Question about Cabarete

jeanchris said:

Hi!

- is there 24/7 stable electricity?

Find a location with an Edenorte Class A circuit. It is as close to 24/7 as the EDE's get.

- how are the internet service now, can I expect stable 10mb+ service? I work from home.

Find a location with CLARO fiber service and you can get more then 10mb.

- If I buy a home, is there a high risk of damage due to flooding or natural causes ? Remember it was really bad in puerto plata a few months ago.

Not nearly the problem in the Cabarete region that there is in Puerto Plata.

- Understand its a buyer market but is it that hard to resell?

Yes.

- Any recommendation for real estate agent in Cabarete? Also I dont seem to find any site that rent houses/villas long term

No. Since there is no MLS, you have to check with many of them, since they all have different listings..

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I have lived in Cabarete full time since September of 2003.

Sea Horse Ranch and Haciendas El Choco are two elite places to own homes. Plan to have $1 Million US dollars and up if you are interested in those spots. They are not in the center of Cabarete, but are towards the western extent of Cabarete.

ProCab, which you point out in one image above, is not in the same league, but recently had their pavement resurfaced so it is better there now than in recent history. ProCab is walking distance to the main part of Cabarete beach. ProCab has 24/7 power but you would have to find out if CLARO Fiber is installed throughout. One complaint about ProCab is lots of mosquitoes since it is along side the Cabarete Lagoon.

I would not recommend going inland from the main street into the areas with the streets named Calle3, Calle10, etc. in your one image above. That area is referred to as Callejon de la Loma.

There are few houses on the main highway in Cabarete. They are in developments like ProCab, Costa Azul, Encuentro, Perla Marina, Sea Horse Ranch, Haciendas El Choco, and Casa Linda.

jeanchris said:

Those two zone should have ... claro fiber optic?

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... No.

jeanchris said:

Ok interesting, I was asking because most of the house in the 3-400k range seems to Be in. This area...

So basicly all the better zone are somewhere between cabarete and sosua, not close to either city.

Is there a market for renting (only interested in a house) long term?

Gate community, nice view, modern, not necessarly beachfront but close

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Best to rent first and check it out, Cabarete and Sosua are small communities comparing to capital, you might not like it.

Try Perla Marina for renting, condos and houses, I usually hear it's a sort of okay place from people who live there.

jeanchris said:

Ok interesting, I was asking because most of the house in the 3-400k range seems to Be in. This area...

So basicly all the better zone are somewhere between cabarete and sosua, not close to either city.

True that the houses in ProCab will be in that price range and the more expensive ones in Sea Horse Ranch and El Choco.

Is there a market for renting (only interested in a house) long term?

I always recommend you rent in an area before you purchase. Doubly so here. Yes people rent in all areas.

Gate community, nice view, modern, not necessarly beachfront but close



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For the nicer views, you would have to go up the hill to a place like El Choco, which is not close to the beach. The other locations are on flat land and not going to have great views even if they are one street from the beach.

All the land located along the coast is low lying and bug prone. I think you are better off living up in the hills where you get a great breeze, no flooding and still have a ocean view. If you live anywhere close to the water you will suffer from the effects of the salt air. Most people dream of living near the ocean until they do. Sea Horse Ranch is insanely over priced but they do spray for the bugs.

Come and rent first, but I'm sure you will find somewhere you will like for your budget.  But life is very different in Cabarete to Santo Domingo.  I think you will like it.  Although a small town it has a very foreign feel to it as it caters mainly to tourists.  There is property for sale to accommodate all tastes and budgets.  From a small affordable studio to luxury penthouses right on the ocean.

In terms of infrastructure, it's getting there.  Electricity has improved a whole lot since I moved here eleven years ago.  So has the internet service.  I recently received a free upgrade to fibre optic in the Encuentro area, where I live.

We did have a lot of flooding in the POP region last winter.  Mainly due to the incessant rain and poor drainage.  Cabarete was not affected, although some parts of Sosua and POP were, and for a time the whole region was cut off when the bridges broke.

But I like it here and could never face moving to SD if I had to.

jeanchris said:

Ok interesting, I was asking because most of the house in the 3-400k range seems to Be in. This area...

So basicly all the better zone are somewhere between cabarete and sosua, not close to either city.

Is there a market for renting (only interested in a house) long term?

Gate community, nice view, modern, not necessarly beachfront but close

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Click to expand...

I have lived in ProCab for seven years and I like it here. Yes, you can buy a house in your price range and I would imagine it would be easier to rent it out if you wanted to, because it is walking distance to the town and beach. It is a gated community. Mosquitoes are not too much of a problem, but we spray occasionally (after a lot or rain, for example) if they become a nuisance. I recently tried to get Claro internet here but it was restricted to 2mb, so not much use to you at present. However, you can get 10Mb or more from Cable del Norte at a slightly higher price and it is pretty reliable.

As Windeguy said, I wouldn't recommend the area in your first map, because I don't think it would meet your requirements, but it is a lot cheaper.

The reason CLARO internet has been slow is that the central station for DSL is near the Ocean Dream plaza area. The further you get from that, the slower rate you can get from their DSL.

I am surprised they don't yet have fiber service in ProCab. Distance will not be an issue and it will make a huge difference. I have a cable modem with Cable Del Norte and will change to fiber service from CLARO when possible.

If the OP was asking if he buys a house, can he later rent it out, the answer is it is possible, but can prove to be a real nightmare if you don't live in the area. If he was asking about renting before deciding where to live, by all means do that for 6 months and look around.

I have a sort of fibre from the cable company (Cable Del Norte / Comcast) and you can get up to 50mb download from them. I am on Kite Beach and its available here but maybe not everywhere. Not sure. The power along Kite Beach is 24/7 or an A line. That does not mean its totally 24/7 as Tuesdays the electric company works on the lines and its often out. Plus it goes out sporadically at other times. A battery back-up or generator is recommended wherever you live. Some communities like Casa Linda have a common area generator/planta supplying the community with back up power. That is good because you don't have to worry about maintenance and etc. I would suggest renting here for a while and then looking for a home after that. That way you can learn about the area and the neighborhoods before making a decision on a house. Each neighborhood has its own considerations regarding power, security, flooding and etc. I have lived near the ocean and have no issues with bugs. I think the areas near the Lagoon will have that issue, but I don't have any personal experience there to comment. I really enjoy living in Cabarete and have been here seven years.

ohmmmm, what do you pay for just the 50 mb service from Cable Del Norte? ( I suspect it is standard cable and you have a cable modem, but I could be wrong and they have something new for the higher speeds they offer much like Delancer seems to be doing).

To change to Fibre, you need a change of equipment so they require you sign an 18 month contract or pay about 4,500 pesos upfront for the new modem and change. For 50mbs downloand and 10mbs upload service the monthly price is 5,050 pesos. I am only buying 9mbs download and 3mbs upload for 1,890 pesos per month. I was looking at their rates today and you can actually get 100mbs download and 10mbs upload for 7,750 pesos per month. Cable Del Norte has about 11 different options on speed to choose from.

Overall I am happy with the service. There are still some times when the internet is down for two to five minutes, but that does not happen every day. Also, it seems to slow down a bit during the evening when other people are off from work and using the internet.

ohmmmm said:

Also, it seems to slow down a bit during the evening when other people are off from work and using the internet.

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MR D, that is bad news, fiber slowing down because of traffic... this on a new network with very little subscriptions... Imagine if the whole town connects to it..

I had my hopes up, but will wait a year for them to work out the bugs. Right now I get 10M from Claro with 99% uptime so that is enough for now.