Advise for house buyers.

Good advice Paul - words for ALL intending buying or even RENTING a house/apartment to heed.

I would also add that some of the lawyers here don't always work in a totally ethical manner & you don't have the recourse to a "Lawyers Association" or Ombudsman as we do in Britain, North America & most European countries. It is always adviseable to get a second opinion on the contract drawn up so that you can see what the lawyer is actually organising for you. One or two of the more unscrupulous ones have actually put their OWN name on the contract as being the future owner instead of their clients name - passing this off to the unwary as being "Standard Practice" in this country!!

So, get a trusted friend to check everything out before putting YOUR name to the contract. My advice is DON'T buy until you understand the rules of the game, the culture & the problems you COULD face if you choose an unscrupulous lawyer, seller etc. Good luck & look after your money as much as many others would want to look after it for you!!! - Grahame.

Don't forget real estate taxes,and transfer taxes!

The guy I bought my house from,had a duplicate title,then re-financed the house,"AFTER" I bought it!!!! Then he never made any payments on the loan! After about 2 YEARS,the bank tried to take my house!!!I had the problem "taken care of",but only because the people I know were friends of the President of the bank!!

First house I rented had a 20,000 peso Codetel bill(When 20,000 pesos was more than "Pocket Money!) I knew the Gerente de Servicios al Clientes from Codetel! I left the place with a 20,000 peso electric bill!!!!The lawyer then rented to an Italian without telling him either.He showed up at my house "Demanding" that I pay the bill!!! I am still laughing at him!!!!

You do best in this country if you just presume that you are being lied to!You may take 1 or 2 people who are telling you the truth as "Liars",but that is a small price to pay,when you will "catch" the 10,000 who are lying to you!!! Cis Colon

Very very good advise Paul and others.

I have had this happen once before with codetel and power company in my second apartment. I PAID

Paul, if you want to get a response from Fabio, you must post your question in the Legal section. He doesn't check the other sections.

It is "WORK" to check these things!

Then there is the problem that the utility companies usually have the wrong address for everyone!
You could hold the lawyer accountable if he said there were no outstanding utility/tax bills,and then you found out that there were!

Don't you know how this culture works yet?? NO ONE accepts RESPONSIBILITY!!!!!!!!!!

Cris Colon

Also remember that if you are searching

for a "bargain" property using a real estate agent, your agent is probably competing with you!!! Most agents here on the North Coast are active real estate investors who will look after your interest "after" theirs.....

My wife bought the house next to her school, the person she bought it off paid the electric bill, but when my wife went to close the account(she was turning the property into a parking lot) she couldn't because the original owner that had opened the account had to close it(3 owners previous) This guy , if he was still alive would be in his late 90s and was nowehere to be found. Why they can't just start over each time like here in North America
escapes me.
Another house she bought off a guy, who died 3 months later had a 9000 peso bill, his widow showed Yris the receipt of him paying this bill, but edenorte wouldn't give Yris power until she repaid this bill.
As these seem to be typical experiences with Buying in the DR, Paul advice should be followed

I've probably closed a thousand residential real estate transactions without ever checking to see whether utility bills are paid or utilities transferred. Its just not my job. Its the job of the client. My job is to convey or obtain title free and clear of any liens, clouds or encumbrances.

If a utility sued and took judgment against a property owner for an old bill or bills, that judgment would show on any commitment for title insurance and at closing, the amount of that judgment, plus court costs and interest on the principal amount of the judgment would be required to be paid out of gross sale proceeds for purposes of conveying clear title. Some places like Chicago have ordinances requiring payment of any outstanding water bills but unless its a matter of judgment, ordinance or statute, lawyers in the States don't look at utilities. Its quite simply the job of the client.

When I bought my place in the DR, I was the client. Knowing how utility companies are in the DR, I had the utilities looked at. I wouldn't ask my attorney to do so as it just wasn't my attorney's job.

When we bought our house this year down there, our attorney took care of checking utilities too (Guido Perdomo). If there were any outstanding debts, it was to be deducted from the purchase price.
When closing here in Kentucky, utility companies put liens on property until paid. Because of that, I can't buy a house until liens are cleared. It's not the client's responsibility - it's the people doing the closing.

I say if you use a known realty company in DR, using their attorney, you should not have any surprises.

Paul Thate said:

yes kiteman . I have seen that exactly hapening as well
may be Scott would like to elaborate on that.

Click to expand...

You had told me that a broker I had used purchased a property I had put an offer on but the broker denied this to me. I told you about it and you said you were going to get back to me to let me know if they did actually buy the propertey which you haven't yet. Did they? If they did I won't be angry with the broker. I certainly wouldnt recommend the broker again and will use another broker in the same agency after that but I wont be angry with them. It would turn out to be their loss because I am a good referer of people.

I have been doing real estate for 30 years. Some deals don't work, some people try to screw you and some deals turn out to be just more trouble than they are worth. One thing I have learned over the years is NOT to fall in love with anything and that there is always another GREATEST deal just around the next corner. This statement holds true in down markets, up markets and sideways markets. I am not about to lose sleep over a real estate deal at any time. Hell I don't even lose sleep over a deal gone sour anymore. Doodie happens and unless you are just a kid you expect the worst. I am never surprised in Real Estate especially in the DR which is its own small microeconomic and microcultural society which is so different from other places in the world.

My latest deal is in court right now. The person on the title has been dead for 4 years. No biggie, that is how it goes. I moved onto another project already and close on Thursday. When the other deal gets resolved in court I will move on that one also. If it doesn't get resolved I don't buy it.

I also use Guido Perdomo and have been happy with him. I have begun to rely on his judgement and advice regarding matters in the DR. We have worked together on several deals already and he has been able to understand my work ethic and me his. Barring any problems I can see using him 20 years from now.

Funny thing when I first met him. He told me he doesn't do criminal work. I looked at him and told him, "great because I am not a criminal and probably won't have the need to turn me down handling a case". Funny way to start a relationship!

Scott

Can you please send this again? Never got it.

Thanks,
Scott

PS> I 'will' address this with the person again and get to the bottom of this.

Please expose the frauds

I believe it would be a good service to expose such shady dealings....

Besides it is good reading..

HB