Our momentum and progress to get to Puerto Rico seems to be slowing down. I think there are a variety of reasons for this. For one thing, my dad’s death has made things just a little harder to work through. For another, we are still uncertain of what we want in a place out there. Do we want a vacation home? Do we want to live there permanently? If so, what should we do with all our properties here? We aren’t too concerned about this one because we can always hire a management company, but it is still something that we’d have to think about down the road.
The other factor is that Britton just got a big promotion at work, and the fact that my work, while the funding is never stable, seems to keep on a-going. So this definitely good news. Britton is pretty excited about learning his new role, not to mention the larger paycheck and it is always hard to turn away from a good job. But it is sort of bad news because it makes it harder to move on…Britton calls it our graduation from Greeley life.
So we are just kind of stuck. We’ve been looking at properties online and have found a couple that we like again. A similar pattern seems to emerge. We like both the quaint -and cheap!- country-side fincas (farms) but we also like the ocean-view villa types where we could rent out rooms and be closer to people.
A serious consideration -a house with 11 acres
After Awilda’s deal went south and another property we had been seriously considering was sold, it put a damper on some of our plans. After all, it is a lot of effort to start over: search out places online with multiple realtors and multiple web sites, fly down there, figure out a time to meet with each of these realtors, negotiate a deal, sign a contract, find a bank, handle all the paperwork from 3,000 miles away since you HAVE to deal with a Puerto Rican bank (for some reason U.S. banks don’t deal with PR eventhough it is part of the US…), then -and this is the part we have yet to do- fly back down to close on the property.
And then what? Do we wait a few months and move there permanently? Do we just live two lives here and there (like snow birds)? Will we have enough income from our properties or should we also do job hunting? All of these questions get exhausting.
We really want to get there…but there are so many things to consider. So we’ve just slowed down. We are taking it easy. We just continue to save money, as that always makes doing whatever you do a little easier to transition. If it comes quickly, it comes. If not we are not going to force it right away. We will get there one way or another, some time or another. The hardest thing of all is to be patient. Especially for me.
Congratulations on your promotion Britton!
Don’t be in any rush – jobs are hard to find and most people drive 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours to them. They pay 1/2 to 2/3rds what they do in the states (but then again you don’t have property tax etc.). Maybe you should come rent for a few months up in Isabela near Aguadilla (apparent hub of jobs) – get some sun, surf, snorkeling and see what is around for jobs. If you do only a few months here and a few months in the states (the ideal thing) you can’t have property like ours…or bigger..just wouldn’t be manageable. It is our dilema too – we love the house and jungle farm but the driving for Jeff is getting to be too much. He isn’t in love with the job so we don’t want to sell and move closer… our activities are central (caving), coastal (diving) and hiking/kayaking is on rivers kind of all around the central area – no way to really be close to anything… I would highly suggest doing a month to month to check out the job stuff.
Thanks Annie! I think it will be pretty interesting.
Katrina (I presume 🙂 )
I am probably going to go down there and check out a few that we have on our list. This one in Isabela could work out for a variety of reasons! We’d love a little set up like yours…we’ll see. We are not in too big of a hurry, but we are excited to try a new lifestyle.
You really don’t HAVE to be there for the close. Our deal is due to close at the end of November and we have designated an attorney-in-fact via a power of attorney, so we don’t have to be there till it’s time to move in. I still recommend getting a buyer’s broker to scope out all the properties, inquire about them, and set up a schedule for you to see the ones of interest during your stay there. You’re going to deal with a broker anyway (at least you should), so why not have one working for you? That’s what we did. BTW, as you know we have been pondering the same issues as you for the past 10 (!) years and we are finally making the move. It only made sense to us when we both retired, and we could never figure out how to work it so we could keep our house in CA, even though it’s paid off. (Maintenance, management, and tenant issues have never worked for us long-distance.) For us, it was all-or-nothing in PR. So we are making a huge lifestyle (and $$$) commitment. The only plan B which works for us is simply moving back to the states ($$$) if we get whacked by 3 hurricanes, survive a home invasion, and escape with our lives after a car-jacking. (The latter 2 are not likely to happen, since like you, we will NOT be living in the San Juan metro area.) Also BTW, the banks won’t consider any income earned outside of PR when qualifying you for a mortgage. Steve will still be working as an online instructor at University of Phoenix and they would not consider that income. They could only consider our 4 pensions. Good luck. I know this has been a loooong process. — Fran
Fran, when you bought the place did you buy it as owner occupied?
I think we are going to buy a ‘vacation home’. I would think that a vacation or second home could be purchased with income outside of PR? The interest rates would be higher. If one of these places looks good we will find out!
This is definately a long process. It is a HUGE goal to move your life 3k miles away. Glad to hear you’re almost there and you are proof it is definitely possible to do!
Britton, yes, as owner occupied. I would advise you to talk to your lender in advance as to whether that makes a difference with the mortgage qualifying criteria. Before I left for PR, I talked to 2 banks about the criteria and documentation required to get a (owner occupied, in my case) mortgage. I arrived in PR with all documentation required, + 2 copies (in case I changed banks — which I did upon realizing the loan officer at BPPR was not aware of the local stimulus package and didn’t even know what discount points were), including the disclosure form signed by Steve and me. The bank did not want the documentation until after a purchase agreement was signed by both parties, which I was able to give to them the day it was signed. At that point they can open escrow (“trabajar el caso”).
Oriental mortgage did accept my state side job as my income (it never was an issue), we also got the mortgage as owner occupied. Why they couldn’t put 2 and 2 together, I didn’t ask.
My suggestion would be to pay cash for the house (but also use a lawyer to protect yourself like the bank would)! Get the cash by taking out a mortgage on your other properties. Your interest rate will be better and will have more options. Also you won’t have to pay the $2000 to put the house in your name(instead of the banks) when you pay off the mortgage. That still makes me mad!
Since about a year ago, the requirements for getting a mortgage have gotten very strict. When we bought the condo in Ceiba 5 years ago, it was a breeze–very little paperwork and stateside income was considered. Neither BPPR nor Doral will consider it now. Things have changed since the mortgage crisis. Like Jeff says, if you can pay cash, you will save yourself a lot of grief (and money, too). If you do get a mortgage, ask about the new PR housing stimulus package. You could save a bundle on closing costs. – Fran