Dominican Pants

FINDING THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (Or a new pair of pants)

Finding our paradise in the Dominican Republic was a little like choosing a good pair of pants, you know you need new ones because of the draft on a windy day. There also comes a time in your life when you realize you prefer better quality in what you wear and where you live. So you begin to shop around; what colors are available, do you have my style, do I look good in one pair as opposed to another and will they make it through the wash without falling apart. Meaning, what are the weather conditions like, how high is the cost-of-living, what are the medical, police, fire, school services like, and very importantly, the cost of real estate. Those factors are all conditioned by individual economics and family considerations in turn tempered by uncertainties about language, cultural and social issues. With all this said, my advice is to be careful what pants you buy.

We, meaning, I Larry, retired U.S. Military and Government Employee, Dagmar, German Realtor and snitzel maker par excellence, and seven year old Samantha chose the Dominican Republic, North Coast, Sosua, Puerto Plata. We now wear our pants Dominican style. Coming here however, was not an easy decision or process. For the past four years we had a sort of unspoken agreement we would retire and live in “paradise”. Our expectation was we would work a few years longer in Europe but I was down-sized, my pants no longer fit, so we had to make a decision.

Fortunately, for the past four years we had traveled around Europe, the Caribbean, South and Central America looking for paradise. Europe is too expensive and we wanted something in the Caribbean, OK Sosua is on the Atlantic side for you persnickety ones. We had vacationed in the Dominican a few times; found we liked it and that it provided the best fit for us, those pants again. In October 06 Dagmar flew to the Dominican to look for a place to live as my job was kaput and we were facing renewal of our housing agreement. In two weeks she had found a place in Perla Marina, a school for Sam and got her enrolled, along with a big packet of information. On 28 November we shipped our household goods and flew here on 2 December. We had our first Christmas in paradise.

I think from that time since it has been like the Wizard of Oz, one new experience after another. The first was that we found electricity is a precious commodity and after some severe frustration on our part it has become a what ever issue, put on your pants and go about your business. It is the way it is, so deal with it. Water we didn’t worry about because it always rained enough to keep the pool full and that worked. Dagmar and Samantha were offended by the spiders and Tarantulas, I could not make them believe they ate insects just like the geckos but I digress. How things unfolded, was almost like a treasure hunt, sometimes you’d find treasure other times an empty hole. It became a learning experience and we quickly realized one should try on the pants before you buy them.

One of the first things we wanted was to be a legal resident of our new country. Which is absolutely easier said than done. Well it was easy produce the required documents: copy of passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate and a police report, plus $1500 US required per person, there went my new pants. It took two trips to Santo Domingo as everything had to be completed there, the trip was an experience in itself, pig trail, nicely referred to as the tourist road, for about a third of the way, something I was familiar with as Northern Arkansas in the U.S. has its own version of a pig trail, and modern interstate the rest, a total of about three and one half hours one way with about 3-4 hours dealing with all the requirements such as medical, background, paperwork, etc. To assist with all the unknowns we engaged an experienced guide, part of the $1,500, to help us through the procedure and well done it was; he knew where to buy the pants for sure. The neat aftereffect is that our guide owns and operates a car wash and car repair shop, he now does all of our automotive work and has become a friend. One can never be sure here, initial impressions may not hold as the grizzled bum may be a millionaire developer, college professor or a grizzled bum.

When we first arrived we received an immediate inheritance in the form of an employee who formerly worked for our landlord. She is Gladia. How does one properly describe how a complete stranger can come into your home, assert them self in a manner that makes you feel she has been part of your family all of your life and that your life would be bereft without her. How and where to buy a stove, get a cherry tree, patch a screen, teach our Samantha Spanish, how to make pollo and arroz, become a friend, confidante and source of an unlimited amount of local information. In her own way she figuratively wears size large pants with all the grace, kindness, and sneaky humor that one admires in a person. She is the treasure that the conquistadors looked for here but did not find.

We contracted to rent a home for one year but the owner sold it shortly after we moved in. A slight impetus to move on; and we wanted to move anyway so we started looking around. Dagmar hired on to one of the local Realtors so we had access to a lot of available property. We found that much of what we wanted was for us, prohibitively expensive. We did find an older property that we wanted to purchase as a fixer upper, got a hand shake deal and then made a trip to Santiago to purchase things we thought necessary to use in rebuilding the home. However, it turned out the seller had secretly been negotiating with another buyer and sniveled out. That cost us $500 because we had engaged a lawyer to write the purchase contract. As it later turned out the deal for the sellers, who were leaving for Europe immediately, fell through, so they figuratively got caught with their pants down. That home is still on the market and at a lower price than what we offered. I hope the satisfaction I feel is not too apparent here.

On we go looking for a home and daily hanging out at a great German food restaurant and food shop where we make new friends and acquaintances. We meet another person who is selling a house on a hill, I think that is a line from a Brazil 66 song, so we look it over very thoroughly, we had learned to do that. The owner, a European, flies in and we deal back and forth, the guy is like your pants when you have the tourista two step, he’s up and he’s down, finally he says no and we move on, later we find out from an authority, and there is lots of authority here, everyone is one, that the house is a bummer, I notice also it is still on the market.

We are now looking at some sort of business as we both know we want something to do. We checked out a small Internet Café, but the equipment was too old and the price to high, it was the owner’s version of Trump Towers. And still on the market as well. We looked at a neat tobacco shop with accompanying coffee bar, that was my cup of tea but the guy wanted my wallet and pants to pay for it, we pressed on. We think about real estate, I’m working as a handy man at an apartment complex to have something to do; things get tense in paradise. My pants are sagging.

As the cliché says, “It is Always Darkest Before the Dawn”; also the title of a poem by J. Blagojevic, that reads in part:

when your world is weary,
when all is dark,
when dreams die and fade away,
and all of life is stark ...

But as in the poem light eventually returned. In our case all credit to Dagmar, she being the realty person noticed that no mortgages are available here and begin to find out why. Basically, no reason except someone with the expertise to negotiate with lenders, meaning being fluent in the language, which she is, me I am very un poco and find out how to go about establishing a business. From that point and after rather detailed and sometimes heated discussions we made the decision to go for it. We now own and operate our own business, Dominican Mortgage Broker C por A.

I make it sound so simple; we own and operate a business, but what a journey it has been: get the office finished, buy furniture, decide on and purchase technology, decide on an approach to marketing, publicize the business within the real estate community, get a website up and running and on and on. We never did figure out why our phone number was changed, we just hitched up our pants and moved on, sometimes with a John Wayne swagger but many times with the sag of a 15 year old trying to impress his girl. Despite the ups and downs we find out something new or meet someone new everyday. That is the fun part of being in the Dominican. It has a very eclectic and international environment, in that one moment you can meet a German, selling sewage systems, a Russian working on an apartment development, an American looking for a condo at the Dominican price, whatever that is, a Dominican who wants to buy a Plantain farm, or a Canadian escaping the Great White North. Not to mention the Bulgarian needing a home loan. Most recently we met two Canadians who plan to establish a cancer treatment center here in Sosua. Hopefully we can later post a description of their plans to our site.

In our travels about we come across a home first for rent then it turns out for sale. We take one look and it is a no-brainer. This is the place and the owner is anxious to sell. So my wife the realtor talks deal and we buy a home. We have a few bumps along the way but nothing insurmountable. Home buying here in the Dominican can be an adventure and my best advice is to be wary of the “just sign here and we’ll take care of everything deals.” Do not be afraid to ask questions and do not let yourself be swayed by the, “we’ve got to do it now” syndrome. Have the property appraised by an approved appraiser, check to see if taxes are paid, get a certificate of loans and encumbrances, what is the specific realty fee and what are all the closing costs, is my purchase contract registered and most importantly when do I get my title. Basically the same things required in North America but here the difference is one has to actively engage to ensure documentation says what is supposed to say and get where it is supposed to go. Know all the details before you sign anything. But I have a Broker/Realtor for a wife and that makes a big difference for us. In a minor way the home is a fixer upper so we can do some things to increase the value but more importantly it has added to our perception of a life in paradise.

How to find your pants here in the Dominican is a “Never-Ending Story”, with apologies to Michael Ende, the author. It is a process of discovery, sometimes I know I look like an idiot when my jaw drops at what I consider to be an outrageous comment or event but later may think, whatever, as long as it works. Whatever and as long as it works is a way of life here but one I think foreigners should avoid. The Dominicans are extremely clever in making things work, one only has to visit a small craftsman or observe a construction site to understand many make do with what they have. It is a round about way rather than straight forward and is an established custom based on necessity. For foreigners this can be a trap, one should not always make do or take the short cut but be straightforward which can be frustrating at times but my recommended choice of decision. Look things over closely, listen closely, spend time visiting, try to experience a broad range of subjects as possible, do not hesitate to defer, you are after all in the land of manańa. For sure try on the pants before you buy them and insist on a receipt afterwards, you will then be well dressed in paradise, so throw on your pants and “Come on Down”!

Larry, Dagmar & Samantha Rogers

Sosua, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Goober & Ms. Ellie

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