Buying House In Aruba Tips

[Tom and Karen]

From our experience of purchasing a house in Aruba, here are a few suggestions.

Realtors - check with many as I believe they only sell their own listings.

There is leased land and property land. Have a realtor explain the difference.

All sales are handled by a Notary. They take care of all legal work, collect gov. tax, etc. Their fee is based on the sale price of the home. Closing should take 8 - 10 weeks, but this is Aruba. Any slight hitch will stall it. Our closing took 4 months. Also exchange rate ($ to AFL) should be discussed. You will do better than the 1.75 rate. All Notaries are private business, but must be approved by the government.

Location. There are few street names in Aruba. Most addresses are by "area." Examples are Bubali, Washington, Gasparito, Koyari. I have yet to find a map listing all of them.

Most home do not have hot water. It can be installed.

Some homes do not have closets or laundry rooms.

Make sure house has no water problems from rain.

If you negotiate with the owner to leave furnishings, curtains, blinds, etc., get it in writing. Also maybe take pictures of the items.

Here is a partial list of some realtors web sites: When I posted this, ReMax & Sunshine were not coming up on my computer.

Absolute www.absolutearuba.com
Aruba First www.arubafirst.com
Best & Solid www.arubahouses.com
Better Homes www.betterhomesaruba.com
Cas Bon www.casbon.net Check out their Info on faq. It will show estimated expenses.
Coldwell Banker www.coldwellbanker.aw
Re/Max www.remax-itrrealty
Sunshine www.sunshine.com

There are others. Check the Aruba phone book.

I am working on a list for new construction. Will post if I get it done.

[jillc73]

Hi!
That was very helpful information - do you know how difficult it would be to relocate to Aruba? It seems like the paperwork and logistical pieces are slightly overwhelming, but is it out of reach or possible, that you know of? A lot of sites seem to give misinformation - things like escapeartist.com and the like i'm told not to pay much heed to, but i would really like to hear about someone's actual experience.
Thanks
Jill

[SanNic44]

Moving to Aruba is very simple, if you only want to be on the island for 180 days per calendar year. You simply stay on the tourist visa. If you want to stay longer, getting residency is a long process that requires professional assistance. You WILL wait in interminable lines, even with professional legal help. You will PAY legal fees, and all kinds of other fees. Your PAPERWORK will PROBABLY be "lost, denied, rejected" at least once.

Also, remember that Aruba is a small place. Island fever has overcome a number of people after about 3-4 months. So, consider what it means to live on an island and test it out by renting a reasonable apartment a few times. You must have plenty of patience for the smallest things, especially things like registering a vehicle (last time it took me a total of 16 hours over 3 days), buying construction supplies (sometimes sold out), and obtaining skilled labor/craftsmen. All the good guys are busy.

Just a few thoughts to ponder.