Buying a Bar in the DR...

The price of a business usually is based on how successful it is, it's fixtures, location, debt, & length of operation.  Cost of overhead ie: rent, utilities, insurance, taxes, present & owed. If you change employees, there is liquidation costs etc. You will assume any & all obligations existing on the business.  Add to that the legal requirements you need to fulfill to own & operate a businee here. You may own one, but not work in one without residence status.  Planner can be more detailed with what you need to know & do.  Good luck  welcome.

A bar can be one of worst or one of the best investments here. They open and close on a regular basis.

Have you ever owned a business? Owned a bar? Worked in one? Do you speak Spanish? Will you work in the bar or just own it?

It is all very different here!

Gypsy - you have been paying attention!!!!

I have owned tons of businesses; bars, few restaurants, some retail, a bail bondsman company, construction, and property management.

I was thinking that for under $20K it would be a decent excuse to go visit and drink for free while potentially making me a couple grand extra a month. I am thinking about my retirement life currently and while going through a mid life crisis thought, "Hey, why not look into buying a bar in a  tropical paradise?" I just worry about how much I could get "fleeced" by my staff if I am not there all the time.

You are better prepared than most!!!  You must put safeguards in place plus someone you trust to check in often. But it can be done and done well.

Planner, I may be sarcastic & bombastic at times, but I do know the reality of life here after almost 2 decades of life here.

Most new bar owners fail but in the right place and with the right work ethic and a good staff you can make a go of it.  But it will not be easy

Bob K

DReam city is wrong on so many points.
Investing 20K in a property and getting mortgage is a lose/lose situation.
Many bars and restaurants have changed hands and or opened recently in Sosua and Sosua that have an excellent chance of either continuing to do well or doing well.
Do your research.
Bob K

Are you sure ANY bar makes a couple Grand a month?  We see bars going out of business all the time.

Dream city appears to be constantly promoting some project or projects.  Wrong on many counts!

Sosua has quite a few long term bars/ restaurants. It is imperative to know & understand the demographics of the area you are looking at. Absolute grasp of both the hard & soft costs involved.  Absentee ownership is a recipe  for a large dose of Pain. I have ridden that horse and rapidly dismounted. I then made money.  What works elsewhere doesn't mean that it will work everywhere. Welcome & good luck in your ventures.

Apart from a poster with the name of his development as his username claiming not to be naming his development, there is one big question to consider when buying an existing business.

Why is the owner selling?

Answers on this thread seem to suggest bars come and go like the tides in that area, so it's possible they aren't making cash and are looking for a sucker in the hope of selling before they go bust.

If you like the look of a place, I would suggest wandering in a good few times to see how busy it is, but without expressing an interest to anyone there.

This might or might not be useful to a potential expat bar owner, but here goes....

I have a dominican acquaintance who built himself a little local empire in the alcohol business.

He started by supplying bars in the area with product he purchased wholesale in SD or through PP.

Next he opened a retail outlet geared towards extrajenos.  Still doing deliveries out of his pickup, but a new Toyota pickup these days.

He has now opened a bar, also aimed at expats.  I doubt the bar will do much, I think it's more of a vanity thing for him.

Im being long-winded about this, but I think any success here is incremental, and you had better have locals on your side.

Hmmmm honey you are commenting on a thread over  4 years old.

I will suggest you  open a new thread and post this, its interesting!  Your points made are worth discussion.

@planner

Wow.

The thread showed up in my email.  Silly me, I didn't check the date.  So I wonder how his bar purchase adventure went?  If I had to guess, probably not so well.

Wow it showed up in your email!  Fascinating.  Technology both love it and hate it.

Question regarding bar/disco hours in dominican republic . how does one obtain a permit, if required, to keep you bar/disco open till 2am Fridays and Saturdays

Hours depend on the location and zoning.

Ask Doug at the his bar - Plan B - that he has been advertising to sell in Sosua - someone else can ad is last name or he will see this or another entry and respond himself!

@planner

bar location is in SAJOMA. and wanted to know if such permit exist. or if simply owning an enclosed biusness legally gives one the right to extend hours friday and saturday till 2am 

Owning a business definitely does not just give you the rights to extend the hours. They are controlled by location.  I do not even know where Sojoma is.  Start investigation at city hall if there is one!