Time Is Here To Buy

Hello. We have lived on the island since 2014
We have lived in rincon and i cam tell you that the prices there are over rated.  I would suggest  isabela over rincon.    Not sure if you jave have lived on the island before.
I can tell you we have lived in 5 towns and i personally wouldnt buy anything right away
I would consider rent to own. I wouldnt lock myself into a location until you jave lived there for am extended period of time
Have you considered any other areas? Such as cabo rojo, humanco, quebradillas, arecibo, dorado, etc? Do you speak Spanish?
Cabo rojo is the safest place in Puerto rico .according to teh last reports?
Price here will meep dropping, i would rent and ait for the perfect place.
Before teh hurrincane 12 homes a day were being foreclosed and they are estimating  66 housing a day being foreclosed in the near future,

We are a Puerto Rican family that grew up going to the island all the time. It has always been my dream to buy property there and now I am finally able to do so. This purchase for us isn't a land grab and is a very personal connection to the island.

Which brings me to my dilemma. I know I want to buy in either Rincon, Aguadilla or Isabla (preference in that order). Properties I have been interested in seeing in Rincon that were listed in under 2 months alone (through my realtor) are literally being bought up quick as oppose to the other two towns.

This is why Im hoping some wisdom can be shared in regards to buying smart. Is it worth paying the extra money I can afford for a new home in Rincon or paying much less for an older home in Aguadilla or Isabela? Which is going to be easier to rent out short term while we are in the states?

Not sure if I understand your post correctly.  Looks like you are interested in buying one property as a second or vacation home for you, and you hope to rent it when you do not occupy it.  And the question is whether you buy in Aguadilla or spend $30,000 more in Rincon.  If so, there are two questions to address.  The first is financial and the second is personal.

So the first is simply a calculation.  If the idea is to generate income, what is the difference between the income generated in Aguadilla as opposed to Rincon.  Look at AirBnB listings in the two towns to compare prices on properties similar to what you wish to buy.  If you discover that a Rincon property will generate $3000 more per year than the one in Aguadilla, you will recover your costs in ten years.  Factor in other considerations such as the tax deductions for the mortgage interest and the depreciation on the home as a business asset, and it may prove that the additional $30,000 for Rincon is worth the investment.  You should probably discuss this with a CPA on the island.  You should also incorporate to limit your liability.  Talk to an attorney about that.

The second question however is one of simple preference.  Where do you want to be?

I own a vacation home in Aguadilla, and several of my friends do as well.
I really love the area, and the geographic location.
It seems the city's location on the bay protects it from the more rough currents and wind compared to Isabela and Rincon.
Another plus, it is centrally located between Isabela and Rincon, so you can take drives to both.
One day I was at ‘Steps' beach in Rincon and it was beautiful that day, next day I was at Crash Boat, and the following day I went to Jobos beach in Isabela.

Aguadilla definitely lacks some of the charm of Rincon and its downtown.  But real estate is way cheaper too.  Restaurants can be hit/miss in the city, but a lot of new places have opened recently with a ‘hip/young' type of vibe.

My main gripe about Aguadilla is the lack of downtown businesses, restaurants, shops.

A lot of stuff is spread out having to drive instead of taking a stroll down the street to pick up some coffee  and maybe some groceries.

Downtown Aguadilla on a weeknight can look like an abandoned ghost town.


Two of my friends that own homes in Aguadilla spend 6 months out of the year and love it as well.

WarnerW wrote:

Not sure if I understand your post correctly.  Looks like you are interested in buying one property as a second or vacation home for you, and you hope to rent it when you do not occupy it.  And the question is whether you buy in Aguadilla or spend $30,000 more in Rincon.  If so, there are two questions to address.  The first is financial and the second is personal.

So the first is simply a calculation.  If the idea is to generate income, what is the difference between the income generated in Aguadilla as opposed to Rincon.  Look at AirBnB listings in the two towns to compare prices on properties similar to what you wish to buy.  If you discover that a Rincon property will generate $3000 more per year than the one in Aguadilla, you will recover your costs in ten years.  Factor in other considerations such as the tax deductions for the mortgage interest and the depreciation on the home as a business asset, and it may prove that the additional $30,000 for Rincon is worth the investment.  You should probably discuss this with a CPA on the island.  You should also incorporate to limit your liability.  Talk to an attorney about that.

The second question however is one of simple preference.  Where do you want to be?

Thank you for breaking it down in that manner. It is useful and helps paint a better picture of how to configure the best option. To clarify, I want to purchase what would be our first home. We would live in it part time and rent out short term whenever we're in the states.

It would be great if we could purchase in the most desirable of the three towns a home that would be easy to rent out short term. That way we could make a little extra income instead of having the property sit empty.

Looks like these are additional things Ill have to bring up with my attorney.

Elcalipocho wrote:

I own a vacation home in Aguadilla, and several of my friends do as well.
I really love the area, and the geographic location.
It seems the city's location on the bay protects it from the more rough currents and wind compared to Isabela and Rincon.
Another plus, it is centrally located between Isabela and Rincon, so you can take drives to both.
One day I was at ‘Steps' beach in Rincon and it was beautiful that day, next day I was at Crash Boat, and the following day I went to Jobos beach in Isabela.

Aguadilla definitely lacks some of the charm of Rincon and its downtown.  But real estate is way cheaper too.  Restaurants can be hit/miss in the city, but a lot of new places have opened recently with a ‘hip/young' type of vibe.

My main gripe about Aguadilla is the lack of downtown businesses, restaurants, shops.

A lot of stuff is spread out having to drive instead of taking a stroll down the street to pick up some coffee  and maybe some groceries.

Downtown Aguadilla on a weeknight can look like an abandoned ghost town.


Two of my friends that own homes in Aguadilla spend 6 months out of the year and love it as well.

Such an informative descriptive post! I guess I should be referring to my future purchase as a vacation property. That seems to be the most fitting.

I agree with you that real estate is definitely much cheaper outside Rincon. There was a perfect starter home in Rincon for $129,000 that checked off all the boxes that was listed this month and wouldn't you know it sold already. A few properties I was interested in sold in under two months or less in Rincon!

There seems to be a much bigger demand for properties in Rincon as opposed to Aguadilla and Isabela. Which may have to do with the charm you speak of. Once we buy a vacation home we intend on eventually buying again and using the vacation home as a rental property. Unless I decide to jump on this new construction home being build in Rincon for $150,000.

After reading the responses here and on Facebook it seems this may be the best bang for my buck as a turn around investment (if we decide to sell) while we could enjoy as a vacation property and short term rental. Plus, my wife will be thrilled to be back on her native island.

New construction means new pipes, electric new roof, walls, etc. Old house means old problems and a house that may not be up to code, but much cheaper than a new home.

UPDATE: Browsing for property as a first time home buyer has been a little overwhelming with so many beautiful properties all over the areas we were considering. Carlos Torres offered some pretty sound and straight talk advice on FB that really made us fall back, refocus and streamline our vision. Thank you all also for your insights, too.

mrtibbs wrote:

UPDATE: Browsing for property as a first time home buyer has been a little overwhelming with so many beautiful properties all over the areas we were considering. Carlos Torres offered some pretty sound and straight talk advice on FB that really made us fall back, refocus and streamline our vision. Thank you all also for your insights, too.

Listening to Carlos is the way to go, focusing on a town and even general area of a town can make a big difference. The more you are informed about a particular area the better you can judge if it is for you and if the price they are asking makes sense or is inflated.

Rey, you are absolutely right and I have to say that I feel much less stress about the whole process.

Hi, do you have Mr. Torres contact info? Thx

Payner wrote:

Hi, do you have Mr. Torres contact info? Thx

I send it via private message

Yes, thank u

The realtors have very little to show as are usually only seller's realtors on the island.  They don't have a good MLS and so each transaction has to be negotiated for commision so it's not like in the states where each party gets 3% and consequently they tend to only show you what they have listed.  The bigger firms that specialize in vacation properties have them valued very high.   We were able to purchase our homes through HUD foreclosure and then a private party so were super reasonable.   There are not the title companies either so everything gets closed at an attorney's office.    We are in Aguada on the edge of Rincon and absolutely love the area and the people.  Rincon has alot of us gringos so not having Spanish is pretty easy here...BUT I WILL LEARN.  A good source for info is Sara at Living Puerto Rico (www.livingpuertorico.com) Happy hunting!

we are in the middle of purchasing a land in RIncon. where are these new constructions for 150,000. can you help us with some contacts?  thanks

who is Carlos Torres? Would love to ask him questions

Hi, do they have HUD in PR?  if so, how did you go about getting the info?

There are a few builders in Rincon but it doesn't look like it's cheap to build there.  I have the contact info for one of the companies which comes highly recommended.  I can PM you.  I am not sure if we are allowed to post that here.

https://www.hud.gov/topics/buying_a_home

and (or more direct)

https://www.hud.gov/states/puerto_rico_virgin_islands