buying a property in the DR

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belgiank

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Jun 13, 2009
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Suppose, I wanted to buy a property in the DR...

First question... my money is still located in a European country.... how do I get a large amount of money transferred to the DR...

Second question... and I know I may sound like a lot of ignorant fools, moving over here... what are the duties I have to pay to the DR government when buying a house over here? Everyone here says there are none... but somehow I doubt this... and what if I just buy a piece of land and build a house?...

Please enlighten me... lol

BelgianK
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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If you click on the Real Estate tab on the DR1 Home page, at the bottom there are several informative articles on the steps required to purchase property and it gives a rough breakdown on the process and costs involved. Important that the person selling the property is actually the owner(there have been many incidents in the past where this happened), Deslinde(Survey) is required, get a competent lawyer. I can give you the name and phone number of the one Yris uses in Jarabacoa.
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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You will have to prove the source of the money when it comes to the DR. Be prepared to show a trail of ownership of the money from where it originally came from even if 20 years ago.

The money can be wired, but...as you have already experienced...it may "disappear" for a while...

You have a trustworthy lawyer. Drop a few pesos and have a chat.
 

J D Sauser

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Nov 20, 2004
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www.hispanosuizainvest.com
As CobraBoy pointed, you will be asked to document the origins of any amount over USD 10K wired to your account here. Funds will not be released to you until their demands of documentation will be satisfied. Some banks can be extremely picky about that and others less and most will not be able to give you an exclusive list of documents you will need before you wire the money, but it may even include documenting HOW you obtained these funds.
I once wired an amount from an insurance payout and it took 3 weeks of back'n'forths.

There is no "duty" on property purchases... after all you are not exporting the land or home but there may be some taxes involved in the process of acquisition and after it.

I think that if you'd invest some time researching the LEGAL and REAL ESTATE sections of this forum, you may come to the following conclusions:

  • There are some transfer taxes and lawyer fees. Depending on the value there may be a yearly real estate tax assessed on the fiscal value of your new home if it is above a certain value.
  • If you put it to the name of a company (incorporate), there will now be a small tax on all it's holding, which ever small they may be.
  • You will want to carefully choose a lawyer BEFORE you commit to any purchase here. I strongly advise against trying to follow an "agent's" recommendations, as too many posing as such here do not fulfill the basic requisites of professionalism you would expect coming from a "developed" country. Too many don't even speak the local language, so how would they know anything else but to try to sell, sell, sell. Once you found a suitable lawyer with an established track record of having served it's customers well, professionally and ethically, retain his services BEFORE signing ANYTHING and the way thru any transactions. The best way to use legal advise is protective.


... J-D.
 
Sep 22, 2009
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As CobraBoy pointed, you will be asked to document the origins of any amount over USD 10K wired to your account here. Funds will not be released to you until their demands of documentation will be satisfied. Some banks can be extremely picky about that and others less and most will not be able to give you an exclusive list of documents you will need before you wire the money, but it may even include documenting HOW you obtained these funds.
I once wired an amount from an insurance payout and it took 3 weeks of back'n'forths.

There is no "duty" on property purchases... after all you are not exporting the land or home but there may be some taxes involved in the process of acquisition and after it.

I think that if you'd invest some time researching the LEGAL and REAL ESTATE sections of this forum, you may come to the following conclusions:

  • There are some transfer taxes and lawyer fees. Depending on the value there may be a yearly real estate tax assessed on the fiscal value of your new home if it is above a certain value.
  • If you put it to the name of a company (incorporate), there will now be a small tax on all it's holding, which ever small they may be.
  • You will want to carefully choose a lawyer BEFORE you commit to any purchase here. I strongly advise against trying to follow an "agent's" recommendations, as too many posing as such here do not fulfill the basic requisites of professionalism you would expect coming from a "developed" country. Too many don't even speak the local language, so how would they know anything else but to try to sell, sell, sell. Once you found a suitable lawyer with an established track record of having served it's customers well, professionally and ethically, retain his services BEFORE signing ANYTHING and the way thru any transactions. The best way to use legal advise is protective.


... J-D.

Really no way to say this better. Also, if you are purchasing a house in SD or a large land plot in the countryside, need assure due diligence on title/matriculation of the property -- i.e. original owners, pathology of ownership, outstanding claims, debt obligations, etc.

A "trusted" attorney should manage this for you. N.b. my quotation marks.
 

CFA123

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May 29, 2004
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As CobraBoy pointed, you will be asked to document the origins of any amount over USD 10K wired to your account here. Funds will not be released to you until their demands of documentation will be satisfied.

If the money is kept in your foreign account & wired to your attorney or to another party at time of purchase... I don't believe you need to justify anything regarding the source. The recipient may be asked, in which case "I'm selling my property" or "It's being put into our escrow account for a purchase" would likely more than suffice.

At least that's the way it worked for me.

A transfer into your own account from yourself or entity, yes you may be asked to advise the source, but from what I've seen that's usually a clerk at the bank just filling out a form with your verbal or emailed response. If others have had different experiences, I'll defer to their greater knowledge on the matter & just say I've not personally experienced that.
 

Mauricio

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Nov 18, 2002
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I had sent money for buying a property over to the dominican republic (scotiabank) in 2003 just by an international transfer. It was sent to my dollars account and I took it out in cash, had it changed in a casa de cambio (better rate) and brought the pesos to the real estate agent, where we (real estate agent, seller and me) all counted the money and after that the appartment was mine. I wouldn't do that again (the cash part) but I didn't trust the casa de cambio enough to accept a cheque from them. I don't recall that in scotiabank they asked me where the money came from.
 
Sep 22, 2009
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I had sent money for buying a property over to the dominican republic (scotiabank) in 2003 just by an international transfer. It was sent to my dollars account and I took it out in cash, had it changed in a casa de cambio (better rate) and brought the pesos to the real estate agent, where we (real estate agent, seller and me) all counted the money and after that the appartment was mine. I wouldn't do that again (the cash part) but I didn't trust the casa de cambio enough to accept a cheque from them. I don't recall that in scotiabank they asked me where the money came from.

I can't imagine EVER needing to use a Casa de Cambio (which, for the most part, are laundering operations). Especially for that amount of cash. What is wrong with a bank-to-bank wire? It's the easiest, most secure way.

Sometimes I think about self-medicating.
 

andy_089

New member
Mar 23, 2003
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If an amount like 200K Euros comes from a normal EU bank account, it is already considered to be clean money and from my experience there will be no documentation necessary.

They may ask you where the money comes from and where it goes, so you give them the right answer and that's it.

Only do this transaction with large modern banks like Banco Popular, smaller banks may be more difficult.

It's also possible to bring a certified cheque from you bank at home.
 
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Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
5,485
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Very often the person you are buying from will not require the money to be paid here. They may wish it paid to an overseas bank account, which makes life a lot easier!!

matilda
 

El Tigre

El Tigre de DR1 - Moderator
Jan 23, 2003
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BelgianK,

I've lived in NYC almost my entire life. So has my family. Everytime one of them is purchasing anything in the DR they bring the dollars with them and do not declare it to customs. It is a risk some are not willing to take but I will tell you this...nobody in my family has ever gotten caught. The most I have known a family member of mine to carry has been USD $50,000.

If this is a risk you are willing to take it might save you a few thousand bucks depending on the amount you are bringing in. However, I do not know what the implications are if you are caught with that amount of cash on you. Perhaps a slap on the wrist and paying the penalties on the spot?

As far as the duties...since you are the buyer not really much to pay since the seller needs to have everything in order (taxex etc). You'd have to pay an attorney to complete the transaction. That will include getting the deed transferred to your name etc.

Good luck.
 

CFA123

Silver
May 29, 2004
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BelgianK,

I've lived in NYC almost my entire life. So has my family. Everytime one of them is purchasing anything in the DR they bring the dollars with them and do not declare it to customs. It is a risk some are not willing to take but I will tell you this...nobody in my family has ever gotten caught. The most I have known a family member of mine to carry has been USD $50,000.

If this is a risk you are willing to take it might save you a few thousand bucks depending on the amount you are bringing in. However, I do not know what the implications are if you are caught with that amount of cash on you. Perhaps a slap on the wrist and paying the penalties on the spot?

As far as the duties...since you are the buyer not really much to pay since the seller needs to have everything in order (taxex etc). You'd have to pay an attorney to complete the transaction. That will include getting the deed transferred to your name etc.

Good luck.

This advice from a moderator? Wire the money. What 'savings' by carrying cash? Pay the wire transfer fee... what, maybe equivalent of US$30 (whatever your bank charges + $6 (at Banco Popular)? Send US$250,030 by wire & US$250,000 arrives in the destination account. What's wrong with people? :ermm:
 

Chip

Platinum
Jul 25, 2007
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Santiago
With regard to finding property and building a house, I've got you covered. I'm a friend of Robert's and when you are ready we'll get you pointed in the right direction.

As far as transfering the money, I have done several wire transfers, some over 10k, using an American bank and Banreservas without any problems at all. You also might consider getting your bank to issue a cashiers check, that should be good at most banks here.
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
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BelgianK,

I've lived in NYC almost my entire life. So has my family. Everytime one of them is purchasing anything in the DR they bring the dollars with them and do not declare it to customs. It is a risk some are not willing to take but I will tell you this...nobody in my family has ever gotten caught. The most I have known a family member of mine to carry has been USD $50,000.

If this is a risk you are willing to take it might save you a few thousand bucks depending on the amount you are bringing in. However, I do not know what the implications are if you are caught with that amount of cash on you. Perhaps a slap on the wrist and paying the penalties on the spot?

As far as the duties...since you are the buyer not really much to pay since the seller needs to have everything in order (taxex etc). You'd have to pay an attorney to complete the transaction. That will include getting the deed transferred to your name etc.

Good luck.

Seriously poor advice amigo.
You risk having the money confiscated until you can prove the origin of the currency.
 
Sep 22, 2009
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Continually amazed at the human thought process. Honestly, I don't know anyone that has 300 Large to invest and doesn't have 100 ways in mind to get the money there!

This just seems like banking 101.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
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I can't imagine EVER needing to use a Casa de Cambio (which, for the most part, are laundering operations). Especially for that amount of cash. What is wrong with a bank-to-bank wire? It's the easiest, most secure way.

Sometimes I think about self-medicating.

At least in 2003 the rate I would get in a casa de cambio was a lot better than what the bank would give me. I think it gave me 30,000 pesos extra or something. In that particular time the peso had just started to go down if I remember well from about 17 pesos for a euro / dollar to 22 or so and the market was very volatile. I 'searched' for the best option to get as much pesos for my euros as possible.

Anyway, I did use bank to bank wire, but it arrived in dollars and I was supposed to pay in pesos.
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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If the money is kept in your foreign account & wired to your attorney or to another party at time of purchase... I don't believe you need to justify anything regarding the source. The recipient may be asked, in which case "I'm selling my property" or "It's being put into our escrow account for a purchase" would likely more than suffice.
Not my experience at all, and I have done both. The only difference was in one instance the money went from me--->atty--->large auto/motorcycle importer. No questions were asked.

EVERY time I've wired more than US$10k to a DR bank, the bank required extensive documentation. Every time.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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I can't imagine EVER needing to use a Casa de Cambio (which, for the most part, are laundering operations). Especially for that amount of cash. What is wrong with a bank-to-bank wire? It's the easiest, most secure way.

Sometimes I think about self-medicating.
I use cambios all the time. They cash a personal check from my US accounts on the spot. I just have to give them a couple hours notice for an amount over $US5000.

I also get TOP rates. My check clears the US bank within 3 days (usta be 7-10 days; stuff changes...)

My system is MUCH easier than having a DR bank account.
 
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