Why Investors Are Buying Dominican Republic Pre-Construction Real Estate Before Prices Rise

Kathy Colon (00:00)
You’re gonna get your best bang for your book buying pre-construction. But you have to buy reconstruct pre-construction from a credible, reliable developer. And this is where I come in because I vet the map myself and I’m on the ground. I don’t work with anyone that ⁓ I don’t vet out. It’s number one. Number two, the the properties that appreciate the most that do the the best are ocean front properties. So if you buy pre-construction and obviously you know you have to wait it out, that’s the

Other side of it by the time it’s done, you’re gonna make between 25 to 40 percent, depending where the property is, what kind of amenities it has, what luxuries, and if there’s a flag on it, no flag, but you will do seemingly exceptionally well.

Scott Bursey (02:23)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros podcast, powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Scott Bursey And today we’re joined by Kathy Colon the visionary behind Nova Lux DR properties. What really sets Kathy apart is her ability to fuse high-end luxury real estate with a truly holistic approach. She isn’t just selling properties, she is creating spaces that nurture health, well-being, and a balanced lifestyle in the Dominican Republic.

It’s a game changer for her clients and a master class in adding real value to the market. Kathy, welcome to the show.

Kathy Colon (03:00)
Thank you so much for having me, Scott. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Scott Bursey (03:03)
It is just wonderful having you here. And for our listeners who would like to know more about your journey, how did your career ignite and where are you pouring your fuel now?

Kathy Colon (03:16)
my career started over 20 years ago in healthcare. I’m a public health professional. ⁓ I worked in medical devices, then transitioned over to health tech. And after ⁓ working for companies such as IBM Salesforce and Microsoft, I was laid off and I was looking at so many different ⁓ businesses. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I had no idea which route to go, and so I researched so many businesses and

By accident, I actually got a villa, didn’t know what to do with it, started my own website. The community loved what I was doing and my business study growing from rentals to sales to writing about wellness to developing an entire s script about what it is that I’m looking for based on my public health background.

And here I am today. I am doing ⁓ Nobelux DR properties, everything that has to do with land, hotels, residences, retirement, people that want to invest, as well as hotels, development, hospitality.

Scott Bursey (04:17)
That journey is just incredible, Kathy. You know, it’s rare to see someone blend the intensity of real estate development with such a clear, intentional focus on on well being.

Kathy Colon (04:30)
Absolutely. It’s missing in the market.

Scott Bursey (04:34)
You know what really caught my attention about you was the way you’ve been able to fuse luxury real estate with the truly holistic approach, helping clients find spaces that actually nurture their health and lifestyle in the DR.

Kathy Colon (05:35)
Absolutely. And ⁓ it was all by doing my own little experiments. I went to school and I have a master’s of public health and actually went to try to help my best friend that had cancer at the time and started learning about foods. And my whole entire journey is to make people live longer, have more longevity, be in an environment and help sustain that longevity. And so my own little experiments for my background I apply to my properties and I develop

Novelux seal distinction where I have different ⁓ factors that I consider if I am going to represent list of property.

Scott Bursey (06:13)
That’s a total game changer for your clients.

Kathy Colon (06:19)
Yes.

Scott Bursey (06:21)
And let’s dive into some of your strengths now. Kathy, what is your your biggest strength in your holistic approach that sets you apart from the traditional luxury brokers in the Dominican Republic?

Kathy Colon (06:34)
You’re gonna get your best bang for your book buying pre-construction. But you have to buy reconstruct pre-construction from a credible, reliable developer. And this is where I come in because I vet the map myself and I’m on the ground. I don’t work with anyone that ⁓ I don’t vet out. It’s number one. Number two, the the properties that appreciate the most that do the the best are ocean front properties. So if you buy pre-construction and obviously you know you have to wait it out, that’s the

Other side of it by the time it’s done, you’re gonna make between 25 to 40 percent, depending where the property is, what kind of amenities it has, what luxuries, and if there’s a flag on it, no flag, but you will do seemingly exceptionally well.

So most ⁓ wellness ⁓ companies, ⁓ realtors, brokers, whoever you’re working with really, really don’t have a public health background. so I have formal training. my career has been healthcare. I focus on different types of like disease states and how could how to enhance it, how to help you, tie it in to a space that will really nurture you nurture you, heal you, calm you, give you that peacefulness to really help augment longevity.

and long-term care for you.

Scott Bursey (07:55)
That is just a very noble, noble way to approach things. Kathy, in the luxury market, what is the most common friction point you face when trying to balance development ⁓ speed, let’s say, with a sustainable, holistic lifestyle build?

Kathy Colon (08:12)
It can be challenges, delays, permits. ⁓ You can have ⁓ a season of a lot of rain that you can’t build, so it delays you, you get backed up. So those are some of the challenges that you face. Also, ⁓ environmental regulations, making sure that you have your permits in place and things of that nature, that everything is aligned so you can move forward.

Scott Bursey (08:39)
If ⁓ somebody’s listening to this, Kathy, and they’re thinking, Hey, this is somebody that I really like, what would you like them to know first about your business?

Kathy Colon (08:49)
That is very customized. I help you kind of ⁓ customize and personalize. We I talk to all my clients, I sit down with them, I try and understand who they are, what are they what is their end goal, where they wanna be, how do they wanna feel?

like what stage are they are in their life, are they working really hard? Are they trying to set themselves up for retirement? Or are they ready for retirement? And based on the feedback that they give me, we kind of design where do you want to be? Like, do you want to be in the mountains? Do you want to be in the city life? Do you want to walk around? Do you want to wake up and see the ocean? Go to sleep. I had a lady’s like, I don’t care where you put me, I just want to wake up and go to sleep listening to the ocean. That’s how I’ve lived my whole life and that’s how I want to continue to live. so it it it all depends what drives you, what moves you and I help

you know, push that forward.

Scott Bursey (09:36)
Well, thank you for highlighting that. And Kathy, looking at the current trends in the DR, where do you see the biggest opportunity for investors to get in on, you know, property that creates that balance lifestyle return that you were speaking of?

Kathy Colon (10:25)
You’re gonna get your best bang for your book buying pre-construction. But you have to buy reconstruct pre-construction from a credible, reliable developer. And this is where I come in because I vet the map myself and I’m on the ground. I don’t work with anyone that ⁓ I don’t vet out. It’s number one. Number two, the the properties that appreciate the most that do the the best are ocean front properties. So if you buy pre-construction and obviously you know you have to wait it out, that’s the

Other side of it by the time it’s done, you’re gonna make between 25 to 40 percent, depending where the property is, what kind of amenities it has, what luxuries, and if there’s a flag on it, no flag, but you will do seemingly exceptionally well.

Plus, the Dominican Republic has ⁓ for Confotur trying to have other you know residents come and buy international buyers, so 15 years tax exemptions.

So who doesn’t want to have n ⁓ no taxes for 15 years, no transfer taxes, and no Dominican one percent EP tax? So you’re saving a boatload of cash just by buying this property.

Scott Bursey (11:35)
Thank you for that breakdown. That was ⁓ excellent. And I’m curious to know what’s the communication factor? ⁓ how do you communicate effectively with clients there in the DR?

Kathy Colon (11:51)
clients are not just from from the DR, my clients are from all over the globe. The majority of my clients are from the United States. I have ⁓ there’s a ton of Canadians, there’s large Canadian communities and then South America, Spain and France and Italy are where the clients come from.

Scott Bursey (12:14)
Okay. Well thank you for that. And how do you navigate the regulatory and environmental challenges in luxury development to ensure your projects maintain their their long term value?

Kathy Colon (12:27)
It’s essential to have legal compliance. I vet everything out with my lawyer, make sure I cross all my teams that all my eyes that, you know, everything that is supposed to be done is done. If you have Confotur, you have to have the restaurant, you have to have the amenities. So making sure that you don’t overdevelop in the space that you have. If you have a hundred acres, you can only, you know, develop on sixty percent of the land. How far are you from the water? And if you’re building a marina, can you build a marina there? Can you not have permits? So I always vet everything out with my lawyer.

Who’s legal counsel? Environmental laws.

Scott Bursey (13:02)
When a client’s vision for a dream home hits the reality of the DR market, how do you pivot without compromising your holistic standards?

Kathy Colon (13:13)
I I don’t compromise them. It’s either you have holistic or you don’t. I don’t participate because they know they’re coming to me, they’re gonna get holistic. So it’s an entire team that we work together to put a plan. So there’s going to be an environmental ⁓ plan, you know, for in in in terms of like ⁓ dry weather, heat, sun, what types of plants to plant, a nursery ⁓ from the regular architect to a Feng shui master that comes in and helps like put

everything together so the flow, the colors, the organization, outdoor living space, so it’s all nicely aligned for you based on who you are.

Scott Bursey (13:53)
And Kathy, in terms of some short term strategy and some long term vision when it comes to Nova Lux DR properties, ⁓ what is some of your of your strategy that you’re employing?

Kathy Colon (14:09)
In terms of building the business or the properties itself?

Scott Bursey (14:14)
Yes, short term, let’s say eighteen to twenty four months, and then maybe some of your long term vision as it applies to your business in general.

Kathy Colon (14:23)
So my business has kind of been growing and evolving. It started from rentals, went to sales, I started writing for a how a hotel executive to now helping design wellness for hospitality. So it’s always organically evolving. So my my niche is the Dominican Republic, but I’m working heavily in hospitality. And hospitality not just in the Dominican Republic, but all over the globe.

Scott Bursey (14:50)
That is some pure high octane fuel right there. And we can’t let you go just yet. ⁓ Kathy, what additional advice could you give our listeners that ⁓ would like to learn more about your operation?

Kathy Colon (15:44)
To not be scared, to reach out, that there’s the art of the possible. If don’t be don’t feel intimidated because it’s another country, the Dominican Republic has very good relationships with the United States and vice versa. You could get so much more bang for your buck. Like if you want a beachfront property compared to another place, like let’s just say Florida that’s really close by, it’s a three-hour plane ride from New York, whatever.

that could essentially be like one third of the price and it will appreciate and the time to get in is now. Is now because you will it will appreciate. You can have it as income. You could have rental and so it’s a win win win win and no taxes.

Scott Bursey (16:29)
Kathy, this has been an incredible deep dive. If our listeners want to follow your journey or collaborate with you, what’s the best way for them to reach you?

Kathy Colon (16:38)
They can reach out to me on my Instagram, Nova Lux DR. My handle is Nova Lux DR or on Facebook, Nova Lux DR properties. They can go to my website, www.novaluxdrproperties.com or call me. My numbers everywhere.

Scott Bursey (16:58)
Kathy, thank you for joining us today. This has been ⁓ just an incredible conversation.

Kathy Colon (17:04)
Thank you so much for having me, Scott. It’s been a pleasure.

Scott Bursey (17:07)
And to our listeners, we appreciate you. If you got value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We’ll be fueling your tanks with a lineup of elite guests just like Kathy Colon, who are accelerating and setting the pace for the rest of the industry. Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you on the next episode, everyone.