Update on Our Adventure Here in PR

If it was not for bad luck, you would not have any. Sorry to hear of all the troubles, but it seems you are wiser now and paying attention to all the details. Sorry that learning cost you over 5 grands.

As to noise, people have different tolerance levels and sometimes it depends on the day and time of the day. Not all areas in a town are going to have the same noise level.

I make it a point to stay away from any form of protestant church and homes with young adults that have their music blasting and like to have late night home parties.

Econo is in almost every town, I am not sure what their prices versus quality is. In PR a lot of people may visit multiple supermarkets since each has their own list of specials. They also know when the supermarkets fill the aisles with produce and meats and get there early enough to take advantage of the freshers produce and the specials.

Speaking about supermarkets, It is quite obvious that some people don't work when you see a cart being pushed by the wife, and she is surrounded by her mother, the kids, husband and a few friends all surrounding the cart and not allowing you to pass them while they walk around like they own the place. You have to say "permiso" at least once per aisle if not more.

Hope this other rental works for you.

Congrats on finding a car and hopefully, a new rental.  Is it is Isabella?  When we stay for 4 weeks at a time, we go to the store pretty often looking for fresh veggies.  We stop at stands and also shop Econo and Mr. Special.  Sometimes they vary each in what is good or is priced right.

If the house is for sale and the price is high, it may take a while to be sold, you would also have a rental agreement that would have to be honored by the new owner. Also new potential owners are somewhat less likely to purchase a property that is currently rented because of the hoops they have to go thru to get the property free of the renters.

If this is still a concern, check with a lawyer about your right and have him check the rental agreement to ensure you are as protected as possible.
Rey

You can also use your time at the property to look for a place to purchase if you plan to stay in PR. This way you are in full control and have a permanent place to live.

You're right about being wiser! Chalk it to learning experience. I'll probably sue the dude though. Hopefully it deters him from doing it to someone else.

Ha! Thanks Rey! And you're so right about the grocery store! I just try to go early afternoon random days during the week to avoid crowds. But having to go to several places is what's turning me off to Luquillo. When I stayed there I had to go to 3 or 4 places just to get a short list of groceries. that was madness! In Dorado I can get everything between Walmart supercenter and the grocery store. That, I would miss if Aguada isn't the same. Which, I'm not thinking it is.

Thanks Schuttzie! It's in Aguada actually. The other place that had the water issue was in Isabela. The Walmart and grocery store we go to in Dorado is similar. Sometimes some fruits and veggies are just not there. It's been impossible to find spinach on a regular basis for instance. We can usually always find apples and grapes at least. Our toddlers love fruit so we try to make sure they have grapes at least everyday. I'm so happy that the grapes here are real. In the states you get those little shriveled things with no seeds in them and they have the nerve to cost around $6 for a bundle! Here we pay no more than $2.50 for a giant bundle of grapes.

Funny, grapes are not usually grown in PR. They must come from south America or somewhere close. WASH THEM WELL, they may have pesticides.

Supermarkets should have just about everything you want but specific brands may sometimes not be present and some stuff may not be as fresh from week to week.

Remember a lot comes in by boat and there are delays sometimes on some shipments.

I noticed that today when I got grapes. They come from Peru. Quite a ways but they're good! Wonder what a just picked grape tastes like? But yeah, we wash everything and sometimes peel the skin. Like apples for example.

You are very close to Rincon and check out their farmers market in the town square on Sunday mornings for more options of veggies and just have fun.

Well, scratch that property off the list. The owner is leaving the place partially furnished. If we don't want it furnished at all, we can't have the 5th bedroom on the first floor because she would store it all there. That defeats my entire purpose. She also wont' go for a 2 year lease. Only 6 months, so again, that's a no-go. Can't keep moving my kids around like that. Plus, who the heck wants to keep moving? So back to the drawing board. I'm starting to get impatient.

Just saw a house on clasificados in Humacao right beside Palmas Del Mar. Looks like it's near a church though.... we'll see.

chrishamrick103 wrote:

Well, scratch that property off the list. The owner is leaving the place partially furnished. If we don't want it furnished at all, we can't have the 5th bedroom on the first floor because she would store it all there. That defeats my entire purpose. She also wont' go for a 2 year lease. Only 6 months, so again, that's a no-go. Can't keep moving my kids around like that. Plus, who the heck wants to keep moving? So back to the drawing board. I'm starting to get impatient.

Just saw a house on clasificados in Humacao right beside Palmas Del Mar. Looks like it's near a church though.... we'll see.

Fine if Catholic Church, stop by at night, see how quiet. 2 year lease may be hard to come by, 1 year is more common.
Is this a temporary move to PR or a permanent move? If so why not buy?
Not sure if Palmas has unit with 5 bedrooms or not but Palmas is a great place with many facilities.

It's permanent. I would buy, but I'd like to rent to see whether I like the particular city or not. I'm also not sure if I like the city or the country, so I'd like to try both. I know what Dorado is like.... meh.... So now I want to try a house not in an Urb to see if I like it better. I think I will.

Palmas is too expensive for me.

Take a trip to the country side, see how you like it, also popular area seem to be Las Marias is a little more country and we have at lest 3 members there, however I have not seen them online for over 3 months. Country is more quiet and relaxed but a lot more yard work, need to keep the jungle from overtaking your property.

Good lawd, 6k?!  Sometimes I think I should start a "Navigating Puerto Rico" business on the side, I hate hearing stories like that. All kidding aside, sorry you are going through this mess.

Chris, seems like your wish list is pretty big, that is going to take some serious time and effort to find, especially a rental. I would follow Rey's advice and look into a place inland like Las Marias. Cabo Rojo and San German and are a couple of places (with lots of options) I would love to live if we didn't commute to the metro area.

Also, go to a towns plaza you like, get a couple of drinks, start talking to people, drive around looking for rental signs. I don't have hard percentages but a lot of ppl will never list their rentals online, it's all still done the old fashioned word-of-mouth way.

One Econo can be amazing while another you wonder how they stay in business. The former is kinda rare though. I like Pueblo the best by far, fewer locations but I only go once or twice a month anyway. Great coffee selection, organized, etc. I never used Costco until I moved here but I am easily saving hundreds a month compared to all the juggling I did before. The best produce you will find are at road side stands/weekend farmers markets. The latter can be expensive depending on what town you are in. I believe the closest ones to you are in San Sebastian and Rincon.

If you haven't already, I would seriously post on the Rincon Facebook page to get some more connections made for your rental search. I know you aren't looking at Rincon but trust me, there are people from all over the island on there. There is also Friends of Rincon's facebook page. Collectively you have almost 9k eyes on that page. As much as I love this group, it's just one of connections that is helpful.

Karen that has been some of the most helpful advice yet! Thank you! I'm going to go to Costco too. I was advised I should do that back in December and haven't yet. These kids are digging into my pockets deep! Sheesh! Food is like rent. Especially for the teenager who wastes everything... (rolling eyes).

Honestly I'd love to live in a place where I didn't have to go to more than 2 places to get all of my grocery needs, but I guess Costco would help a lot with that! I'm also getting used to ordering some things from Amazon and flat out cutting other pleasures out, like tea, coffee, and wine. They've all been ruining my sleep and making me fat anyway, lol. Can't beat how I feel without them, but man are they tasty!

I'm going to check out that FB page TODAY. I need to get settled. Is my list that long? LOL, I want a flat land with some fruit trees preferably. I love the open covered-terrace homes. Great place to work-out and I'd like 4 bedrooms.... I'm going to stop there, yeah, it's long. If it's too much to type then it's a lot.

But thanks again, I will keep you all posted!

Oh! Yeah, 6K. I'm going to sue him though, can't let that much money get away. I have time. He doesn't. I'm right with you on that idea too. Thing is, I'm done interacting with people business-wise. I have kids to raise and I can't divide my time for both because business would boom if I started that. On another note I thought about starting a website for renters. Apartments in the states have review sites, we should have the same thing for owner landlords as well. So people could cross-reference their potential new address or landlord name with something already in the system and get the details. I think that's the scariest part about finding a rental. THE LANDLORD!

Careful with ratings and comments on landlords. Some people have been taken to court over comments made about a restaurant.

Good idea but check with a lawyer first.

Chris, Glad I could help, I think you're going to get a lot of good leads. Here is the main Rincon FB page, good luck!

Already joined!