House Buying

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Cosmo

Guest
I do read the forums - honest. - But sometimes I can't find my way around too well. No doubt this question has been asked before however .....

I am coming to DR in January to look at buying a house in the North. My question is this -

In the UK it is considered customary to "put in an offer" when buying a house. This is a most unusual practice for us Brits and probably the only time in our lives when we are ever expected to haggle over the price of anything!

Can anyone suggest a rule of thumb or am I about to accidentally insult someone?

Another question is regarding the occassional property that comes complete with a car or truck. My assumption is that these people are getting out for one reason or another and consequently are selling everything. Is it a good idea to suggest to the vendor that you will take the car off them too? Am I going to get a good deal by doing this or should I just buy a car / truck seperately?

Thanks


See you in January
 

BushBaby

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Jan 1, 2002
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As has been propounded many times on this board, DON'T buy until you have been here a while & know your way around. HONEST, it will save you mega-bucks to do a LOT of homework first!!!

1. Check comparable properties & locations before putting in your 'Offer'. Yes it IS customary to 'Haggle' here & you DO start from an insulting figure (but SMILE whilst you are doing so, so as not to offend!!).

2. Check you have got a GOOD lawyer, one that will work for YOU & not your seller, his neighbour &/or Himself!! A great many Sosua Lawyers have got a bad name so check as many as you can & double/treble check with people that have used the ones you like!!!

3. RENT, for as long as you can (with an "Option to buy" if you really like the area/house) & keep your money in US $'s, Euros or ? Sterling, exchanging only what you need on a monthly basis!!

4. Visit the Lawyer each week to ensure that he is getting on with the work he is supposed to AND take in a trusted interpreter to read the small print on legal documentation!!!

I don't mean to be excessively hard on the DR lawyers, but IF they are good, they won't mind you checking to make sure that YOU understand what is going on!! I heard the sorry plight of a young Dominican girl last week, who 2 years ago paid for some property & started building on it. After the walls were built the original seller died leaving the plot next door to her daughter. Once the roof was on, the neighbour (daughter of original seller) claimed the property being built on was hers & the young Dominican girl had the property next door - so she had to hand the building & property over to the daughter!!! Case is STILL going on 18 months later!! Was the lawyer in league with the daughter??? If this can happen to a Dominican who knows the language, what chances have we "Gringos" got??? Because we "have got the money" we are ripe for plucking!!!!!

BEWARE, be careful & CHECK everything several times over!! Unless you KNOW the answer, don't sign on the dotted line.

Come in with your views Ken, Scott, Eddy, Marco - you guys know the Sosua lawyers much better than me!! I know the Puerto Plata ones that I would trust, but not those over in Sosua/Cabarete!!

Good luck - Grahame
 

Ladybird

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Dec 15, 2003
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Cosmos we've just gone through this, offer 60% of asking price and dont be afraid to haggle hard , stick low, theres too many properties for sale. We had invaluable help here on DR1, look in their business section, they have a good lawyer, look at titles, Im in Bristol, what part are you, we'll be arriving 16 Jan in Pop/Sosua.
Graham why Bush Baby? unusual.
Barby
 
C

Cosmo

Guest
Thanks for the advice guys. I love the idea of 60% to start with! Just so you know we've been looking for around 4 months now and come out to stay with Peter and Alex Holden on 18th January for 2 weeks.

We've bored them to death with our constant emailing - checking and double checking everything. Without guys like yourselves we would have probably decided to stay at home.

So many other questions - looks like I'll be giving Peter a hard time when we come over!

Thanks
 
C

Cosmo

Guest
Sorry Ecandido - I didn't see your stuff about being from Bristol. Hard luck - no wonder you want to move!

We're from East Sussex (quite near Tunbridge Wells). How much were your flights? We got returns for ?250. - Unbelievable! It would cost us more to fly to Italy!

I'm 40 (just) and we're trying to get out of the UK to avoid getting taxed to death. - A kind of forced exile (I'm sure that one could do worse). We need to be away for several years and couldn't find anywhere better to stay!

Thanks again everyone for your help - brilliant!


Simon
 

Ladybird

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Simon, we're not coming directly to DR, we have to call in to New York, then a few days in Turks Caicos, then by charter to DR. There are some great deals on flights direct to DR. Cheeky, Bristol is a beautiful city, but I need winter warmth. Yes I agree about the taxes and the next President-of-Europe Blairs stance--not-- on the dangerous sort of immigrants/as seekers hes allowing it. Barby
 

BushBaby

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Jan 1, 2002
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Hey Cosmo,
Pop up the road to a friend of mine please - She lives in Crowborough with 3 grown up children. Nicki & I have known each other for some 40 years & we were able to "Get together" at Crawley when I stopped over one night in Sept. last before heading up to Scotland!! - Grahame.
 
C

Cosmo

Guest
Small World Eh?

Until she stopped work to concentrate on the move my wife (Nicky)! worked in Crowborough. It's 20 minutes down the road.
 

jsizemore

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Aug 6, 2003
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fire sales

The advice I have been given constantly by the gringos in Sosua I talk too when on vacation in the DR is to rent first and wait and watch for a year or so. Ever few months a really good deal comes along that saves up to %50 of fair value. IE someone has lost everything from investing too much too fast and so forth.
John