Intro

[bioguy66]

I'm a 48 y/o guy living in St. Petersburg Fl. My wife is 41 and full Dominican. We have been married 15, together 18. She was raised in NYC and moved here when she was 13. She is a big time Americanized Dominican. We go to the DR at least once a year as she has tons of relatives there. Her Dad retired here in Fl and just moved to Bani with his wife and son. His retirement bucks go much further there.

Anyway I will be fortunate enough to sell my company in about 2 years. Just as our 15 y/o flies the coop and makes us empty nesters. Our plan is to buy a nice little waterfront condo here and build a nice house in the DR. Doing 6 weeks there, 2 here. Would love to be in the North coast however all her relatives live in the SD area. When in the DR we want to have her family over all the time so would like to be close. Don't want to be in SD however any suggestions of nice areas outside SD would be appreciated.

I will be leaning on this site heavily and on help from her dad who is in Bani now. My budget will be 200k on the condo here and 650k in the DR.That price will include the lot. Will leave me with 8k a month comfortably until I take the dirt nap. Would like the DR house to be between 4 and 5k sq feet. With a minimum half acre land to build a pool with an awesome outdoor bar as I will be doing alot of entertaining. Would like to find and buy the lot by next year and get the ball rolling. Any help with building a house, preferably using a maestro to get the biggest bang for the buck, would be greatly appreciated. I have read a lot here already and has been very informative. I can promise awesome parties when I get this thing built.

JD

[Criss Colon]

"Juan Dolio" comes to my mind.
Close to SD and "La Familia" as well.
LOTS of nice homes in the "Metro Country Club,and Guavaberry too.
The beach is across the highway when you want to go there,but both places a privte,quiet,and secure.
You can build your own house there in your price range.
Please invite me any weekend!
CC

[bioguy66]

That I will sir, that I will! Thanks for the info, I'll start researching over there.

[william webster]

Obviously, the land price is the big variable.

My cost to build 3 yrs ago was a little over $100 per foot but that too depends on how fancy you get..

Hope that helps you plan.
Good luck

[william webster]

As an afterthought... looking at CC's advice, I think if you go west of SD you might find cheaper land.
My impression is that the western side is less developed. You might get more bang for your buck.

Just a thought..... Oh! and remember, stay out of any municipal jurisdiction and you'll have no property tax to pay.

[bioguy66]

Thanks William, very helpful. I'm hoping to get the lot under 200k.

[AlterEgo]

I agree with WW, look at west of the capital. Some nice lots available in Palenque near the beach, I have paperwork somewhere on them. From there you have a choice of two roads [one in Nizao, one near the border of Palenque & Najayo] that go from the coast right to the highway to Bani. So, close to Bani, but not TOO close. Lovely area. Quiet. Beautiful beach.

[bioguy66]

Thanks! Sounds like another great area to research. if you find that paperwork would love to get the details on them.

[RV429]

Agree with AE, west of SD has some really nice stretches of beach and some quieter areas. I would suggest you take a look at the treads in dr1, one on building a house by I think Bob Saunders and another from a trip report on the west. Lots of good info here, it's just getting familiar with the search function.

[Frank the Tank]

Welcome to DR1. Good luck with your future plans. Don't be afraid to ask if you have DR questions and search the forums. Wealth of DR info and advice available free of charge.