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.