question about buying a condo in the plaza europa hotel/condos?

[irateskateboards]

i see that europa is selling condos starting at 32,000u.s.
they say dont need to go through a professional real estate office and they do their own financing.
has anyone bought a condo like this from them?
how legit is this?
has anyone come across problems buying a condo from them like this?
i'm interested to buy one for the price but i though you always should use a professional real estate agent when dealing with property in the R.D.

HOTEL PLAZA EUROPA Sosua Comfort Vacation Rentals / Apartments. Hotels Sosa Dominican Republic

thanks for any help,
zach

[Reidy620]

If you're looking for a "guest friendly" condo that's in a "guest friendly" complex then this might be for you. when I was looking to buy in Sosúa I was warned off this type of complex by my real estate agent as I was not looking for this "type" of apartment.

I also suggest that you use an agent. There are quite a few good ones in & around Sosúa and they are not too hard to find.

IMHO

Tropical Regards
Reidy

[retiree]

What you need is a good lawyer to look at anything before you sign and to examine the title as well before even thinking of buying. I have used Guzman Ariza for many years and have never had a problem.

[DavidZ]

A good real estate agent is helpful in finding properties, but to examine the legal issues and closing, a good attorney is a must. No RE agent here, or anywhere for that matter, should be used for legal advice!

Europa is a hotel, and the entire property is for sale (has been for years). I would think there could be serious issues if/when the rest of the property is sold as a hotel and you own one of the units...

[Black Dog]

Using an agent would enable you to compare other units to this one but DEFINATELY use a reputable lawyer that other people have used and recommend. I would recommend any of the following, Guzman Ariza, Guido Perdomo or Lisa Ewest. Lisa used to work with Guido but has recently set up her own practice in Pedro Clisante. Good luck!

[irateskateboards]

thanks so much for everyone's help.
zach

[J D Sauser]

Originally Posted by irateskateboards

...

1. they say dont need to go through a professional real estate office and they do their own financing.
2. how legit is this?
3. has anyone come across problems buying a condo from them like this?
4. i'm interested to buy one for the price but i though you always should use a professional real estate agent when dealing with property in the R.D.

..

1. If they say so, it's because they have chosen to sell direct. This could SUGGEST a lower price, since there is no intermediary.
2. If they own it, they can sell it as they please. The use of an agent will NOT legitimize the deal. I have listed property with agents here without ever been asked for proof of ownership or even show an ID. Agents here have no clearly legislated fiduciary duty in this county. If they did, it would be to the seller. There is no mandatory school or test or really supervising body. No association to come complain to either.
3. I don't know about that particular deal. But people have had reported their share of issues after buying into hotel-to-condo conversions here. PROFESSIONAL, TRUSTFUL legal advice, investigation and supervision of the whole process is your only hope of a possible success. These condos NEED by law to be subdivided and each have their OWN land court issued title (the term is "DESLINDE", meaning segregation), everything else is fishy and pure blah blah. Your lawyer will want to check the financial status of the current owner(s) and if they have "hidden" leans or mortgages on the property. YOU will want him to investigate what your condominium rights and duties really are (fees, maintenance cost, leases, access and right to use without having to sign up for a meal plan or other little extortions, etc). DON'T go out and make a "deposit" on you own to "reserve" the property, not even with your US credit card. Your home country's laws DO NOT APPLY here! BE PREPARED TO ACCEPT FOR THE DEAL TO GO SOUR and pull out at anytime... don't force you Caribbean against sound financial and legal thinking!
4. Price: In these times selling has become a challenge here too. Don't surrender so fast ("i'm interested to buy one for the price"), BARGAIN instead. You got the money, they want it / they have the condoes and don't want them anymore. Virtually everything seems for sale or rent here, if they don't meet your offer, you'll find others. Only 12 years ago, you could buy similar deals on North Miami Beach for about that amount... RIGHT ON THE OCEAN... keep that in mind. I think, I and others above have answered the "agent" re-question.

... J-D.

[Manzana]

Originally Posted by irateskateboards

i see that europa is selling condos starting at 32,000u.s.

HOTEL PLAZA EUROPA Sosua Comfort Vacation Rentals / Apartments. Hotels Sosa Dominican Republic

thanks for any help,
zach

They were offering the same units on their website within the last year or so for $25,000. There wasn't a stampede of interest in a stronger RE market at 20% less. I think this is common in markets without a lot of transactions. If you can't sell, raise the price and wait.

[AK74]

Originally Posted by Manzana

If you can't sell, raise the price and wait.

If one can afford to wait.
And if one knows that he will live indefinitely.

Do not deal with sellers of this type. Just forget about them. Look for motivated ones. Who cannot afford to wait. Who want money today and not in ten years. Who know that life is short and want to feel cash in hands and to spend it for pleasant things before too late...

Who need to sell NOW.

[J D Sauser]

Originally Posted by Manzana

They were offering the same units on their website within the last year or so for $25,000. There wasn't a stampede of interest in a stronger RE market at 20% less. I think this is common in markets without a lot of transactions. If you can't sell, raise the price and wait.

Well, they may not have sold much last year, so they need to make more on the deals to come, now don't they? That's Dominican marketing and economics!

Another issue they may not have faced last year is the mandatory "Deslinde" process to be able to issue legal title to the buyer. In old building conversions this can be much less easy than one may think. The courts may (should ask) for current plans of the property as is and may object to building code irregularities. This can turn out to become quite and lengthy and expensive process, with engineers involved surveying not only the property's boundaries but also the whole construction in DETAIL.
Maybe they will try to offer a buy-now-on-contract deal where you "only" pay x-amount of money now and the rest when the finalize the "deslinde"-process and hand you the new legal title. Just be prepared for them to take YEARS to do so, IF they only get to pull it tru at all and don't decide to bail out and leave everything going to the dawgs... Just look around our impressive collection of ruins of hotels, time share holes and condo disasters... Let them be a warning sign.
Keep in mind that if you are not a national or legal resident, your legal remedies are severly limmited... in other words, for the amount "invested", propably not worth the additional costs fighting for.

In other words, ONLY buy if the have lawyer verified "Deslinde" and new legal issued titles to be put in your name.
You will also have your lawyer check the status of the "condominium" grounds... whom the belong to really. Some owners and "developers" have become infamous for keeping them in their name and then mortgage them and sell them to different people and finally the unit owners several times... and bail out.

I would be tempted to wish you good luck, but I don't want you to rely on luck! ... J-D.