We've been coming down about every six months, but have always been so tied up with all our "stuff". Sure have missed seeing you guys! In March, we flew into Santo Domingo and didn't make it to Santiago or Puerto Plata.
We were asked thru a private message to give details about the 4 year struggle. I know this is going to sound like an endless saga, so don't laugh at us to much... someday you may want to come and visit! I know many DR1 posters have had easy real estate transactions, so ours may not be typical. We have purchased in a very rural area with limited development.
Our first attorney was from a reputable law firm in Santiago. He was paid to set up the corporation, transfer the title and oversee the survey. He set up our corporation that contained many errors including passport info, location, shareholders, type of corporation, etc. Many, many details incorrect. The title was never transferred into the corporation and the survey that was scheduled was never performed. At some point the attorney left the law firm, and bought a one way ticket to New York City. (Rumor has it he is now working as a carpenter?s helper making more now than the law firm was paying him!).
After all this, we did a major re-group and met with Fabio Guzman. The corporation details were corrected and the title was properly transferred to the corporation. Guzman Asociados retained a surveyor from Santiago. Six months went by and no survey. Guzman Asociados retained another surveyor who met us on site, and performed the survey and the paperwork was submitted. Six months went by. The surveyor filed the survey with incorrect names which had to be re-submitted. Guzman Asociados were very pro-active in keeping us informed of the survey status and all the set-backs. We now have a paper trail that is approximately 8 inches thick!
After the survey had been re-filed with the corrected names, someone pulls up the survey markers. The survey crew goes back a second time to put the markers back in. They are removed again. By now even the surveyor is ****ed. The person pulling up the markers is an older farmer who doesn?t want to see the changes that are rapidly happening. He about has a full breakdown on our property when we went to install the fence; crying, shaking, yelling, threatening to kill us and the fence crew. Never seen anything like it! Since this was such a bad scene, Guzman Asociados is now handling the fence issue.
Now you may ask how much all this has cost??? In terms of retaining our sanity to have gotten this far, PRICELESS!!!
La Vanda