Puerto Rico: Gold Mine or Fools Gold?
Sacramento, CA · Member since 2017 · 25 posts · 7 votes
Hello All,
What are your thoughts on the mass exodus of citizens out of Puerto Rico? Are you hopeful that the economy will pick up and investing in this market will be fruitful in the long run or are you staying clear of the area due to the economic crisis they are in?
Look forward to your thoughts.
@Victor Ayala Thank you for the info you have shared! I am very interested in buying vacation rentals in PR; probably looking to buy within the next few years. I visited the island in 2017 and absolutely loved it! I would really love to live down there someday, at least for the winters!
Do you find that most vacation rental investment is in condos? I have mixed feelings on condos and at this point I am more interested in single family homes. I could see though where management may be more challenging. ‘Just wondering if buying SF is doable for vacation rental purposes? Thanks again!
Hi, I'm looking to invest in PR in rental property. I was told Isla verde is a good place to start, but condo's seem expensive. Can someone help or provide any commentary?
Much appreciated
How about different areas of the island? @Victor Ayala
Do you have any insight on Playa Fortuna for monthly rentals vs AirBnB? It's 40 miles east of San Juan so debating between that area or staying near Ocean Park.
What about monthly rentals in Ponce? or a more luxury property in Quebradillas?
My company believes there are opportunities there and we are opening an office soon to finance properties there. This thread is great, I was glad to stumble upon it!!
Great thread on PR here...it just prompted me to sign up and join the discussion! I was recently out in the Isabela (northwestern) part of the island for a few days. I learned a little about Act 20/22, housing incentive act and the "opportunity zone" in which almost all of PR has been designated. All good things to familiarize yourself with if you're considering investing here. If there's one thing I've learned over the stock market and housing crashes in the US, it's to consider buying when others are fearful to do so. PR feels like this to me. All we hear about are the issues with the government and of course, the impact of Maria. However, I just saw first hand that a lot of the island is running normally. What we don't hear a lot about is how someone like John Paulson is betting billions on PR (just google it if you're interested). It really has so much going for it...US property rights, USD as currency, many on the island speak English, driving is the same and flights to get there are pretty easy. However, you're nestled between The Dominican and USVI and the beaches are absolutely beautiful.
I agree with the gentleman above...the AirBNB/VRBO rentals are the way to go. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with the Rincon area? It feels like property isn't as pricey as SJ, but the tourism market, charm of the town and surfing draw to the area make it worth exploring further, with AirBNB type rentals in mind. I'm visiting the Rincon area in late April and would appreciate any insight or tips!
This thread is great. My husband and I want to invest in PR but we’re newbies at it. Still soaking all the info we can. I grew up in Salinas. I’m not really afraid of the risk as I am of finsing good property management.
Will continue to follow this.
Amazing thread. I've been looking at Palmas del Mar, Humacao for some time for a VRBO / AirBnb investment. I'm a bit worried about how far it is from San Juan. Anyone familiar with that area? I know it was hard hit by Maria.
Update: since the original thread I purchased a 4plex near Centro Médico. It was a total fixer upper. Unfortunately, the property was illegally built up to a 4plex and didn’t have the proper permits. This is a project almost two years in the making and I’m hoping that the construction permit will be done by June. Rookie mistake to not do enough due diligence. Lesson learned!
Tips: if you are looking for rehab properties in PR, make sure you know somebody who works with permits and has contacts in the agency. This will make your life a lot easier.
This is a great thread, and I hope I can help. I lived in PR for 11 years, and I moved a few months after Maria (between FL and PR my whole life I needed a break from hurricanes for a bit). I actually still work virtually, running a mental health corporation I helped start there. Between that, family, and friends, I naturally still go back and keep an eye on things. For reference, I've lived in Dorado, Guaynabo, Isla Verde, and I've worked all over the island from the mountains to the coast. So I know it fairly well. I've actually been looking at parlaying several of the prominent friendship/contacts I've made on the island into a possible real estate business wholesaling and/or flipping. That said, for those interested in areas for vacation rentals, I'd stay in and around the metro area, as that is by far the most looked at by travelers. You can find single family homes and condos, but it is a lot harder than mainland US. Your best bet is a local realtor on the island and scouring classificadosonline.
Condado, Ocean Park, Isla Verde, and Old San Juan would likely be your best bets for vacation rentals. Rincon is a beautiful vacation spot, but my concern there is that most of those vacationers would be surfer types (I've had plenty of buddies like that) coming to the island looking to stay cheap ...ie hostels and the like. So your rates or occupancy might be much lower than the metro area. Ponce is the 2nd largest city, but it is far from the main airport and hustle and bustle, so I don't know how well that would work out comparatively. They could work, but those are my thoughts. If you're looking at long term rentals, you can probably expand that out to Guaynabo, Bayamon, Dorado, Caguas, and a couple other areas.
A 4-plex near Centro Medico will likely do well for you as a long term rental. Good luck. I hope it works out great for you. If anyone is interested in help or possibly collaborating, let me know, as I'm eager to start.
Gabriel this is very helpful. I’ve been searching for wholesalers on the island and I’ve not been successful, so I think your business idea would be really helpful for Investors. My husband and I are looking to invest in the metro area.
The one issue I run into with Rincon is that the area is saturated with investors, so they ask a premium for their places for sale. once you do the numbers, there is no cash flow after all your expenses. we are still on the hunt though.
Aaron, I love the Rincon area. Its beautiful, but make sure you do your homework when looking at beach front out there as some areas are suffering severe beach erosion. It has a decent amount of mainland expats (or transplants since its part of the US), but the area is definitely saturated because of that. That's why it concerns me personally when it comes to VR in that area, because like you said, cash flow seems tough out there. You might get some locals vacationing out that way looking for a rental every once and a while, and you may get some travelers from abroad too. Personally, I just feel like for what the prices are out there, to cash flow consistently on Airbnb will be tough. The closest airport to Rincon is in Aguadilla (35 minutes away), and it doesn't see nearly the traffic that the main airport in Isla Verde (San Juan area) does which is 2 hours away. I may be wrong, but my buddies and family that came to visit rarely stayed out there. The few that did were looking to go surfing and didn't really feel like paying a lot for a place to go surfing all day.
Great posts here! I've been to the island 2x in the past 7 months and agree with a lot of posts.
For sure Luiz Munoz gets by far the most traffic, however I did see an encouraging article that Rafael Hernandez airport (northwest of the island) recently set a record for the most visitors it has ever seen!
Also Rincon does seem tough to cash flow in. As a surfer myself, Rincon was a great spot we visited and I surfed at but we actually stayed in Aguadilla. Although not true for all surfers (I've stayed in very nice places for surfing), typically we do look for more budget stays.
The beach erosion in Aguadilla was also very evident. The owner of the Airbnb showed us how much beach there used to be. It made me nervous about ocean property right there if there's another big surge. With that said the island has so much to offer for travelers and I hope to be able to move down there and invest in the near future. Seems like there are some great contacts here so I'd love to be in communication!
...Also if you're looking to fix and flip, the east of the island got hit the hardest. I had done some volunteering with All Hands and Hearts rebuilding homes in Yabucoa in November, and there is still much work to be done and houses in tough shape. Could be a good area if you're looking for fixer uppers, but just a little less traveled by tourists.
...Also if you're looking to fix and flip, the east of the island got hit the hardest. I had done some volunteering with All Hands and Hearts rebuilding homes in Yabucoa in November, and there is still much work to be done and houses in tough shape. Could be a good area if you're looking for fixer uppers, but just a little less traveled by tourists.
where the houses completely concrete? if not, i would not invest in a property that is not poured concrete walls and roof. you are just asking for more trouble in the long run.
We will be in Rincon next week looking at properties.
@Francisco Hernandez Before investing in PR, look into their inheritance laws (that is, if something happened to you). A friend of mine was going to invest there, but decided against it after learning about the restrictions the government places on how the property passes on.
@Aaron T. Yes at least all that I worked on were concrete, but I'm sure there were some others that weren't. Agreed, as anything newly built would want to make sure it's very resistant to the elements. Main work involved was redoing roofs with concrete to stop leaking, and some harder work like sanitation from lots of mold. Best of luck in Rincon!
I'm hoping to open an office there before the end of Q3-2019. I know there will be a lot of challenges, but the Island has a lot of Gov't money slated to help it and could use some bridge financing. I'm totally looking forward to visiting often :) !
Question regarding taxes for those of you that have investment properties in PR. Is the rental income taxable? In other words, are federal taxes based on where the property is located or where the owner lives? I hope this question makes sense :)
All- Great thread. I visited the island this summer and loved PR! We stayed in Rio Mar at the Wyndham resort. Any thoughts on a vacation rental near Rio Mar or Fajardo? We enjoyed access to the beach and El Yunque. Better to look at an old condo building near the beach or single family home? Appreciate any referrals to local real estate agents in PR. Thanks.
All- Great thread. I visited the island this summer and loved PR! We stayed in Rio Mar at the Wyndham resort. Any thoughts on a vacation rental near Rio Mar or Fajardo? We enjoyed access to the beach and El Yunque. Better to look at an old condo building near the beach or single family home? Appreciate any referrals to local real estate agents in PR. Thanks.
Are you looking for investment property or are you looking for market rate property? Rio Mar is a great area, and you stayed at a great resort, but there are a lot of hidden gems all over the Eastern part of the island.
Jorge Morales -- I'm also interested in Fajardo. Does anyone on the list have any experience or opinions on the Peña Mar Ocean Club area around the Villa Marina Yacht Basin?
Great conversation here, glad I found this thread. I'm currently in the search for a property/ piece of land in Rincon for local business and with airbnb potential, if anybody knows of anything I'd love to connect.
After reading this thread, I believe a lot of you have really great points on the logistics of the type of client you will host in the Rincon area. But a point I would like to bring up is that we must also consider local tourist as clients. I do agree there's more cash flow in marketing to foreign tourist but they shouldn't be the only source. For those of you not familiar with the island, a lot of PR locals love to rent out vacation rentals in the island & they are also willing to pay the asking price.
My parents currently have a Condo in Loiza and for $200 a night and the majority of their customers are local residents and its booked out for the entire year. The point that Im trying to make with this is that there's always an opportunity it just depends on how you look at it. The local politics may be a deterrence for a lot of people but I just see it as a speed bump.
Jorge Morales -- I'm also interested in Fajardo. Does anyone on the list have any experience or opinions on the Peña Mar Ocean Club area around the Villa Marina Yacht Basin?
Pena Mar is beautiful. I stayed there a couple of years ago! It’s safe, quiet, and has good nearby restaurants.
I agree that we need cater to the locals more.