Our recommendation is to sign a Promise of Sale instead of accepting an offer. The Promise is usually enforceable while the accepted offer may not be because of non-compliance with Dominican real estate law. If the seller tries to back out of the Promise of Sale, you may petition the Land Court to transfer the property to you, and if everything goes as it should, you'll get your property. If a seller backs out of an accepted offer, legal technicalities may well prevent you from enforcing the agreement.
Below you'll find an excerpt from our website article on buying real estate:
Preliminary Steps: Real estate purchases in the Dominican Republic do not usually follow the North American pattern of a written offer tendered by the buyer to the seller, followed by the seller's written acceptance. Instead, after verbal agreement is reached by the buyer and seller on the price, a binding Promise of Sale is prepared by an attorney (solicitor) or notary public which is signed by both parties. (Notaries in the Dominican Republic are required to have a law degree.)
Because of certain peculiarities of Dominican Real Estate Law, it is recommended that the prospective buyer retain a real estate attorney (solicitor) before signing any documents or making a deposit. Depending on the wishes of the parties, the attorney (solicitor) may proceed with the due diligence first, before preparing the Promise of Sale, or alternatively, prepare the Promise of Sale first, conditioning the purchase to the results of the due diligence to be done in a specified term.
? Promise of Sale: This is a formal document, binding on both parties, and signed by them in the presence of a Notary Public. From a practical point of view, it is more important than the Deed of Sale, since it generally contains a complete and detailed description of the entire transaction up to the time when the purchase price has been paid in full and the property is ready to be conveyed to the buyer.
The Dominican Republic Law Firm: Guzman Ariza, Attorneys at Law.