SANTO DOMINGO– A new bill seeking to regulate the practice of real estate agents in the Dominican Republic will be reintroduced in the National Congress next August, when the term of the new legislators elected in the past elections in May begins.
This was announced to El Inmobiliario by Alberto Bogaert, president of the Association of Real Estate Agents and Companies (AEI), who said that the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, has expressed his interest and instructed the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (Mivhed) to resolve the issue of real estate agents.
“We are working to ensure that the staff in this sector have state endorsement. We have met with various important entities involved in this matter, as there is interest,” he explained.
Bogaert said that the new proposal was developed in collaboration with the prestigious law firm López-Grullón Abogados & Consultores, who updated the document taking as a frame of reference the last project introduced in Congress and which expired last year in the Chamber of Deputies.
“They have the new bill in their possession (the government), which we will introduce soon, modified and improved so that this time it will be approved,” he said.
Bogaert expressed optimism that the legislation would be approved this time, after reporting that steps had been taken to have it introduced by one of the legislators from the ruling party.
"When that happens, all companies have to be up to date with the licensing issue, which includes a course of between 120 and 200 hours of classes, followed by taking an exam, and once passed, you will obtain a license that will accredit you as a real estate agent.".
Bogaert emphasized the importance of real estate agents receiving training through the certifications offered by the AEI, "because many times they have been in the business for a few years and they don't master aspects such as the finishing touches of a project, where the construction process comes from, or how it is done," Bogaert pointed out during the certification of a group of real estate agents from Coldwell Banker.
Regarding real estate scams, he explained that those who commit fraud are not real estate agents, but rather, as the name suggests, swindlers, since selling land you don't own is not the same as having problems due to poor management of a project.
He stressed that both things are wrong, but that the second would not be fraud, although justice must be served in both cases.
