If you could buy a dive vacation home/condo where would it be?

[YucatanPat]

Correct, studio at Sand Dollar, bought it last year, and it needed several upgrades which helped with the price. I do not think SD has any studios selling right now but I thought I saw something Remax had not that long ago with an oceanview under 200k. My unit is small, only about 500 square feet so its not a year round unit unless you are a very happy couple. Problem with Bonaire is they have no true MLS so you have to keep searching the web sites and also let several local realtors know what you are looking for. This is what we did and when we found what we wanted we jumped. Took about six months from start of search to finding the unit and signing a contract.

Liz, checked out GRI on our first trip and if you don't need oceanfront you have a very nice place in what looked like a quiet neighborhood. We were just one of many tourist who stopped by for a look.

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

Well since I have only been to mexico but really enjoyed it, I would go there. I would pick up one of those little single room condo's in Puerto Aventuras for like $60-70K and spend the rest of that money on dive gear, compressor, fill station, dive site fees for caving and a nice truck to haul gear.

It blows my mind that anyone has $200k for a vacation home when I make less than $20k a year. more power to ya but since its your vacation home would you rent it out for a couple weeks a year to my broke ass ;-)

 

[Jim Baldwin]

After diving a number of places over the last 29 years we picked Cozumel. Donna, MizB, does not like cold water, wrecks or caves. But she loves deep walls and can spend all day in 30 feet of water shooting macro.

Unlike the TV show mentioned earlier we took our time and shopped for about a year until we found what we could afford, i.e. a fixer upper, and that had the potential that we were looking for.

We listened to friends and neighbors on the island when it came to refurbishing. We installed solid wood doors, hurricane shutters, hired local contractors when we could and used materials that would last. Concrete, steel, tile, rebar and cinder blocks are comforting words when it comes to a hurricane.

Four and a half years later we have turned a fixer upper with light bulbs on a string into a nice home. Creature comforts like AC, a washing machine, a nice stove and an ice machine make a trip to paradise much more enjoyable. Dish Network, the internet and Skype make keeping up with what is going on in the world much easier.

We have lots of friends and family to thank because of the dozens of suitcases they packed down full of stuff for the house. The countertop ice machine and microwave were the two biggest things we flew down.

I don't think I can count the number of buggies of stuff that I bought at Home Depot. From rolls of wire to switches, ceiling fans, plumbing parts, electrical breakers and boxes and plugs. I checked a carry on size bag that weighed nearly 70 lbs. with nothing but rolls of wire. We certainly got some strange looks from the folks at TSA.

A couple of years ago I drove a car down and had a generator that just would fit in the back seat. We can now be totally self sufficent for about a week if we don't run the generator 24 hours a day. This makes life much easier when the power is off after a major storm or hurricane.

Although we're not on the beach it's just a 15-20 minute drive to lots of sand or the harbor.

No doubt we could have picked a more exotic location but for us only making one or two trips a year to paradise would kind of defeat the purpose. With the increasing cost of plane tickets having the option to drive down is a plus. With our diesel getting 45 MPG we love the low cost of fuel in Mexico. In March diesel was less than $2.40 a gallon.

 

[wres]

I’m working as a diver consultant here on Bonaire for an LA based marketing company, and read this thread with interest. One facet of the company is marketing new properties on the island, and it is great to see so many people recommending Bonaire as a place to buy a vacation home for divers – justifies my being here to management.

To chip in with first hand information on what’s available here - they’ve just picked up the contract for four 2 bed, 2 bath units in Hato, selling for around 120k. Obviously that isn’t waterfront – these days waterfront property is very hard to come by in Bonaire, but the island is so small that three blocks from the ocean isn’t so bad.

The building permit has just been confirmed, so it is not listed anywhere yet, but it shows the sort of thing that is popping up all the time here – you just have to look for it. Every few days the listings manager comes in waving another property contract, everything from these 120k units to 1.2 million luxury condos – I can’t keep track of what they have, but I guess that isn’t my job.

If all those recommendations for Bonaire have got you seriously considering the island there is definitely stuff out here well within the range discussed - you just have to step back from the ocean and keep an eye out for pre-construction and unlisted properties. Happy to pass on insider info if anyone is seriously looking.