How to Avoid Real Estate Scams in Dominican Republic

Welcome to the Grubernation Weekly Newsletter!

I share information, tactics and tips for moving abroad, living your dream and EVERYTHING in between.

In this week’s edition:

• Avoiding Real Estate Scams in DR

• I Spent The Night Alone in Santo Domingo

• 3 Expats Share REAL Life in Dominican Republic

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Happy Halloween!! As you read this, I’m probably in a candy coma 🤢 

How To Avoid Real Estate SCAMS in Dominican Republic

On occasion I get a DM or email from someone explaining how they invested in a property in Dominican Republic but it turned out to be a scam (or at least poorly managed and the money is gone).

I haven’t had this experience, but I certainly could - I’m not bulletproof.

What I have done, however, is get enough insights from others on the ground here to at least give you SOME tactics to reduce the risk of your dream in DR becoming a nightmare.

No guarantees of course.

1. Don’t Go Direct to the Developer

There are great developers out there, who have done multiple projects and who will deliver on your investment.

You may know them - and if you do, skip to step 2.

However many don’t know who is best to invest with, and who is not.

Many simply trust the greater developments reputation (Vista Cana, Cap Cana, etc) and see the actual developer they’re going to build with as one in the same.

They’re not!

In my heart of hearts, I think most people should work with a realtor, not a developer.

Realtors know who’s good and who’s not.

They know which developments are NOT right to invest with for sure - and they signifincalty INCREASE your chances of working with a developer that you won’t be scammed by.

Realtors have more individual reputational risk if they refer you to a bad developer.

But they’re not perfect - which leads me to number 2…

2. Work With GREAT Realtors

Here’s how I define a great realtor in order of importance:

• They are FULL TIME realtors

• They are LOCAL

• They have a SIGNIFICANT transaction history

There are newer realtors who can do a great job for you - so I put the transaction history at the bottom of that list.

Remember, these are what are important to ME!

It doesn’t mean it should be important to you.

There are LOTS of US based realtors that are licensed and know the market in DR and I’m sure most are reputable.

But maybe I’m biased becasue I made the move.

If you’re not willing to be here, I’m not comfortable working with you.

To me, that would be like wanting to buy a house in New York by hiring a realtor in Chicago.

Full time is the biggest to me for sure!

I can’t tell you how many experienced, local agents moonlight.

Recently I saw a profile from a local experienced realtor who works with a large reputable brokerage on Instagram.

The page showed listings and gorgeous vidoes of different properties.

In the profile it said that they are a relator with XYZ brokerage … but it ALSO said ‘attorney by trade’.

Even if that person spends 5% of their time in their legal profession, they’re not for me.

Again, doesn’t mean they’re not excellent or that the time spent as a lawyer isn’t possibly highly valuable to their career as a realtor.

I just want my realtor to be a realtor - period.

If I’m paying top dollar for something, I expect my sales person to be focused.

3. Do Your Own Due Diligence

You’ve hired a GREAT realtor and you’ve been referred to an excellent reputable developer.

You still should do your own due diligence:

• Can they show you other projects that have been completed in DR?

• Is the leadership of the development company local?

• Have they operated successfully through any downturns?

These are the standards I apply to my investments in the US.

If you show me a company with a track record of completing projects where I can run into the lead developer at my kids soccer game AND they can outline what happened to them in COVID or in 2008 and how they recovered or performed through it - I’m MUCH more confident in that developer.

Again, doesn’t guarantee you anything - but it’s better to work with a company that hits all three of those critiera than to not .. in my humble opinion.

4. Insist on Certain Contract Language

When negotiating your project to be built, I think there are a few things that are reasonable to include in the contract.

The best developers have these provisions to protect you against delayed delivery and increasing cost of materials and labor.

#1: A penalty for a delayed delivery

This can come in many forms but often it’ll be something like ‘for every month delayed we will pay you 1% of the value of the property’

That means that when your property delivery is delayed, they pay you back.

Great incentive to get it done timely.

Usually there will be a grace period before this starts.

For instance, delivery is January 2026 but the contract gives a 6 month grace period until July 2026 before the monthly 1% penalty kicks in.

#2: Clear language on how inflation impacts your final price

In the US, we’re very used to ‘the price is the price’.

When that contract is signed, you pay what you signed for no matter what happens in the marketplace.

If you decide to improve the fixtures mid-build, or add extra space, of course you’ll pay more.

But that’s just not the case when buying a pre-construction project in DR.

The price you agree to can be higher at the time you get it delivered to you.

You’ll want the contract to explain exactly HOW and WHEN that applies.

An example may be ‘if inflation increases by 10% for a sustained period of time, the developer will charge 10% more for the cost of the property’

This can be on the remaining payment owed or the total project - up to you to negotiate.

In addition, you’ll want the contract to reflect a specific, government controlled website that tracks inflation as what they and you will reference to determine if this provision gets triggered.

If they tell you ‘it’s up 10% for the last 3 weeks’ you should be able to go to the same site and say ‘you’re right, it is’.

I hear from people who get scammed that this language is very vague or confusing in the contracts they signed.

5. Hire an Attorney

Don’t cheap out on your investment.

The developers make it super simple to buy.

Reserve for $1000, then pay 20% within 30 days, finance for a couple years and pay the remainder at the end.

No banks, no muss, no fuss.

But you want a professional who knows how to protect you to review the contract, ensure the right language exists, and has your interest in mind.

When you think about the number of people that buy and successfully get delivery of their unit to the number of people that truly get scammed, the overwhelming majority get what they paid for.

That leave a small percentage that don’t - and I’ll bet that of that small percentage the vast majority didn’t get a great realtor, apply due diligence standards, review the contract for key language and/or hire a great attorney to help them.

Again, no one can guarantee you that you won’t get scammed.

But I’m willing to bet you get the best possible odds by following the above recommendations!

Here’s some help if needed:

• Complete this form if you’d like a realtor referral from me

• Click here if you need an attorney for real estate, immigration or tax law

• Watch this video for the best neighborhoods in Punta Cana

• Fill this out if you’d like to work with the developer I’m investing with

I Spent a Night ALONE in Santo Domingo

When I moved here 2+ years ago, I didn’t mind traveling around the country.

But my wife needed to be there.

Not because she’s going to protect me, but because I didn’t (and still don’t) speak Spanish, I don’t know the culture or locations to avoid or any of that.

So, let’s go explore but I’ll trust my handy guide - my gorgeous Dominican wife.

I’ve made trips on my own to other parts of the country like Cabarete (6 hour drive), Santiago (4-5 hour drive) and Santo Domingo (2 ½ hour drive).

But I haven’t spent the night alone .. until recently.

This brand I’ve built has allowed me to connect with some really cool people.

One of them is merengue star Manny Cruz.

We started following each other on Instagram, chatted through DM and eventually moved that to WhatsApp.

He’s an amazingly kind and giving person so I feel blessed to know him.

He asked if I’d like to attend his album launch party in Santo Domingo on July 22 at Jet Set nightclub.

A little fear? Sure.

But like I said above, I just acted and said ‘yes’.

Here’s how it went (and how much it cost me):

• Got an Airbnb in a luxury building in Bella Vista

• Arrived around 3pm

• Did a call in the car from 3-4pm with my COO for my business

• Checked in and did a 4pm meeting with my team

• At 5pm I spoke to a young group of entrepreneurs about brand building

• At 6:45 my ‘date’ picked me up and we went to Jet Set

While there, I got to meet some really interesting people and congratulated Manny on his new album.

I had a few drinks before heading out with my ‘date’ around 10:00pm.

We went to a place called Crime Burger where I had a chicharron burger with fries an ate every bit of it!

Then back to the Airbnb around 11:30pm after a GREAT conversation over burgers and I got up the next day to leave.

I brought Manny a gift but forgot to bring it to the party.

So I drove from Bella Vista up to Arroyo Hondo to drop it off with his manager going through the heart of the city before heading back to Punta Cana.

Some quick observations:

• I didn’t feel unsafe for even a second

• The food, connection and experience were spectactular

• My Airbnb was awesome

• Driving through the city alone without blackout windows was perfectly fine

Before someone needs to tell me there are bad neighborhoods in Santo Domingo I’ll reply as my 11 year old self would circa 1989…

‘No duh’

As far as costs:

• Airbnb - $100 (with all taxes and cleaning fees)

• Tips: $3 (valet, bartenders, restaurant, cleaning lady)

• Burgers - $42 (I paid for both of us)

• Rest stop food on the way back - $5

• Total: $150 for one night in Santo Domingo

Oh and my date? Here he is!

3 Expats Share REAL Life in Dominican Republic

Speaking of my ‘date’ Jay - he and I sat down along with Jonah Gomez to discuss what life is like for all of us having moved from the United States to Dominican Republic within the last 3 years.

This was a very comprehensive conversation on health care, safey, schooling and so much more.

Enjoy!

Thanks for following along on this journey! If you need any help or have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Happy Halloween to you!!