Welcome to the Aruba Forum

[Dennis]

Amy, and others,
With the number of trips one makes to Aruba, why not buy a place, rent it and make your trips free?

[~Amy~®]

We looked into it years ago, crunched numbers (mgmt co. costs, elec. and water bills which are high, etc.) and decided it wasn't for us because, in addition to cost and time, the island was changing. I have a few friends who own homes in Aruba. One has been very successful with their mgmt co and renters but they put a lot of time into it. Another owned for a few years and even with a mgmt co and having a home in a nice area with security, were broken into several times. They sold their house because it was too much of a hassle and made Aruba "un-fun" for them. We sat back and watched and listened to owners and decided that the money and time needed was not something we wanted to commit to at this time. Our lives are changing and we now find that we're enjoying traveling to Europe more so at some point our Aruba trips may become less and less. I like staying in a hotel or renting a home or timeshare and let someone else worry about all the other things that come with ownership. I just want to relax.

[Dennis]

I can relate to the "un-fun" concept. Yes, its fun to have a corporation and make lots of money, but the price for stress is to high. Many do not live long enough to enjoy that money.

Your comments makes a lot of sense to me.

I have a Pocono Home and the family uses it, only. The upkeep of two homes, two sets of bills for everything, well it was a nice thought. One day my kids will get it. Right now we can afford it.

[Glenn]

Good morning Amy, Dennis and everyone else,

Going to your favourite island (Aruba, Maui or wherever else it might be) every year is wonderful. Owning a home can be something else again.

Amy, I agree with everything you say. Aruba has changed greatly since we started going. While we will keep going to Aruba for as long as we can, we're just happy to rent for a week, 10 days or however long we are there.

I want Aruba (and Maui) to continue be fun for us, not a continuous source of worry and a constant drain on our limited resources.

For us, as Canadians, there can be some pretty serious tax consequences to owning capital property in a foreign jurisdiction.

I cannot speak to American tax laws, but I think anyone (Canadian or American) contemplating purchasing capital property in a jurisdiction other than where they live should do their home work; that includes getting some reliable tax advice from an accountant with experience in the ownership of foreign property. This should be BEFORE you buy anything, not when you're trying to persuade the nice lady from the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) or the IRS (whichever applies to you) that you had no idea there could be consequences to what you've just done.

Soooo, unless you've got so much money that you can afford to withstand break-ins; shady management companies; and a changing social, economic and political scene; and tax implications are irrelevant to you, my suggestion is simple. Just rent, enjoy yourself and we'll see you next year!


Glenn
Winnipeg, Canada

[Dennis]

Good advice Glen. I just keep thinking of the Island the Copperfield owns. Oh to be so rich!

http://www.mushacay.com/#/home

[Corrine]

I agree with everyone here! Some of friends rent homes in Florida, even here in Long Island, and they have trouble with renters. I cant imagine trying to manage your property in Aruba!