Zona Oriental, SD and negotiations

DRNED

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Could anyone tell me about this place, property rental seems to be cheaper in this area than anywhere else around Santo Domingo.

Also I am having trouble negotiating with these people. Some I have shown interested in have been empty for over a year (and more)and I still can't get them to budge, on rent or contract agreements.
My first thought is that they do not know how to negotiate and are unable to see how they are losing money all the time they are empty. I expected to beable to negotiate around the 10-15% mark at least but I am not getting much movement. Is this just how it is or do they not do negotiation in Santo Domingo, I'm stumped?
 
Sep 22, 2009
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Could anyone tell me about this place, property rental seems to be cheaper in this area than anywhere else around Santo Domingo.

Also I am having trouble negotiating with these people. Some I have shown interested in have been empty for over a year (and more)and I still can't get them to budge, on rent or contract agreements.
My first thought is that they do not know how to negotiate and are unable to see how they are losing money all the time they are empty. I expected to beable to negotiate around the 10-15% mark at least but I am not getting much movement. Is this just how it is or do they not do negotiation in Santo Domingo, I'm stumped?

The ZO (or Long Island, as noted by Dominican New Yorkers) is an exponentially less expensive living choice than the DN. That said, just like any high-yielding investment vehicle, the ZO comes with increased risk in terms of personal safety.

Better areas of the ZO that possess residential buildings with various safety components include: Alma Rosa, Alma Rosa II, San Isidro (parts of), Lucerna, Italia, Brisa del Este, to name a few. Poorer, less-safe neighborhoods include Invivienda, Villa Carmen, Villa Duarte, Huachupita, Cristo Rey, Capotillo to name a few (for the most part should be avoided at all costs).

Furthermore, in the ZO, you can also find better prices in the colmados and some grocery chains like Ole and Bravo. The ZO has a some nice features like the modernized Mega Centro and various larger chains like Plaza Lama, LaSirena and Jumbo.

In ZO, the roads and traffic are generally very bad, although there are parts where road construction is ongoing and many areas have improved conditions over the past 4 years.

There are not many dining choices, but the ZO has its supply of Pizza Hut, KFC, Dominos, Helodos Bon, and millions of fried chicken joints boasting fried rices composed of 3-5-day old rice. There are a variety of sports bars in the San Isidro and Av. Espana areas where you can catch Baseball, American and European Football, etc. As well as thousands of colmadons where sports, beer and bachata abound (oh and tough guys escorted by scantily clad, high-school drop out women seeking a Gucci bag or shoes).

If you are NOT fluent in Spanish, the ZO is no place for you although average rents between 7500-15,000/month for 3 bedroom, 2 bath are very attractive. If your significant other is Dominican, then this may be an option for you. If you are 2 foreigners, then ZO is a tough life. The Kansas City Shuffle is the #1 game in town and carry a pistol after dark in most neighborhoods. USE CAUTION, ZONA ORIENTAL FOR ADVANCED PLAYERS ONLY.
 

DRNED

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Thanks for that, looks like we have found at least one place not to look at. Yes the rents are very cheap and attractive and some of the places look lovely, and new. I'm not sure either of us would like to feel we could justify carrying a pistol anywhere, is this the norm in many areas of the city?
Are there any other areas where carrying a pistol is normal? I think we should get these areas noted down so we can avoid making an expensive mistake, or are worried about going for a walk in the evening.
 

Robert

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Get a Dominican to do the negotiating for you.
Lots of great areas in SD, but all depends on your budget and what you want and expect?
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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El Rey is right. There are some OK pockets but on the whole it is not for the faint hearted. I knew a foreign couple who lived there but both were fluent Spanish speakers. They rented a very nice place for a fraction of the price of its equivalent in SD West, on a quiet street, but to get anywhere else you had to pass through "tierra apache".
 

Robert

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"tierra apache".

Hehehe, very funny!

I would kind of like to live in ZO, but the thought of driving back and forth to Winston Churchill each day scares me to death. What I would save in rent I would end up spending in gas.
 

DRNED

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Get a Dominican to do the negotiating for you.
Lots of great areas in SD, but all depends on your budget and what you want and expect?

Have no Domincans to negotiate for us. Our budget in a perfect worlds would be to keep the rent well under the US$650 p/m with bills inc on a short term contract so we can get out if we don't like it. To be in a safe working class neighbourhood, but then what we would consider a working class neighbourhood might not be the same as in SD, as far as other expectations go, we have no idea what to expect as we have never been.
We have read lots of negative experiences about the city, and very few about the good things in the city. I am putting that down to people feeling the need to vent negatives more than positives, and hope that is the case.
Thanks
 

Robert

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Give me some more details. How many rooms? Location to any specific area of the city? We need details in order to help you.

US$650 including all bills. Do you need internet, cable, phone etc?
 

DRNED

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We require Cable TV (channels in English), no phone needed (we will use mobiles), 2 bedrooms (nice to have a guest room, but this isn't vital, we would be fine with 1), close ish to some form of transport around the city and maybe to visit the beach (which I understand is quite a distance out of the city) if possible, fully furnished, somewhere to sit out in an evening and very secure is extremely important. As far as area goes, we will have to take peoples word for it as we will never beable to judge an area until we have lived in it for a while. We don't have the money to be sleeping in hotels until we research the city. This is why a short term contract would be perfect, we can move if we don't fit in or like it.

I can't think of anything else at the moment. We are not looking for luxury, only a comfortable place we can enjoy where we don't have to worry, can sleep well and we can trust the landlord to treat us fairly and is not looking to rip us off.

Any help would be more than we have at the moment, so appreciated greatly.

Thanks
 

Robert

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Lets say US$140 (RD$5,000) for utilities, cable, phone, elec etc.

That leaves you US$500 to find a fully furnished 1 or 2 bedroom apartment in a secure area. RD$18,000 including maintenance.

Is it very doable, but with no Dominican friends and no Spanish, you might have a problem. Your going to need to network and also ask around to see what's what.

Nobody is going to give you a short term contract, unless they know you or your prepared to pay way over the going rate.

I recommend you try and negotiate with people that are offering short term rentals.

e.g Santo Domingo : Dominican Republic Rentals : Apartment For Rent

It doesn't hurt to ask.

Then spend the time to walk the streets and get to know the various areas, and at the same time, network, network, network.
 

bob saunders

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I've been in several apartments in El Million and think its a good location.


url=http://www.supercasas.com/reg/do/properties_view.aspx?pid=69828&listurl=properties_list.aspx%3fsrc%3d1%26province_id%3d3%26city%3d8%26sector%3d%26trademode%3dr%26pmin%3d5000%26pmax%3d20000%26rooms%3d%26sizemt2_construct%3d%26p123%3d1%26page%3d]super-casas.com - dominicana - propiedades, casas, villas, apartamentos, solares - supercasas[/url]
 

bienamor

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And for the most part you will find that Dominicans will not negotiate on the rent amount! I have known apartments that have been empty for 1-2 years here in the zona colonial and ciudad nueva, and the people are still wanting either the same amount or more. Seems that they would rather it sit empty, that take less. for example walk down El Conde and see what all is sitting empty. lots of what should be nice apartments but the price is so high on the buildings that by the time you gut and redo them you would never get your price back.
 

mountainannie

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Dec 11, 2003
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rent control

And for the most part you will find that Dominicans will not negotiate on the rent amount! I have known apartments that have been empty for 1-2 years here in the zona colonial and ciudad nueva, and the people are still wanting either the same amount or more. Seems that they would rather it sit empty, that take less. for example walk down El Conde and see what all is sitting empty. lots of what should be nice apartments but the price is so high on the buildings that by the time you gut and redo them you would never get your price back.

the reason that they do this because there is rent control in SD...So if you get the apartment at a lower rate, then you have a guarantee of staying at that rate... Try negotiating from the position of offering them a lower rate to start and building in rent increases on a percentage increase until it builds up to the rent that they want... since that is the rent that want for a fixed return on their money.. In the end, they know that that is the return that they are going to get for ever and ever-- so they are better off having the apartment empty and waiting than getting stuck with a lower return.

Also bear in mind that they are NOT going to do the repairs like a North
American landlord or European landlord will do... you are going to have to do them.. what you see is what you get.. be prepared to sink money into the apartment... and they are not going to replace the old fridge and stove, the broken furniture, etc.... so figure that one out as well....

See BienAmor thinks like a Dominican.. HE would gut and redo the apartment.. an American would NEVER think to invest in some one else's property.. in the States the landlord does the improvements, here, no...

There is another strange aspect which is that if you are soft, or kind, they think that you are stupid in the head.. for instance, I paid my landlady EXTRA for two years so that she could take a cab up to the casa de cambio and cash the check every month. Because she is older,,, because i am kind.. And therefore clearly a mark... duh... So when she saw my new fridge and when I pressed her on the leaks she started to press me to leave, said she wanted me out , started threatening me. and so I went to my lawyer, who served her with a restraining order and said that in fact, nothing in the lease even says it is a furnished apartment so I could in fact but all the old furniture on the street.. (i will not of course, but I could)...-.. her method was always to have a foreigner for a couple of years, as long as they were no trouble, then drive them out if they started to ask for anything, raise the rent to market... but if someone STAYS and pays on time, there is NO WAY that they can evict them Even to get a rent increase, they must go to court.

Try then offering a lower amount with built in increase over the years and see if that works...
 

mountainannie

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Dec 11, 2003
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4 deposits


he wants four months deposit

that is first month last month, security, agent (although there is none) .. so just be sure that you and he are both clear on what those deposits are for.. and what will be returned to you

the law is that all SECURITY deposits must be put into interest bearing accounts the reality is that security deposits are rarely returned....

so it will cost $60000 pesos to get into this $15000 a month apartment.

make sure you like it
 

DRNED

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Oct 28, 2009
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I can see quite few on the super casa site. What is the norm for them regarding deposits, contracts etc, has anyone used them before?
They definately seem the most realistic prices I've come across since we began looking.

I enquired about the rentals on the Malecon a while ago, they only had a small studio available and they didn't budge enough as far as price goes, if at all, infact it seemed quite high for a studio.

Thanks everyone, appreciated.
 
Sep 22, 2009
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There are still decent joints for 500-750 USD in areas like Bella Vista, just need to look door-to-door because you won't find them listed in SuperCasas.

Doesn't look like OP should be considering ZO team. I don't understand the nature of their business in DR, but from all the above data, I would recommend a place in DN. I had a buddy that rented a very pretty one-bedroom across from Carol Morgan School for 10K pesos (light 24, common gas, security guy, etc.). The places exist.

Most EU's, Cans and Gringos find the ZO a bit of a jungle. It always bothered me that anyone with 500 pesos could tote a 9mm (and I grew up with this sort of thing, as my father was a Marine and ex-cop firearm instructor!). They (locals) tend to fire them off on the way home after a good night of colmado-ing. There are firearms pervasive across the country, but in the DN there is absolutely a more "professional and discrete" population.

Remember, you NEVER blend in -- NEVER. No matter how fluent in language and culture. That's just life. The best you can do is assimilate to the point where you're just simply less-offensive (lol)
 

DRNED

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Oct 28, 2009
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Mountainannie,

Is this true, that we are unlikely to get the security deposit back? I don't like the sound of that.
 

DRNED

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Abe Lincoln Ave

Is 'Abe Lincoln Ave' a nice place, I understand the apartment is towards the seafront, seems I may have come up with a reasonable deal to make life and worries slightly less.

No agent, dealing directly with the owner and he seems pretty chilled out about deposits and contracts. The place isn't great infact looks a little dull to be honest, but it is a roof over our head in a place he says is very safe (lots of police in the area, but obviously he is Dominican and doesn't stand out like the Albino over here.

Thanks