This was the first attempt to buy something in PR. We learned a lot about the process of buying a property on the island. Unfortunately the title wasn’t correct and or registered correctly. We would have been taking a gamble to buy the property and would have had no recourse if something went wrong. We wish Alwilda (the seller) and her family the best and thank them for allowing us to stay with them while we tried to work through those issues. While it ultimately didn’t work out, they were wonderfully inviting. She is one of the kindest souls a person could know.
If it weren’t for our experiences with this first property we tried to buy in the deep jungle of Puerto Rico south of Lares, we wouldn’t have had this great experience on our journey toward the property we now own in Rincon. So we post this here for “historical” purposes as one of the stops on this fun adventure.
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July 2008
The place we are looking to buy in Puerto Rico is a tropical farm, or finca in the Cordillera Mountains of Puerto Rico. It consists of 25 mountainous jungle acres that have already been planted with coffee, bananas, plantains, oranges, chironja, breadfruit, starfruit, yucca, pineapple, lemons, limes, avocados and many more that I have never even heard of before. There are three units. One is the main house with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, and there are two small cabanas. One of them needs some work. It is on a river and has natural spring water. Compared to the semi-arid dryland of Colorado, it is a paradise covered in lush vegetation. Here are pictures. You can click on them to see a larger view.
One cabana
View from that same cabana
Royal Palm and Goat Area
The main house with Awilda and Charlotte
The Garage Area of the Main House with Platanos from the Groves
Inside the kitchen of the main house
Orange Grove Area
Coffee!
Banana or Platano Plant
The River Area
Your story about trying to buy property here is too common. It is why I tell folks from stateside, if you want to buy here, the most painless way is to buy a bank repo. Then there is NO issue with title. Besides, there are 100’s of 1,000’s of bank repos to pick from. Spanish Law is the rule if the day when it comes to property. I refused to buy a used car from a local dealer once because he wanted me to sign a paper (in Spanish) that said they were not responsible if the car turned out to be stollen. Seriously! Buyer Beware!!! Arrg!
How did/do you find the bank repos?
Thanks!
dan@danwilsonalaw.us in Grand Junction CO
I love your website; i have a big question. I was planning to relocate to Puerto Rico in spring of 2018 also from Colorado…Segundo,Co 14 miles west of Trinidad to be with my aging Mother who lives in Humacao, P.R. When I told her- she was Happy! That was 2 weeks ago, then this very morning when I phoned her, she began to cry said that she has been worried sick since I told her of my plans. She says Puerto Rico is in chaos, no work; crime on the rise; air pollution and she wants me to stay put here in Colorado and to take good care of the job I have here! So I called my Uncle who also lives in P.R. , he is retired police and he basically said the same thing…that NOW is NOT the time to move there! 80,000+ people have left the island because of the economical collapse there. Can you shed more light on this for me, I would ‘REALLY’ appreciate any more info. you may have. Thanks a bunch, Lilly
Hi Lily!
That’s a tough question for me to attempt to answer. It mainly depends on your financial situation. The economy is indeed struggling and so finding work, especially high-paying “good” jobs will be hard. If, on the other hand, you don’t need to work or can work remotely, island life is fine. We haven’t seen an increase in air pollution or crime over here in Rincón. Life is laid back, warm and friendly. We love it, but if you like high paced action or need to find work here it may not work out. I hope I helped some, but ultimately it will be up to you! Buena suerte.