Puerto Rico (New Potential Investor)

[Erica S.]

Hola Bigger Pockets! My (now husband) and I have been kicking around the idea of investing in real estate for the past year or so. We currently rent in Boston (annoyingly high rent but great location in the North End), and have previously considered buying rental properties / owner-occupied properties in the south shore and central MA areas. However, after a recent trip to Puerto Rico, we're really drawn to the idea of investing in a vacation home in San Juan.

Pros: properties are affordable there (especially compared to MA), easy direct flights from Boston, great tourist destination (so there's a possibility to rent through AirBnB for supplemental income), tax advantages if we ever move there full time, etc.

Cons: PR's default (could result in higher taxes), high unemployment rate, locals leaving the island en masse, etc. (though, to be honest, most of these problems are less concerning since we're not looking to rent the property out full time)

Basically just looking to pick the brains of the experts on this forum (and if there's anyone who specializes in Puerto Rican real estate please reach out directly!)

Thanks!
Erica

[Victor Chico]

Born and raised in PR here. Economy is bad and the government just defaulted on its debt. Congress is trying to push law that would put our finances under the control of a board whose members are nominated by the President.

As in every crisis, there are opportunities. You can definitely get good deals on beachfront (or beach-near) property. Old San Juan, Condado and Isla Verde are the areas I would put my money in and the ones that will rent as vacation rentals. Be careful of clauses that restrict short-term rentals, most buildings have HOAs.

Make sure that your deals are cash-flow positive and don't expect values to go up (or to be able to get rid of the property) for the next 10 years (at least).