mortgage question

jjsk

"Going for Gold"
Jan 1, 2002
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If a foreign person were to buy property in the DR, would they have to get their financing from a bank in the DR, or would a foreign bank be able to handle the mortgage?
(is this a stupid question, :confused: if it is sorry, don't know much about such things) :p
 

AmyB

New member
Jan 4, 2002
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Dear JJSK,

I am pretty sure that as a foreigner, you would be unable to get a mortgage, I looked into it just out of curiousity. I have acatually seen several of your questions and I think that we have alot in common...moving to the DR soon! Maybe you can email me and we can exchage info. PS...going to Santo Domingo in 7 days!!!
 

Pib

Goddess
Jan 1, 2002
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www.dominicancooking.com
As Socrates once said, the only stupid question is the one that is never made. Ok... I made that up, but it sounded appropriate, so sue me! <IMG src="http://www.sassiessite.f2s.com/images/Smilies/huh.gif">

I am almost sure that you can not get financing for buying a house in DR from a foreign bank that doesn't have a branch in DR.
 

BushBaby

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Jan 1, 2002
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Have you a mortgage at the moment?

Getting a mortgage from a bank over here in the DR is NOT a good idea - FAR too expensive in that it will be in excess of 18% p.a., more likely 24% IF the bank will accept you!! Go to a high street Finance House & you will be paying 30% p.a. or more!!.

Have you a property in your home country at the moment? If so, why not keep that, rent it out & extend your existing mortgage to buy property down here (keeping it quiet from the mortgage lender of course)? We have done this very effectively over the years & sometimes have used the money for investment purposes where the rate we get back, far exceeds the level we pay for the mortgage in the UK!! If this COULD fit into your financial equation & you want to expand the thoughts, drop me an e-mail for further info. - Grahame Bush.
 

Criss Colon

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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Rent first,buy later!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don,t buy! I see the same posts everyday,"We are moving to the Dominican Republic and want to buy a house,and put our "life savings" in a bank"."Hey!", Slow down!!!Come on down! Rent till you know where you want to live,you may say,"Let me out of here!!"Leave your house and "money",in the bank where it is now.There is an old saying,"You can regret at leisure,the decisions you make in haste!" I don,t think anyone on this board who has lived here for more than a year(at the least) will say that I have given you bad advice.This is not South Florida!You work to keep things "in-order" here!Take your time.You are coming here for the "relaxed lifestyle" right? Then start now,"RELAX!" Criss Colon
 

jjsk

"Going for Gold"
Jan 1, 2002
338
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Well, I'm not looking to move my life savings to the DR and give up all ties to my home country... but I would consider moving some moneythere (read: money I figure I am willing to take the chance on losing) and have been thinking about buying some property to have as an investment/vaction home. Is this really that unreasonable? I have friends that have done similar in Jamaica, but I have found that like the DR better than Jamaica, so I thought I'd start finding out what the possibilities are.

I think I read somewhere that Scotiabank has offices in Santo Domingo, does anyone know if that's accurate? And if yes, does that mean I could have a Canadian bank hold a mortgage on a DR property?

The idea of re-mortaging our primary residence is interesting and might be a good idea if our circumstances were a bit different. Renting out our home would not likely be an option.
 

Pib

Goddess
Jan 1, 2002
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[B]jjsk[/B] said:
I think I read somewhere that Scotiabank has offices in Santo Domingo, does anyone know if that's accurate?
Yes, they do. They just oppened a new office very close to my place. Why don't you contact them in your home country and ask them about that?
 

jjsk

"Going for Gold"
Jan 1, 2002
338
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Thanks Pib, will do. :)

Any other Canadian banks there, or is Scotia the only one?
 

BushBaby

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Jan 1, 2002
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ScotiaBank

Yes. PLEASE check out ScotiaBank at your end & post your responses from them here. I am told by the Puerto Plata branch that they are a totally seperate company to Bank of Nova Scotia & that drawing of funds from an account in another country is not possible (other than by ATM). You would have to open an account with them here, get money transfered in & then you can withdraw from your DR account. This could be speeded up maybe if they do online banking. Banco Mercantil use online banking & that seems to work very well indeed.

As far as I am aware, NO DR Bank is owned by any bank from outside the DR - they are all DR owned & therefor seperate to banking systems from outside of the DR. They are I believe, all governed by DR rules & regulations although I am sure Bank of Nova Scotia would do all in it's power to bail out ScotiaBank here, just to ensure it's name was not dragged into the dirt IF anything went wrong.

Hope this helps - please get back to me when you have responses from Bank of Nova Scotia at your end - I will be interested to see if their response matches what I have heard from down here. - Grahame.
 

jjsk

"Going for Gold"
Jan 1, 2002
338
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scotiabank response about accounts

Bushbaby, since you asked, here's the reply I got"


"We appreciate your inquiry regarding opening an account in the Dominican Republic.

In order to open an account in the Dominican Republic you would have to do that directly at one of their branches. This account would not be accessible at a Scotiabank branch in Canada. However, you could make withdrawals using your bank card at an ATM.

To obtain further information regarding the types of services and
interest rates offered through the branch in the Dominican Republic, please visit our website at:

http://www.scotiabank.com/cda/content/0,1608,CID54_LIDen,00.html

Alternatively, you can email them directly at:

vpoffice@codetel.net.do

We trust this information is helpful to you. Thank you for contacting Scotiabank."



I didn't get a response from them yet about my mortgage question.
 

BushBaby

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Jan 1, 2002
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Thanks for the update Jjsk - pretty much the same as I was told here in Puerto Plata.
As you are considering living down in the DR, you would probably be advised to make friends with a local Finance House who would change your US $ checks into pesos (at a good rate once he has got to know you!!). His interest rates might be appealing to you too if you have a little money to spare. Come back direct for more info if you need it. - Grahame.