Buying apartment in palm suites bavaro for rental income????

Javier Fernandez

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Jul 16, 2015
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Hello evryone, ive been looking to buy a property in punta cana as an investment to rent to the turist, and after comparing prices of many apartments in areas of high demand, i ended up considering the palm suites. Im new to the area and was wondering what you people think about this location? Is it really easy to rent all year around? I appreciate any advice i can get. Thanks.
 

zoomzx11

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Jan 21, 2006
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Generally the advice in the DR is do not count on year round rental income. If you need a property management company to watch the place you need to deduct their fees of course. You will most certainly need someone to watch and manage the place. Absentee landlords do not fare well here. That is the story on the north coast where I am. Good luck
 

Contango

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Dec 27, 2010
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Hello evryone, ive been looking to buy a property in punta cana as an investment to rent to the turist, and after comparing prices of many apartments in areas of high demand, i ended up considering the palm suites. Im new to the area and was wondering what you people think about this location? Is it really easy to rent all year around? I appreciate any advice i can get. Thanks.

Bad Investment! Take a look at your "Cap Rate" if you are thinking you are going to actually make money buying and renting here.. On the other hand if you are like me and "bought" a condo near Bavaro because I spent 7 months a year here, and it is a "life style choice" that's different... Lastly I would NEVER buy any of that crap acroos the street, all of those developments are one recession away from bankruptcy.. Small walled off compounds generally financed by some mafia related developer... If you must buy, go Cocotal ( which I'm not crazy about either with all the DOMS that rent there).. I am lucky and live in a gated resort community, but we are sold out..
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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I can't speak specifically about the complex you're asking about Javier, but my in-laws own an apartment in Bavaro that has never been empty. They currently rent to a couple from Spain on a yearly basis.

If you're looking to rent days/weeks at a time, take a look at Homeaway.com or airbnb.com to get an idea what people are charging and what amenities they have to see if it's worth your while. Palm Suites - D3 - Walk to the Beach! - HomeAway Punta Cana
 

Contango

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Dec 27, 2010
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I can't speak specifically about the complex you're asking about Javier, but my in-laws own an apartment in Bavaro that has never been empty. They currently rent to a couple from Spain on a yearly basis.

If you're looking to rent days/weeks at a time, take a look at Homeaway.com or airbnb.com to get an idea what people are charging and what amenities they have to see if it's worth your while. Palm Suites - D3 - Walk to the Beach! - HomeAway Punta Cana

If one is lucky enough to get a "long term" renter, then it can be OK. But generally the return on investment sucks, with the LOW RENTAL YIELDS in the DR. Most people are 1000 times better off buying a rental property in "the home Country they actually live" as an investment. From an Investment point of view buying RE in the DR is very bad choice..
 
May 20, 2012
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I have friends who rent there VERY CHEAPLY. It's not on the beach. And the beach is the reason most Tourists come to Punta Cana/Bavaro.
 

chic

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I have friends who rent there VERY CHEAPLY. It's not on the beach. And the beach is the reason most Tourists come to Punta Cana/Bavaro.

if you can afford the purchase w/out needing rental income do u (,have kids?) good,,,buying property is fun....depending on rental income is not fun...imo if you like the place 3 bedrooms /min 2 2 baths ,,,that side of island going stay good for along time...keep your year round rent low...people wont leave...i met a woman who has rented for 29 years...never met her landlady...only talked by phone....but low rent... property in d.r. is probably best passed to kids...its like buying a big boulder...u cant move it ..cant take it with you...hard to sell...but its a good rock...so keep it for your kids to enjoy...prosper etc
 

keepcoming

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May 25, 2011
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I have seen Palm Suites (brother looked at them). They were nice and probably about 10 minute or less walk to the beach (if I remember correctly you could access it from across the street, a bit down). He looked at a 3rd floor unit which had rooftop access. It seemed at the time most were being used as rentals. Pretty quiet complex.
 

Jaime809

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Aug 23, 2012
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Most owners plan to make their money December-April or May. If you can do that and keep it filled 50% during those months, you can cover your annual costs easily. You will want a management company that will show the place to renters, collect rent, and maintain the property. Either that or you'll need to do it yourself, and a management company can be worth their weight in gold.
 

Contango

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Dec 27, 2010
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Short term renters are the worst, but they offer the best ROI ( according to some Bavaro Sleazy relators)..
After 1 year you will need to replace all of your furniture for another 15,000 because of stains scratches, whatever...
Meanwhile the PROPERTY ( Condo) you bought across the street in those walled off compounds will NEVER appreciate in value, you will lose money in the long run.. There will always be a NEWER project someone will prefer over your now 3 or 4 year old palm suites, or rosa Hermosa and all the rest of those developments...
 

keepcoming

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May 25, 2011
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When my brother was looking for condo's in Punta Cana one of the reasons he did not buy was because he knew he would not be spending the majority of his time there. He did not want to rent it out and what Contango posted was one of the main reasons. No one takes care of your "home" like you do so his concern was the wear and tear having renters would cause. He knew not everyone is like that but when you have people who rent for a week here, 2 weeks here, possibly a month that is a lot of traffic in and out. He looked at Palm Suites and was tempted but he decided not to. We have friends who have a place in Cap Cana who rent their condo out but they will only rent it to family/friends.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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something tells me that Contango knows what he is talking about. i do not think it would hurt to listen to him, and you ignore him at your own risk. i know this woman who bought an apartment in the Sosua area, and she has had it rented maybe six weeks total in the last 2 years, and only when Dominicans make their annual Semana Santa trek to the area. the place gets trashed every time, and it is not worth the effort. now she can?t give it away.
 

suavena

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Jan 27, 2009
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something tells me that Contango knows what he is talking about. i do not think it would hurt to listen to him, and you ignore him at your own risk. i know this woman who bought an apartment in the Sosua area, and she has had it rented maybe six weeks total in the last 2 years, and only when Dominicans make their annual Semana Santa trek to the area. the place gets trashed every time, and it is not worth the effort. now she can?t give it away.

Sosua had descended into a filth city. I will not take my family there even for a peak. What a far cry from 30 years ago when it was a beautiful coastal city. It used to be the main destination for all Dominicans low, middle, and high class. It used to be my family destination from Santiago when I was a kid. Sadly, with cheap tourism came the filth. Most of our thugs make their way down there at some point pairing mostly with the sleazy tourists making an unattractive combination. I went down there about 10 years ago and did not last 5 minutes. The chaos, hustling, prostitution, etc. Very sad to see a great city reduce to a ghetto status.
 

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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Short term renters are the worst, but they offer the best ROI ( according to some Bavaro Sleazy relators)..
After 1 year you will need to replace all of your furniture for another 15,000 because of stains scratches, whatever...
Meanwhile the PROPERTY ( Condo) you bought across the street in those walled off compounds will NEVER appreciate in value, you will lose money in the long run.. There will always be a NEWER project someone will prefer over your now 3 or 4 year old palm suites, or rosa Hermosa and all the rest of those developments...

Good point! As a frequent renter myself in DR, i now look at newer developments. My experience has been that older rental properties don't age too well for some reasons. It is very apparent in kitchens and bathroom, and furniture as well. And the older apartment appears to be more humid.

The difference in rent is often small enough that I don't choose older units unless it has been recently renovated.
 

drdirectional

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Aug 6, 2011
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www.pristinepads.com
I disagree with Contango on a few points but agree that any property you buy, you should not buy to make money. If you are on short term rental you can cover your costs with 10-12 weeks of rental a year. That being said there is far less wear and tear with short term rentals who are only in your apartment for 12 weeks a year compared to a long term renter for the year (long term renters break things and make stains too). You have to be selective of your clients! Most snow birds have more respect for the rental units , if your renting to partiers and weekend vacationers your going to see damage. Thats when a good property manager comes in.
As for value, its difficult to say as the last few years the economy has been crap but one thing for certain beach front areas are limited and in the long run that may be an advantage as long as the condo itself can keep well maintained. Many of them in cortecito go to crap.
Obviously we all have biases you just have to gather all the info you can and make the decision based on what your needs and wants are.
 

Jaime809

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Aug 23, 2012
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There's way too much construction going on in Bavaro for any properties to appreciate in value. As soon as one goes up, the next one starts. Too many units, not enough well-heeled renters, and certainly not enough buyers.
 

Contango

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Dec 27, 2010
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As I stated originally I do own a "condo" here cerca de arena gorda. But, I never bought it for an Investment, I bought it for a life style choice considering Im here 7 months out of the year, and its been that way for almost 4 years now.. A few others in this development are disappointed at the low rents they receive as they bought here as an "investment".. One guy even asked me if I thought his $200,000 condo would be worth 1 Million dollars one day.. So you have to wonder if some of the buyers in the Bavaro Punta Cana area, are "mooches", for lack of a better word.

Regarding the Condos in Los Corales, Cortecito etc.. Some of them are very nice inside, I never disputed that, its the walled off compounds and crossing the street to get to the beach I never liked. But mainly its the Safety and Security issues, and the fact they are all small developments run by some couple with a Haitian Security Guard for safety in a plastic chair.. No thanks.. And the big big reason they are a bad investment, they will never appreciate, if you bought it for an "investment".. It will take you years to re-sell for what you bought it for..

I like Playa Turquesa for its Beach access, but its Condo maintenance fees are very high to pay for the constant service those elevators will need. This is another bad choice even though it is very tempting with those nice Ocean views... Its a good rental though...
 

keepcoming

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May 25, 2011
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I did not like the "construction" of the kitchen at Playa Turquesa. Being so close to the water I would question how long the kitchen cabinets would hold up. The ones I saw seemed to be made of pressed wood rather than wood. I look every now and then at the realty pages for Punta Cana and it seems some of the same condos we saw back when are still available.
 

Contango

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Dec 27, 2010
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I did not like the "construction" of the kitchen at Playa Turquesa. Being so close to the water I would question how long the kitchen cabinets would hold up. The ones I saw seemed to be made of pressed wood rather than wood. I look every now and then at the realty pages for Punta Cana and it seems some of the same condos we saw back when are still available.

I agree, I looked at PT back in April 2011, that was the last time. Much had been sold, one building was completely bought by some Russian.. And yes the kitchens were crap made with particle board.. But I loved the view.. I could have bought a one bedroom for 175k, it was level four, but the last building.. I'm glad I didn't, with all those restaurants now in the plaza.. At the time Plaza Turquesa only had a liquor store and the RE Office with the desperate expats..