Many thanks to everyone in the Forum that has provided advice about buying a house in the DR. My wife and I purchased a house in Casa Linda which will provide a welcome respite from the 'Great White North' during the winter. We determined to buy a house in the Carribean about a year ago but didn't know where.
We had spent time in the Carribean over the past 10 years and were reasonably familiar with the various islands. Over a period of about a year we collected information on Roatan, Belize, Bocas del Toro in Panama, Costa Rica and finally the Dominican Republic. So why did we settle on the DR? All of the areas we looked at had their advantages and disadvantages but ultimately the decision was based on firstly, the people, and secondly the long-term interest we could maintain as a result of size and heritage. We concluded early on that as wonderful as the sun and beach might be, on the long-term we needed somewhere that would maintain our interest over the years. That dictated a long and interesting history that we could relate to, a size and infrastructure that supported exploration, and a people that would allow us to feel welcome in their country. The DR won hands down on all counts.
The process of finding and then buying our house (which has been named Casa Para Mi Amor) was easy relative to some of the experiences we have seen on the forum. Our experience was somewhat similar to Jan and Doug who found the right people early on that made the process 'a piece of cake'. That had been preceeded by hours and hours on the web and of course travel in the DR itself. Our realtor was Jim Belair with American Realty DR who spent an incredible amount of time showing houses and explaining the advantages and disadvantages of one area over another. We settled on Casa Linda because it is close to Sosua/Cabarete but still with quiet when wanted and has the basic infrastructure for maintenance etc. while we are in Canada. When we got to the point of needing a lawyer, Jim recommended Christoph Sieger with Guzman Ariza, and he was excellent. Our first stay in our new house will be during February and March and then after retirement for about 5 months a year. While not there we hope to at least cover our expenses by renting it out and I built my first website to advertise the rental (http://www.caribholiday.net) So now the adventure begins. Again - many thanks to all who provided advice on the forum.
We had spent time in the Carribean over the past 10 years and were reasonably familiar with the various islands. Over a period of about a year we collected information on Roatan, Belize, Bocas del Toro in Panama, Costa Rica and finally the Dominican Republic. So why did we settle on the DR? All of the areas we looked at had their advantages and disadvantages but ultimately the decision was based on firstly, the people, and secondly the long-term interest we could maintain as a result of size and heritage. We concluded early on that as wonderful as the sun and beach might be, on the long-term we needed somewhere that would maintain our interest over the years. That dictated a long and interesting history that we could relate to, a size and infrastructure that supported exploration, and a people that would allow us to feel welcome in their country. The DR won hands down on all counts.
The process of finding and then buying our house (which has been named Casa Para Mi Amor) was easy relative to some of the experiences we have seen on the forum. Our experience was somewhat similar to Jan and Doug who found the right people early on that made the process 'a piece of cake'. That had been preceeded by hours and hours on the web and of course travel in the DR itself. Our realtor was Jim Belair with American Realty DR who spent an incredible amount of time showing houses and explaining the advantages and disadvantages of one area over another. We settled on Casa Linda because it is close to Sosua/Cabarete but still with quiet when wanted and has the basic infrastructure for maintenance etc. while we are in Canada. When we got to the point of needing a lawyer, Jim recommended Christoph Sieger with Guzman Ariza, and he was excellent. Our first stay in our new house will be during February and March and then after retirement for about 5 months a year. While not there we hope to at least cover our expenses by renting it out and I built my first website to advertise the rental (http://www.caribholiday.net) So now the adventure begins. Again - many thanks to all who provided advice on the forum.