Thinking of Investing in Property in Costambar

Reidy620 · #1 03-31-2008, 02:39 PM

Hiya all, I hope I've posted this in the right forum; if not please feel free to tell me off

. My wife & I are regular holidaymakers in the DR and were married at the Iberostar Costa Dorada in 2004. We are looking to buy a property and our eyes have fallen on Costambar because
:- 1) The prices seem reasonable & 2) It is very close to the beach.

However, doing a bit of surfing there seems to be a mixed response to Costambar & I thought I would join the forum & get other people's views.

We would want to holiday a couple of times a year, each for a fortnight and, hopefully, rent out the apartment as much as possible whilst we are not using it.

What do you folks think about Costambar and is it worth investing or should we be looking to other areas? How well do the apartments rent out?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Cheers

Ian & Ellie Reid

A.Hidalgo · #2 03-31-2008, 02:54 PM

I guess the road leading to it does not bother you folks?

Reidy620 · #3 03-31-2008, 03:02 PM

We haven't viewed the property yet, will be doing that when we holiday at ICD in June. Just trying to get a "feel" for the area and its potential as an investment/holiday & eventual retirement property.

Is the access road that bad? And if it is, who has the responsibility for the upkeep?

All comments welcome,

Cheers
Ian & Ellie

drloca · #4 03-31-2008, 03:09 PM

The road is awful to say the least. Have rented there previously and we had large volumes of rain that trip.
It is definately challenging, especially if you dont have a 4WD.

Good luck and happy house-hunting.

Reidy620 · #5 03-31-2008, 03:21 PM

Thanks, will keep monitoring the responses & (hopefully) get an idea what things are like.

The Virginian · #6 03-31-2008, 05:01 PM

No, No and No. We went there today to go to their library. Ozzie next door said he hadn't been there in over a year and joined us. Apparently he almost bought a house there a few years ago and today said he was soooo glad he hadn't. The road to the complex from the main road is very bad and thats on a good day. When it rains you can't see the road. Once the water goes away the mosquitoes are TERRIBLE. This is from a guy who only visits the library and does not live there. But I think that place is past its time. Search on DR1 for it, lots of information. Also, check on the fees you might have to pay to live there and measure what you get. Good luck.

The Virginian · #7 03-31-2008, 05:03 PM

OH who keeps the road up? Not sure but suspect who ever lives there will pay their share when they decide to fix it properly as was the case in Sosua recently. By the way, I've heard they have made attempts to fix that road but never finish it properly and it simply falls apart again because it wasn't fix right.

Lambada · #8 03-31-2008, 05:26 PM

I live in Puerto Plata & I visit Costambar every week. Yes the road is bad, more so when it rains but it isn't wonderful even when it has been dry for ages. However, you can access by using the University road & avoiding the bad road altogether. In answer to your question about responsibility for road upkeep - I'm fairly certain that the Ayuntamiento has that dubious honour.........and does precious little about it. See this thread
Costambar Entry Road: Residents, you have a spokesperson!

There was talk about the new port development people making themselves responsible for the road - not sure where that one is at currently.

If you were planning on moving to live there, I'd say you'd find a community with many nice expats & Dominicans & a new APC which seems to be taking its responsibilities seriously. Costambar generally has a more rundown feel to it than Cofresi which has more of a 'brand spanking new' feel. Some of the Costambar residents sold & moved to Cofresi. As for frequency of renting out........can't really advise there, but I do know I see lots of signs both with property available to buy or rent so you'd be in competition with other owners.

Hope this helps to give you a bit of a 'feel' of the area but I think you also need to hear from Costambar residents themselves and you might want to ask them about security issues. The other threads you could look for are POP Bad Boys posts about the telephone/internet cable being stolen (from outside Costambar)............

amparocorp · #9 03-31-2008, 09:39 PM

whatever you buy make sure it is the best or one of the most desirable in any complex/development. make sure it is the penthouse, or one of the penthouses, or directly on the beach, there must be something that makes the unit special. nobody wants unit 104 in building K that has a view of the parking lot. if it is a high rise, say 20 stories, all units between floors 2 and the penthouse are of equal value and re-sale depends on what units go for in "that" building, unit 636 is not necessarily worth more than unit 1214 just because you spent extra on marble floors. be aware that with the high pace of building development going on in the DR it will be hard to find a buyer for a 5 year old unit when for the same money, sometimes less, a shiny new one can be bought just down the street. don't believe any salesperson that says they will rent it out for you many weeks per year, the penthouse will get rented, the unit on the beach will get rented, the unit only a short 5 minute walk to the beach will sit empty. however, come on down, there are many beautiful properties and some are excellent investments, be prepared to spend a little more and buy the bentley not the toyota, it will be worth it in the long or short run.

Lambada · #10 04-01-2008, 02:27 AM

Not too much of a problem with 20 storey properties in Costambar

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