Today we went “out east” to the Vega Baja area and checked out on a farm that’s for sale. It’s 10 acres and has a house. We were hoping for something decent, since people said “the owner is a millionaire”–however, I’ve come to find that anyone who makes over $50K down here is a “millionaire”.

Well, the house is a disaster (would probably need to get knocked down)…as I was walking in the downstairs area I could hear the concrete creaking, which is a really horrible sign. Plus, the farm hasn’t been kept up very well. Let’s not mention the squatters on the land! It did have some positive stuff, like a giant (25,000 gallon) watertank, and a place to raise rabbits. But, in the end, too much money (nearly $300K) for way too little. It was a good experience, though, as it helps us to compare different places and get a feel for the prices down here.

For example, the farm we visited in Anasco was slightly bigger (12 acres), had a small (but livable) house, a perfect section to build a new home, and the farm was maintained beautifully. Plus, it was $75K cheaper than the one we saw today. The key to buying a farm is the make sure that there is a decent house, a place to build a new house (if the existing one isn’t too hot), and that the land has been well maintained. The last part is almost the most important, because you’ll spend literally months cleaning up un-maintained land.

I really like the Anasco farm, but it’s too far from Ev’s potential work at the telescope. However, if she’s not able to get into the telescope, it would be a great location–near the bigger cities on the west cost of the island…15 minutes from Mayaguez. However, we can’t buy land without one of us working, so it’s a bit of a catch-22. We’ll see what happens.

On the way back we took the scenic route, since Ev’s Mom was with us. We finally took some pictures of Lago Dos Bocas and the dam there. I’ll post the pics shortly. It’s probably the biggest dam we’ve seen down here so far.