New members of the Puerto Rico forum, introduce yourselves here - 2020

Greetings all:
We are a couple from Washington state, one retired, one close to retirement. Currently searching for a reasonable house/condo on the north, west and east coasts that is hopefully within walking distance (can be a long walk) from the beach. Would appreciate any guidance on income tax structure in PR for our retirement income that includes Social Security and a pension. Appreciate any tips on best towns to narrow our house search. We enjoy cooking, adventure travel, music and art.

Welcome to the forum.  I'll let others give advice on best towns; my advice is spend some time on the island to get to know the areas.  For such a relatively small island, it is quite diverse.

Regarding income taxes, I'd refer you to IRS Topic 901, found here.  In short, income earned in Puerto Rico is taxed by Puerto Rico, income earned outside (investment income) is subject to federal income tax.

I would recommend the Area of Luquillo there are several condos there close to the beach, about 1 to 2 blocks away. Very nice and a 2 minute drive can take you to Balneario de Luquillo, one of the best beaches with full facilities. Luquillo is in the east of the island around 35 minutes to the airport
You can find condos there between 110 and 160k.

We fell in love with Puerto Rico during our first visit in 2009.  We've returned quite a few times since and are in the process of purchasing a condo in Cabo Rojo.
Any feedback from those of you that are familiar with the area, is welcome and appreciated.

Greetings,

We're a couple looking to move from Georgia to Puerto Rico. I'd like to spend a few weeks or a month Airbnb each in different cities to see what would be a good place to settle down long-term. I've only been to San Juan before and loved it. Would like to visit it again and Humacao, and several more recommended places.

I am also looking for a good law firm to help with applying for Act 20 and 22 and setting up the appropriate business structure. I work remotely and earn most of my income in the USA.

GarbageLalafell wrote:

Greetings,

We're a couple looking to move from Georgia to Puerto Rico. I'd like to spend a few weeks or a month Airbnb each in different cities to see what would be a good place to settle down long-term. I've only been to San Juan before and loved it. Would like to visit it again and Humacao, and several more recommended places.

I am also looking for a good law firm to help with applying for Act 20 and 22 and setting up the appropriate business structure. I work remotely and earn most of my income in the USA.

You seem to be headed in the right direction, getting an Airbnb for a month is the way to go while you search for the right place to settle at. However that is a lot of driving, maybe a week at each location may work better for you.

Most common areas for 20/22/60/74 people are Palmas Del Mar in Humacao, Fajardo, Luquillo, Dorado and Rincon general área.

Facebook has a lot of groups for act 20/22/60/74 and firms dedicated to help you apply.

Move to Rincon, Puerto Rico.  The Sunsets are amazing... We are in Oregon mostly but have a few houses there as vacation properties and plan in the future to split our time between there and Oregon.

What local bank do re-pats prefer? Has anyone transferred funds from a US bank into a local bank? If so, pls let me known your experience/recommendations. Mil gracias!

I have Bank of America my son Wellsfargo you can use point of sale to get cash. If you want to transfer to a bank they charge you a fee according to how much you are transferring. I have a Florida state pension and is going to Coopaca decent rates. If you open a checking account with direct deposit to Banco Popular there are no charges.

Hi , we moved here several years ago from Florida and I just found this website.  Looking  to find some friends in the sober community to enjoy outings with like: walking the beach, jogging ,hiking and just hanging out.

Thanks 😊

Hello!  I bought a small house in the Rincon area, which I will retire to in 15-20 years.  Until then it's being rented as vacation rentals, and I go there a few times a year.  Looking into putting solar on the house and do a few other projects.

Hello everyone!  My wife and I are looking to move to PR within the next 2 years.  She wants the warm climate, and I'm interested in the Act 60 individual investor tax benefits. 
Any leads on reputable contacts that can assist me in working through all the details would be much appreciated.  I'm looking forward to being part of this group.

Hi everyone, I'm looking to relocate to san juan from Nairobi,Kenya. I'm hopefully trying to find a job there first then move, I've experience in sales,call centre,hostessing,personal assistant and shop attendant. If you know anyone that would like to help let me know 🙊.

Kermitll wrote:

What local bank do re-pats prefer? Has anyone transferred funds from a US bank into a local bank? If so, pls let me known your experience/recommendations. Mil gracias!

All US banks are available via ATM.
Banco Popular is a good starting point, but later you may want to switch. Banco popular has some branches in the states.

All other banks in PR other than Banco Popular will not allow you to open an account without proof of address from PR.

Transfers:
Transfers are easy, you can use your ATM to get cash then deposit in your local bank, or you can write a check from the states account and deposit into the local account but need wait for it to clear and that can take 2 weeks. You can also wire transfer, that will cost you a little around 25 dollars and can transfer around 100,000 each day, the money is available next day when processed. You can also register the PR bank into your brokerage or IRA account and transfer via wire transfer from there (minus federal taxes to get the money out), again 100,000 max per day.

Porque no hablas in Espanol o Taino?

African candy wrote:

Hi everyone, I'm looking to relocate to san juan from Nairobi,Kenya. I'm hopefully trying to find a job there first then move, I've experience in sales,call centre,hostessing,personal assistant and shop attendant. If you know anyone that would like to help let me know 🙊.

Good luck with that, there are few jobs and you need Spanish to get them. Jobs tend to go to locals but not always. Coming to PR needing a job is not a good idea.

AnitaBardin wrote:

Hello!  I bought a small house in the Rincon area, which I will retire to in 15-20 years.  Until then it's being rented as vacation rentals, and I go there a few times a year.  Looking into putting solar on the house and do a few other projects.

You did the smart thing, buying early and putting it up for Airbnb, just need to ensure the place is maintained well otherwise you will get bad rating and that will kill it.

Lots of horror stories about Real Estate purchasing in PR but I've been fortunate enough to use two terrific realtors - Katherine Figueroa and Blas Melendez .  Be awarec because of the archaic Spanish-based inheritance lawsc  a title clearance and review by skilled real estate lawyer is essential.  Homes don't necessarily go to the family members the dead owner prefers but according to a formula.  One inheriting child, for instance, can throttle the sale desired by his 5 siblings! Also, many people don't pay their taxes and , usually, the house will not be foreclosed on.  However, upon sale if they don't voluntarily pay off their account with CRIM, the new owner must pay off years , sometimes DECADES, of back taxes to obtain title.  Also, make sure survey matches official government data base.  We bought a beautiful property for a great price but papers had never been filed with the government when it was broken off from a pre-existing large farm.  Cost a couple of thousand to "segregate the property" with both legal and surveying costs.  Also the remnant of the large dairy farm hadn't been paying taxes while grazing their vacas on our land.  We had to pay THEIR taxes, as they refused, to obtain OUR title!

Happy New Year to everyone!  My family and I are planning to move to PR in 2021.  We have 3 children ages 8,9 and 10.  We were looking to rent in Condado for 1 year and then explore the buying options.  I’m concerned about the Covid restrictions and the inability for my kids to meet other kids and/or interact with others children their own age.
I know the schools are all online.  Can someone give me some feedback as to what a family can do around with kids and comply with the restrictions.  Everywhere I read beaches are closed and most places are operating at 30% capacity so I get worried my kids would be moving to an area they cannot fully explore and meet others.  We are moving from Parkland Florida.
Thank you for all your input.

Msarroyo74 wrote:

Happy New Year to everyone!  My family and I are planning to move to PR in 2021.  We have 3 children ages 8,9 and 10.  We were looking to rent in Condado for 1 year and then explore the buying options.  I’m concerned about the Covid restrictions and the inability for my kids to meet other kids and/or interact with others children their own age.
I know the schools are all online.  Can someone give me some feedback as to what a family can do around with kids and comply with the restrictions.  Everywhere I read beaches are closed and most places are operating at 30% capacity so I get worried my kids would be moving to an area they cannot fully explore and meet others.  We are moving from Parkland Florida.
Thank you for all your input.

Welcome to the Forum, the new Governor took over yesterday and will be issuing a new Executive order effective Jan 7 in a few days.He is pleased that hospitalizations have come down 30% and may relax some of the rules. The reason why the beaches are closed is because people are extreme in PR, if you. open the beach, they will gather in large groups with friends and relatives that do not live in their household. Sounds like you have time to wait for things to calm down a little and with the Vaccine that just started it should calm down more.

CONDADO IS EXPENSIVE, hope you are ready for that. But renting is the way to go, specially with kids as you are going to need some schools or do homeschooling and distance to drive to your preferred school makes a huge difference. 3 kids in private schools is going to be expensive.

I dont have kids, but you can explore this web site for ideas of what to do. Due to covid some may be closed or limited: puertoricodaytrips.com

Thank you

Hi Rey
Are all beaches closed.  Or are resort beaches open? I’m thinking about Dorado beach in the reserve is it open or closed?
Many thanks again

Mariela

Msarroyo74 wrote:

Hi Rey
Are all beaches closed.  Or are resort beaches open? I’m thinking about Dorado beach in the reserve is it open or closed?
Many thanks again

Mariela

All of them are closed including resorts. At least until Jan 7. New Governor just took office Jan 2nd and will release a new Executive order in a few days. We shall see if he relaxes some of the rules or make them more restrictive.

Msarroyo74 wrote:

My family and I are planning to move to PR in 2021.

Move after you get vaccinated.
Why to put people at risk and increase stress on the medical staff unless you must move due to a job?

Hi,

I invite you to follow this topic on this new thread:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=916059

Thanks!