A little bit of reality, little bit of a dream.....

congratulations

I just made my last payment on my college loan and am finally no longer in debt to anything, credit cards, loans, etc

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Major congratulations, Kelly! What a great relief to be debt-free!

I'm afraid I don't have any advice on financing as we were able to pay cash for the house we bought in Las Terrenas (we're MUCH older than you!) But, I do advise you BUY whatever you can afford and don't throw your money away on rent--
Good luck!

I too will commend you on having managed to go debt free.
Yet, or because of that, I don't quite understand why it is your urge to go right back into it.

I guess you do not live here yet, maybe you don't even know the country much. Which is fine, but I think that because of that you would not be ill advised to rent first a couple of months so to get to know the country a little better, make sure you have picked the right region for you and also find some good deals without pressure. Everything is for sale here... but new comers can be taken quite easily, blinded by the beauty of this country and it's inhabitants and erroneously comparing real estate asking prices to tourists to the values in more developed countries.

As for how others here have done it, I would venture to reckon that the vast majority of ex-pats living here have paid cash for their homes. Some may have sold their properties in their home country and others may have re-financed their home properties to raise some "mortgage" money for their vacation homes abroad.

Mortgages are available but mostly only to legal residents (unless you can get owner financing) and depending where you are coming from the interest rates may surprise you a little. Many mortgages have a short life period and may end with a fairly large balloon payment too.
If you plan on paying a mortgage here, you should first secure a well paying job... again not something which is easily found here. To do that, you again would need to be a legal resident here.

If it is your plan to keep your Caribbean dream home as a vacation property, I'd advise to only do so after you saved some money which you wish to invest as "play" money.



... J-D.

I bought a home here in the DR through a cooperative here. My wife is Dominican and that may have helped even though she didn't do anything other than sign the contract.

Also, I had to give two years of my taxes to prove my income. The only problem is the absurd interest rates they charge here. Expect to pay between 11 and 15% through a bank and somewhat more through a coop (because of a tax discout one gets).

susan77 said:

But, I do advise you BUY whatever you can afford and don't throw your money away on rent--

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I wouldn't advise this. Like JD I would advise you to rent, kellyjfisch. Many of the expats living here are probably in the last house they will ever buy. You however sound a lot younger. You've taught in Africa, you're considering teaching here, might you in 5-10 years be considering another move? In which case might you need a more moveable or liquid asset?

I'm glad that you are happy with your purchase Susan77, but it sounds like the OP's situation is much different from yours. "Don't throw your money away on rent" is generally good advice in places like here in the US, where a months rent is often higher than a mortgage payment and (at least until recently) real estate is a much more liquid asset than in the DR, where properties can stay on the market for years.

Interest rates are high and rent relatively low in the DR kellyjfisch. The generally accepted wisdom is to rent for at least a year and find out if you like it there, where you really want to live and how much you should really pay before buying a home.

congratulations on being debt free, but then again you were debt free before you went to college.

my advice is to go back to the states and hustle, save your nickels and then come back and buy something for cash in 5-7 years with your savings.

susan77 said:

Major congratulations, Kelly! What a great relief to be debt-free!

I'm afraid I don't have any advice on financing as we were able to pay cash for the house we bought in Las Terrenas (we're MUCH older than you!) But, I do advise you BUY whatever you can afford and don't throw your money away on rent--
Good luck!

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A bit of strange advise. Considering that selling without a loss at the end within a reasonable time frame in some 99% of localities (except 1%- expensive beach front free standing villas) will be practically impossible.

Sure, pride of ownership is a tempting thing, but in Dominican reality in the long run this purely emotional pleasure will cost thousands and thousands more in comparison with worry-free renting.

I know personaly many people who are selling their homes for five-six years by now. And cannot go back to their England, or Germany or Russia because of this. And only HEARD about luckies who were able to sell within a year and without loss (taking into account closing costs, lawyer`s fees, maintanace and repairs during ownership, 10% Real Estate agent`s fee at sale).