Want to buy property in the D.R. - Need extra funding

[Skippy1]

Ok well then your best bet is to try and get another investor here but becareful its not like buying at home...very different not just the language but also the laws.

I hope you have not paid out any money yet....??
Some of the longer term Dr1 posters will have more of an idea than me.....names to look out for are Hillbillie, Lambada, Robert and Bushbaby......if you can find one of their old posts you could try a PM for help.

Wish you well and I hope it goes well
fingers crossed

Skippy1

[nudel1]

Thanks for the names Skippy - that's a great start. I do speak some Spanish so I think I've got the jist - have also checked the titles and had them confirmed as clear by a local solicitor. Also, the property is owned by a company registered in the D.R. All seems very straightforward - except the finance, which is soooo frustrating, as the opportunity is so good..... I have so far only placed a 'holding deposit' on the property to withdraw it from the open market for 2 weeks as there was a lot of interest... counting down the days ....

[Skippy1]

Sounds like you are really set on this.

Dont forget if you are going to run as a business here you must register as a Dominican company.....thats not straight forward. Check out the Business forum it will have some info there.
Please dont rush into anything and dont sign anything with out a lawyer and a full English Translation. Dont let your heart rule your head either.....

Hope you get what your looking for

Skippy1

[nudel1]

Thanks for your kind words of encouragement and advice Skippy. I am awaiting an English translation of the draft contract, however as far as the registration of the Company in the DR goes, that is already done, as the vendors of the property are selling the company and the shares can just be transferred. That is the beauty of it!! I have met with an excellent Notary is Sosua and am 100% convinced that all is good.

Thanks for the advice - I have just discovered this website and I am on it all the time - it is now almost 3a.m. in London and I am still here ! Do you have any more words of wisdom for anyone seriously considering relocating to the DR? What will happen in the elections? What will happen with real estate in the Cabarete area? What about foreign investment? What are crime rates like? Bank rates? Is anyone afraid of tsunamis???

[J D Sauser]

All your questions indicate one thing to me: You should not buy now and let it go. You obviously are getting way over your head with this deal and have yet too many uncleared questions about the country. Keep in mind, EVERYTHING is for sale here... and it's not yet to run out.
Buying a company is a big NO-NO unless you've had unfeathered access to all books an know the company for a long time, better for all it's lifetime. If you buy a company, you buy it with all assets and debts. It is very very difficult to know what debts may be outstanding.
Yes, RE is being traded around by handing over company shares, but these are not everyday day deals for everyday people. I don't want to diminish your person or experience, but by your questions here, I may assume that you do hardly have any experience here.
I hate to bust your bubble, but your thread reads like the preamble to some of the many threads we have been sorry read here, time and again.

As I wrote in a different thread just this week:

1. Rule #1: Don't do anything here, you wouldn't do in your own country.

... J-D.

Originally Posted by nudel1

Thanks for your kind words of encouragement and advice Skippy. I am awaiting an English translation of the draft contract, however as far as the registration of the Company in the DR goes, that is already done, as the vendors of the property are selling the company and the shares can just be transferred. That is the beauty of it!! I have met with an excellent Notary is Sosua and am 100% convinced that all is good.

Thanks for the advice - I have just discovered this website and I am on it all the time - it is now almost 3a.m. in London and I am still here ! Do you have any more words of wisdom for anyone seriously considering relocating to the DR? What will happen in the elections? What will happen with real estate in the Cabarete area? What about foreign investment? What are crime rates like? Bank rates? Is anyone afraid of tsunamis???

[Lambada]

Originally Posted by nudel1

as there was a lot of interest...

How do you know there was a lot of interest in your proposed property? Who told you this?

Originally Posted by nudel1

...........vendors of the property are selling the company and the shares can just be transferred. That is the beauty of it!!

Beautiful for the vendors too if there are any debts/liens on the company...............

Originally Posted by nudel1

I have met with an excellent Notary is Sosua and am 100% convinced that all is good.

How do you know the Notary is excellent? Do you have experience of bad ones for comparison purposes? I'm being serious. Did you mean 'excellent' or did you mean he said 'Yes yes we can do this, no problem' i.e. he was enthusiastic? Nicky, you will hear 'Yes yes we can do this' 15 times a day if you live here.

Forgive this question but I'll bet it's on the minds of all readers of your posts: did you meet the man of your dreams out here? That can cloud normally sharp judgement...........

Read JD's post: he is an experienced expat but has only lived in DR a year or so and HE isn't buying property yet. It is a buyer's market in Cabarete - lots of properties for sale, lots of estate agents (realtors as they say here) drooling over potential purchasers and running around saying just about anything to get them to buy............there are good realtors but they are proportionately as high as the percentage of good lawyers, if you get my drift.

Get streetsmart, get DR trained, rent first, learn the ropes and then buy if you want to. The 'good deals' will still be there, so will the 'no problem' lawyers and the panting realtors . And the long suffering expats who keep telling people NOT to rush.

Originally Posted by nudel1

Is anyone afraid of tsunamis???

Only the waves of unprepared hopefuls. And not afraid of them but for them.

[Skippy1]

Originally Posted by nudel1

Thanks for your kind words of encouragement and advice Skippy. I am awaiting an English translation of the draft contract, however as far as the registration of the Company in the DR goes, that is already done, as the vendors of the property are selling the company and the shares can just be transferred. That is the beauty of it!! I have met with an excellent Notary is Sosua and am 100% convinced that all is good.

Thanks for the advice - I have just discovered this website and I am on it all the time - it is now almost 3a.m. in London and I am still here ! Do you have any more words of wisdom for anyone seriously considering relocating to the DR? What will happen in the elections? What will happen with real estate in the Cabarete area? What about foreign investment? What are crime rates like? Bank rates? Is anyone afraid of tsunamis???

When I first saw your post I thought what should I say...my head is screeming No don't do it don't be so quick to rush into a life changing enterprise that could be for the better or the worse. I decided to be practicle and try to be helpful.
I am glad you think I am being encouraging but really I dont want to be every bone in my body is feeling an unease.

JD Sauser is absolutely right and I think you should listen carefully to all the advise. This country has some fantasic opportunities and lots of them. If you are looking for an investment there are many to be found some high risk some not.
Do you really have the experience to run a business have you done anything like this before?
If you are struggling for finance now will you have a safety net if you have a few set backs?
Have you lived here any length of time to get to know the community?
Crime here is not endemic its higher than a lot of places but you can operate here reasonably safely with the usual precautions and some more to be sure.
I do not want to dampen your dream but I am worried that you have not done enough research.
If you were my daughter I would be very very worried that you could being too brave too bold and too quick.

As said before do research find out everything you can and ask to see the trading accounts for the last 5 years get copies of all tax returns. You really do run the risk of inheriting more than you actually bought........please please becareful not everyone is a nice guy and sometimes the old ugly grumpy bu***r is a friend, the happy young sexy bronzed god is not always Mr Congeniality.

The world will not stop if you miss this bus but it might if you catch it.

Skippy1

[BushBaby]

Nudel1
Can you tell us who the seller is?
What & where in Cabarete is the property?
Who is the selling agent (Realtor)?
Who is the assessor?
Which accountant produced the figures?
This information will give members who live in the Sosua/Cabarete area a chance to give you some feedback as to the realibility & integrity of the 'other parties'.
Who is the lawyer that is representing YOU & is this also the lawyer who is producing the sales contract for the seller?? Likewise, who recomended this lawyer to you?

If the potential is as great as you say it is (20% per annum AND the potential increase in property value) then you might be able to do a deal with the sellers that THEY retain part ownership for 6 months or a year whilst you manage the business for them & you do a deal on profit share! Borrowing money in this country is going to cost you above 2% A MONTH but investors of capital will only get in the region of 1% per month (I am talking hard currency, not RD Pesos), so if the seller is offered 1.33% per month PLUS a % increase for increase in property value ......... why should they say NO??

April 24th is NOT cast in stone ..... Dominicans & long term Ex-Pats have got used to things taking a little longer than expected. Learn the excuses to use nearer the time :
The bank has signed the cheque but it hasn't been posted yet/
The manager who signs the cheque is on holiday this week (or has an ill Mother, in hospital having an operation ...........)
The bank has sent the cheque to me - should be here in a couple of days (if GPO doesn't mess up delivery)
Ooops, the bank sent it to my old lawyer by mistake. I'll get them to forward it to my new lawyer immediately & then get it sent across .....

These will work well unless any of the 'Other Parties' are DR1 members & happen to read this thread!!!!!

Be lucky & let us know the answers to the first few questions please ~ Grahame.

[thurston]

Hi Nicky,
You say that you are under time pressure, is that pressure from the vendor...??? if so tell them that you need more time, and slow things
down.
Remeber it a buyers market now, be very careful.

[nudel1]

Hello you wonderful people - British insomniac here, back at the kitchen table on my laptop.... had to get a couple of hours sleep... am stunned and amazed to see hundreds of replies! I have to do the school run - then I will be back replying to all those questions and considering all points - you are all wonderful and it makes me want to move to the DR even faster if I can be amongst great people like you.....