one last look

[nikotromus]

I thought I remembered Admin saying something like that. Seems unintuitive that the temperature wouldn't change much.

Puerto Varas looks well worth looking into...

[fraggle092]

Copiapó is pretty blah place, its just a mining town. Property is expensive, or was during the mining boom.

La Serena is tolerable apart from the (short) summer season, and the year-round traffic problems. Only a couple of rainy days annually, quite enough considering how ill-equipped the place is to deal with them.

In those beachside apartments, often there is nothing more than a single skin of bricks between inside and outside, tolerable in summer, miserable in winter, and impossible to heat. I would look around the developing El Milagro area, up above the humidity at the beach. More amenities in that area as well.

http://www.diarioeldia.cl/economia/boom ... nte-serena

One place not mentioned is Punta Arenas, which I find is the liveliest and safest place in Chile, quite different from the rest of the country. OK, the climate is like Scotland's and the cost of living is higher, but thanks to their gas subsidies at least the houses are adequately heated.

[nikotromus]

This is the house we saw in the La Serena area. One of only 2 we've seen that are for sale and didn't make us want to run out of the door. It is 15 minutes outside of La Serena in a little town called algarrobito. Actually we saw a few in Chicureo that were nice, but it's too close to Santiago.

https://www.portalinmobiliario.com/vent ... &at=0&i=20

[eeuunikkeiexpat]

Santo Domingo - until they build a new bridge and improve the main road, the occasional traffic jam on the Ruta de la Fruta can be quite terrible. After the 2010 quake, only foot traffic was allowed on the Lo Gallardo bridge for about three months forcing residents to go through Melipilla to get to and from Santiasco. Though most Santiasco criminal flaites vacation in the Cartagena area, they do scope out and prey on houses and vehicles in other nearby comunas. The once sandy main beach is now all stone and even the remaining sandy beach got thrashed this past season. Year round outdoor air quality is excellent for Chile.

[nikotromus]

The black stone beaches are quite a contrast from La Serena. I didn't realize the beaches were once sandy.

The prices on the homes in Santo Domingo are quite incredible, especially after you walk in and see how unmaintained everything is. We noticed almost all of the houses for sale there are also all for rent. I think the owners just rent the houses out with no real intention on selling, but if a sucker comes along they'll gladly hand over the keys.

[eeuunikkeiexpat]

Santo Domingo was one of the orignal old rich beach communities. Its original plan was based on Palos Verdes, California. Pino and Contreras families have homes there. One plus is that it does not get mobbed by Santiaguinos during vacation like the beaches and coastal towns north of San Antonio.

[fraggle092]

This is the house we saw in the La Serena area. One of only 2 we've seen that are for sale and didn't make us want to run out of the door. It is 15 minutes outside of La Serena in a little town called algarrobito. Actually we saw a few in Chicureo that were nice, but it's too close to Santiago.

https://www.portalinmobiliario.com/vent ... &at=0&i=20

Looks very nice, and that area definitely has pleasant weather all year round. But it looks too "open" to me. There are other condominiums in that area, for example in Las Rojas, that have controlled access. If I were seriously looking at a place, I would go round and ask the neighbours about the area, not the owner or an agent.

Incidentally the ruta D-41 will be eventually transformed into a 4-lane highway to accommodate the bulk trans-shipment of Soya from Argentina to Coquimbo Port after the Agua Negra tunnel is completed. But that's still 10 years from now.

[susiedillon]

Have sent you a PM regarding a property.

[nikotromus]

Looks very nice, and that area definitely has pleasant weather all year round. But it looks too "open" to me. There are other condominiums in that area, for example in Las Rojas, that have controlled access. If I were seriously looking at a place, I would go round and ask the neighbours about the area, not the owner or an agent.

Good advice. I learned to stop asking any subjective questions to agents or owners. The concept of a buyers agent is so badly needed in Chile.

This place does have controlled access. You drive up a hill and it's got a big gate with remote control access. No guard though.

[Britkid]

Nikotromus, are you able to buy a house because you already have enough money to buy it out without mortgage? I am just curious to know if you have any experience of getting a mortgage in Chile.

[nikotromus]

We can do it without a mortgage.

Funny, one of our neighbors in the U.S. hooked us up with someone from our same area who was living in Vina Del Mar. After a month or so of mind numbing isolation we finally called her, and she said that she and her Chilean husband were weeks away from leaving Vina to go back to where we had just left. The reasons she stated were lack of job opportunity, the low salaries here and the fact that even though her husband was Chilean, they wouldn't open a bank account for them. She said anything that takes 3 steps in the U.S. takes 10 steps in Chile. She said after they had bought the plane tickets to go to the U.S., they finally opened an account for them.

If we had to rely on a mortgage, a purchase her would be impossible for us.

[nikotromus]

And, there is good and bad in that. Juxtapose Chile's stringent banking policies with the U.S's whoreish banking policies that lead to the 2008 financial meltdown. Which is worse?