By Hugo Espinal
About a month ago, a couple of clients/childhood friends decided to sell their apartment with Plusval Inmobiliaria, and after successfully selling it in less than two weeks, we began the search for their new home. After several visits to various properties, they told me, "Hugo, we want apartment 'X'! Can we visit it again with my parents and in-laws?"
These second visits with relatives of potential buyers often bring big surprises, ranging from completely changing the prospective buyer's opinion of the property to starting the entire process from scratch. You don't need to be an expert to know how to filter out these third-party opinions, which are almost always those of parents, in-laws, or close friends, but who ultimately don't have the final say in the purchase because they aren't the ones who will be living in or investing in the property, and they also lack knowledge of the current real estate market.
In the case of my friends, their families did find something that initially seemed strange: The title to the apartment they were interested in buying said "Annotated Record" and not "Title Certificate." With the help of my colleague Ivan Guerrero, who has more than 20 years of experience in these legal matters, I proceeded to explain the difference between these documents to them:
Recorded Certificate
It's a title certificate that proves ownership of a portion of land within a specific parcel, which hasn't been officially surveyed. You have the right to that portion, but you don't know its exact location within the larger parcel. Imagine that your grandfather left his uncles several plots of land, each with a recorded title, perhaps crossed by a river or with beachfront access. I don't need to elaborate on what would happen if your grandfather passed away and disputes arose among the uncles, given that the land hadn't been officially surveyed.
If the Annotated Certificate corresponds to an apartment, there is no problem, because the boundaries are clearly defined and there is a condominium regime.
Title Certificate, Owner's Duplicate, and Creditor's Certification
The original Title Certificate is created or deposited in the Real Estate Jurisdiction (it is the body that regulates the documentation of real estate in Dominican territory), the owner is given a document known as: Owner's Duplicate.
Previously, two duplicates were issued; one for the owner and one for the creditor (financial institution that grants the mortgage), but this has now been eliminated and replaced by a document called: Creditor Certification.
When you take out a mortgage, depending on the financial institution you choose, they may or may not provide you with a duplicate copy of the mortgage deed. Some institutions don't issue it until the mortgage is paid off. I don't consider it good practice that they don't provide the duplicate copy, but you often sign a waiver without realizing it. So, I recommend you find out what the bank's policy is on this matter and request the duplicate copy, as in most cases the bank officer doesn't provide it simply due to negligence or lack of awareness on the part of the client.
When the mortgage is finalized, the documents you should receive are:
- Owner's Duplicate
- Mortgage radiation letter
- Creditor Certificate
Returning to the topic of my friends/clients, it's true that you want to involve your family in such an important decision as buying your new home, but I repeat, you must know which advice to take and which to discard, since you could sabotage the decision to choose the property that suits your needs, perhaps missing your best opportunity.
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I'm Hugo Espinal , and I'm at your service in the Dominican Republic real estate market.
