Purchasing apartment in Santo Domingo ....

Buying is not a problem. Selling it after is a problem, you will always lose money on this in DR. Don't listen to realtors that tell you that you are able to sell it for more money in the future, it's all bullsh1t. Even if you buy it below the market price, you will have some agent commission included, and even if this is a direct sale from the owner, you have to pay transfer tax, some lawyer fees... and even if you do the title transfer process yourself to save money, anyway, you will NEVER get the same money that you spent for the apartment back when you want to sell it. Never. And you will look for a buyer for years if you want to sell it. This is DR.

Regarding renting your apartment, renting to Dominicans is worse than not rent it at all. If they stop paying, you can't kick them out for years. Renting to foreigners... must be a really good location. Short term rentals like thru Airbnb... cleaning between guests, laundry, who will do it if you are not here? They will steal everything from your apartment while cleaning it and then tell you it was a robbery. Too much headache with this in DR, you can't trust any people here, especially if you are outside the country. Anyway, you will not make money on this, if we are talking about just one cheap one–bedroom apartment.

I'm in the process of purchasing an apartment right now, very close to closing with the bank. I saw many properties in the SD area. I can tell you my experience if you PM me.

My 2 cents...

Mm530 said:

what is the average price in the area described ???

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Ducadista said:

I'm in the process of purchasing an apartment right now, very close to closing with the bank. I saw many properties in the SD area. I can tell you my experience if you PM me.

My 2 cents...

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Why don't you post your experiences, so everyone can benefit.

Mm530 said:

I usually visit from the US and love the Zona Colonial and usully stay at a hotel for about 35-50$ a night.

I was wondering how would one go about buying an apartment in the area and maybe rent it out when I'm not there ?? It seems smarter to do that. I just hate paying for hotels all the time ..

Any advise or how much the average one bed room would cost. I am latino and it doesn't need to be in the best area...although not a dangerous one .LOL

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a one bedroom really limits your potential to sell outside of tourist areas as most Dominicans want bigger units. I would never rush here, take your time and deals will come

Would you also suggest that buying property in the Dr is not a good idea?

Gringo Starr said:

Buying is not a problem. Selling it after is a problem, you will always lose money on this in DR. Don't listen to realtors that tell you that you are able to sell it for more money in the future, it's all bullsh1t. Even if you buy it below the market price, you will have some agent commission included, and even if this is a direct sale from the owner, you have to pay transfer tax, some lawyer fees... and even if you do the title transfer process yourself to save money, anyway, you will NEVER get the same money that you spent for the apartment back when you want to sell it. Never. And you will look for a buyer for years if you want to sell it. This is DR.

Regarding renting your apartment, renting to Dominicans is worse than not rent it at all. If they stop paying, you can't kick them out for years. Renting to foreigners... must be a really good location. Short term rentals like thru Airbnb... cleaning between guests, laundry, who will do it if you are not here? They will steal everything from your apartment while cleaning it and then tell you it was a robbery. Too much headache with this in DR, you can't trust any people here, especially if you are outside the country. Anyway, you will not make money on this, if we are talking about just one cheap one–bedroom apartment.

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Drperson said:

Would you also suggest that buying property in the Dr is not a good idea?

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I did not say that. It's a good idea if you want to live in your own apartment and be able to change everything inside like you want. I recently bought large apartment in Naco, now I am doing a remodeling there. But it's not the first apartment that I bought here, so from my past experience I know very clear that if I decide to sell it, I only lose money on it. But I am ok with that, since the comfort of living in my own place is more important for me.

But buying apartments in DR for renting them is not a good idea. The only country in this region where I would do it is Panama.

one bedroom units in Gazcue and the Zona.. start at 85k US for new ones. that is 1700 nights at 50 bucks each .. or 4.65 years at hotels.

a friend who is an agent just sold an apartment on the "'otro lado" across the river, near Alma Rosa, to gringos who also use it as a pied a terre.. they paid 55k.

plus you have the maintenance, a minimum say of $50 a month, plus electric which you must keep connected.

Gringo seems to have experience in the market buying and selling but here in Gazcue, it does seem that apartments in good buildings are selling quickly.. and the new buildings .. of which there are many.. are also selling out fast after construction. Prices in these areas have gone up in the 6 years that I have been watching but I have not tracked any specific building.

i dunno about renting it out short term when you are not here.. you would have to have a manager, and a maid. begins to soound a lot like work.

One caveat is that the residency issue is in flux so I would be sure that you qualify at least for residency before you buy anything, even if you do not get the residency. An investment in a small apartment will not qualify you for an investor visa, so you would have to have the fixed income requirement of $1500 a month. Note bene, I am not a lawyer.. but I would advise talking with a GOOD one (not just one who wants the commission) before you buy here without residency, lest you find that you might only be able to visit your apartment for a month at a stretch ..... jus sayin..

mountainannie said:

but here in Gazcue, it does seem that apartments in good buildings are selling quickly.. and the new buildings .. of which there are many.. are also selling out fast after construction. Prices in these areas have gone up in the 6 years that I have been watching but I have not tracked any specific building.

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I have tracked specific buildings in Gazcue and I can tell you for sure that prices went down during last 6 years, not up.
Regarding new buildings, most apartments are sold during the construction process, but there is no guarantee that the construction will be finished (look at the tower on Cesar Nicolas Penson near Teatro Nacional). After construction is finished, some investors try to resell their apartments to make some money, but sometimes it take years to sell them, even in Gazcue. And many of them still don't have their titles because of hipoteca, taxes not paid or other problems, so buying from them is not as good and easy as buying from the constructora directly. And remember that Gazcue is the only area in SD that does not have scheduled blackouts problems, so it always was the area where it's easy to sell the apartment, comparing to other areas. But who wants to live in Gazcue now? I lived there during 6 years, but finally moved to Naco, because driving from Gazcue to Naco or Piantini now is a disaster. And Gazcue is not a tourist area too, so forget about short term rent to tourists. One bedroom apartments in Gazcue are good to rent to UNIBE students from Puerto Rico and other countries, but it can take months until you find a tenant like that.

The best illustration of DR real estate market is the AD here on DR1 about selling apartment in Bella Vista. The guy bought it for 260,000 or something like that, then tried to sell it for 190,000, now it's listed for 169,900 and it's still not sold. I bet he will sell it for 150,000 finally if the building doesn't have any problems with maintenance (that most building have).