We (my wife and two children and I) left Abu Dhabi on March 9 of 2020. It was right on the cusp of Covid 19 taking over the world. We barely made it out. We traveled first to New York and then to Santiago in the Dominican Republic. From there we made it to my wife’s family’s house in San Francisco de Macoris. More on that later.
Soon the toque de queda (curfew) started. I had planned on exploring Panama, Colombia and Costa Rica for a place to live. I did make connections in those areas as well as Belize and Mexico. With Covid, we were stuck in San Francisco de Macoris. I was waiting for buses to run again so I could check out different parts of the Dominican Republic. The concept of getting all new residency papers for all four of us in a different country seemed overwhelming.
I was going to check Las Terrenas, Punta Cana, Jarabacoa and Cabrera. I took the first bus to Bavaro/Punta Cana. Partially because Felipe De La Rosa from Remax (now Keller Williams) communicated effectively with me and provided me with a great place to stay for a few days while we checked out the area and properties available. Felipe is a great guy. His father is my age. He lived the first half of his life in New York and second half in this area. His family is from Higüey, DR. In the DR agents do not need to be licensed, so much of the transaction relies on trust. Lots of stories of people being sold things that were not legal. I felt positive with Felipe. Having lived in both cultures gives him a different understanding.
I was robbed while at the bus station in Santo Domingo on the way to Bavaro (I wrote about this in another post). Anyway, we checked out several types of living arrangements and then went to one outside my price range in Cocotal Golf Club. I had looked at places there for years online.
It is a highly secure community with 27 golf holes and miles of trails with beautiful, tropical vegetation. The safety and serenity sold me on it. No bars on windows! (I wrote about that in a previous post). Denny, my wife liked the photos, so we came back and stayed in the house for two nights. We made an offer around June 20, negotiated a little and had settled on a price by around June 21. We sent papers electronically. I had to go to an internet Cafe to make copies. Then we had to await a lawyer (Johan) to do a title inspection, due diligence, etcetera. Johan is excellent if a reference is needed. Honest, efficient, competent and direct.
I had to first transfer funds from one bank to another in the USA as not all banks wire internationally and then I needed to arrange for the cash payment to be wired to the Dominican Republic. The funds arrived and we signed the contract and moved in on July 9th, just one month after I first saw the villa. Fast! Denny’s family arrived with our belongings two days later and here we are in something close to paradise. Miles of trails, pool and beach access. I will detail the house in a later post.
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