Buying property in DR

Your best bet is to speak to Julio Brea he will tell you exactly how it is done and the law firm is very good.

Upiter, welcome to the message board.

The lawyer that Buster1 mentioned is in the firm of Fabio Guzman.

The Guzman firm has published several documents on buying property in the DR. Probably the most helpful to you right now is

Buying Real Estate in the Dominican Republic

While waiting for Fabio to answer your question, I suggest that you read the linked document.

If you are going to buy property in the DR, you will most certainly want a good lawyer to protect your interests. The Guzman firm has made a specialty of helping foreigners buy property without being cheated and they would be a good choice for you. I have been using the firm for many years for property, to manage my company documents, etc.

i recommend finding a trust worthy dominican friend to interface with the sellers. There are two prices here, the foriegner price and the real (dominican price).

I would not recommend buying into a pre-construction project. Where you basically fund the developers costs until your place is finished. Those are too risky. Developers go broke all the time and get their land conviscated for being drug dealers etc.

Upiter said:

Hello,

I want to buy property in DR (for living) and would pay from my personal bank account (non US, non DR).

Wouldn't I be asked to show some documents for proving source of my money?

It would be great to hear response from Mr. Guzman and from someone who have experience of buying property in DR and paid from outside of DR for this property.

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I bought properties here paid for with money from outside of DR. You do not have to account for the source of the money to the sellers, but if you transfer over 10,000 US$ into a dominican bank account to pay for the purchase, you have to show the bank where this money came from before they release it to you. In my case I simply provided a letter from my lawyer in the UK confirming it came from the sale of a house.

The alternative is to pay the seller in an overseas bank account, ie US - many of them prefer this anyway. On one property I paid from my UK account directly into an Italian bank account in Euros. No issues at all.

matilda

If Fabio Guzman's firm is your lawyer, they have an escrow account in a bank in Miami. Americans purchasing property in the DR can transfer the money from their bank to the escrow account. The lawyer handles the rest when the deal is ready to be closed. Your money is in the escrow account until it is determined there is a good title, etc., etc.

Other lawyers may do the same. But that seems to me to be the best way of handling the purchase. When your money is in the escrow account the lawyer certifies to the seller that the money is in hand. All you have to do is get the money to the escrow account,to which the lawyer will provide the info needed by your bank to make the transfer, or for you to send a check for deposit in the escrow account.