North shore info???

Sounds like you have a good plan. So if you are going to use it for rentals first, keep in mind who will rent and where they want to be!   you will also need a management/rental company.  That will be big.

Real estate here is somewhat the wild wild west. Bob can make some recommendations to you but way too many locals and expats think they can be realtors. It is buyer beware and absolutely critical you have a good lawyer! 

I would buy something already in place, then you know what you are getting. Lots of horror stories about construction that was not what they expected.

Rentals -  my opinion condos are the way to go. MUCH less upkeep, easier to rent as more potential customers.  Lots of options in Cabarete, Sosua,  Costambar, Cofresi. Those are all along the north coast.

Parts of Cabarete and Sosua are low key but that is not the draw for tourists there.  Cabarete is all about the water sports and nightlife.  Sosua has the stunning Sosua Bay but their "nightlife" is a bit different.

Costambar is much more laid back and affordable still. Cofresi is close to Ocean World and is more upscale. 

You have lots and lots of choice on the north coast!

There is a store in Perla Marina but i am not sure how renting it while you are away would work out with the security. Nice community though.
I agree with Planner, condos are the way to go. I know of one place near Sosua that offers rental services to the owners and I am sure there are others. If not I have a few friends who have been having success with Airbnb.

Thank you for the info Planner! Astray, are the gated communities there fairly separate from the nightlife that you know of? I hear places like Sosua and Cabarete can be pretty crazy in the evenings?

Thanks

If you like the north coast, and not the tourist trap places like Sosua, etc. then try Montecriste.  It's quieter, and the town is better laid out than normal, wide streets and sidewalks etc.  I liked it there.

You sound just like my husband and I, but we chose Cabrera because it's NOT a touristy destination, but still has a nice expat community.  If renting out is necessary...it's not that ideal there...but, many renters do go there...and rent for longer...mostly from Canada and Europe.  I'm going to PM you with some suggestions and contacts.

Planner has done a good job or giving you information and let me add

Real estate agents are a dime a dozen here and many have few or no scruples.  Be very careful on  who you use and try to stay to the "known" brands (ReMax,, Century 21, etc).  Be very careful on proper title and use your own lawyer for any transaction not the sellers lawyer.

If you are looking to rent the property when you are not using it then you need to be in a tourist area (at least to some extent) as these are your "renters" and it is all about location, location, location.  ON the beach or convenient to the beach is important.  Condos do rent better and are easier to maintain but we have clients (we worked in realestate for the first 6 years we were here) who have both condos and villas that rent very well.  We actually had a condo in Cabarete that we used as rental unit and managed to maintain a 85% occupancy year round.  The villa complex you mentioned has very good rental potential as well as many others in the area.

Perla marina is a nice area but rental potential is not great and Unless in the gated condo area security can be a problem when you are not here..

Hope this helps.  Feel free to contact me via PM if you like.  We have been in the area for 11 years now.

Bob K

Lots of great info here for you. Thanks everyone.

No problemo

Bob K

Yes, Thank you everyone confirmation on what Ive been thinking is helpful when you have educated experience!! truly appreciate all input! I will round up a few more questions!! is anyone familiar with drescape tours? they seem to market more of the Cabrera area??

I pm'ed you about drescapes...I think there are a few people on here who found Barry's website and used his tours as a stepping stone.

We have been on a tour with Barry from drescapes and found it very informative. We really liked the Cabrera area for us. I was a little bit reluctant to go with someone i didn't really know but it was totally worth it. We are also on one of their recent videos from this April. It was our 9th trip to the D.R.

Oh! I saw that! Hi!     Do you remember the videos with Judy and Richard Brown?  They are our neighbors! They made Barry take down their videos...I found Barry through stumbling across their videos!..hahaha...

Greetings everybody

I am new on this expat site.

I read the information discussed here and I have to agree with it. I currently own some land in Luperon (Puerto Plata) and I have to say that when this personal project started  5 years ago I was sure that coming from another Spanish speaker country will work magics on the entire land purchase, but I was !!ABSOLUTELLY WRONG!!

Yes, having native Spanish is a plus, however, all the processes, in general, are so complicated and "professional" are so careless that it can kill your dreams and bankrupt you in the blink of an eye.

I have the preference to be out of the tourist spots, that why I choose Luperon in Puerto Plata. Happily, I can say that I manage to get two residential lots purchased with a title with not major issues 

On the construction/ design/ daily living, i will probably say that going on the simple living/ minimalist approach is the smarter way to go. I am not talking about going back to caves, however, the more sophisticated, or complex you go on furnishing your dwellings the more headache you are self-creating on your life, something as simple as a 3 way light switch can turn to a nightmare. Remember that locals always say YES to everything even if they don have a clue of how things work, and at the end, you are going to pay the consequences. Professional help is available but hard to find.

I wish everyone on this blog a happy property hunting. If you are planning to explore or happen to be in the Luperon / El Castillo area feel free to contact for any question.

Welcome. It sounds like you are having quite the adventure and a lot of what you are saying is true.  We built our villa here and I had to be on site almost every day to correct things as they went along.
It is built in job security when you never do anything correctly the first time as then you have the chance to do it over and over again.

Bob K

Greetings Bob

Good to know that you survived the construction undertaking.

It is nice to be part of this blog. I would have liked to know about this site when started this adventure.

Cheers

Now that you have found us please keep us posted on your progress.

Bob K

Sure thing