When Cassie and I first set out to buy a property in Puerto Rico we knew it’d be an adventure, we knew that it wouldn’t be possible to know how it would turn out and we also knew it would be a great accomplishment.
Step one was to: Buy a property
Well that has been completed. We were right though. It has been an adventure, it wouldn’t be possible to know how this turned out and it is a huge accomplishment.
We started out South of Lares pretty deep in the jungle/interior of Puerto Rico. We waited a year for the property to be correctly registered and it didn’t happen. During that first time trying to purchase something we always found ourselves leaving the property and driving to Rincon. Nearly every day. It took an hour+ to drive there, then we’d drive back late at night. We backed out of that deal and started looking again.
On our second attempt we came looking for something further west. We looked in Atalaya and Aguadilla. We stayed at a place just off the 413 in Rincon for that trip. We really liked a place in Atalaya we looked at but the price was just too much for me. We passed and someone else bought it. We felt like we had to start all over…again.
On our third I found a property north of San Sebastian. This was much further West than Lares and only about 30 mintues to the beach / Rincon. We negotiated an offer which we could afford and it was accepted. We felt pretty good about this deal. It had land, a house and was closer to all the action.
Then the unexpected happened. We found a property that was not only in Rincon, but we could afford to buy it. The price had always been a limiting factor for us living in Rincon! So it seems like it is a good fit for us. We finished up the deal just yesterday and purchased it. It is a bag of mixed emotions. Everything from overwhelming joy due to us finally completing step 1 of our goal to a bit of fear and panic about what is next. Do we fix up the wood house? Do we not worry about it because we may want to tear it down and build a house of our choosing?
This seems to be a logical thing for us. We always have something going on and like to have something to do. This project will keep us busy for years to come.
There is a concrete studio apartment bulit there as well. I think we will get the water turned on and make that livable for now. It will give us a place to stay while we are here, it is nice already inside (just needs paint and maybe some plumbing). We aren’t really sure what to do with the larger wood house, but I guess we have plenty of time to figure it out.
Stairway in Wood House
Cassie on the Deck
At this time it looks like step 2 will be to figure out what step 3 is. It is different to dream about something than to actually do it. When you actually do it, you feel all kinds of things you don’t in the dream. You see things in reality that don’t exist in the dream(good and bad). One of my favorite analogies of life is that it is like a rollercoster:
The world is like a ride in an amusement park and when you choose to go on it you think it’s real because that’s how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and around and around and it has thrills and chills and it’s very brightly coloured and it’s very loud. And it’s fun – for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question; is this real? Or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, and they say, “Hey, don’t worry, don’t be afraid, ever, because… this is just a ride.”
I’ve been following your blog for a while and thought I’d say hi! My husband and I have been planning a move to Puerto Rico for a couple years now, probably to Mayaguez. We vacationed in Rincon; what a lovely place! We’ve been saving money and finishing up on remodeling our home so we can sell it, and we plan to put it on the market next spring. We’re planning a winter 2011 trip to PR to check out Mayaguez and decide if that’s where we want to be.
Anyway, just wanted to say hello! We’ve been following your adventures and can’t wait to join the ranks of Americans in PR!
Glad to know your finished with step 1. Can’t wait for future steps!
Halfdeserted, Welcome to the site -officially anyway :-), thanks for saying hi! This has been quite the experience for us and I am sure you will have a great time in Mayaguez as well. It’s a pretty big city but not as crazy as San Juan. Good luck! We look forward to hearing more from you in the future! Thanks for the comment.
BAK- Neither can we! We are always thinking 2-3 steps down the way, but staying in Rincon we have also been learning to enjoy the moment as well…a good balance.
Hi, my name is Liz. I’ve been following your blog for a few years now. I found your site from some of the other blogs regarding life in Puerto Rico. I could say that reading these blogs gave us the courage to buy our own little piece of paradise.
I’m very happy that both of you finally found the property you were looking for in Puerto Rico. I look forward to reading about your new adventure in La Isla del Encanto. 🙂
Best Wishes,
Liz
Hi, My name is Linda and I have seen your blog before, actually I think my friend Rosa told me about it (do you know Rosa and Frank? they have a home in pineapple hills in Rincon). Anyway, I wanted to say.. WELCOME to the neighborhood! My husband and I bought a house in Rincon about 3 years ago and i wish I had blogged our adventure of buying and fixing it up (like Summer & Stefan or the Kruses), anyway I look forward to reading your blog now.
What barrio are you in?
best wishes for running water and electric that stays on
Linda
Hi Linda! Welcome to our site! Yes we know Rosa and Frank, they are very nice and helpful. We have been planning on buying a place in Puerto Rico for some time now, so we are super excited to have done it! Our property is in Puntas at the end of a “calle sin salida” with a nice ocean view. We have some great plans for it…but in order to do that we have to work a little while longer to pay for those things! 🙂 We are glad you commented, now we know another neighbor! Maybe the next time we’re down we can get together if you are there. Oh, and it’s never too late to start a blog! 😉
Love your blog! My husband and I are planning to move to Rincon area in October as well!!! We are flying down in September to look at homes. We are selling everything including cars in Indiana and moving with our dog and cat.
Do you have an knowledge of the mortgage process, or what companies to contact? I’m having trouble finding a company that has decent reviews (i.e. popular banco)
I read through some of your FAQ’s about the realtor situation, so i’ve been doing research on my own for homes. Do you have a realtor that you really liked working with?
Thanks for any help!
Hi Tracy,
Congratulations on your move!
We do have some knowledge of the house-buying process. We had looked into getting a mortgage in PR, but found it was a much more complicated process for the types of properties we were looking at (acreage). If you are buying in a subdivision, it should be a similar experience to the mortgage process in the US. You cannot use a US-based mortgage company, however; they must be in Puerto Rico. All the major banks have mortgage depts and there are some that specialize in mortgages.
I know also that in PR, most people prefer not to use mortgages and do it with cash. That is what we did with our PR house (we took out 401(k) loans and a small personal loan rather than do a mortgage) and it is sooo much easier! There are pros and cons to both ways, but just know that people in PR more than in the US mainland usually own and buy things outright, and this is the preferred method. We tried to get a mortgage through Popular and just got a lot of run-around. I think we had also contacted Oriental. There was so much paperwork and side issues that it became apparent we needed to look for other methods to buy. It will probably depend on the property you choose.
We contacted each of the listing realtors individually. All of them were very nice and helpful. We liked working with Island West probably the most, though.
Just know that everything will be completely different and be able to go with the flow. That will save you a lot of head and heart ache! 🙂
Here’s a post I wrote about the PR home-buying experience that will give you a little more details:
http://www.lifetransplanet.com/2011/09/16/im-a-guest-blogger-for-rincon-life/
The cabin your building, do you plan too rent it out year round, or the use is for your own guest?