Retiring or starting a business

[PICHARDO]

If I had to come here to work I would cut my pee pee off. Difficult place to do business in but you can be sucessful if you have a clue, get good advice, connect with the right people and still watch your ***.

Even the construction methods are different here than in the States where I come from. I was a builder and renovator for 25 years and would NOT do as he suggested until I familiarize myself better with the standard building practices. I don't even agree with what he said about values rising no matter what unless he is talking in Pesos which have fallen to pieces. Cars have risen in value in that case. a 100,o00 peso car 2 years ago is now worth more. We both know cars don't appreciate in value.

Scott

Hmmmm OK lets see:

I built a two story 4 apartment building back in feb 2000 after three and a half years of rental income and valued much more than it cost me I could say yes indee a very lucrative and "SECURED" investment.

Oh yes! building in the DR it's totally different than in the states or EU for that matter, we use actual cinder blocks and armoured concrete for columns, walls and floors. You can get any type of building designed by a local architec for a respectable fee, construction will be done on your budget since you can manage the actual process even without that great knowledge yourself, unlike back in the states were you can't even dream about walking around a half built one story building without the due permit by the local city agencies and burocracy involved.

I don't even agree with what he said about values rising no matter what unless he is talking in Pesos which have fallen to pieces.

So you mean to say that if the dollar was 17x1 and now 44x1 an actual US$180,000 price tag in relation to a US$90,000 investment in 4 years is not a valuable and therefore worth investment?!!! Let me know what is then?

Cars have risen in value in that case. a 100,o00 peso car 2 years ago is now worth more. We both know cars don't appreciate in value.

You have to understand the cars didn't take on a new added value, just that the DR$ went south to the Dollar so therefore the actual value of the vehicle is only represented in a dollar value to the rate.

If you had a car for which you paid DR$200,000 in 2002 the related value to the US Dollar was US$11,000 +/-, The car now with two years of use has a value of DR$352,000 or US$8,000.

Now please let me know when did this car take on added value as you explained before, since if the present owner decided to make a buck as you think by selling a car for RD$352,000 for which he paid RD$200,000 and therefore he would need to buy a car for himself that will cost him time and a half the value in US$ in the DR for which the now sold car and money earned by the sale are a bad idea all of the sudden. I don't know if you had given this matter a little careful consideration before you made your statement, but it sure doesn't add up.

I stand my case...

 

[PICHARDO]

Thanks for the 'insight' on this Scott. That's the first question I asked myself, when I read that! LOL But what would you recommend? I'm pretty flexible regarding skills to enter the workforce. However, my partner has only done construction, and was interested in running an aquatic business or possibly a small bar and restaurant. (Have been in this industry for over 25 years).

Thanks,
Susie

BIG MISTAKE!

90% of those who come to the DR and invest in the tourism supported restaurant/aquatic amusement/bars/etc business models go home with a deep sense of newfound understanding that tourism supported industry has a 10 to 90% rate of failure. 10% of that represents those with multi-million Dollar investments, others in the couple of hundred Ks and finally the tough as nails die hard entrepenuers which make the other 90% think it's that easy to do if they put more hardwork into it and hit the ton of bricks wall in the way out...

If you're serious about taking on the restaurant business line of investment, do so away from the tourist's hubs and coast of the DR, you need a local patronage to be able to support the biz during those times that things look cheesy and be able to stay put for the long run. Go into big interior cities and sense the heartbeat of the local merchants, visit several restaurants there and you could gauge much better by the traffic in those that already do some kind of a biz there how potential a venue of location it could prove to be for you.

NY city owns one of the most robust and diversified economies in the world to say the least yet many entrepenurial biz put the padlock and hit the trail by an alarming number every year, their places taken over by the next sucker in line as one is born every second. I make this comparision to explain what many fail to identify every year in the DR potential biz paradise: Not all that shines turns out to be gold.

I offered you something that's proven and to the date haven't heard the one that lost their money to it, unless they were big Hotels in the north coast or related, you can't have all rooms rented all the time and expect to make enough to cover your expenses and recap the initial investment anytime soon, something of a plague to many star eyed investors in the DR, neither can the have locals pay to live there when it goes belly up since if you notice many coast residents are not that well to do.

I stand my case...

Forget about getting credit for a house to buy. You must come to the DR and PAY CASH. You can get 50% interest in the bank on Pesos and they will make money lending you money.

You need a passport and letters of credit from your bank in Europe for most banks. I brought 2 from banks and one from a stock broker.

I have total of 1k in banks btw and most of my money in a finance house and in Real Estate. I don't trust the banks.


Scott

Now :

I have total of 1k in banks btw and most of my money in a finance house and in Real Estate. I don't trust the banks.
Scott

From the Legal forum in DR1:
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30767

So you invest in Real Estate after all Escott?

 

[Escott]

Hmmmm OK lets see:

You can get any type of building designed by a local architec for a respectable fee, construction will be done on your budget since you can manage the actual process even without that great knowledge yourself, unlike back in the states were you can't even dream about walking around a half built one story building without the due permit by the local city agencies and burocracy involved.

I stand my case...

Hmmmm OK, lets see:

You didn't get any building permits to build your property?

Interesting... You sure you have done this before?

Scott

 

[Escott]

So you invest in Real Estate after all Escott?

Oh yes. I retired from the Real Estate business in the States after 25 years. When I sold on the upsurge after 9-11 I held mortgages on most of my properties and I go back every 2-3 months to collect my mortgage payments and then return. I still have a 2 condos, 2 family, 5 family, 7 lot subdivision, 1 acre building lot on the Major North-South commercial route in the country, another 1 acre building lot on another N-S commercial route in the same country.

I have 2 condos in the DR, 2 Building lots in a gated community in the DR, half of 11k M2 on the main Highway in Sosua, a contract on a 2 family semi attached across from Kite beach in Cabarete and a contract on 4 1k m2 lots walking distance to the main beach in Cabarete.

So the answer is yes.

Regards,
Scott

 

[PICHARDO]

Hmmmm OK, lets see:

You didn't get any building permits to build your property?

Interesting... You sure you have done this before?

Scott

When you hire your architect to do your blue prints, elevations, etc., you have the guy that will actually carry out the construction "Engineer" also a "Capataz" to make sure all goes accordingly to the plan. The architect summits the blue prints for approval to the local related office in the city the construction is to take place and the fees are included in your blue print deal!

The "Engineer" takes care that all the construction meets all the local city codes and that it matches the architect's blue print de facto. The "Capataz" is the person that deals with the grunt work and does much of the bulk that the "Engineer" should do (since these guys rarely pay a visit once they get paid).

My father has ampled experience in the construction biz, he built the houses we lived in for many years serving himself as the "Capataz." I myself gained the same experience from him and also here in the States where I learned a great deal more about working with Steel and metal underlayment etc.

Building a house in the DR is rather easier and less cumbersome than daring to do it here in the States(100%) even with ample knowledge you're required to pay for contractors that steal your money outright 75% of the time and produce poor workmanship 20% of the time, leaving the last 5% to those honest to their trade...

Part of why so many old structures buckled like a house of cards in the DR when the earth shook a tad some time ago was because many of them lacked structural integrity and shoddy work was ample noticeable in the ruins, some 25 years back or even more many DR architects received a proper knowledge infusion of earthquake proofing by a visiting team of Japanese civil engineers during a Japan embassy sponsored cultural and technical assistance program.

 

[Escott]

"unlike back in the states were you can't even dream about walking around a half built one story building without the due permit by the local city agencies and burocracy involved."

Well since you need either an Architects or Licences Engineers stamp on your drawings in NY I guess the Architect or Engineer can aquire the building permits for me so I can walk around the half build structure?

This is getting boring...