Common in North America is the option to own a property as John Doe AND / OR Jane Doe.
My Attorney in the DR said that under Dominican law, the ONLY option is as John Doe AND Jane Doe, and for a legal transfer of the property (as in a sale later), BOTH or ALL named parties must sign off on the transfer documentation, or it's not a legal transfer.
Therefore, going by his advice, you would still have legal claim to the property if your "partner" tried to sell the property later without your knowledge or consent.
Likewise, my attorney told me that should one party holding ownership to the property die, then the government will then hold out their hand for the taxes due on that partner's share of the value of the property. He didn't say if the government was doing this, or was successful in collecting, but it would probably become a sticking point at sometime in the future should you wish to sell the property.