Emigrating to the Dominican Republic - Santo Domingo

#183 - Posted 20 May 2010, 12:36 PM
abc200 Location: United Kingdom, Dominican Republic Join date: August 2008 Member #: 1307 Posts: 10352	RE: the Burning Truth Quote: Blutarsky previously said: Quote: abc200 previously said: Quote: cabaretewilliam previously said: Quote: abc200 previously said: Quote: cabaretewilliam previously said: Quote: gerryh previously said: abc200 - thanks for the good advice. We have had many warnings about making sure to use good legal advice and no doubt two lawyers are better than one, unless it means that you then need a third one to verify the first two From what we've seen the price of property per square metre varies unbelievably so our only course of action will be to look, look, look and look again until we find the right place. What is a tarea exactly? Surely someone out there will know and maybe be able to post the answer inbetween all the politics. Many estate agents seem to use this measure and I can't find out what it is. I have also seen mention of the "number of tasks" on a property I was also wondering about the electricity vs gas usage there for domestic use and cooking, etc. Most "fincas" seem to be well equipped with inverters and the like. Does anyone use LPG for cooking? I saw mention of natural gas being used there to produce electricity but not for use directly as an energy source. Natural gas is not used much in SA although we have huge probable resources of CBM. At present we import gas from Mozambique but distribution is limited M One good lawyer is better than two lousy lawyers. It is not how many you hire but who. We work only with the best and have never had problems. Price varies due to location, as is true anywhere. To measure land of any kind and convert: http://www.onlineconversion.com/area.htm The advice from ABC about keeping it all business simply shows he does nto have a clue what he is talking about. This is the DR and no serious business is done without friendly casual meals and getting to know each other. My cleints become my friends and stay my friends as I do look after them. Good luck and I hope to see you when you get here!. His way is the way of teh cretins here and often ends up in court. It's best to have a lawyer(s) from out of town as there have been a few swindles. Look at the properties, if you have serious interest get the agent to itemize on paper the procedure to purchase details, including copies etc. of titles. Hand it yourself to the lawyer. Negociate the stupid agents fees down that can be up to 8% here. Should be like Europe 3% max. Remember not to socialize with agents. They can trap people. Get two or three offers from different agents/sellers and negociate hard and patiently. Remember they act for the seller, are normally paid by the seller. They are the enemy trying to cream, somthing off for themselves. But in the real world how much do you pay for 2 hours work - $200 dollars. The sad thing is when they swindle Dominicans taking huge percentages,. Show you good faith by depositing in your account here some money sufficient for a deposit and show the agents/sellers the receipt. If uncertain advertise seeking property. CW is stupid! Good luck and make 'a deal of the a lfietime'! S. ABC, stick to subjects you know something about....oops ...there are none. Gerry, the buyer does not pay the agent any commisison, the seller does. ABC is so out to lunch. If you try to get to or three offers from diff AGENTS you will find no legit agent will work with you....the scammers will. So much of the bad advice from ABC. He says "The sad thing is when they swindle Dominicans taking huge percentages,." What ignorance. 1. 95% of our sales are from gringos to gringos- no DR sellers. 2. The DR sellers agree to the same OR LESS commission than the gringos - in fact they usually get a beter deal from us as they negotiate well and I admire them for that - and they get a better deal from us in commission than from their own Dominican cousins - go figure....so do not listen to ABC;s strange tales 3. Socialize - that is standard for doing business here - and back in Canada. If I cannot socialize with my agent I will get another right away. So again, bad advice! 4. A good agent will take you through the legal steps to a purchase, as we always do. I trust that helps! William Oosterman PRC Owner/Broker One Example of Many Satisfied Clients: My wife and I decided a couple of years ago to purchase a retirement condo in the Caribbean. After several visits to various points of call we decided to look at properties in the Dominican Republic. After visiting the Dominican to learn about the country, its people and the Real Estate laws we decided to purchase a property on the north coast of the island, in a little town called Cabarete. Being a Real Estate Agent in Ottawa Canada, I needed to find a reliable Real Estate Agent in Cabarete that could help us through the process as the laws are quite different than in Canada. Lucky for us we connected with William Oosterman at Prestige Realty in Cabarete. William is an expatriate Canadian and has a wealth of experience. Prestige Realty is a full service company that will walk you through the whole process, from the legal aspects of purchasing to the inspection process if required. Full service is not a sale's gimmick, Prestige Realty meant it and has followed up consistently. In fact, even after our purchase was completed, William ensured that the property we purchased continued to meet our expectations by helping us find and supervise local tradesmen that were engaged to renovate our condo. We have not only found a perfect Real Estate Agent, but have made lifelong friends with William and Dorothy and we cannot wait to spend extended periods in Cabarete. We would certainly recommend Prestige Realty to anyone interested in purchasing properties in the Dominican Republic. As an added note William and Dorothy are the perfect hosts and really showed us what Cabarete has to offer, so that after only one week we felt as if we belonged in this wonderful town and its charming people. Val and Jean Laskar Ottawa, Canada That speaks for itself! I said that to quote me 'Remember they act for the seller, are normally paid by the seller. They are the enemy trying to cream, somthing off for themselves.' Still if you make an offer it can include a reduced commission as well. I had 3 offers when I came here from different agents all big agents. People think I got a good deal. Also when I bought in Spain. If you want hosts pay hosts. There are plenty of people who will make smalltalk in fancy houses if you pay for food and wine. If you don't kow the legal steps to purchase don't start. If you must socialize don't talk property. The agent is trying to change your priorities to suit the properties he has to sell. Stick to an essential, desirable, nice to have list so you don't end up with a white elephant! agents like CW can pick an agrument with anyone as you have observed. Keep it to 2 hour or so viewings and business meetings and make notes. Be professional. Ignore the idiot CW. S,. Stop calling Condo Willi an idiot you yodeling know nothing moron or someone will squeel on you . squeeler Whats new at the " Upholstered Sewer " Condo Willi at least is a successful real estate peddler as opposed to the proprietor of an environmentally friendly knocking shop Success is conning clients? What's your cut in your parlour of broken down TV's? 100 dollars an introduction? More? S.
	Post IP/Country: 190.167.71.11* / DO

RE: the Burning Truth

Quote:

gerryh previously said:

Quote:

abc200 previously said:

Quote:

xwill7 previously said:

8% fee in DR?
In USA its 5%

abc,
3% like in euro is too cheap

I think it all depends on how hot the area is

Last time I sold a proeprty in te UK it was 2%.

Estate agents always overcharge If you think about it they list a property - maybe 3 hours work preparing particulars, photos, etc. Of the properties they list they may sell one in3 so allowing for the two hey don't sell its 9 hours.
They show people round - maybe for each sale 10 viewings at 1 hour each. Final negociations maybe 2 hours.
Total 21 hours per sale.
On an average sale here of 200,000 dollars they get 10,000 dollars. That's nearly 500 dollars an hour!

2% would be a lot better.
Or none by direct contact with the owner
S..

In SA 10% agent's commission used to be the norm until people got fed up with such high fees. Now there are many online sites for property owners to list their properties online themselves and pay a minimal listing fee instead. Because of the recession estate agent's fees have dropped a lot and has become quite variable but I believe it's around 6 - 8% now.

The real cruncher though are the bank's interest charges. The prime lending rate has dropped to 10% but financial institutions can charge up to 35% pa. General banking fees are among the highest in the world. We get charged for everything including depositing cash into an account
M

Yes - on line sites are good. DR1 is a listing service but mainly serves estate agents. It was a agency itself but dropped out.
Borrowing in DR is not good either.
Maybe I should start a listing site as a public service.

S.
S.

Edited on 5/20/2010 12:48 PM by abc200.

#181 - Posted 19 May 2010, 3:58 PM
abc200 Location: United Kingdom, Dominican Republic Join date: August 2008 Member #: 1307 Posts: 10352	RE: the Burning Truth Quote: xwill7 previously said: 8% fee in DR? In USA its 5% abc, 3% like in euro is too cheap I think it all depends on how hot the area is Last time I sold a proeprty in te UK it was 2%. Estate agents always overcharge If you think about it they list a property - maybe 3 hours work preparing particulars, photos, etc. Of the properties they list they may sell one in3 so allowing for the two hey don't sell its 9 hours. They show people round - maybe for each sale 10 viewings at 1 hour each. Final negociations maybe 2 hours. Total 21 hours per sale. On an average sale here of 200,000 dollars they get 10,000 dollars. That's nearly 500 dollars an hour! 2% would be a lot better. Or none by direct contact with the owner S.. Edited on 5/19/2010 5:01 PM by abc200.
	Post IP/Country: 190.166.76.8* / DO

#182 - Posted 20 May 2010, 12:30 AM
gerryh Location: South Africa Join date: April 2010 Member #: 4911 Posts: 27	RE: the Burning Truth Quote: abc200 previously said: Quote: xwill7 previously said: 8% fee in DR? In USA its 5% abc, 3% like in euro is too cheap I think it all depends on how hot the area is Last time I sold a proeprty in te UK it was 2%. Estate agents always overcharge If you think about it they list a property - maybe 3 hours work preparing particulars, photos, etc. Of the properties they list they may sell one in3 so allowing for the two hey don't sell its 9 hours. They show people round - maybe for each sale 10 viewings at 1 hour each. Final negociations maybe 2 hours. Total 21 hours per sale. On an average sale here of 200,000 dollars they get 10,000 dollars. That's nearly 500 dollars an hour! 2% would be a lot better. Or none by direct contact with the owner S.. In SA 10% agent's commission used to be the norm until people got fed up with such high fees. Now there are many online sites for property owners to list their properties online themselves and pay a minimal listing fee instead. Because of the recession estate agent's fees have dropped a lot and has become quite variable but I believe it's around 6 - 8% now. The real cruncher though are the bank's interest charges. The prime lending rate has dropped to 10% but financial institutions can charge up to 35% pa. General banking fees are among the highest in the world. We get charged for everything including depositing cash into an account M
	Post IP/Country: 41.213.126.* / ZA

#185 - Posted 23 September 2010, 7:29 PM
m18raymond Location: United Kingdom Join date: March 2009 Member #: 2351 Posts: 6	RE: Emigrating to the Dominican Republic Hello there! I'm a Dominican based in Europe for over 30 years. I've bought sm properties there( eastern Dominicana) so for the past 5 years I've been visiting the DR. I don't blame you about your doubts but there are many trustworthy Law firms and free-lance Lawyers one can rely on but, before buying, try to spend certain time there to get to know the system. Don't bring your money with you till you think you're ready to do so, don't put down cash or whatever till you find sb you could rely on. After spending so much time without visiting my native DR I was treated like a foreigner and cheated many times with meaningless things till I woke up and learnt how things worked out. Actually, I am going back there before the end of year and try to carry on with sm business ideas I have in mind and to exploit those properties I have there.By the way, I met a nice American and south-african couple relocated there who were doing well but did not take phone number. So If you'd like to keep in touch with me just drop it a line. Best regards and good luck in your nue adventure.
	Post IP/Country: 90.194.218.9* / GB

#186 - Posted 24 September 2010, 4:55 AM
gerryh Location: South Africa Join date: April 2010 Member #: 4911 Posts: 27	RE: Emigrating to the Dominican Republic Hi Raymond Thanks for your post. We are progressing with plans to get there but have had a few setbacks here which have caused some delays. Another forum member also knows a South African familty who relocated there and they are apparently doing well too. Good luck with your ventures too! M
	Post IP/Country: 41.213.126.* / ZA

#184 - Posted 20 May 2010, 12:40 PM
abc200 Location: United Kingdom, Dominican Republic Join date: August 2008 Member #: 1307 Posts: 10352	RE: the Burning Truth Quote: gerryh previously said: Quote: abc200 previously said: Quote: xwill7 previously said: 8% fee in DR? In USA its 5% abc, 3% like in euro is too cheap I think it all depends on how hot the area is Last time I sold a proeprty in te UK it was 2%. Estate agents always overcharge If you think about it they list a property - maybe 3 hours work preparing particulars, photos, etc. Of the properties they list they may sell one in3 so allowing for the two hey don't sell its 9 hours. They show people round - maybe for each sale 10 viewings at 1 hour each. Final negociations maybe 2 hours. Total 21 hours per sale. On an average sale here of 200,000 dollars they get 10,000 dollars. That's nearly 500 dollars an hour! 2% would be a lot better. Or none by direct contact with the owner S.. In SA 10% agent's commission used to be the norm until people got fed up with such high fees. Now there are many online sites for property owners to list their properties online themselves and pay a minimal listing fee instead. Because of the recession estate agent's fees have dropped a lot and has become quite variable but I believe it's around 6 - 8% now. The real cruncher though are the bank's interest charges. The prime lending rate has dropped to 10% but financial institutions can charge up to 35% pa. General banking fees are among the highest in the world. We get charged for everything including depositing cash into an account M Yes - on line sites are good. DR1 is a listing service but mainly serves estate agents. It was a agency itself but dropped out. Borrowing in DR is not good either. Maybe I should start a listing site as a public service. S. S. Edited on 5/20/2010 12:48 PM by abc200.
	Post IP/Country: 190.167.71.11* / DO

May 24, 2012, Updated 6:47 AM
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