International Mortgage

[mymil]

IF you are a first time buyer and don't already have a home or other large assest to borrow against to buy in the DR, and the idea of paying Dominican interest rates makes you nervous. Then I would suggest gathering up as much cash as possible as a down payment. Then do a lot of pounding of the pavement and find a couple of nice little starter homes/condos.

Once you've found them ask the sellers if they would be willing to finance the sale. Owner financing can get you a better rate. Do your homework though, may properties have title issues and there are some unsavory people who will take advange of a first time buyer.

While having the down payment shows good faith to the seller... you should be clear in your sale's contract of the terms of this kind of financing. It is likely if you default on even one payment you could loose your down payment and your home.

good luck.

 

[GringoCArlos]

I was attempting to buy my first home here in the DR last August. (before all of the problems really started emerging in the US). At that time, the main Dominican savings and Loan, Ahorros was offering me a mortgage at about 14% for peso mortgages or 10% for USD mortgages. Banco Popular was offering 14.5% for pesos or 8.75% for a USD mortgage. Very little in terms of closing costs (less than US$2k in fees, which would have been included in the mortgage). Both were asking 30% down on the property.

It's up to you and your outlook on what the exchange rate will do, as far as choosing whether to go with a peso mortgage or a USD mortgage. It also affects your decision if you are making money in pesos or in USD.

There are mortgages available from banks/companies outside the DR, but most of them have killer loan fees attached. If going this route, read the fine print on their offers. Twice.

They also asked for a copy of my US credit history and a copy of my DR credit history, bank statments, and last 3 paystubs.

 

[DavidZ]

Mortgages in the DR are *NOT* that high...a non-Dominican borrower will almost always borrow in US $. the high rate mortgages are for loans in PESOS...

 

[Rattus_Rattus]

dtronx,

My company provides loans for the following nationalities in DR:
US, Canadian, UK. Irish, Spainish and Italian will be available in the near future. A lot of the advice in these posts I'd agree with, the rates are higher and it depends on how much you're looking to spend. The credit card and/or line of credit method is a good idea for up to 100K-150K; over that I think you'd be better off using a mortgage because, depending on your credit, it might take a long time to access that kind of dollar amount.

Hope your company will include Scandinavian countrys later.