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. |