Looking to relocate from Boston to Rincon

At this forum, people say that the average cost to build now in PR is ~$125/sf. Materials became more expensive because of the new tariffs.

I was researching prefab houses, which are hurricane resistant. Micasabellapr is looking good.
I also found another company you might be interested too- Marvelarchitects. They are building in Villa Alba. A single house is at around 120K.

I would suggest not to build out of blocks, because of seismic risk in the area. Use cast in-place reinforced concrete in order to withstand category 5 hurricane and an earthquake. These two companies use this method of construction.
I wonder if there are other companies in PR building using precast reinforced concrete.

I thought the same. Thank you for the info on building costs! Definitely just moved our needle closer to prefab.

There are lots of PR prefab companies, but of what I found, micasabella is the only one that explains their building process -- and I agree with you about precast reinforced concrete

Hello.  Anything can change in 2 or 3 yrs
As for housing,  they now have a company on the island that does earthquake and hurricane proof homes , unfortunately I can't remember the materials use or the name if the builder
We lived in rincon.  I would never move back there again, its gringolandia and to much drama there
We have lived on the island for 6 plus years in 5 different locations.  Never buy land or a home unless you have lived in that area for at 3 yrs.
I wish you the best
Rincon has several Facebook groups you can join as well   why do you think rincon would be a fit for you and the family?    Rincon is also very over priced

Also the government now provides drawings for hurricane resistant houses built with cast on site reinforced concrete. Free of charge.

Regarding Rincon, it looks like relatively good hospitals and good stores are at least 1 hour east from Rincon.
Good about Rincon is that it has beautiful views on the ocean and it is elevated high enough to be safe from tsunami or floods. This area historically not a flood zone.
Also Rincon is just 30 min to Rafael Hernández International Airport.
It looks like Sandrarduncan doesn't like Rincon because of expats there. But some people would prefer to live in an expat community.

We finally moved here in august after visiting twice a year for vacation since 2007 to care for his elderly mother. I used to notice tons of empty homes with same for sale signs year after year and now not so much. I’m in Punta Santiago (Humacao) and have noticed prices seem to have escalated as well due to many expats coming here to enjoy the environment and be able to farm their own food and have access to medical marijuana and no taxes. That being said I do find medical care seems to take forever to get appt and the offices here never answer their phones. I understand you have to bring all your own bedding to hospitals emergency rooms including blankets & pillows. When you do move do not use La Rosa del Monte to ship anything here as they are horrific to deal with. I’m still waiting for boxes shipped first week of August. They may be lowest rate but unless you don’t need your things quickly use someone else.

LOL 🤣 good luck!
After several years on island, Im desperately trying to get out of here as fast as I can (as many others I have met moving were moving out - had this itch. I understand now).
On top of it - Puerto Rico is losing all the magic it once had. By time you will really want to settle here - its gonna be like Florida.
Why go through the trouble (bringing stuff to PR, island manana system) when you can be in same environment for same prices in Florida with things actually functioning??? But we all have our dreams. Good luck to you.

we all have our reasons and preferences.

appreciate all of the responses and perspectives.

florida.... no thanks.

Mermaidmb wrote:

do not use La Rosa del Monte to ship anything here as they are horrific to deal with.

- Probably things are slow because of covid?

Do you bring your own bedding to the hospitals even if you have a private insurance? To any hospitals, or just some? What is the source of your information?

Sova wrote:

LOL 🤣 good luck!
After several years on island, Im desperately trying to get out of here as fast as I can (as many others I have met moving were moving out - had this itch. I understand now).
On top of it - Puerto Rico is losing all the magic it once had. By time you will really want to settle here - its gonna be like Florida.
Why go through the trouble (bringing stuff to PR, island manana system) when you can be in same environment for same prices in Florida with things actually functioning??? But we all have our dreams. Good luck to you.

It looks like you like Florida because things are getting done there. Yes, manana attitude is damaging for the economy.
But you also said that Puerto Rico soon will get like Florida. So, it is good to become like Florida, right? 
Can you please tell us why you or people you know get unhappy to live in Puerto Rico? Not only because of manana attitude, right?

Hey!
We relocated from north shore Boston in aug 2018 we only had about a weeks notice from my husbands job. We used a realtor to find a rental property.

My suggestion is either make sure you have jobs that can go remote or expect a 50% or more pay cut.

Also you will have to pay for private schools for your kids or homeschool.

Join the "Puerto Rico Expats" Facebook Page. Just try searching existing posts for answers first.  People get a little tired of the same questions over and over. But much more activity.

juliana.boston wrote:

Hola a todos,

Estoy muy feliz de haver encontrado este forum, y espero poder cultivar amistades digitales con ustedes

I'm brazilian-born, boston-raised and absolutely dead set on moving to Puerto Rico, though my husband and I would like to have our children here first, then move - so we're really talking about 2-3yrs from now.

Regardless, I've already begun collecting info and learning about the must-do's and the LORD-DON'T-DO-THATs, so we can hit the ground running as much as possible.

We will definitely be moving to the Rincón area, and I have a couple questions, hoping someone may have had experience to shed some light:

- we plan on renting for 6mos to establish residency, then obtaining a loan from a local bank to buy property. we very much want to buy land and put up our own house. for cost efficiency, we've been looking at pre-fabricated homes, particularly https://www.micasabellapr.com/.

>> Does anyone have prefab home experience and/or stories they could share?

>> I reached out to 1FirstBank via email (don't necessarily expect them to answer) because I'm wondering: could an FHA 203(k) loan be used to buy land and build a home, not just rehab one?

>> I read from posts here that the cost of construction was averaging $70/sqft back in 2017. Anyone have insight on what it is now?

Mil gracias!

You can get fairly cheap with prefab housing, but if you sell it you have to let them know. I think I heard a company was charging around 40 dollars a square feet for prefab, it was molded, each room is cast in their place and then Brough over. Lost the info. The current price for non prefab is around 85 per foot unless you are getting Gringo price then they ask for 120 per square foot. Get a local to talk first, and ask for price, then a few days later you show up.

Getting a loan in the island takes a lot of paperwork and takes several months in many cases. Expect 1% more for the loan than in the states.

PS. Rincon is getting super expensive, consider moving to one of the other towns 10 minutes away.

Ray i am not sure these are prefab homes.  I thought these were pvc homes.    If you look on  the classified you will see that rela estate here is only increasing

sandrarduncan, I have not seen you in the group for a long time.
Hi.

sandrarduncan wrote:

Ray i am not sure these are prefab homes.  I thought these were pvc homes.    If you look on  the classified you will see that rela estate here is only increasing

The AD does not say what material they used but I never heard of a PVC home being approved for construction of walls and roofs. But you may be right.

sandrarduncan wrote:

Ray i am not sure these are prefab homes.  I thought these were pvc homes.    If you look on  the classified you will see that rela estate here is only increasing

Interesting about PVC houses-
The walls profiles are made of plastic (PVC) and concrete is pored into them.
For finishing, the PVC coating can be blasted rough, painted or plastered as preferred.

Their houses are earthquake and hurricane-proof. The walls, ceiling and roof are fastened to the foundation.
Homes can be rapidly assembled, because they use the same forms.

singularitynear wrote:

sandrarduncan wrote:

Ray i am not sure these are prefab homes.  I thought these were pvc homes.    If you look on  the classified you will see that rela estate here is only increasing

Interesting about PVC houses-
The walls profiles are made of plastic (PVC) and concrete is pored into them.
For finishing, the PVC coating can be blasted rough, painted or plastered as preferred.

Their houses are earthquake and hurricane-proof. The walls, ceiling and roof are fastened to the foundation.
Homes can be rapidly assembled, because they use the same forms.

Loots like a take on the M2 system, except the M2 system uses foam insulated walls filled with concrete and then some concrete on both sides, walls before concrete are super light so can be carried by one person then put in place and filled. No blocks very fast construction also. https://youtu.be/58j_QVPSjSg

ReyP wrote:

Loots like a take on the M2 system, except the M2 system uses foam insulated walls filled with concrete and then some concrete on both sides, walls before concrete are super light so can be carried by one person then put in place and filled. No blocks very fast construction also.

M2 Panel Building Systems are not similar to PVC-concrete homes.
In M2 Panel Building Systems, the walls are made of Styrofoam and then walls are sprayed with concrete on both sides.

In PVC-concrete homes, PVC panels are used as forms for poring concrete inside the forms. https://www.plastics.gl/construction/safe-and-sound/

Both methods are faster for building on site , because production of the panels is done on a factory by your design.

Though Styrofoam provides good insulation, there are many disadvantages of using it. Just there are some I remember-
- Obviously it is the worst material for the environment. It takes a million years for the Styrofoam to degrade. It is a very toxic material. Production of it is very toxic also.
- Flammable. Burning polystyrene releases styrene gas that, when inhaled, can be severely detrimental to the nervous system.
- Termites like to tunnel through it.
- It retains moisture.

But PVC is not a very environmentally friendly material either.
Better to use as little plastic and foam possible.

Hello, hello!

Just found this site and read your post.  Would you consider sharing the REALLY DON"T DO THAT list?  I own a piece of land in Rincon (Bo, Puntas) and I'm hoping to build a house on it.  DOn't know the first thing.  I guess the question is...do I start with an architect?  I didn't know about these prefabs.  Anyway...any wisdom would be appreciated.

Hello everyone,
     I'm a Veteran and I'm new to the site. I have been asking the same questions in a variety of different online groups. Are there any Veteran's in Puerto Rico that used their VA construction loan to build a house? Which bank did they use? What information do they need? My list of questions are long.
     Some Veteran's are saying Banco Popular is terrible when working with Veteran's. Others say that 1First Bank is great and they offer their own construction loan.
     I'm Puerto Rican and I can say that Puerto Rico is like anywhere else in the world. I mean in every town there is a good side and a bad side. Everyone wants to live in a great neighborhood and feel safe. Remember that the most important thing when buying or building a house is location, location, and finally location.
     People are saying Rincon is turning into a gringo area, all of Puerto Rico is turning into a gringo area. The same thing that happened to Hawaii will happen to Puerto Rico. If Puerto Rican's don't want the change then stop selling your houses as well as your land to outsiders and never ever become a state.
     Most people searching to buy a house are looking in Rincon, Aguada, Aguadilla, Isabela, Camuy, Hatillo, Anasco, and Cabo Rojo. These are wonderful places to live.
     Someone in Rincon bought the land then built the house and it took 6 months to build. The land cost $70k, it cost $135k to build the house, the designs cost $2500, the lawyer cost $2500, you have to pay for workman's comp, and then the person paid out of pocket expenses which came out to a total of $230k - $240k. The best thing was they built the house they always wanted.
     When searching for a house always remember to have a lot of patience. There are a lot of houses for sale between $100k - $200k that are just as great as more expensive houses. When you see one like inquire about it quickly and then go view it in person before buying it. The house might look great in person but the neighborhood is not to your liking.
     Always hire a lawyer to finalize all the paperwork and to make sure there are no liens on the house or property. The bank always does an appraisal of the house and the seller has to sell it according to the appraisal. The best place to find a house is through Clasificadosonline.com. You can always ask your realtor about private sales that are not listed in Clasificadosonline.
     I hope the information I have provided you and everyone is helpful. Good luck in finding the right house for you and your family.