Working on Puerto Rican time (Part 2)

[Pamela P.]

So I finally closed on my property! Now it's renovation time!

Depending on what kind of a property you purchased and its as is condition, will determine the level of renovation work needed. I purchased a studio condo in a gated community. Choosing an apartment with a management office proved to be so much more helpful then I originally anticipated. My management office is very well connected and provided several great referrals from plumbing to electrical to cleaning services.

Timeline... Even with these great referrals, the renovation process was slow. The apartment I purchased didn't need THAT much work yet it took a month to get everything updated. The major changes were: flooring, sliding door replacement, and balcony railing replacement. The remaining items were cosmetic. The flooring took almost a week to put down. Remember I only have a studio. As for the balcony and sliding door, I had to wait almost three weeks to have them replaced. There is no such thing as a rush order in PR. I offered to pay more to have everything done while I was in town, but it simply was not possible. While you can try to pre-plan as much as possible, there are certain jobs that contractors will not start until you are in town. From there build out 4 weeks to get the job done.

Guests... If you're like me, then you're likely want to self-manage the place while living out of state. Currently I am using a simple lockbox to store my keys. When guest book their stay, I provide them the code to access the keys. While this method is working, it's not ideal. If a guest loses the key or forgets to lock the lock box properly, then someone else can enter the apartment. My next trip to PR is in February and I will likely be installing a keyless lock that can be managed via my app. The company is called Kwikset.

This has been my experience thus far. As time passes, I can update everyone on my experience of self-managing an out-of-state vacation rental. 

Thanks for reading. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

[Dennis Rodriguez]

Good info @Pamela P. 

One observation... I use both the Kwikset and Schlage wireless keyless locks here in Texas with very good results and I can operate them via the iPhone apps. Now, one thing to consider in PR is this, first in PR in some areas the power service either briefly goes out or you have "brown outs" that can get your wireless lock disconnected from the Wave-Z Hub or the Wifi Router and the lock won't always reconnect when the power comes back. It's almost necessary to put your WiFi router and Wave Z HUB on a battery (UPS) to avoid this. Second, the concrete walls will greatly affect the lock operation due to poor signal if you can't get the HUB or router close enough to the door. I had this happened at my parents house where I tested a Wink Wave-Z hub and the signal was "spotty" and had to try different locations to get it to work. Here in the states my Wink Hub has a range of 30-40 feet inside the house and it communicates very well. At my parents house I almost had to put it in direct "line-of-sight" with the lock because the walls would "kill" the signal. 

I'm not trying to discourage you just giving you some tips on things that operate slightly different in the island. 

Good Luck with your property and I hope I can read more from your experience down there. 

Dennis Rodriguez