A Property Title in Joint names

[Sharron]

Good afternoon all,

Please can you tell me if it is possible in the DR for one of the title owners to sell the property without the knowledge of the second owner.

Many thanks.

[Ken]

I'll let Fabio Guzman answer your specific question. But I can tell you that a lot of property gets sold, especially by Dominicans, in the DR by persons other than those on the title. Foolish foreigners wanting to save money on the purchase and avoid attorney fees often buy this property and think they have gotten a great deal. But sooner or later they are shocked back to reality to find that the person they bought the property from wasn't really the real or only owner. This happens most often when land is passed down within a family but the title isn't updated whenever there is a change. So if grandfather does and leaves his property to his sons, and the title isn't brought up to date to indicate who the actual owner is, then all the sons have a claim on that property. If one of the sons, needing money, finds a sucker to buy it and doesn't split the money between his brothers, then the brothers can go to the buyer and demand payment. What started as a good deal soon becomes a very expensive nightmare for the purchaser.

[Sharron]

Thank you for your reply. My situation is a bit different.

I am considering buying a new property with a second person as an investment. Although I don´t believe there will be a problem, anything can happen and before I agree to go ahead I need to know if we buy it together what can I do to ensure that they don´t at some future point in time, sell it without my knowledge.

[AlaninDR]

Perhaps leave the title in trust with the reputable attorney that closed the transaction that also knows your partnership agreement. Personally I wouldn't have a partner that I have less than complete faith in. My present partner has my POA, key to my safe and access to escrowed money. Choose business/spouse partners wisely and sleep well with no worries. Just my opinion.

[GringoCArlos]

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.

[Sharron]

Thank you that is most helpful