Selling property for a close friend

First, I think this one ought to go to the legal Forum.

I can't give you legal advise, I am not a lawyer, however I may, based on my experiences share with you what I would consider (my opinions) if I was to face your issue(s):

• Tenants and leases:

I believe that,you may find out that, unless your friend gave you legal power of attorney, I think it is only your friend, the owner who can ask for HER tenants to leave the premises. That even if they were not paying any rent. This may take months in the best case... but likely to go into years if they are not cooperating.
As far as I understand, a property can, be sold WITH current leases, which the new owner will however have to honor based on the law. The existence and details of these lease agreements will have to be disclosed to a buyer and better be verifiable with the tenants.

• Lawyers:

In my opinion, Your friend should seek legal advise, amongst many things to make sure all papers and titles are clear and to organize a possible sale brokered by you or to arrange for a specific power of attorney or other arrangements. After all, the owner will most likely need legal representation at the moment of sale.

YOU then may choose to retain legal representation for yourself with a different lawyer. (I know if I was you, I would. Acting with a power of attorney is not limited to privileges only and may includes responsibilities too).

• "Agents":

IN CASE you would get power of attorney for the sale of the property, you may be able to list it with agents and real estate offices, just like you would be selling your own home. Otherwise, I suspect that decent agencies will NOT accept your listing of a property which does not belong to you.

• Buyers:

You may get a wide variety of "prospects".... some, you will have to find out, will waste your time being RE-tourists or otherwise nosy folks, some agents and would-be agents may show up and tell you about their "lists of pre-qualified buyers" and then, one never knows, you might just bump into the right buyer some day. At the end of the day, money talks, bull**** walks.

... J-D.

haunting_your_thoughts said:

Hello all,

I was asked by a very close friend of mine to sell her property in the South-west of DR which is right next to a main-road in a city.
She wants to sell the house for her. She gave me a price on her property
I have read some about the rules of buying and selling property here in the DR.

However, right now, her brother is running a colmado on the same property and there is also a taller de motores in the back part of the property. :chinese:

What would be the steps that I would need to take in order to sell the property. Should I have everyone moveout a build a closed fence around the property? Should I get an appraisal first? Should I find an "agent" or lawyer?

Is there anything as a fake buyer? Someone who pretends to be a buyer but wants to be a crooked agent? or, has anyone ever had the experience that a buyer buys the property but doesn't pay the money? How can I avoid this deal from going bad?:ermm:

I know that these are a lot of questions, but not all of them have to be answered. Who should answer? I would like answers from those who are experienced in buying and selling property in the DR ONLY.

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It looks to me like you don't have a clue how to represent a potential real estate seller. Leave this kind of work to professional real estate agents who have proved that they can do this kind of business and have the necessary education.

I would have started with the lawyer friend....and you get ripped of by those people listed in every country

haunting_your_thoughts said:

Mido: FYI, in this country, you need to know everything about EVERYTHING. Even if people claim that they are the BEST professionals. If you think that people are experts and leave it up to them on how to handle things, they will always cut corners and in the end, we the extranjeros will always get ripped off. This applies to Car-repairs, Inverters, Dentistry, Medical field, Real Estate, Import/Export, almost every aspect of your life. So, it is very important to know more than the average layman.

J D Sauser: Thank you very much for your insightful opinions. You gave me a lot of useful ideas and now, I have an idea where to start the next time I speak with my friend. I will also go and consult with a lawyer friend of mine.

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you got the point right,
the only valuable info given been the ones by J.D.,
appreciated like always.
and before you start to get 'really' involved, taking steps aso, make sure that your friend has really the papers of the talked property in her/his hands and name, otherwise you would afterwards just end up as a 3rd or 4th row reseller who spend time and money on a efford which will not take place in the planned way.
good luck
Mike