If you are thinking of buying a property in the Dominican Republic and you are wondering what the buying process is like, today I am going to explain to you in 10 steps how to become an owner easily and safely. Before you start, you should know that whether you are Dominican or from a foreign country, you both have the same legal rights when buying a property in the Dominican Republic. You only need your passport.
- Choose a trusted real estate advisor. We have an association of real estate agents that guide us and trains us as professionals, simply check the reviews of the agents or their companies and the international certifications they may have or to which associations they may belong internationally. In my case, I am a member of five associations. Four of them are international and I have three NAR designations, which is the Association of Realtors of the USA.
- Define the properties to visit. Be open with your broker. Provide them with the details of your dream property and your budget. Your broker will create property options to visit with the best achievement you have requested and within the agreed budget. It can be a new or resale property.
- Now is when the fun begins, visit the dream property as you imagined it. Know the environment and the benefits of each property. Properties within a Resort, such as Cap Cana, Punta Cana Resort, or Casa de Campo, offer a unique lifestyle thanks to their beaches or golf courses. At many of my properties, you will be able to walk inside the property with the technology video system that we use.
- Select the property that interests you. Once you have done the tour of the property, meet with your broker to ask any questions you have about the property you are interested in and define which one is the best for you.
- Make an offer to buy. Through your real estate advisor, make an offer to buy, which establishes the basic terms and conditions proposed between the Buyer and the Seller in a real estate transaction. This document must have the signature of the buyer and the buyer’s real estate agent, to give a professional character to the proposal.
- The offer is accepted: Once the offer has been negotiated and accepted by the seller, a reservation or deposit of the property is made. Normally the deposit it is around 10% of the sale value. This transaction can be made through your lawyer in the country, if as a foreign do not have a lawyer, surely your real estate advisor can help you by offering you a trustworthy one.
- Due diligence. Now is the time for your attorney to perform due diligence on the property to determine that everything is in the right and order. This process includes the history of the title of the property, and encumbrance, IPI status of the expenses of the property or utility services.
- Contract promise of sale. The next step is to prepare the sale contract, which is made out by the buyer’s lawyer. The contract describes the conditions of the sale, as well as the legal characteristics of the property.
- Transfer of funds. Once the contract is signed, the payment of the remaining amount is made to complete the agreed amount. Unless the payment is programmed with the new pre-construction company, in that case, they would make a payment plan to accommodate each customer payment plan.
- Final purchase-sale contract and transfer of title. This is the same as a contract of sale, this is the final contract that is used to transfer ownership from the seller to the buyer. Remember that your lawyer must proceed to make out the transfer of the property title where it is proven that you are legally the owner of the property.