What to expect.
Searching For Real Estate in Puerto Rico
MLS Underutilized
The Search Process for finding real estate properties in Puerto Rico is different than what you may be used to if you are from the States. To start, the Real Estate Agents are not required to put all the listings in the MLS. There are actually 2 MLSs in Puerto Rico, and both are very underutilized. Because agents are not required to put all listings in the MLS, it makes it difficult to find all the available listings on the market and have the correct data that is associated with that house. This also doesn’t allow us to know when there are new listings that have come on the market that meets your criteria
We must search 10 to 20 websites to find listings and sometimes we still do not find them all. Not only that, not all the information is available for that listing, the listing isn’t always updated with their current status, and some of the listings are just not what they seem. We also have driven the areas to see if there are any For Sale by Owner properties. We have had success in which the owners will allow our team to help guide both parties through the home buying process.
How Do We Find Properties
We have developed a process in which we execute with the help of you. Yes, this is a team effort and the more we work together the better results we get. So based on what you are looking for, we execute our Home Search for you. We then send you the listings we find based on your criteria that you gave us. You will then send us the links to the ones you like, and we set up showings for you. We will continue to do this until you find the home that you would like. You will also see that as you look on the internet, you may find listings that we didn’t. This doesn’t mean we didn’t want to share these with you, we just didn’t find them. We ask that you send those links to the listings, and we will then reach out to the listing agents to get the current status of the property.
Expectations
During the home search we ask that you are patient. Some of the challenges that we have and are not limited to, besides the ones mentioned above are:
Some real estate agents in Puerto Rico do not like to have other agents involved, some are not wanting to deal with the language barrier(which is understandable), and some just do not answer the phone and when they do it can take days to get a call back.
Also, some of the listings that are online are outdated, listed premature, or there are some scams out there trying to get your information. What we ask is that when you find a home on your own, send us the link. We will call the agents, get the status on the home, and make sure that the home has no issues if you are trying to finance it and if you are paying cash, we will make sure we have all the major questions asked and answered up front.
We also ask that when we send you listings, that you send us the links to the ones you like and allow us to use the resources we must contact the listing agent and get the answers and do the due diligence needed to make sure you are protected
I am sure you have other questions regarding this topic and others, please do not hesitate to contact us with all the questions you have.
