Sound investments in the DR
 

I built my house about 4 years ago in La Vega and am currently living and working on the North Coast. I am saving money at the moment but have no idea what to do with it.. House is paid off, car etc etc.. I'm 26 years old and I'm wondering with the world economy the way it is, what is a sound investment for cash at the moment. Currently I have 50/50 investment in USD and DOP since it has been stable recently. The amount I have is over 100k US and under 1mil US so if anyone can suggest investments I'd really appreciate it. I heard about companies that you can buy and store gold from in the capital and if anyone has experience I'd really like to hear them. Thanks again.

Gold has something of a ceiling, since once it hits a certain price the meltdown market takes off to increase the supply of it. I was really pushing a friend to buy it three years ago, but it seems to top out around $1800-$2000. I expect it to hit around $1900-$2100 after the US elections regardless of who wins, but I wouldn't hold on to it for long.

If metals/minerals are your thing, then you may want to look into the Coltan industry(possibly sourced from Coumbia), which is a pinch-point for cell phones and other tech. Copper demand is also expected to exceed current supply as India and China create new markets as they modernize.

One of my friends recently bought $50K worth of Neodymium magnets. It's doing quite well for him.

Associate with a trustworthy lawyer (somewhat of an oxymoron) and start giving out loans backed by property titles. The lawyer comes into play because you need him/her to look into the property to see if it has any other liens and also incase you have to transfer the title to your name/company.

I've been buying lots in the Juan Dolio area, specifically Metro Country Club. Starting in 2004 golf lots sold at $70/sq.mtr. Today I am selling them at market rates of US$250.00 - You can buy non- golf lots around US$175.00 - and the market is still appreciating. The close to completion Pinewood Studios cinema stages (water filming tanks and sound studios) will add more value, as will the Dolphin aquatic park under construction. 35 minutes to Santo Domingo- population of 3.5MM with young professionals looking to weekend homes/apartments close to the city. This is one alternative worth looking into. There are many apartments on the beach as well, however my view is that these need to build a resale market that today is a bit weak. Land, however, is another matter.

I still think Gov't CD's are a good deal. I've had them for years, and feel I've done pretty well. I've also flipped a few properties and did very well.

It ain't easy, but it can be done.

More details on the Government CD's please. %, US or pesos? Thanks!

Another fairly lucrative business is building in the Santiago area. We are still in the midst of a housing boom somehow inspite of the economy. I would say the ROR is easily more than 25% if not more depending on various factors. Buying a lot and building a house is attractive because it's not to difficult for a homebuyer to procure a loan plus given the scams out there many people prefer to buy something already built and spend more money than paying a deposit based on hope that the contractor will come thru.

Mine are in Pesos. You can use the search function here on the board and find tons of current information on them. You can also review my previous posts and see some of the investment bulletins I've posted.

Unless you are Dominican, and from here (not grown up in the states), have friends in high places, this is a very, very, very risky business with a lot of headaches and trouble, of which i will not go into right now, but i would steer very far away from this kind of business.

Frank

NYC has some decent bonds payying out 10% and its tax free in the US

Even if you are all of those things, steer very far away from this kind of business.

So is this 10% annual? The kid at popular was telling me they have CDs that paid 5-6% monthly, I know that's wrong but does anyone know what they pay?

A 10% return is highly unlikely in a tax-free bond at this point in time. If an offering like that existed, it would be snapped up before folks in the secondary markets (i.e., us) got anywhere near it. Back in the 80s, yeah sure, but now you're doing well if you find something in the 4.5-5.0 range.

Keep a few things in mind: that rate is for good-to-excellent quality bonds. Higher interest means higher risk. And don't forget, a 5.5% tax-free bond is like a regular bond at 8%. Not the worst deal in the world right now. Boring, but your money is safe.

p.s. I would LOVE for someone to prove me wrong and link us to a current, top-shelf tax-free offering.

Do you have a link or cusip number please, NO Municipality is paying 10%!
The current 30 Year yield is just under 3%.

That's not correct. Do a search here for CD Rates. I have been posting bank rates for CD's for the last few months.

You are right its ten over two years so its five
Mea Culpa. They sold out anyway you can sign up to be notified of the next offering

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