Want to buy property in the D.R. - Need extra funding

[Lambada]

Must be frantically googling.........
BTW Vinnie just called with a message for the OP. I think what he said was 'We alaways do a piece of work if you donna pay your vig. An' tella da limey browad to stop pullin' my..........tagliatelle'.

I pass it on for what it's worth. Hope it means something to someone.

[nudel1]

Not googling at all... no need...
not participating in some limey bashing....

[BushBaby]

He is better left out of this Lambada. Remember the last hurricane season he was here for??? Vinnie is NEVER a happy man during those months. ~ Grahame.

[leekiv]

Originally Posted by BushBaby

I think the '30%' referred to here Nudel might also refer to 30% PER ANNUM!! Remember one of my first posts where I said you would have to think in terms of 30% per annum plus for borrowing money here???

Johne, Lambada, Leekiv & I know people that might do a loan at 24% but I presume you like your kneecaps &/or right arm? These might be re-arranged slightly if you default to these guys!!gre:

Hold in there girl, you are almost there!! ~ Grahame.

Who really needs their kneecaps or right arm

[KeithF]

Well, you certainly got some great advice in your thread!

Are you for real?

Presuming you are...

The DR WAS a great place to invest and I still think it is a 'good' place to invest, although it is on the slow down as a result of everywhere else slowing down. I'd be amazed if there is a queue of people wanting to buy this property. Property sales in DR are almost always slow (although there are exceptions). If they had other potential buyers, I guarantee you, they would not have taken it off the market for you, they would sell to the first one to come up with the cash. If they agreed to that, then in itself, it says you have time. So my advice is take that time and a big deep breath!

If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

I bought a property in Cabarete instead of a pension. I'm still happy with the purchase. It wasn't the first place I looked at, nor was it my first visit to Dom Rep. DRob (in particular, others as well) have given you loads of great advice, slow down and really think about what you are doing. You REALLY could lose a lot of cash if you aren't careful.

A cynic is an optimist with experience.

Lots of optimists on DR1... with lots of experience!

You can listen to them and learn from their experience, knowledge and advice... or you can make an expensive, life changing decision, based upon your heart ruling your head...???

Good luck!

[nudel1]

Thanks for the wise words KeithF ...
I agree with all you say..
and as you say, if nothing else, this thread provides some great advice and info.......

[susan77]

Hola Ms. Noodle-

M'frog and Lambada said you reminded them of the lady who wanted to buy in Las Terrenas --That would be me!
Having had a similar emotional response to the DR, I found and am in the process of buying our "dream house", so allow me to add my 2 cents to this fascinating thread:
1. These posters truly know FAR more than you or I or anyone who has LIVED in the DR less time than they--We're not talking abt tourists who may have stayed in a few AI's and think they "know" the DR! You're very fortunate they're giving you all of this invaluable advice and I recommend you seriously follow it!
2. I also thought-after being warned not to trust anyone!--that I shouldn't divulge details of the property we were buying in case someone else got it first---- Totally unnecessary paranoia on my part!
You can PM the specifics to CFA123 or DRob or some of the others (I forget who else asked!!) with NO worries! They're not trying to steal your deal and may know something you don't--Knowledge is power and gives you the EDGE!

Anyhoo....best of luck with your plans-
Susan

[nudel1]

This entire thread was started because I was after two things - money and advice.....
The advice IS being considered - certainly in terms of structuring the deal - and any contacts for funding are cetainly being followed up.
At the time of posting, I was coming at it from a different angle though - I had already made up my mind to relocate to the DR, albeit without having all funds in place to finance the project I suddenly found.
As mentioned before, since childhood I have relocated at the drop of a hat. I have lived throughout Africa, South America, Europe, in the States and Australia. This is why I may seem flippant about this move, but honestly to me it is no big deal, so any warnings not to take this step may have fallen on slightly deaf ears.
Everything else though has been relished, enjoyed, replied to and taken on board, other than suggestions that I am stupid, arrogant, a drama queen, in love with a Dominican, fishing for another man.....
The great thing is Susan that, like your message, however hard anyone says it is to make this move, ALL of them (without exception) ARE LIVING THEIR DREAM.... Not one person has come on and said they did not take this step or that they took it and now regret it. Your message is another perfect testimonial of this. Several people have PM'd me, rather than enter into the fray of the open forum, and again, each and every one has been in the same situation as I - wanting so much to make this move yet not having the full funding... and you know Susan et al.... they all got their funding and are happily PM'ing me from the beauty of their dream homes, mainly near Encuentro Beach, the exact area I am looking at. To those that have come through and asked for contact details on the property I wish to purchase I have given details of the website.... I am not mistrustful of anyone trying to 'steal my deal' (wouldn't be possible anyway!), but I do very much want to ensure that I do not bother the vendor, or make him nervous, by touting HIS business on the forum....
I am, and have been all along, 100% sure that this deal is solid, the business is great, and the location is unbeatable. However, and maybe I did not make this clear enough - I am not looking at this property as much from the business perspective as MY DREAM HOME. Therefore it is emotional from that point of view... but to be perfectly honest I have been put off by the messages in the forum.... I was not expecting anger or aggression.... but hey, each to his or her own, right???
Thanks for all the good luck messages...
In return I wish you all good luck in your lives too....
Yours,
Sad Nudel

[susan77]

but to be perfectly honest I have been put off by the messages in the forum.... I was not expecting anger or aggression

Having been the recipient of some rather snarky responses to my own postings (albeit, far from anger or aggression), I can only say, "Welcome to the DR1 forum!" Several very kind people (and you people know who you are!) have PM'ed me before with that same "dont-take-it-personally" message, and I imagine you've heard from them, too!
You make an excellent point:

Not one person has come on and said they did not take this step or that they took it and now regret it.

I do believe, however, that the many caveats being offered are based on these people's own experiences-- They just want you to learn from their mistakes!

You sound like an intelligent, articulate and capable person and I hope you find your funding and realize YOUR dream!
All best-
Susan

[Lambada]

Let me try and explain the problem as perceived by experienced DR residents and/or people who have been posting on DR1 for a while. There are really two issues, authenticity and naiveté. New members on this board are anonymous unless they choose to share with the board their identity. In Susan's case authenticity was never in doubt since she included a link to her website.

In your case nudel1, some people doubted your authenticity because of the nature of your questions, how they were phrased and some of your responses. That is why there are posts saying 'is this for real?' 'it's a windup, right?' and things like that. There are in cyberspace posters who have been banned from this board & come back with a new identity, get discovered, get banned again and repeat the process over & over. Robert & the Mods. know all of this far better than I do. So...........when someone posts in a way to give others cause to question - well, you will get those sorts of questions. Just to try and work out if you are authentic.

Sometimes when advice appears not to be taken, different methods might be used to get the person to listen - humour, irony, sarcasm, shock tactics etc. Usually this is done in an effort to distil the wisdom that comes from many years combined experience of the DR. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I appreciate that people who 'don't want to enter the fray' might PM you. If these people have also posted advice publically, then I don't think you need have any worries. However, if it is people who have never posted publically, about whom you have no prior posts to check, who maybe joined just to contact you, then I think you need to be aware that there could be other motives around. You need to know who they are and/or who they are working for, at minimum.

Long term residents get rather used to requiring evidence to back up statements - it kind of goes with the territory of living here in a hassle free way. Hopefully you have taken some of the advice on board - it now looks like you are beginning to detail some evidence for this. But people tend to stop advising if they feel that a mind is already either made up or that mind changes from pursuing a business venture to living a dream to maybe something else. I'm not sure what you define as anger or aggression and I doubt that anyone else is sufficiently emotionally invested in your issue to warrant either anger or aggression. Sarcasm, humour & snarky comments, yes. To try to dispel what appears to be unprepared over-optimism. I think people posting here are trying to help you, not themselves.

By the way two suggestions were made publically as avenues to funding -johne and Anoeca. Did you follow either of those up? I think people would like to know the answer before they make any further suggestions.

Just remember, no-one wishes you bad luck here. They're just trying to see you don't bring it on yourself. I doubt if you will hear from the people who left or regretted their move to the DR - but those posts do exist on DR1. Look up Papa Benito, eastecoastmike, Adam Spenser - maybe there are others whom other posters can recall?

Sorry this is lengthy but I hope it partially explains the credibility gap between some of the longer term and some of the newer posters.