All Forum Posts by: Derek Stalhut

My wife and I are move to Puerto Rico as well... What side of the island are you moving to? 

Thank You for sharing your experience Justin ! My wife and I are moving to the isabela area in a couple months. I know that's "relatively" close to Camuy. It would be cool to connect when we are down there. Do you currently own investments on the island? If so, what strategy has worked well for you? Thanks Again! Derek 

Fascinating Discussing So Far,

@Luis Saez You may have heard about ACT 20-22 which provides eligible businesses and investors special tax exemptions in Puerto Rico. You can learn more about it here: https://www.the2022actsociety.org . The tax incentives are set up for bona-fide residents of Puerto Rico / Puerto Rican based companies.

My wife and I are moving to the island. We love it down there and look forward to living there and investing as well. We would be grateful to connect with other professionals on the island.

Hey Xavier,

My wife and I are looking at investments on the west coast of the island. One thing we recently learned is that local lending institutions will not lend on buildings made of wood frame. The building must be concrete or block to get financing. Also, I have learned that most "mainland" banks will not lend for property in Puerto Rico. There are obviously some exceptions... What part of the island are you looking? Maybe one of our contacts can help you out.

@Kevin Lefeuvre

My opinion as of March 25th 2020,

It’s important to remember that macro real estate economics is controlled by the micro submarkets. I am keeping a close eye on my own market and taking note of how it responded to economic instability in the past… Definitely, there will be a short term and long term impact on the real estate market from the COVID-19 Pandemic. The main factors are how long and how bad the crisis gets.

Here is what I see in my own market:

Short-Term)

My market is healthy. In the past week alone 120 sfh homes have closed another 108 are under contract and there are 111 new listings. This is a healthy sellers market. I am noticing an increase of market activity since the FED lowered interest rates. I am confident that activity will remain healthy in my market in the short term.

Mid-Term)

If the Pandemic increases intensity over the next few months and the economy decreases in performance… Then I think that real estate sales will slow down as a result. I am doubtful that residential notes will be called in the short term. Likely there will be a small percentage of people (under-capitalized) who run into mortgage problems. If So, foreclosures take a minimum of a year to execute here. Likely, there will be government assistance for these people given the circumstances. It is possible that the market will slow down over the next six months if the COVID-19 Pandemic increases in intensity.

Long Term)

Business as usual. As real estate investors, we understand that the market is cyclical. Since our real estate portfolio is run as a business we keep reserves in case of unexpected events such as COVID-19, or vacancy, repairs, capX, and so on. The people most effected (investors or otherwise) will be the ones without reserves running their business or life paycheck to paycheck. Many of these people may be our tenants. As business owners it’s time to step up and do the right thing given your particular situation. Be Creative, Be Persistent, Be Confident. This To Shall Pass…

In Conclusion, If you want to see the future of real estate just take a look at the past; The market will go down and the market will go up as it always has. You can depend on that : )

A couple great books for your quarantine reading list:

“Recession Proof Real Estate Investing” by: J Scott
“Total Money Makeover” by: Dave Ramsey

Hola Bigger Pockets! My wife and I are visiting Puerto Tico for the first time and we are in love with the island. The island is beautiful the water is clear and the people are friendly. Back home in Florida we are real estate agents and we have flipped a few houses. We would like to use the live in flip method in either Isabela, Aguadilla, or near Rincon. Any input about local and macro markets are appreciated as well as referrals someone with experience who can help us out. Our general criteria is a 2/2+ concrete home with a garage with electric/water on a paved road near the auguadilla airport and near the ocean in a quiet safe neighborhood under 100k. Thank you all for the feedback ! Derek

@Maria McCreless Thank You for the recommendation. How do you guys like working together as agents? 

I saw good reviews for Gold Coast. I will give them a call. Gold Coast School

Thank You