Illegal condo developments mean no titles for condo buyers in Cabarete

If you are thinking of buying a condo in a new development in Cabarete, or if you already have and are still waiting to get your title, and if you read Spanish you should read this article Oportunistas siguen burlando los reglamentos del Plan del Ordenamiento Territorial de Cabarete | Cabarete noticias. If you don't read Spanish I will describe what you need to know. There actually are building and zoning regulations in Cabarete and these were most recently codified in the presidential decree 947-09 of 2009 that approved the new zoning and building regulations for Cabarete. The problem is many of the condo developers preferred not to comply with the regulations and not get proper permits from the proper folks in the Ministry of Tourism, either before or after the decree. Nonetheless, through means one can guess they managed to build their projects. Problem is that when it comes time for the developer to get titles for the condo buyers they need the proper permits, which means going back to the same folks in the Ministry of Tourism that they didn't bother to get approval from in the first place. And these officials take a look a what was built, with no legal permit, and in violation of the building regulations, and they say no dice, no ex-post facto permit for an illegal construction. That would seem to just leave the condo developers holding the bag, bu not so. It seems the developers have been selling these condos with the promise of providing titles. You'd think that the developers would have lawyers that would guard them against building without proper permits, but not so. And you'd think that buyers would have lawyers that would guard them against buying a condo in an illegal building where they won't get a title, but not so. And if you think that going with a big name firm that you'd heard about on DR1 will keep you clear of such problems, think again. Potential buyers should never use the same lawyer as the vendor. Make sure your own lawyer does a proper due diligence, including construction permit search. Astute buyers always keep at least 60% of the purchase funds in escrow when buying a new condo until they are given a final legal title for the property they purchased.

Cabarete is the outdoor capital of the Caribbean. A town that if allowed to maintain its identity as a windsurfing and kiteboarding mecca promises to be a very good place to invest and reside. The building regulations in the Cabarete plan approved by the president are meant to keep it that way.

I understand Milenium complied with the rules for a fourth floor. It was permitted where Milenium was built if it was set back behind two and three level portions of the building. MITUR accepted the Milenium design.

The Cabarete beach is subject to erosion. Back in 2006-2007 the then Minister of Tourism, Felucho,who had a stake in Punta Goleta approved a beach replenishment project that extended the beach considerably. The last job of the contractos was to sink about 20 posts, white PVC pipes filled with concrete, along the beach, supposedly indicating a new 60 meter mark. At least some of those posts have been washed away as the beach receded again. So it is a moving mark. In theory new buildings should be setback 60 meters from the high tide mark when the building is being built. MiTUR seems to show some flexibility on that considering lines of prior development as well, but there are clearly a few aggregious examples that won't pass muster.

But all permits should be in place, and your lawyer should be able confirm that before you buy. Naturally the titles come after the project is completed, but only if all the permits have been granted. Your good deal pre-construction purchase won't look so good if you never get a title.

A reader has corrected my explantion of the white posts planted on Cabarete beach just after MITUR widened the beach in 2006. The posts were placed to mark the high tide line prior to the addition of the new sand in order to preserve the existing reference point from which the 60 meter building set back was to be measured. The additional sand was not expected to be long lasting. On the eastern end of the bay those markers have been washed away along with the beach. As beach experts contracted by the government have explained, a major factor contributing to this erosion is the massive illegal extraction of sand from the areas east of Cabarete that serve as a source of sand to maintain equilibrium on the Cabarete beach -- a practice that has continued for years with the acquiesence of the Ministry of Environment.