Moving to DR need some feedback

[lisagauss]

@Hillbilly

Thanks for the feedback on the dogs! Female dogs I am not to fond of cause of the menstrual bleeding; though I hear they make very good guard dogs. I think I am going to take your advice on the gun thing and not own one. I read in another thread about someone using a load siren to deter criminals. I think that, plus a pepper spray and training (for the whole family) would be the best/safest option.

Antonito plays the guitar, so it must be the same one. I will ask him about that situation when I see him; he is a great guy, very friendly/outgoing personality. Students must love him.

Honestly, I never heard of INFOTEP. I did a quick Google search and was directed at a DR Gov site. Is it a trade school type? TO be sincere, I think I would rather do a University style Engineering program; I hear you need a Master's to get into any University now (UTESA or PUCCM). Is this right?

 

[Chip]

@Major448 - Good point about the gun. I know of plenty of peoples whos house was broken into get to their guns.

@Chip - Do you currently live in DR? What school did you go to for Engineering? Since you an a contractor, what do you think about my presupuesto for building the house? I have some friends recommend I use a Master Builder and just have someone supervise him. I have other people tell me hire an Engineer. When I was there in September of 2010 I spoke to an Engineer. I basically took him to a house that was brand new and asked him how much he would charge me to get it built in my land. He quoated me at $3.4M-DR. Its basically this house: super-casas.com - dominicana - propiedades, casas, villas, apartamentos, solares - supercasas

I asked him if it included madera en caoba, he said yes. He also said the price also included other perks such as: security alarm, ac in everyroom, plus more stuff.

A lot of people have suggested I biuld a 2 story house, but I think it may be out of my budget. But, when I see house like this selling for $4MDR I start to wonder. In your opinion, how much would it cost to build something like this that is selling for $4M? super-casas.com - dominicana - propiedades, casas, villas, apartamentos, solares - supercasas

Thanks!

Yes I live in the DR and the house you showed me could be built for RD2.2M mo. For example, my two story house with the property I bought for RD3.7M in los llanos de Gurabo. Supposedly it is worth RD5M now. I think the guy you are dealing with has marked up the costs significantly.

What I recommend is letting me and the maestro I work with give you a quote with a markup. Everything is there to see, material and labor cost and profit. I recommend getting quotes from various people so you are comfortable with the price. Make sure they have references and example projects that can be seen too.

Bottom line is I'm pretty certain you can build a nice 2 story house furnished as shown for what you had estimated.

 

[lisagauss]

Yes I live in the DR and the house you showed me could be built for RD2.2M mo. For example, my two story house with the property I bought for RD3.7M in los llanos de Gurabo. Supposedly it is worth RD5M now. I think the guy you are dealing with has marked up the costs significantly.

What I recommend is letting me and the maestro I work with give you a quote with a markup. Everything is there to see, material and labor cost and profit. I recommend getting quotes from various people so you are comfortable with the price. Make sure they have references and example projects that can be seen too.

Bottom line is I'm pretty certain you can build a nice 2 story house furnished as shown for what you had estimated.

I knoew it!!!! Yeah, that is a huge markup, he is pocketing more than 1 million. Did you look at the 2 story house I posted about? Could you give me an idea of what your house looks like. The solar I bought is in Gurabo, if I am not mistaken you enter via Los Rieles, then make a left on the first street, then make a right, once you enter that street there is no through traffic....., its 340 sq mt.

Since I want to start moving to DR in December, I give construction time about 4 months, subtracting that from 12 gives me a start time of July or August. Do you highly recommend I get architecture plans made up first or the design I want? I would definitely

Some questions for you...

1) Can you give me an idea of what your house looks like? Sq m., similar designs.
2) How much do you think it would cost to get this house built (super-casas.com - dominicana - propiedades, casas, villas, apartamentos, solares - supercasas)
3) How much should I expect to pay for the plans or is that cost included in the building presupuesto?
4) Is 4 months reasonable?

 

[Chip]

I knoew it!!!! Yeah, that is a huge markup, he is pocketing more than 1 million. Did you look at the 2 story house I posted about? Could you give me an idea of what your house looks like. The solar I bought is in Gurabo, if I am not mistaken you enter via Los Rieles, then make a left on the first street, then make a right, once you enter that street there is no through traffic....., its 340 sq mt.

Since I want to start moving to DR in December, I give construction time about 4 months, subtracting that from 12 gives me a start time of July or August. Do you highly recommend I get architecture plans made up first or the design I want? I would definitely

Some questions for you...

1) Can you give me an idea of what your house looks like? Sq m., similar designs.
2) How much do you think it would cost to get this house built (super-casas.com - dominicana - propiedades, casas, villas, apartamentos, solares - supercasas)
3) How much should I expect to pay for the plans or is that cost included in the building presupuesto?
4) Is 4 months reasonable?

I think 4 mos is reasonable. I sent you a private message.

 

[lisagauss]

Any tips on shipping taxes for aduanas? Been reading around the forums about taxes for shipping but there seems to be no solid answer/fee from aduanas. If I move there am I 'expected' to pay less on taxes or no taxes? What about the tvs? Moving company told me that if I ship them in December I pay no taxes.

 

[Chip]

I don't know the current laws but when we did it you I understood no taxes were due for used tv's and applaiances. That being said those carajos charged us RD1000 for a year old microwave that only cost me US30 at Walmart.

My advice is to talk to various shipping companies and my personal opinion is if they aren't willing to define the taxes they are setting you up to hit you for more money when your stuff arrives. I say that because that happened to me. Send a pm to "TheHun" to see what company he used. I think he was pleased with results. He moved here a couple of years ago.

 

[lisagauss]

I don't know the current laws but when we did it you I understood no taxes were due for used tv's and applaiances. That being said those carajos charged us RD1000 for a year old microwave that only cost me US30 at Walmart.

My advice is to talk to various shipping companies and my personal opinion is if they aren't willing to define the taxes they are setting you up to hit you for more money when your stuff arrives. I say that because that happened to me. Send a pm to "TheHun" to see what company he used. I think he was pleased with results. He moved here a couple of years ago.

Thanks Chip! I was also thinking of calling the consulate here; they should have info.

 

[Lando calrisian]

Well I don't have anything to add but welcome back home brother! Let's make a positive impact en el pais.

 

[Chip]

Well I don't have anything to add but welcome back home brother! Let's make a positive impact en el pais.

Hey I've come back too (in the relative sense of the word - some of my ancestors came from SD) and ready to help as long as I don't have to eat mondongo and habichuelas con dulce!

 

[lisagauss]

During my planning, Ive also done some monthly cost estimate for a family of three. Here is what I have come up with keep in mind that these are on a monthly basis....

Light $5000

Agua $800

Gas $1000

Codetel Flash (3Mbps/1Mbps) $4000

Wind TV Basic Channels $835

Celular (Orange) $2500

Seguro de Carro $500

Gasolina/Diesel $10000

Household Compra $12000

Miscellaneous $4000

Going out $4000

medicine, doctor visit, and so forth $4000

House helper $6000

Total comes out to $54,635/month. Some people say its a bit steep. What do you guys think?

 

[Chip]

During my planning, Ive also done some monthly cost estimate for a family of three. Here is what I have come up with keep in mind that these are on a monthly basis....

Light $5000

Agua $800

Gas $1000

Codetel Flash (3Mbps/1Mbps) $4000

Wind TV Basic Channels $835

Celular (Orange) $2500

Seguro de Carro $500

Gasolina/Diesel $10000

Household Compra $12000

Miscellaneous $4000

Going out $4000

medicine, doctor visit, and so forth $4000

House helper $6000

Total comes out to $54,635/month. Some people say its a bit steep. What do you guys think?

Unless you have ac your light bill will probably be around RD2000. We don't have it nor do we need it.

The cell phone estimate looks high. I would check with codetel's monthly plan. The good thing is you can go over on minutes and be charged a similar per minute as the prepaid part of the plan and I think their network is better.

Also, the wind system is per tv, so you need to plan accordingly. We have Star.

If you have a decent car/truck, full coverage insurance will set you back RD40k or so. The minimum is around 4k.

I hear the decent medical insurance goes for RD2k or so, so the estimate you have should be good for the year especially since you have a little one.

You could household help for 5k easy in your area.

Seeing as you guys have lived in the States for so long I would expect your grocery buying habits will be on the expensive side until you get a little more aplatanado. I think you should add a few thousand pesos more. BTW, avoid El Nacional as they are expensive. La Sirena and El Tesoro are close and will have all the ham, turkey, cheeses and imported sausages and hotdogs and other imported items you will need (if you are anything like me.) Also, don't buy your meat in a super but a local carniceria. There is also a fresh chicken outlet close by that has the cheapest prices in Cibao and also a fresh fish market across from the museam that has weekly specials of fish, including fillets. Finally, El Tesoro has some of the best prices on liquor I have seen in Santiago and for some reason La Sirena is high in this area. I drink the criollo rums and believe it or not they have a local vodka that is very good and cheap, Red Russian. As far as whiskey goes, I don't know much because i never have liked it for some odd reason. Might have been because of that first bottle of Southern Comfort I drank many moons ago. Also, beer seems to be cheaper in the colmados, at least for Brahama.

 

[lisagauss]

@Chip

Is it cool in your area at night? I did come up with those numbers considering AC use.

Wind is per tv? Thats insane, how much do you pay for Star?

You mean 40K per month for insurance? Thats a lot of money.

I definitely shop around here and plan ahead when Im shopping for groceries. Usually target and Walmart are my main 2 choices.

 

[Chip]

@Chip

Is it cool in your area at night? I did come up with those numbers considering AC use.

Wind is per tv? Thats insane, how much do you pay for Star?

You mean 40K per month for insurance? Thats a lot of money.

I definitely shop around here and plan ahead when Im shopping for groceries. Usually target and Walmart are my main 2 choices.

Cool is relative. I'm a gringo and I've adapted. With a fan and a cold shower right before I go to bed I'm always comfortable. Fortunately, Gurabo is close to the surrounding mountains and we get a nice cool breeze in the middle of the night. Nonetheless, I know some people who use it in the summer during the middle of the day and late at night before they gop to bed to cool the room off. If you want to sleep with it all night your bill could hit over RD10k a month easy.

With regard to Wind tv, I understand you pay per tv. We pay RD700 a month for 100 channels.

The car insurance is per year, sorry.

If you like to but in bulk people tell me Pricemart is economical.

What you will find expensive here in the DR are electronics and household appliances, so I would plan accordingly. Therefore, make sure you bring a nice (albeit "used" I think, please ask your shipper) gas stove, refrigerator, toaster, microwave, dishwasher, radios, tv's, fans, possibly hotwater tank?, computers, exercise equipment, toys, garden hose, lawnmower, weeder, outdoor gas/charcoal cooker (if you like bonches ) golf clubs, bicycles etc.

 

[ron metzger]

that is alot for constructing a house.are you going to handle any of it with your skills or are you going to contract the whole thing out.That is the big question