Double move... over two weekends

I am moving -yes, again, to my new place in Punta Arenas, Joyuda. I am moving partially from Aguada, where I spent the last one and a half months and partially from the mountains of Patillas, wher most of my belongings still are.

I picked up my Puertorican teenage cats last Thursday, on my way back from the conference in San Juan. I was lucky - they both were near the casita, so I could pick them up and go, without having to spend another night there (I am still a bit horrified of a prospect of staying there after having been trapped inside the last time around).

Got the keys to my new place yesterday evening and today moved the cats and some stuff from Aguada. Tomorrow I'll move the rest of the stuff from here. Unfortunately I could not persuade anybody to work on Labor Day weekend, so I am doing the move from Aguada totally on my own - carrying stuff up to the second floor. Worse, I'll aslo have to do a move out cleaning tomorrow myself, since no local wants to work on weekend. Tuesday, yes, but not on a Labor Day. Great! And I'll have to live superminimalistic for another week. And without internet!
Sometimes, I swear I HATE Puerto Rico!

My new place

A partial view from the balcony

... a one bedroom condo overlooking the beach in Punta Arenas, Joyuda, Cabo Rojo is now under renovation, befor I move in during the Labor Day weekend. That's how it looks now:



This is the entry, with a window facing towards the resort, away from the beach.

This is a partial view of the kitchen. the empty space on the far wall is waiting for a washer/dryer combo. I was fascinated by the fan, its color and shape - red capsicum fan in the kitchen! Also by its placement: you can't open the kitchen cabinet over the fridge with the fan running. This window also faces the resort.

My bedroom window

And the view from the bedroom window. Notice glass in all windows. :-)


And this is the view down from the balcony. There I would have to jump, if I were ever trapped again and there were no people around to assist me ;-)

Searching for another place with a view

I have lived in Puerto Rico for 9 months now and could not imagine I would get into a culture shock looking for a dwelling. After all I have already rented 4 of them here - and in the last two cases - one in Aguada and one in the mountains over Patillas - both me and my landlords were satisfied with our mutual agreements.

Now I am soon to start a new assignment with my new office located in south Mayaguez. A "bit" far for a daily commute from Patillas, so, after getting back from the States last Saturday, I drove to the West Coast on Monday to search for a place in the area of Cabo Rojo (Joyuda, Boqueron). I did a search on classificados, contacted a couple of brokers, made appointments and spent three days looking for places.

There is no shortage of suitable dwellings. Lots of condos on the beach are for sale and rent - the sales and rents are down and new condos are under construction. Typical buyer's market you would think.
I found several condos I liked and made some offers - reasonable, even generous in my opinion, though a bit lower than asking price -but no more than 10-15% lower even though in the USA - as I read - 25% lower bids are now the norm . To my astonishment not a single one was accepted!
If they agreed on price they tried to hike up terms (like the length of time, size of deposit, etc).

I wonder, are owners of condos in Cabo Rojo not aware of the current economic situation?
Are they unaware that their apartments were left empty during the summer season (which in that area of Puerto Rico IS the high season)?
Would they rather have them empty through the remainder of the year than accept a price a bit more realistic that the one they dream of getting?
Is there some aspect of culture that make them unable to count and be realistic?

I wonder... is there a cultural divide between north and south of Mayaguez?
Or, perhaps, in Rincon, Aguada, Aguadilla, Isabella etc. landlords are used to renting to foreigners, while Caborojans rent mostly to vacationing Sanjuanero families, not to "gringos", so my "no-nonsense" and "to the point" negotiating style seems too culturally shocking to them?

Well, I hired a broker to help me with that and do the actual negotiating. Perhaps I need to switch a broker....

Anyway, I decided so far to move back to my old place in Aquada, so I don't have to drive from Patillas to see any condo and don't have to appear to be in a hurry to close any deal.
Wish me luck in finding a reasonable landlord in Cabo Rojo - and a broker skillful in culturally appropriate negotiating .