Hoping to move to Las Terrenas

Hi!  My name is Gary and I am from Niagara, Canada🇨🇦.  I have a home in las Terrenas, Punta Popy beach.  It is very difficult to obtain a mortgage from any bank in DR.  Some developers offer financing.

Welcome to the forums!

For new residents it's very hard to get financing.  For non residents it's almost impossible.

Yes some developers will offer financing.  As. I understand it Scotiabank may offer some financing but only on their projects, not in general.

And welcome to the forums!

Education for kids is great if you can pay for private schools.

Healthcare is fairly good if you have private insurance.  And private insurance is not expensive. I have an insurance group and good quality coverage is US 50 per person per month more or less.

It is possible to get financing with Scotia Bank.  You need the perfect credit and they only finance 70 percent.  They are very strict.  You look out for teaser rates and prepaid penalties.  Make sure to negotiate so you don't have penalties attached.

Hello Planner, my wife and I are planning on spending 6 months a year in Las Terrenas and the other 6 months back home in Canada when I retire later this year. We are looking for a reasonable health care plan and would welcome any suggestions for companies offering reasonable rates.

My husband and I are also from Canada. We spend 4 to 6 months in Samaná during the winter seasons and would also like info on health insurance. Thank you all for any info you can provide.

I will contact you both about the insurance.

There are two really good companies in my opinion. Humano and Universal are both good with similar offerings. I choose Humano for my group because of administration differences. Again both are excellent companies.

I will send you info

Two additional things to keep in mind when considering financing real estate purchases here:
1) Interest rates are much higher than in the US
2) Length of financing is based on your age. We're in our early and mid 50's and were told 7-10 years is what we could expect. I don't think anyone gets the typical 30 years you see in the US.

Hello, We are looking to move from Canada to Las Terrenas within the next year.  We need some information and good contacts for the following info.  We are 2 couples as follows:  Mom 69/Dad 63 (home purchaser and pensionista), Daughter 50, Husband 56 (will be paying rent to parents and income will be from guaranteed investments in bank account)
1.  Average cost per couple monthly for health insurance
2.  Lawyer for home purchase and immigration assistance
3.  Advice on shipping some items and moving small pets safely.
4.  Opinions on your adjustment from Canada to a permanent move to another country....pros/cons.
Thank you for any assistance/comments.   Much appreciated in advance.
Michelle

Hi Michelle! My husband and I just moved from the US to Las Terrenas last July.

1) We currently pay about $50 each for a very good health insurance plan with Humano.
2a) Real Estate attorney: Cesar Calderon with Guzman Ariza in Las Terrenas. He's helped us with 3 purchases as well as registering a US LLC here that manages our rental property.
2b) Immigration attorney: Lishali "Lily" Baez - 809-860-1231. If you read through the pinned threads on residency, you'll see quite a few of us here have been very pleased with her services!
3a) When you receive residency, you'll be able to bring in a 20 or 40-foot container of personal household items duty-free, as well as receive a discount on the import of a vehicle if you want to bring one in. We shipped in a 40' container with our car and the household items we decided to bring down here. We didn't bring a lot of furniture but did bring electronics, kitchenware, and countertop appliances. The selections here are not as extensive as you have at home, and the prices can be significantly higher since almost everything is imported.
3b) We brought our dog down in December after we obtained our residency and once we knew the temperatures would be low enough to allow transport in cargo. Our George is just over 20 pounds, so he couldn't go in the cabin. If yours are small enough to go in the cabin, it will make it much easier and the temps aren't an issue. There are health certificates required, but your USDA equivalent should be able to provide you with the details on what is needed. Be sure you fully understand your airlines' requirements as well! We know of people that have had to scramble at the last minute to get a crate that met the airline's requirements - size restrictions, metal fasteners, etc.
4) I can't offer that much here since I'm not Canadian! I think the biggest con is that we can't get Amazon orders delivered the next day (it takes about a week and we pay $5/pound for shipping from Miami). We have learned to make do and plan ahead - stocking up on items when we make trips back to the US. The pros are so numerous! For us, the fact that we were able to retire now is the biggest plus! If we stayed in the US, we'd be working until we could qualify for Medicare because the cost of health care is just way too high! The weather, the wonderful people, the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, the beautiful beaches...I could go on and on! It's been a bit challenging for us to make the move in the midst of the pandemic, but we've still really enjoyed our time here so far and have met some wonderful people!

Any help I can provide on Las Terrenas, please let me know!

Thank you do much for offering so much information.  That will be of great assistance 😁

That was a great response.  So my comment is ditto!

I will add insurance over age 65 is very difficult to get.  As far as I know only 1 company offers it and the coverage is not good.

hello, Do you know which company offers the coverage over age 65?
Thank you

ARS Palic is currently the only one

Thank you 😍

I am Canadian  from Windsor, Ontario. I am 34 years old and want to move to las terranas with my family. I see a lot of retirees moving here.  How does a Canadian make a living out there besides investing in real estate and air bnbs?  I would love to move out there but just wondering for work what I could do out there to make money.

How does a Canadian make a living out there who isn’t retired? Is there a lot of jobs out there?

Welcome to the forums. Have you been here many times?

First you can't move here and work legally without residency.  Read the pinned thread on residency to find out how it works.

Jobs here do not pay what you are used to and good jobs are very hard to find. Do you have specific in demand skill sets that may help? Do you speak Spanish? Average salary overall here is under US 300 a month!

  Real estate investing is tricky. You really need to know what you are doing!  It's possible to make money but it would take time to build up!

Making a living is tough to do here for most!

Ursy N Jordy wrote:

How does a Canadian make a living out there who isn’t retired? Is there a lot of jobs out there?

Hello! I live in Las Terrenas. As Planner said, you can't just move here and work. You must have residency to legally work here, and it is extremely difficult to get residency if you need to work (financial solvency from passive income is required unless you are married to a Dominican.)

There are some expats who work here without residency, but that work is 1) illegal, 2) inconsistent and 3) at much lower wages compared to their home country. Everyone becomes a Jack (or Jill) of all trades - picking up whatever odd jobs they can to cobble together an existence.

The other option is to obtain residency by investing in a Dominican company. You can purchase an existing company or start your own, but the minimum investment is $200k (USD) and you must follow all the Dominican laws and regulations (employment of Dominicans, payment of taxes, etc.).

This is a small town and there is only so much demand for this type of off-the-books/under-the-table business. I think we've reached the saturation point on massage therapists, yoga teachers, handymen, and rental agents.