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Living in Rio Mar?

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Tkron

Hello. We are wondering if there are any folks living in Rio Mar complex? We are considering buying there & hope to find new friends to get together with. Thanks!

sandrarduncan

Are you speaking of he wyndham rio mar in rio Grande?

Tkron

Yes, thanks.

sandrarduncan

We have stay in the hotel part
There are house built on the property right around the golf courses and then the have several smaller buildings they use as luie condos. So i am not sure which ones you are speaking of.      If its the house, they are nice.  The condos are older parts of the hotel but they have been redone.  But i am talking before the hurricane. 
I know they spent lots of money restoring after the hurricane.
The house are futher from the ocean and the condos are pretty close to the ocean
The Rio mar is high end and living the condo life style and condo or hoa fees living tge housing is expensive and those fees always go up and not .  I really strongly  suggest renting for at least 2 years before buying.

Tkron

Thank you, very much appreciated.

sandrarduncan

Best of luck.  I love that hotel but the beach there really isnt great.   You can try to look for a forclosed/ ban owned property on homepath, just enter puerto rico for location.
But most of use that have moved here recommend living on an area for 2 years
By the way the have bank owned property on a website called deshow.  Its a rent to own, so you can rent and after your contract you can either use the percent ( i think usually 11%) that you made toward the rental, as a down payment if you want to buy the property.  Its a good way to test your location first and have the opportunity to use some of the rent for a down payment.  These are only suggestions.  We have lived here since 2014, and still havent boughten a property

wpotvin

The Rio Mar complex is very nice. We stayed in Rio Mar Village for many years before buying in the area.  We ultimately found a single family house down the road but considered several options in the resort.

A few things you should know:  There are several different independent neighborhoods inside the resort with their own HOA's.  Each has its own rules, especially with respect to renting the property when you are not there.  Make sure you are aware of the rules for the property you are interested in.

The neighborhoods were developed at different times by different developers and the quality of construction varies from place to place.

There is a huge spread between asking prices and sales prices and the info is hard to come by.  Don't be afraid to negotiate.  Have a couple of properties lined up that you are willing to bid on with different brokers.  (Yes, there is more than one.) If your first choice bid is not accepted, let the broker know that you are moving on to the second.

Be aware that the relationship between the Rio Mar resort's current and previous owners has been highly contentious going back for years.  There is a Community Association which represents the villa owners and gets some concessions from the hotel (restaurant discounts, golf privileges, access to resort amenities). These changed from year to year when we were there.  The issues were over land use, future development, etc.  Make sure you get the current story from someone other than the broker. 

It is a beautiful place and if you buy there you will enjoy it.

Tkron

Thank you - very helpful!

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