Becoming Boricua

It was time for house renovations! We provided the contractor with a list of all the things that needed to be fixed.  He came back with a detailed quote which we pulled apart, and finally deciding to do a subset that fit in our budget.  We came to an agreement and the work was to be completed in about a month.

I selected colors for the exterior.  In Puerto Rico, houses come in all sorts of colors. I decided on blue and white, which my Puerto Rican friend said was a perfect Democratic choice.  Each room had its own warm color.  It was going to be a colorful Caribbean home.  I tried to be as specific as possible, as I did not want any mistakes due to miscommunication.

I was anxious to go Puerto Rico, but as was custom, we spent Christmas with the family.  Christmas was a perfect time to start shopping for the new home. So many sales. But how does one take all this stuff across so many miles. I discovered that we could use boxes maxed to Frontier’s check-in luggage requirements. So I packed and re-packed these boxes till they were perfect – under 62 linear inches (that’s length + width + depth) and no heavier than 50 pounds.  Don’t you love those handles fashioned by my creative husband?

Mid-January, we left for the enchanted island.  The work should have been completed, but of course it was not. So, we again stayed in our friends home, and traveled to our casa and worked on it.

I was eager to spend my first night in our new home but without basic utilities like water, electricity and gas, it was simply not possible. So we worked until it was dark and before the mosquitos could eat us alive (the screens still had holes) we departed.

When we were not working, we were shopping. We were either in Costco, Sam’s or Home Depot. I was super driven. I wanted all the bedrooms livable as soon as possible. So we bought beds, mattresses, pillows, side tables…. While I don’t regret any particular purchase, I could have taken my time. It was not till Sept that year when the whole family came and all the bedrooms were used.

We bought one bed and two side tables from IKEA.  The IKEA showroom in San Juan is probably one of the smallest in the world.  They take your order then schedule a time for you to come back and pick it up.  I know there is a warehouse somewhere but who knows, maybe you order gets shipped from Miami… Anyway, what happens when two tired people work on assembling IKEA furniture?  You guessed it – a full blown, loud fight.  It was our first fight in the house, well on the island. The windows were open and I’m sure the neighbors heard it. Guess we got that out of the way.  Anyway, Santosh was unhappy that we did not have any fun on this trip and it was work, work, work.  Project creep as he likes to say.  So we did take our last afternoon off and enjoy the beach at Rio Mar.

After the euphoria of the girls trip died down, I got to work – I needed to buy a house (and a tree laden with starfruit) in Puerto Rico.  I had to get preapproved for a loan and make an offer on the house.  Given a bank owned the home, and they had most likely had already written it off, we made a really low offer.  They did not like the offer and counter offered by reducing the asking price by $10,000.  We set a max price and were prepared to walk away if we could not come to an agreement below that price.  Well, I really did not want to walk away but it might come to that.

After three more iterations, the bank came back with its final offer.  Too high.  We provided our final offer, the max we had set.  Then we waited anxiously.  I remember my excitement when I received a text from my realtor on Sept 1st 2018 congratulating us.

We did it! OMG! We just made an offer on a home over a 1,000 miles away. Was I nuts? Along with the excitement, there was definitely apprehension.  

Because the seller was a bank, the purchasing process was simpler.  There was no uncertainty related to ownership or liens. This can be a problem in Puerto Rico as homes pass from one generation to the next without proper paperwork.

One concern was that the house was being sold “as is”.  There was an inspection by the mortgaging bank (which was also the seller) and we received a copy. No major issues.  No roof, no basement means less things that can go wrong.  Or so we thought.

Settlement was Oct 12th 2018, just seven months after I had embarked on this journey.  Pretty impressive!  I stayed on top of matters providing all the documentation as quickly as possible so as not be on the critical path.

Recall, my husband had not yet seen the house.  The girls in the family had, but the boys had not. 

What if Santosh is not happy with the house?

After we return from Spring Break in Puerto Rico, I say to my friend Alyse: “I now know where I am going to retire.”  I’m not sure if she took me seriously, but I am committed to see this through.  I read stories about how challenging the process of buying a home could be, given records on home ownership and liens need to be investigated and confirmed.  I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there.  This tends to be my philosophy in life, don’t over think anything, we can figure out the details as we go along.

I start looking at Zillow and other property sites.  My realtor Raul sends me listings and videos.  My budget is low, I am looking for a simple home.  The most important requirement is some land around the house to plant flowers, fruits and vegetables.  I do not want to be in a touristy area, I want to live with the locals.   Since the garden is so important, a beachside community is out of consideration.

Most homes in Puerto Rico are in gated communities for safety reasons. This would be optimal for us as we would be flying back and forth.

 On 5/27/18, I send an email to several girls friends, saying “Hey there, I know I have spoken to most of you about how much we loved PR and that I want to buy a home there for investment/wintering/retirement purposes. Well, the relator facetimed a prospective home and I want to go see it. Santosh says he cannot take off work at this time, so rather than going alone, I’m inviting you all to join me….”  I continue to explain what the trip would cost, the itinerary etc.  I am thrilled that 3 friends and my daughters were able to join me.

It is an epic trip, we rent a small Airbnb in Luquillo, walking distance from the beach.  We are worried about sharing the single bathroom, but find we all prefer the outdoor shower. Together.

We discover breadfruit (pana).  At the Kioskos, a young man on a bike sells us these unfamiliar fruit.  He is a good salesman. We take them home and work hard at prepping and cooking.  We had so much, we end up sharing it with the family next door.

Raul took Supriya and me to look at the homes on my list.  There was one house, a foreclosure, that looked terrible in the listing but was attractive because of the size of the house and the land.  I kept it at the end of the list.  Unexpectedly, none of the homes were exciting till we got to that last home.

It is hard to get to.  You get off the highway then travel through narrow roads, sharp turns and steep intersections.  Finally you reach a residential area with a number of gated communities.  The house is at the end of a cul-de-sac. 

It is a hot mess.  The driveway is black with mold. The exterior needs TLC.  The yard is over-grown.  Actually it is more of a jungle.

Supriya and I walk through the carport to the side of the house.  There is a dilapidated deck of sorts and then the side yard.  The side yard is mostly a hill that meets the wall of the gated community.  Towards the back there are two fruit trees that are over flowing with fruit.  The first, we do not recognize.  The second is a starfruit tree.  Supriya, an avid gardener,  exclaims “This is the house mom!” 

I tell her we should see the house first.  We walk in from the back and are immediately struck by the open design and sunlight streaming in from both sides.  There is a garden atrium room in the front.  The house has four bedrooms and two and half baths.  It all needs work but looks structurally sound.  I agree this is the home.

We facetime Santosh.  He too falls in love with the fruit trees first.  He identifies the first tree as a Rose Apple or Pomarosa. 

The next day, we take everyone back to the house.  Reena joins us as her flight came in the next day from Albany.  We don’t have the realtor with us, but somehow manage to get through the security gate.  We enter the home through the sliding glass door which does not lock.  As we are exploring the house and imagining a future home, a security guard comes and yells at us in Spanish.  We really should not be there without the realtor.  We quickly grab some of the fruit and take it home with us.

It’s a short but fun filled four-day trip. We visit El Yunque, Old San Juan and several beaches. We meet men on those beaches who introduce us to Medalla, quenepa’s and passion fruit all of which we consumed in the ocean. It’s a new experience to chill in a still ocean with a cocktail in hand.

I promise Raul that we will make an offer on the home after I return to PA.