Buying Property in the Dominican Republic

To buy real estate in the Dominican Republic is not a complicated process, therefore anyone who is interested
and has the initial amount of money to start with can surely double or even triple the investment.
Anyway, there are no restrictions on foreigners purchasing a property in the Dominican Republic

Any buyer and seller must be aware of the fact that all the buying and selling of real estate in the
Dominican Republic must obey the Land Registry Law of the Dominican Republic. According to it, the first and
most important step in acquiring a property in the Dominican Republic is the making of a sale contract between
the parties involved, which is between the buyer and the seller.

The contract for sale must by all means be signed in front of a public notary who will authenticate the signature
of the parties involved in the transaction.  All the general terms and conditions of the sale must be stated in this
contract for sale, together with a full description of the real estate which is the subject of the sale. In the contract
the selling price must be recorded. Without fulfilling these requirements, the contract don't have much value.
Other matters relating to the selling or buying of the property can be also stated in the contract between the
seller and the buyer. As a general rule, the buyer will make a deposit for the property, but this amount of
money must cover a minimum of 10% of the total purchase price of the real estate.

After the signing and notarizing of the contract, the Internal Revenue Office comes into action, as the taxes
which will be due and owing because of the sale must also be determined. The required taxes must by all means
be paid in advance for the property involved in the selling process, from the seller to the buyer. The final step
of the whole procedure is the filing with the Title Registrar's Office of the contract for sale and of a certificate
of title. The Title Registry will review that all requirements and documents are fulfilled and completed to
proceed with the recordation of the new sale.

When vendors are unable to sign the transaction, they can pass a power of attorney to a trusted person or to
their Lawyer .The power of attorney has to be legalized and stamped by the Dominican consulate in their
residing country and properly notarized. The property and title numbers on the POA need to correspond with
the respective property.

Before purchasing a property, it is recommended that the buyer be assisted by a dominican Attorney  to do
the corresponding due diligence and title research.
Tel.Sekretariat: 1 809 571 4156
Lic. Brigitte Stuckmann & Asocs.
Law office Dominican Republic
Attorney at law and interpreter for English, Spanish and German.
Master's degree and studies in civil procedure law (PUCMM)
Master's degree and studies in real estate law (UAPA)
Lic. Brigitte Stuckmann is member of the Dominican Bar Association
Lic. B. Stuckmann