Moving to puerto rico

Welcome to the forum and hopefully to Puerto Rico soon.
The easies way to find a rental property will be to do a search in Clasificados: http://www.clasificadosonline.com/Rentals.asp also driving around the town or neighborhood you are interested in looking for "Alquilar" (rent) signs. Please also see rental related article: https://www.expat.com/en/guide/central- … nting.html

You have not stated where you want to live nor how familiar you are with the island however your 750 dollar budget is more that enough for most of the island. Average 3 bedroom home rents for about 550-650. Depending on where you are looking to live, you can get a 1 bedroom apartment for 350. Section 8 could be a problem as not all landlords may be familiar with it but a good number of landlords should have no issue with it.

Animals can be an issue, that is something you did not mention.

Your contract will be in Spanish and as you saw the Clasificados search page is also in Spanish, get someone to translate it for you and or try using google translate.

Read your contract carefully, know what you are getting into.

Welcome to Puerto Rico!
Rey

@Rey, thank you very much for your reply, as far as location I'm looking at Rincon, I was thinking of getting a list of apartments and small homes front the HUD office in Rincon county. Yes, I will need a interpreter lol. I coming to puerto rico with a few items that's all. I'll buy a car when I get there. Now without using my section 8 voucher, my budget for a apartment would be around 325.00 a month, I'm thinking that wouldn't be enough for a decent area, maybe I'm incorrect.

thank you again

In Rincon your English will go far.
However prices for Rentals may be above 400 for 1 bedroom, don't know a lot about the west but with that search you probably find something.

We have a lot of Expats in Rincon and general areas, be nice and friendly and people there may tell you about a place that is not listed that you may rent.

You maybe able to use the section 8 letter there, I don't know much about that area.

Other local Expats  can help.
Rey

Rey, thank you, my social security is only 833.00 a month, so my section 8 is extremely important. bless you for your advice

Ouch on that amount, yes it makes sense to have section 8. You prob will find something in you budget.

yes lol not much money, anyway thank you brother, you take care of yourself

S8 is wildly popular in the island, unfortunately most landlords are hesitant to accept it because of the requirements. My sister in law used to rent a house using S8 and it was difficult to find a rental on our town that will accept it. One bedroom house , unless closer to tourist areas are hard to find, an apartment will be easier to find. You can find something in the $200-300 range close to Rincón without any issues. If you live modestly, you ss income will last you in the island. A lot of folks live with less than that here.

Good luck and welcome to the island!!

@Adlin20, thank you too, I called the HUD office 800 number for apartments and houses that accept section 8 and they never return my call. I'm hoping when I get there they can help me. i obviously have to live modest on only 833.00 a month, I'll do a google search for housing slightly outside of Rincon.  Thank you very much.

It doesn't work the same way in the island. You have to find a landlord that accept S8, then the landlord have to meet the requirements and the house will need to be inspected. My sister in law  lost her voucher because she couldn't find a landlord that will accept S8 in the timeline they gave her to find housing. If I were you, I will be very cautious. Maybe come and expore before making the move.

yes maybe i should fly out there first. btw the electric bill rates are much higher out there too  about 30 cent a kwh !!  WOW  looks like my electric bill will cost around 150 dollars a month lol

I found a 3 bedroom house in anosco for 350.00 a month I'm waiting on them to return my email

When I was looking for housing I sent many emails and never received one reply.  It may be because of the language barrier with some, or that some don't prioritize email like a phone call.   I don't know what kind of time frame you're on, but just a suggestion to make calls in addition to emails.  If you're using Clasificados, many have realtor names and phone numbers at the bottom or to the side of the listing.  Since you don't speak Spanish it might save you time and heartache to find out early on who might be able to help you instead of waiting on an email reply you may never receive.

A word about the listings. Listings may not be up to date, some places are already rented and not taken down.

Rentals a lot of times is just 4 walls. The place is not likely to have ANY FURNITURE and often they may not have a refrigerator or stove. This is normal for PR. So you need a budget to buy new or used to set your place up. Once you have it just rent a truck to move it to the next rental unit.

Last I heard electric is around 22-26 cents per KWH. A lot of places in the states is around 11 cents a KWH. If you are careful it should be ok. Turn stuff of when not needed. If careful you are looking at 45 for 1 bedroom apartment, air conditioner use will raise the bill easily.

Yes @MimiEV, the language barrier could be the reaso, I'm in the process of learn spanish lol.  I'm really starting to think before I terminate my apartment here, it might serve me well to fly out there and secure a place first.

Yes @Rey, where i live is around 15 cent per kwh , my electric bill are usually 60 dollars a month lol  SINGLE MAN  LOL   so basically double that, 120 dollars a month , I can live with that. NO air conditioners!!  fans  lots of fans. Thank you all so very much, I truly appreciate the advice.

Depending where you live you may need air conditioners only occasionally

You could be a beach comber / bum and not pay for a place, just live at the beach. LOL

lol I'm not the beach comber type  lol   I'm not going to stress about the move, the advice given here has been very helpful! VERY  I will have a savings bank account to help me out  around 10,000 for emergencies. I'm selling most of my personal belongings before I leave. bless all of you for helping me gather up information.

I was a beach bum at 16 in Condado for about 4 months. Had a good time, came home once in a while to have some laundry done. Dated a lot of tourist girls back them.

lol  those were the days, I'm 56 now and those days are fortunate behind me now. One more question please, puerto rico does offer a food stamp program for low income citizens, right?  in michigan we call it a BRIDGE CARD  EDPT  its a federal food program

Yes PR does offer it. Works the same as in the US, not sure how much you will qualify since income is different calculated here than in the states. It's called "los cupones" or PAN there is an office in almost every town that service the community.

Based on the table I found on line, you cannot have an income over $1980 for anyone over 60yr and $1634 under 60yrs old. The maximum benefits amount for one person will be $194/month.

Tel: 787-991-0101

You mean 1980.00 a month or 1980.00 a year?  lol great I'll get on PAN when i get there. BTW I'm not planning on just soaking up the beautiful puerto rico sites, I'm going to learn the language and volunteer to help disadvantaged adults and children, maybe at a church. I'm on disability but i can try to help others less fortunate than myself.  Everyone here has been a blessing to me!  remember, So shall a man soweth, so shall he reap.

I'm not sure! Lol. I can definitely live well on $1980/month in PR.

Before i ask any question, i try to look it up on the internet first but I'm having a hard time with this on, on a 2002  (EXAMPLE) chevrolet corvette that cost around 18,000 dollars, roughly what would the excise tax be?  is it 30% ?  I'm thinking it might be cheaper to buy on in puerto rico rather than shipping one from florida

Import tax are very high, plus shipping the car cost around $1K in port. I purchased mine in the island, a nice use car will cost you a few grads. Check clasificadosonline and compare if it is worthed.

yes the excise tax is very high, I'm going to call monday 787 721 6237  and get a price on tax for a 1999 chevrolet corvette their worth around 11,000 dollars in the states, hopefully because it's a 19 year old car I can get a break. I can live with a 2000 tax  lol

Sounds like a hot car. I would be tempted to ship it at almost any cost. What color is it?

Sadly, the roads won't allow you to "drive it like you stole it ". Too many potholes!!!!

Parts for the front end and underside may be hard to find after hitting a pothole, but the car will be fine if careful where you drive it, know the road before you drive it at night, these cars are low to the ground and easily damaged by potholes and drain ditches which you are likely to encountered at most intersections.

Do you already own it in full or are you still paying for it? If you have a loan on the car you will need to pay it off well ahead of time and get the title in your hands before you can consider bringing it to the island.

My current car is a 1991 Acura NSX valued at 35,000 dollars, I'm selling it to pay for this move. Theres no way I'm going from a japanese supercar to driving a ford escort!!  No I'll buy a 1999 or 2000 chevrolet corvette. I'll fly to Florida and buy one for under 11,000 dollars and ship it to puerto rico.  and of course customs will jack up the value to get more excise tax out of me. I'm only guessing, 15,000 dollars at 20%!  because it's a old car. I tried finding a vette over there but the prices are insane!  sellers are asking 25,000 for that year car, No THANKS

Sounds like a business opportunity, buy cars in Florida and sell them in PR

LOL   ok seriously, everytime I go to Hacienda  for a excise tax quote, I type in. chevrolet - corvette - 1999  and it keeps saying.   MARCA/MODELO/A#O NO REGISTRADO*  I know it means NO record  lol  the website didn't help at all  I guess I'll just call them

@Rey, as far as a business opportunity?  I don't think so, I'm guessing there isn't a huge market in puerto rico buying a old corvette for 25,000 dollars  LOL  too expensive and poor roads lol  I mostly want another sports car for my vanity  LOL I won't drive it often when I get to know my area. I just can't go from Acura NSX to a motor scooter LOL  it's like having a penthouse and moving to a shack, it's HARD!  LOL

They will ask for a VIN to give you an accurate rate. The rate you will get may vary depending upon car accessories.

Automobile registrations may go up this year. Be prepared to pay up to $300 a year for tags. This does include liability insurance up to $4K per accident. If you're in a fix income, it will be very hard to have several cars to renew every year.

I'll only have ONE car and i was going to call my insurance agent to see if my policy transfers to puerto rico. is insurance very expensive there?  I'm thinking around 600 a year for ONE car ?

Depending of the car. For example a BMW 2007 full cover is $790/yr with a $250 deductible. Most insurance companies will only offer full cover to cars under 10yr old. If you have full cover, the government mandate liability insurance is waived($129/yr). Most mainland insurance companies do not carry over to the island or offer insurance there. USAA only offer insurance to active military in the island. They do offer financing in the island.