One of the important points when buying real estate in the Dominican Republic and choosing a location is to understand the main goal:
- Investment. The property is acquired for the purpose of generating rental income or resale.
- Permanent residence. Real estate for permanent residence.
- Second vacation home. The property is purchased for the purpose of short-term residence during holidays and vacations.
- Vacations and income. The property is purchased for the purpose of personal residence for the duration of the vacation and rental in free time from vacation.
After you have decided on the purpose of the purchase and the size of the investment, we will offer you various options, taking into account all the parameters of the request.
We always recommend contacting specialists working in a particular area, since they are the ones who know all the factors, both positive and negative, and will be able to help without making any mistake in choosing.
Further, the whole process is divided into the following stages:
1) Selection and inspection of real estate.
At this stage, you select the object. Accompanied by an agent, you go to inspect and get to know the territory and the infrastructure.
2) Signing a purchase offer.
After you have decided on the property and got familiarized with all the conditions of the purchase, you must send a signed purchase offer to the seller. In this matter, an agent will help you, he will prepare a legally competent proposal, where all the conditions and terms of the purchase will be indicated. As a standard, the term of payment of the security deposit and the principal amount and their size are stipulated.
The size of the security deposit is on average 10% of the value of the property and is valid for 30-60 days. This period is necessary for the lawyer to check all title documents.
Further, the purchase offer is signed by the buyer and the real estate agency representative and sent to the seller for approval.
3) Payment of the deposit.
After the seller has read the terms and conditions and we have received a signed purchase offer, the buyer pays a deposit.
As a rule, the deposit is paid to the account of the real estate agency, acting as the guarantor of the transaction, and is kept in the current account until the final settlement. An important point is that the conditions for the return / non-return of the deposit are indicated in the purchase proposal and the real estate agency complies with these requirements, thereby protecting the buyer.
4) Simultaneously with the payment of the deposit, the buyer hires a lawyer to check the title documents.
The lawyer accompanies the entire process of the transaction, from the initial verification of title documents to registration of the property in the register and obtaining the property title (Titulo) in the name of the buyer.
The cost of a lawyer's services ranges from 1-1.5% of the value of the property. The minimum cost of services is $ 1,500 USD when dealing with economy class real estate.
5) After checking the title documents, the absence of tax arrears, utility bills, encumbrances, etc. and the lawyer confirms the readiness of the package of documents, the date of signing the main purchase and sale agreement, in other words, the date of the transaction, is assigned.
6) At the time of signing the contract of purchase and sale, the seller is paid the rest of the funds, and the contract is certified by a notary. At the same time, the property is received from the seller.
7) To submit a package of documents to the registration chamber for the re-registration of ownership in the name of the buyer, the buyer is obliged to pay tax in the amount of 3% of the value of the property specified in the contract of sale. The buyer is exempt from paying this tax if the property is subject to the CONFOTUR law.
8) After the tax on the re-registration of property rights is paid, and the full package of documents is transferred to the registration chamber, the buyer expects the release of a new property title. The registration period can take from 1 to 4 months. When the title deed is ready, the attorney will receive it at the Registration Chamber and hand it over to the seller.
IMPORTANT!!!
A) All contracts and documents in the Dominican Republic must be signed on every page and only in blue ink.
B) If the buyer or seller does not want or cannot be present at the signing of the main purchase and sale agreement, he must appoint a person responsible for signing and sign a general power of attorney to carry out these actions. The power of attorney must be apostilled, translated to Spanish, and certified by a persecutor of the Dominican Republic or issued at the consulate of the Dominican Republic in the country of residence of the buyer/seller.
C) A buyer of real estate in the Dominican Republic can be a citizen of any country with a foreign passport and a second identity document, and a legal justification for receiving funds for the purchase of real estate.
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