Looking for a house to rent in Santiago.

MrMike

Silver
Mar 2, 2003
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Word around town is that houses for rent are pretty hard to find. This is supposedly because of the new tax on rentals, so most people are trying to keep their rental deals quiet.

I don't expect any of you gringos to be able to help much with this, I am mainly appealing to the locals and expats here.

My landlord wants me out (he is moving back from Nueba Yol) and so I am in the market, but even though I have 7 part time brokers keeping their eyes open for me not much has turned up. I am looking for the following:

3-4 bedrooms, at least 2 bathrooms, somewhere in the area of 10-15k/mo.

Prefer no loud neighbors and not too far out in the boonies, available by April.
 

GirlieGirl

New member
Jun 19, 2003
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me too

i am looking as well...

house in santiago....

2 or more bedrooms...

other than that everything is flexible....
 

Quisqueyana32

New member
Jan 8, 2005
20
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Rentals

I'll ask my relatives in Santiago.... But can not promes anything... Their might be a house for rent next to my mothers in La Zurza nice neiborghood, not alot of noise.
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
12,290
519
113
I am surpised Mr. Mike is having a problem with renting a nice house for 10-15k / month. Dominicans love to rent property to foreigners. They know we alway pay our rent and bills on time. Let me see what I can come up with.
AZB
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
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I'll be looking, too

I am sort of surprised you haven't found anything. But with a "growing" family I can understand the need. HEHE...

HB :D:D:D
 

Quisqueyana32

New member
Jan 8, 2005
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House for rent in Santiago

My mother told me that there's a house for rent next to hers in La Zurza 2 ent Santago. She can't remember the # of the house but I ca give you my Moms address....
 

Chris_NJ

Bronze
Dec 17, 2003
614
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MrMike said:
3-4 bedrooms, at least 2 bathrooms, somewhere in the area of 10-15k/mo.

Prefer no loud neighbors and not too far out in the boonies, available by April.

Mr. Mike - does it have to be a stand alone house? I was talking with my friend's wife today and she mentioned her family owns apartments in Santiago (near the monumento). She will let me know if any are available with the size you are looking for.
 

sweetdbt

Bronze
Sep 17, 2004
1,574
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MrMike said:
Snuffy, I am pretty sure the tax is 20%.

Thanks to Hillbilly we were able to find a house on Saturday. Real nice with Jaccuzzi only about 3 blocks from where we live now.

Great news! Hey, if I buy a system from you when I move down, can I use your jaccuzzi? ;)
 

miguel

I didn't last long...
Jul 2, 2003
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MrMike said:
Snuffy, I am pretty sure the tax is 20%.

Thanks to Hillbilly we were able to find a house on Saturday. Real nice with Jaccuzzi only about 3 blocks from where we live now.
Wow, what a surprise, an expat came thru for you,lol. Any chance that you can tell us about the neighborhood so others know in case they need some assistance while looking for a home?

I can already see you in tha jaccuzzi, drinking a cold one.
Good luck with your new home.
 

MrMike

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Mar 2, 2003
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Ok first of all, sweetdbt the answer is probably "no", no offense, it's just that there's a pretty short list of people that can use my jacuzzi and you're not on it. You'll need to talk to my wife if you have any issues with that, she is the keeper of the list.

About the neighborhood, etc. I could probably write a long faq about renting properties in the DR, since this is my 5th residential rental and I also have 3 commercial rentals under my belt by now.

For now, here is the short version:

1) Rent in whatever currency your income is in, you don't want a fixed expense that is an unknown percentage of your income. And if it's dollars then keep in mind you may be paying well above the going rate in the near future.

2) 3 month downpayment is standard, but only 2 of those months are actually a deposit. The other is commission for whoever showed you the house. This is normal. Annoying, (in what business does the customer pay a sales commission to the salesperson?) but normal.

3) Check out the neighborhood you intend to move to at night on a weekend, hopefully a couple of times. This is the is the only way you will know how noisy it is. Technically it is illegal to make alot of noise after 11, but you never know how big of a jerk your neighbor is until you see him party.

4) When it's time to move out, stop paying rent for the last couple of months and tell the landlord you are living out your deposits. This is the only way you can be sure you are getting it back.

5) require proof that the utilities are paid up to date and that there are no ongoing disputes with either the power company of the water service (a glance at the last couple of bills should do it) If your landlord can not come up with these then you should get suspicious and be prepared to walk away.

6) It is normal to be charged a maintenance fee in an apartment building, but not in a house. This will be more expensive in a case where it covers things like security guards, generators, elevator maintenance, lighting for public areas etc. If you are promised services like full-time planta for a fixed monthly fee, keep in mind this is subject to change without notice, there is no way the maintenance folks are going to take a loss if the price of fuel goes higher than what they are collecting, also if the planta breaks down there is no way they are going to fork over any serious money for repairs and of course if the other tennants get behind on their maintenance payments then the generator will most likely be shut off, you may or may not be required to continue paying the same amount. In general it is better to come up with your own backup power solution, since being dependant on cooperation from people who would rather do without than pay up is going to go badly for you.

7) Last but not least, house hunting can be very frustrating. You will most likely be tempted to strangle the person showing you houses. (can I use your phone, can we pick up my sister, can we drop my kid off at school, let's just wait another 3 hours for the gardener to show up with the key, thanks for driving across town to pick me up, now let's drive back across town again in rush hour traffic to ge the key) At the very least you will want to say mean things to them. This is never as satisfying as you would like and absolutely never productive. Generally in this country people think nothing of wasting your time. The only thing you can do about it is waste some of theirs, but they are so friendly they will most likely enjoy this. So be patient, don't allow yourself to get rushed or pressured when it comes to housing, this is stressful enough without any extra pressure. Take it easy.
 

TCIDR

New member
Sep 7, 2003
116
0
0
apartment in santiago

Do you have to use sales people to look at rental properties?

How difficult is it to find a furnished one bedroom apartment (500 sq feet or 50 m2) nearby monumental area or calle del sol for $rd[less than or equal to]6000/month?

I am somewhat familiar with the areas surrounding calle de sol and monument so this would be the area of choice...affording me the opportunity to have a unit upon my visit as well as friends.
 

sweetdbt

Bronze
Sep 17, 2004
1,574
70
0
MrMike said:
Ok first of all, sweetdbt the answer is probably "no", no offense, it's just that there's a pretty short list of people that can use my jacuzzi and you're not on it. You'll need to talk to my wife if you have any issues with that, she is the keeper of the list.

About the neighborhood, etc. I could probably write a long faq about renting properties in the DR, since this is my 5th residential rental and I also have 3 commercial rentals under my belt by now.

For now, here is the short version:

1) Rent in whatever currency your income is in, you don't want a fixed expense that is an unknown percentage of your income. And if it's dollars then keep in mind you may be paying well above the going rate in the near future.

2) 3 month downpayment is standard, but only 2 of those months are actually a deposit. The other is commission for whoever showed you the house. This is normal. Annoying, (in what business does the customer pay a sales commission to the salesperson?) but normal.

3) Check out the neighborhood you intend to move to at night on a weekend, hopefully a couple of times. This is the is the only way you will know how noisy it is. Technically it is illegal to make alot of noise after 11, but you never know how big of a jerk your neighbor is until you see him party.

4) When it's time to move out, stop paying rent for the last couple of months and tell the landlord you are living out your deposits. This is the only way you can be sure you are getting it back.

5) require proof that the utilities are paid up to date and that there are no ongoing disputes with either the power company of the water service (a glance at the last couple of bills should do it) If your landlord can not come up with these then you should get suspicious and be prepared to walk away.

6) It is normal to be charged a maintenance fee in an apartment building, but not in a house. This will be more expensive in a case where it covers things like security guards, generators, elevator maintenance, lighting for public areas etc. If you are promised services like full-time planta for a fixed monthly fee, keep in mind this is subject to change without notice, there is no way the maintenance folks are going to take a loss if the price of fuel goes higher than what they are collecting, also if the planta breaks down there is no way they are going to fork over any serious money for repairs and of course if the other tennants get behind on their maintenance payments then the generator will most likely be shut off, you may or may not be required to continue paying the same amount. In general it is better to come up with your own backup power solution, since being dependant on cooperation from people who would rather do without than pay up is going to go badly for you.

7) Last but not least, house hunting can be very frustrating. You will most likely be tempted to strangle the person showing you houses. (can I use your phone, can we pick up my sister, can we drop my kid off at school, let's just wait another 3 hours for the gardener to show up with the key, thanks for driving across town to pick me up, now let's drive back across town again in rush hour traffic to ge the key) At the very least you will want to say mean things to them. This is never as satisfying as you would like and absolutely never productive. Generally in this country people think nothing of wasting your time. The only thing you can do about it is waste some of theirs, but they are so friendly they will most likely enjoy this. So be patient, don't allow yourself to get rushed or pressured when it comes to housing, this is stressful enough without any extra pressure. Take it easy.

No offense taken of course. Just a feeble attempt at humor, and I might add that after reading AZB's report about your new inverter system, I'll probably be looking you up regardless.
 

MrMike

Silver
Mar 2, 2003
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It was humor on my part too.

To the other poster looking for a place to rent, try to furnish your own, theplaces I've seen furnished were generally not furnished very well and always over-priced.

But in your price range you should be able to find something more than adequate.
 

TCIDR

New member
Sep 7, 2003
116
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Mr Mike
The reason why I asked for furnished units is because I don't want to take the responsibility to buy furnitures upfront. To buy all my furniture it will cost over what I will be spending for period of time I'd want to rent.
I expect to start building next year around this time between Santiago and La Vega.
Thanks for the confirmation about being able to find something in that price range
 

Teacher

New member
Nov 27, 2004
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MrMike said:
It was humor on my part too.

To the other poster looking for a place to rent, try to furnish your own, theplaces I've seen furnished were generally not furnished very well and always over-priced.

But in your price range you should be able to find something more than adequate.

Mr.Mike, Is it reasonable think that a family of 3 could find a small house in a fairly safe neighborhood with electricity for $500 USD? Or is that wishful thinking?
 

noel

New member
Dec 29, 2004
26
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looking for a 4 bedrooms apartment

Quisqueyana32 said:
My mother told me that there's a house for rent next to hers in La Zurza 2 ent Santago. She can't remember the # of the house but I ca give you my Moms address....
Oh, we are looking for exactly the same.
Is it still available?
we are family with 2 kids,
living in a apart hotel in the center of Santiago now.
thanks
Nika