SANTO DOMINGO.- Former president of the Association of Real Estate Agents and Companies (AEI), Emil Montas, suggests that the bill to regulate real estate intermediation in the Dominican Republic include a set of requirements that ensure educational training and that those who hold the permit are citizens who are up to date in fulfilling their duties.
The first point made by the real estate consultant is that real estate agents must complete a certain number of educational hours in order to be eligible for a real estate broker's license.
A second contribution that he makes, which is not included in the proposal currently being studied in the Justice Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, is related to the fact that the prospects take an exam, whose score should be a minimum of 80 points, according to Montas's proposal.
Emil Montas. (External source).
The marketing expert, who has been involved in the real estate industry for over 25 years, points out that real estate agents would also have to complete a certain number of educational hours to renew their license, which, according to the project, would expire every two years.
Being up to date with tax obligations is another suggestion put forward by Montas, coinciding with article 25 of the project which sets this commitment as part of the requirements for the authorization of a real estate agency and a promoter or developer.
Add to the list of requirements having a resident card if you are a foreigner and an identity and electoral card for the agents on the premises.
Montas believes that the country has made more than 10 attempts to establish a law regulating the practice of real estate agents, although he does not remember the names of the multiple proposals.
Among the actors involved in the process, he cites the AEI, the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII), the Association of Housing Builders and Promoters (Acoprovi), Pro Consumer, the National Congress and the Executive Branch.
Other proposals from former presidents
Mélido Marte, regional director of RE/MAX Dominicana, opined that the proposal currently before the Chamber of Deputies to regulate real estate intermediation in the country should include a disciplinary tribunal for the effective application of the code of ethics and the regulations derived from it.
"There needs to be an entity, in this case the disciplinary committee or tribunal, that can pursue and apply the necessary and sufficient sanctions to ensure that those in the real estate sector comply with the law, regulations, and ethics so that there can be effective collaboration from all agents and agencies that interact in the real estate world," he stated.
According to Raysa Jiminián, former president of the AEI, no government or National Congress has shown real interest in the Dominican Republic having a legal framework that regulates the real estate business in the national market.
The veteran agent, who has been on the real estate bandwagon since 1976, states that all the directives that the AEI has had in its more than 30 years of existence have presented some kind of initiative in this regard, as part of their plan to fight to achieve the regulation of the profession of real estate agents in the country.
For his part, engineer Luis Sabater Núñez said last week that a bill submitted to the National Congress by the AEI, in the period 2007-2008, was not approved because it excluded lawyers from automatically being authorized brokers.
Alenny Garabito, former president of the AEI, also told El Inmobiliario that the regulation of Dominican real estate agents should not be assigned to the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (Mivhed), because she believes that this agency is overloaded with roles.
“The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MIVHED) has too many things to attend to, just with the permits they have to give to projects and all the procedures that have to be done through it, I think that agency has too many things in charge,” he explained.
