the basics to make it nice (and now has everything we originally wanted). Same thing with the two rentals. Small, nice single family homes, two car garages, 3 bed/2bath in town.
I just recently finished reading Ben Stein’s book called “How Successful People Win: Using Bunkhouse Logic To Get What You Want in Life” and the very first premise is very logical. Know what you want. Then, ask for what you want and work to get it. Our idea of what we want is still fuzzy and vague.
After the Lares deal fell through we contemplated whether or we would have enjoyed living there or not. I was reading XN’s blog, and noticed that she wants to live in the San Juan area when she moves to Puerto Rico from the New York City area. It made me think that maybe what we are looking for in Puerto Rico is similar to the life we know here, because we are very certain that we don’t want to live in the San Juan area, just as we are certain we don’t want to live in the Denver area–it’s just too big.
So, I’ve also lived in a super small town growing up (300 people) and I think I would be more comfortable in a remote area, but Britton has always lived in Greeley, a mid-sized (~90,000 people) city. I think for that reason, I loved the Lares property more than Britton did/does. However, I also like living in Greeley, so I think I would like something similar to what we have now: a mid-sized agricultural area where we could ride our bikes, garden, and raise chickens but would like a little more land, and a lot less cold in a totally new (Puerto Rican) culture. Not too close, not too far away, as the real estate agents like to say. That is getting closer to knowing what we want, but still is pretty vague.
Maybe it means taking another trip out there with the sole intention of finding another property that just feels right, putting in an offer and taking the dive…What do you think? Did it take you a while to find the perfect spot? Do you think finding a mirror area (similar size, amenities, lifestyle, etc) is smarter than finding something dramatically different? What’s your story?
“At this point we really need to hone in on our “dream house” or goal because if you don’t know what you’re looking for, it’s hard to know if you’ve found it.”
I agree, it IS difficult when buying in an area you are not really familiar with to know what is your ideal.
We know, because when we first visited Utah, we thought it would be really cool to be far away from civilization, in the mountains, quiet, cozy, living on the land, etc. etc. We also didn’t want to invest an arm and a leg in a place we didn’t know the land values or economy.
On the first idea (far away from civilization) buying two rustic cabins on 30 acres, we were really stupid, because it turned out we had never commuted anywhere, always lived on the beach or hills of SB with really close to town amenities (not to mention nice big bathrooms, with hot tub, electricity and running water!) while enjoying a country lifestyle. So, “commuting” all the way to Cedar City (20 miles) for a movie, or work (when I started teaching at the U), or groceries, was unbearable to us both. Larry practically lived in the phone booth (even in the snow and cold) in the little town of Paragonah 5 miles away (size of Nunn) because we didn’t have phone service , and even rented an office there eventually for $25 a month. So, we invested in Paragonah (2 lots and a small new house), but realized that even that was too rural, and then bought the Victorian “in town” in Cedar, and now live in a home in Cedar much like SB, in the country but 1 mile to town.
We often see newcomers do like us, buy the romance of out of town but in a 3 – 4 year period, get tired of the inconvenience and driving and lack of cultural amenities (the gym, the movie theater, the concert hall, the university, restaurants, grocery stores, library, dry cleaners, etc.) and want to move into town.
On our second goal when we came here, “We also didn’t want to invest an arm and a leg in a place we didn’t know ,” we were smart, because we “only” plunked down a small amount ($95K) and sold when prices rose
8 years later for $275. We knew that the romance was getting a little thin with the wood chopping, repairs, snowy winter roads, water supply issues, etc. We traded the cabin money for a rental in Cedar.
So, I don’t know if our story helps make decisions in your situation, but that was our experience in a “place far far away” to quote Star Wars I think. Perhaps buy cheap and not too far from what you are used to? If you don’t have a huge investment you don’t have so much to worry about it (a rentable condo near the beach?). If you don’t like it after a while, you can dump it for what you have found out is your best situation location and home wise. It’s always hard to know until you are living in a place for a awhile, because every area has it’s cultural, climate and conditional values and plus and minuses. What we see as tourists or visitors can be quite different when experiencing life everyday!
Good luck on your quest, “the journey is the destination!”
Tia Anita
Tia Anita,
It is good to hear other stories because it helps us to understand that you dont always know what is best, but like you say the journey is the destination.
I think that I am going to travel back to Puerto Rico in 3 or 4 months to look at properties again. I think that our ‘cabin’ would have been the first property we looked at in Lares. It was very far out of the way, it took about 45 miutes to get to town and another 45 back. So if we wanted a beer it would take an hour and a half! I dont think however we would have ever seen the kind of return you did. I live in the digital world and there was no internet access whatsoever. Even cell phones you had to drive 20 miutes to get reception. I am not much into camping. I like to for short periods but then I am done.
The places we are looking at now are closer to what I think we both want to do long term. Rincon is the big tourist area in PR and the prices reflect that. I do think after a while the beach will lose its novelty. Kind of like living in Greeley and having the mountains so close. I like going, they are close and accessable. But to live in the mountains year round would get old quick (winters).
I am trying to talk my friend Matt into going with me for a few days to looks at properties and try to learn to surf. Hopefully he goes, it would be a fun productive adventure. The journey is always fun and the more challenging usually the more rewarding the destination becomes.
I would recomend just moving here first. Don’t focus on buying yet. Rents are cheap. Find work, then find a place to buy. Unfortianatly we did it the other way around. We love our house but I comute 80 minutes each way! It’s unbearable but we love our house.
Jeff
Jeff, I agree with you. I’ve thought about that, if we are going to move down there then we should be able to live there for a year or so before making a buy. That would give us a great opportunity to look around and enjoy our purchase.
Patience is difficult. For some reason we have a sense of pressure on ourselves to make this work.
Jeff’s idea of finding a job first and renting makes sense. After working here for 4 years my whole idea of this place changed, as did our lifestyle wants and needs. Lorenzo says, “they are young and flexible and smart and will make it work whatever they do.” I agree. The hard part is leaving the routine, the comfort and the familiarity of what you are used to. Having your properties to come back to (and manage) will help. You are fortunate to have such good family support in Greeley too. Living in two places is fun and interesting, that’s why the rich have multiple homes and enjoy traveling between them (we know because we have rich friends here and in SB; half of this neighborhood is second homes!).
If one of you finds a job in PR it would help with your decision making a lot.
The idea isn’t to work a traditional job which makes things only that much more difficult. I think if Cassie and I wait a few years we will have everything in alignment.
Its tough to wait during the winter months. The summer has been pretty nice and I love fall in Colorado.
Though I have not had purchased any property so far, I do have a lot of moving experiences from a country to another, from East Coast to the West Coast, and then from the Northest to the South. ( Then I am going to the Rockies!)
I would imagine it is easier to adapt one thing after another, especially in a new environment. When we travel, we all like to try different things at the same time. To start a new life, I would think it better to have something familiar to begin with and then see what life may bring to you.
It does sound like you need more of a vision of what you want to DO with the property. . .rather than what you want the property to be like. That was our experience when we bought our farm (simpler for us, because it was in Greeley and not Puerto Rico). We originally thought we’d just lease land and grow some stuff as a sideline project so that I could work at home and raise the kids. But as the idea progressed, we realized that we wanted the kids to grow up on the farm, not commute there with us, and that we would both like to work for ourselves instead of someone else. So as we searched for houses and waited for ours to sell, the idea just kept focusing itself into this farm idea. So while this property wasn’t everything we were looking for (I was hoping for a master bathroom and to stay in Poudre School District) it ended up fitting our focused goal better than anything we looked at that had a master bathroom and was close to Ft. Collins.
But it seems like you might be able to find something that combines a lot of the ideas in your post, right? Like a guesthouse with land so that you could run a small CSA and then also feed your guests from your garden? That sounds like tropical paradise to me 🙂 A couple of those properties seemed to fit both ideas. . .
Good luck!
I would rule out the beachfront property for the exact reasons you mentioned. You have received some excellent advice above, especially that you really need to know what you plan to do with the property and how it fits in with income generation should you need it if you don’t get regular jobs. Like Jeff suggested, consider renting so you can have time to figure out what you want and/or look for work. The only other advice I could offer is that since you (Cassie) speak Spanish, why limit yourself to the Rincon/Northwest area? If you rent, you will also be able to explore other areas. We are dealing with much of the same considerations you are, since we are now at a crossroads. We both retired (for the second time) and I’m ready to go to PR and build on our property. But Steve keeps getting job offers in Florida so we are back to considering whether he should work full time (well, 9 months a year) for a couple of years to generate some more income, since it always seems that what we think we want is just a l i t t l e out of reach, when maybe we should just be lowering our expectations 😐 ! Fran
Celina-
I agree. I think we would like to get a property lined up so that we had something “familiar”. I am a really home-oriented person and I think that would help me to make the transition a little easier. I’ve never rented in my life (that’s not to say I wouldn’t), so I don’t know if that would feel like “home” to me. In fact, I’ve only ever lived two places.
Claire- We have often thought about how we want our lives to go when we are there. I think Britton would prefer to not have a “regular” job although he would like to take his current job with him as he can work remotely. I think that is why, of this list of four types of properties on here, the only one I’d rule out completely is the beach house. We would like to do everything we do here: farm/garden, rent out some rooms, raise chickens plus sell things at the farmers markets and have a small CSA and maybe make the rented rooms become a guesthouse.
Fran-Yes, I think we have ruled out the beach house. As far as living elsewhere on the island, I think we have become the most comfortable in the northwest. I did like the Farjardo area because of it being a major port. I didn’t like the San Juan area because it is too crowded. Ponce is pretty but we always got lost there. We had even thought about Vieques or Culebra but they are too separated from everything. I really liked Cabo Rojo (Boqueron) and Rincon. I also really liked el campo in the mountains, it’s so peaceful and beautiful, but also really remote (like the Lares place).
We are used to going out with friends, going out to dinner, seeing live shows and music and we want to continue to do those types of things. Without being in San Juan, we’ve found the west coast to be the best place. Rincon has the most “gringo” activities and Mayaguez is a large enough city to have other activities like movie theatres and casinos. I am really not trying to limit us, but at the same time I want to be able to make a smooth transistion and that side of the island seems to be closer than other areas to what we know and love about our life (especially for Britton who will be in for a possibly larger culture shock than I am due to the language).
I’m sorry to hear about your delays, Fran. I hope everything works out. Once we are both out there, we should get together and share stories! 🙂 I completely relate! We keep delaying saying if we just wait a little longer, if we just wait out this recession, if we just pay off this or that…It’s definitely hard to cut off the golden handcuffs, so you have to do what makes the most sense.
For sure we’ll get together. As of today, Florida is out of consideration (again), the condo is on the market, and the plan is to move to PR when either the condo or our house in Sacramento sells! Hope it doesn’t take too long, but in this market, who knows. Fran
Where to live is more of a HOW to live question with pluses and minuses for any decision you make and really no way to go wrong (everything can be changed).
We ended up in San German because we fell in love with a home/property that was toward the south which has less rain. Coming from Seattle that was a big consideration. We looked at rainfall information and wanted to be in the lush jungle but NOT north of Mayaguez because of rainfall amounts. At the time some of the pharmaceuticals 6 minutes from our house were doing well and Jeff thought he could work there. We’d be close to Paguera (diving and kayaking), some friends in Guanica and out of the city but 6 minutes to kmart, a supermarket, drugstore, mailbox, and hospital. We also wanted to live in the real culture, not a gated area or a mainly white American transplant area (Jeff may think differently).
We looked near the water but water areas are full of part time visitors or Puerto Rican vacationers and are loud with transient populations and fast cars, garbage, noise etc. We looked in Paguera and if you get away from the noise you are too far to drag the kayak or dive gear so you are still driving – might as well be further away. Rincon would provide familiar faces (white), more english, but is really too rainy for me. It is also 15 to 20 minutes off highway 2. Aquadilla has a lot of Americans in the Shacks area but rain rain rain. Unfortunately that is where Jeff ended up working, but since he doesn’t love his job we aren’t going to move. Jobs are hard to find and people as far south as Ponce drive to Honeywell in Aquadilla to work. We do a lot of activities that are kind of spread out all over but mainly north. We have done caves near Florida in the north, Aguas Buenas in the east, Penueles in the South. Kayaking is best in the south and south west. Beaches are great everywhere (more populated up north). Most of our diving is in Aquadilla or Isabela. Our friends are kind of eclectic and spread out as well. In San German one of Jeff’s co workers (Puerto Rican) is here. Another friend (Puerto Rican) and husband (white) work for the University and USDA in San German. The caving group are Puerto Ricans primarily in the north. A white professor at the university teaching marine biology. Our windsurfing American friends in Guanica and our dive buddy David in Quebradilla. The island isn’t that big and if you have mixed interests your friend will be spread out as well. Some gardening friends/connections are up near Maricao (45 minutes up from us). If you want to move your lifestyle to the tropics Rincon or Isabella are for you. The further south or central you go the more rural/less sophisticated you get. Our neighborhood has older people, young educated professionals and retail store workers. Kind of a mix. Central area is probably older people.
Do you want to farm? Is gardening/self sufficiency important? Do you want to be at the beach in 15 minutes? Do you want familiar faces? Is it important to be around people with American values? (this might be nice – especially where animals are concerned). Or do you want to try to slip into another time and place? Do you want to join bicycling groups? There are many up north and down in Lajas. Do you want to be near the University for potential work, connections to interesting people or to take classes?
We are happy with out choice except Jeff has a long commute. The job hopefully won’t be forever. Our house is all solar, it is a jungle without lots of rain. We love the old-time feel of it with horses clopping around and cows mooing etc. To each his own! katrina
Great captures of pictures there! Anyway I really love houses/guesthouses with ocean views. It feels so great and alive every time you wake up and see and breath the freshness of the air. I would love it if you would choose the first one but it is just my opinion, it still depends on whichever you really like. By the way, this is so true : “The journey is always fun and the more challenging usually the more rewarding the destination becomes”. 🙂