Posts filed under 'Retiring in Dominican Republic'
Part of the reason it’s been so quiet here is because we’ve been working extra hard on the 2008 calendar of free weekends, which was no small feat.
It means we’ve put together enough hotel rooms and enough speakers to make sure we can cover all the locations, and there are already some surprises!! You’ll have to check the page to see the one big surprise!!
But beyond that it is worth saying, maybe it is even obvious, that the calendar is not yet complete. We’ve got a few locations yet to add and certainly a lot of dates, because every location will have a few possible dates.
But that said, right now we are talking about 14 locations and expecting that number to jump to 15 before very long. I can’t give secret 15 away yet, but it is inland in Mexico, possibly with the very best climate anywhere in the world (?)
- Los Cabos/La Paz
- Puerto Vallarta
- Mazatlán
- Mérida
- Campeche
- Cancún/Isla Mujeres/Playa del Carmen
- San Miguel de Allende
- Juan Dolio DR
- Northern DR
- Guanacaste CR
- Central Valley CR
- Panamá City
- Boquette Panama
- Surprise Location
We’ve also set up a basic schedule that covers all of the events in ever city and we are sending that out to anyone who registers. I’ll be making it available on line in a few days too. It gives you a good idea what to expect, when to arrive, how the speakers and experts will be arranged and I think generally allows people to make the most of the weekend.
Return to Livtopia.com
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November 15th, 2007
This article, by Miami Herald writer, Jim Wyss, sums up a lot of issues pretty nicely. The Dominican Republic has come a long way toward deserving to be considered as a retirement destination. Competing with places like Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic is frequently at the top of the list for people from the East Coast of the US and Canada, not even to mention those in Europe and places further afield.
Even as the U.S. real estate market stumbles, Montas said builders like him can’t keep up with the demand.
Inspecting a two-bedroom condo that his company is selling for $123,000, Montas said about 40 percent of his buyers never set foot on the property before closing.
We don’t necessarily recommend buying strictly on the internet, of course. You don’t have to if you can visit for free. But the boom does not appear to be dying down too much, even in spite of the problems crippling the US market. “While isolated beaches and cheap drinks lure tourists, it is health care, accessibility and cheap labor that draw retirees,” continues the article. Indeed. We might also add relative cultural parity, or at least a familiarity with a given culture, bilingualism, and, along the lines of health care, access to bilingual health professionals and affordable insurance. And of course, housing costs at 30% to 80% less don’t hurt either.
Quoting a couple who moved to El Cortecito from Miami, Wyss concludes his story like this:
Just a few miles from an airport, a new shopping center, and a modern health-care facility, the condo has all the comforts of home, he said. And it lacks some of the hassles of South Florida living. Because the house was less than $150,000, they don’t have to pay property taxes, and insurance isn’t required.
“I know people who have lived in Miami for years who are going broke because of all the insurance and tax problems,” Montesino said.
“And the people here are so much nicer. There’s a reason we’re putting our money [in the Dominican Republic].”
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November 9th, 2007
These are a few shots of the top secret re-sale homes that will be a part of our first “On-the-Ground - Juan Dolio” Free Holiday weekend that we keep talking about. These aren’t all of the photos either, but rather they are just the one’s I thought would look nice on the blog.
Skeptical readers will see that these are only a few of the properties. In fact, they are still putting together a list to include as part of the actual weekend, and that list may not be conclusive until sometime in early December.
A note too, as mentioned in the newsletter, there is a chance to take part in a half-day tour of Santo Domingo, about 50 minutes drive away from the hotel.
Just about every house we are dealing with comes complete with an in-ground swimming pool, so you’ve got to figure in most parts of Florida or the Gulf Coast, much less California, these homes would start at US$600,000 or more.
Located in Metro Country Club, a 550 acre residential gated community, with a first-class championship 18 hole golf course and private beach club and private pool, there are not a lot of free-standing homes available.
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October 29th, 2007
Just a couple more good photos of the beach in front of the Embassy Suites Los Marlins Golf Resort where we’re going in December, and here are some of the attractions nearby:
- Los Marlins Championship Golf Course - on site
- Guavaberry Championship Golf Course (designed by the legendary Gary Player) - 1 mile
- World’s largest premium cigar factory, the Tabacalera de García Ltd offers exclusive tours near Casa de Campo – 30 miles
- Capital City of Santo Domingo - 30 miles
- Prime Cathedral (first cathedral of The Americas) - 30 miles
- Christopher Columbus’ Lighthouse and Museum - 30 miles
- Quisqueya Stadium – 30 miles, though night games will be played much closer at San Pedro Tetelo Vargas Stadium in San Pedro de Macoris. The winter baseball season runs from October through the end of January.
- Altos de Chavon, Museum, Artist Village and Culture Center - 30 miles
- La Romana Championship Golf Courses - 30 miles
- Las Americas Interantional Airport is about 20 minutes (15 miles) to the west.
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October 22nd, 2007
Well, I am polishing off details on our 2 free days in Juan Dolio, you can read more about the free holiday weekend here. Normally we talk about Juan Dolio as a big-time Golf Resort area which explains the condos and great places to look into for retirement or vacation real estate. That’s pretty much what our free weekend is all about!
So I was a little surprised to see that Juan Dolio itself is so close to the home-town of so many great American baseball players; San Pedro de Macorís. That was in doing a quick Wikipedia search that I sometimes do for supplementary info, but check out Wikipedia’s list of major league players who originate in the town:
I’ll admit to being mostly familiar with Sammy Sosa, but maybe some reader can fill us in on why so many terrific athletes should hail from the little town. Maybe we could credit the early Cuban inhabitants and the European and American business interests that followed, but either way it is a fascinating part of the history of the south coast of the island.
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October 20th, 2007
I asked the staff of Livtopia’s Buyers Agents to respond to the questions posted here at the Long Beach California Real Estate Issues blog. I encourage readers to see how our answers compare to those of the folks in Long Beach by following the link above.
Unlike the US or Canadian housing markets, where things are pretty clear, and a whole variety of Multiple Listing Services makes the playing field very transparent, in an international environment, no such transparency exists. There is no MLS, and rules often don’t exist or are poorly enforced. Knowing what you are buying is an experience that can be as seamless as in the US or Canada, or it can turn into a total nightmare, depending on simply who you buy from and who is helping you.
Livtopia, like HSBC, “the world’s local bank,” is the local realty expert. We have a staff of people on the ground in every location, and we can steer people in the right direction, or warn them away from others, precisely because we have local knowledge. Our network is not covering every square meter or Latin America, YET, but we hire local people where ever the inquiries lead us and that means you get access to people with years of experience in the area your considering.
Now, onto the five questions:
1. Are you specialized in an area? – Livtopia’s Customer Service Agents are Generalists, but they rely on Specialists in every region and Featured Location that Livtopia recommends. The “consultation work” that helps define which country, region, city, or even community or neighborhood will best suit a customers needs is done by the Customer Service Agents. These agents will then call on the Local, Field Agents for the deep local expertise. Our generalists and Local Agents do keep in close contact because the volume of searches being performed meaning they are talking at least several times each week.
2. How many families have you helped each year? – Livtopia’s work is divided into the Customer Service Agency which coordinates with local realtors and Livtopia’s Concierge. The local agents who do the actual showings and selection of appropriate properties, show and assist in sales to about 10 home buyers each month in our busier locations. The back office team, legal people and finance advisors all of whom help with closings, may work with many times that number in a year.
3. Will you refer me a lender? Do you get any compensation for that? – We do get a commission from some lenders. There are very few lenders who work with Americans or Canadians wanting to buy in mexico, and we worked very hard to select the few that we feel are serious and reputable and who offer financial services and products suitable for the vast majority of the people Livtopia represents. Nothing in a Buyer’s Representation agreement you sign with Livtopia will obligate you to borrow through one of the lenders we recommend, but we are confident that those with whom we’ve made agreements offer the most attractive products, rates and conditions.
4. How will you will help me pick properties to view? – Livtopia’s Customer Service team does as extensive a consultation as is necessary or as extensive as a customer would like. Based on the customer´s preferences, we can almost always identify the perfect country and city, and then we refer them to our local Buyer’s Agents who do manual searches for the perfect property in that particular region. The customer´s preferences and budget come first, but Livtopia can also depend on a network of Real Estate Agents in everyone of our Featured Locations and Countries. In some locations that means we can show you almost every house on the market at a given time. Since no comprehensive MLS exists, this search can often be time consuming and will only be successful with close knowledge of the local market, players and conditions.
5. What do you do during escrow? – Livtopia has a dedicated team focused on making sure the closing process is smooth. With many properties in foreign markets, there are no escrows, which makes the need to know who you are dealing with all the more critical. With Livtopia on your side, you can write, call or visit at any point during the closing should a problem occur with the transaction and our team of Legal and Customer Service personnel is at your disposal.
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May 15th, 2007
According to Dominican Today, the Ministry of Tourism has big plans for the Dominican tourism industry and for the overall economy. The new national airline is set to launch in 2008.And just look at some of the numbers for the new budget: US$45 million for promotional activities in Europe, Brazil and Argentina. “Build 8,000 homes to improve living conditions in tourist areas like Puerto Plata, Samaná and Higüey.”
The Ministry’s plans also include developing the southern region’s tourism potential, building roads to link the central-northern highland areas of Monción, Jánico and San José de las Matas, as well as Jarabacoa and Constanza with the aim of increasing eco-tourist activity in these areas.
The airline will fly, I guess, primarily from Madrid, but still, it’s healthy plans like these that make everyone take notice and increased tourism will benefit everyone on the island. As soon as Livtopia began our project in the DR, we started hearing from people beyond the United States and Canada. Apparently the DR has really captured the European imagination. Maybe getting there will be as easy as hopping across the continent.
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May 13th, 2007
Having spent half my life in New York City, I am no stranger to the Dominican people. It’s impossible to imagine New York without the tremendous effect they’ve had on New York’s personality and culture, and living in Mexico, that particular Dominican energy and character is one thing I often find myself missing. Their homeland, however, is something I am just getting to know.
Quoting the editor at Alanat News, (an article the curious really should read):
What you notice first about the Dominican Republic is its size. This is not another tiny Caribbean island with a beach and a straw market. Instead, it’s a big country with incredibly varied scenery that includes the tallest mountains in the region, stretches of white sand that run unbroken for miles, and one of the Caribbean’s most cosmopolitan cities: Santo Domingo.
Casinos, baseball, the burial place of Christopher Columbus. You’ll be seeing many changes to Livtopia-Dominican-Republic over the next few days, mostly in this coming week. And I’ll be happy to repost some of that information here.
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April 21st, 2007
