By Reyna Echenique
Special for El Inmobiliario
In the Dominican real estate market, while real estate agencies meticulously evaluate developers before representing their projects, we rarely see the same level of scrutiny in the opposite direction. Many developers continue to entrust the exclusive marketing of multimillion-dollar projects to real estate agencies selected primarily based on personal connections or years of experience in the industry, without verifying whether they possess the necessary business structure for professional management.
The risk of prioritizing friendship over structure
It's a common scenario: a developer grants exclusive marketing rights for their project to a real estate agent with whom they have a friendly relationship or who facilitated the land acquisition. However, when this agent lacks the necessary business structure—perhaps operating with only an assistant and without standardized processes—negative consequences are inevitable.
This decision, seemingly convenient in the short term, generates multiple inefficiencies: poorly managed documentation, irregular collection processes, poor communication with sub-brokers and, ultimately, a deteriorated customer experience that directly affects the developer's reputation.
The question is clear: How can a professional developer entrust an asset worth millions of pesos to an improvised structure, sustained solely by a personal connection? The result of this practice is a weakened value chain where everyone loses: the developer, the clients, and, paradoxically, even the sub-brokers who end up frustrated, along with their entire team, due to the lack of professional support.
Fundamental criteria for effective purification
A responsible developer should implement a rigorous evaluation process before granting exclusive marketing rights, considering at least these critical aspects:
1. Organizational and operational structure
Internal accounting department : Essential for the proper management of payments, commissions and financial reports.
Sales Administrative Coordinator : Ensures the smooth transition between commercial activity and administrative processes.
Sufficient support staff : Messengers, administrative assistants and other staff to manage the documentary and logistical volume of a project.
Defined commercial structure : Organized sales team with clear roles, effective supervision and continuous training.
The absence of this basic structure not only generates administrative inefficiencies, but also directly affects sub-brokers, who face delays in commission payments, lack of timely documentation and poor support in the sales process.
2. Regulatory compliance and risk management
Official registration with the UAF : Verification that the real estate company is duly registered as an obligated subject before the Financial Analysis Unit.
Designated Compliance Officer : A professional formally appointed and trained to implement anti-money laundering policies.
Anti-money laundering program : Manuals, formalized and updated procedures for customer due diligence.
Document verification processes : Clear mechanisms to validate the documentation submitted by buyers.
These elements are not mere bureaucratic requirements but essential protections for the developer, who could face severe legal and reputational consequences for associating with real estate companies without adequate compliance controls.
3. Legal and administrative capacity
Legal department or permanent legal advice : Essential for reviewing contracts and resolving contingencies with buyers.
Document management capacity : Organized systems for handling contracts, files and transaction documentation.
Standardized processes : Clear procedures for each stage of the sales process, from booking to delivery.
Deficiencies in these areas generate a cascade of problems: poorly drafted contracts, incomplete documentation, and eventually, legal conflicts that affect the image of the project and the developer.
The hidden cost of decisions based on friendship
When a developer prioritizes friendship over operational capability, it imposes significant costs on multiple stakeholders:
- For sub-brokers : Frustration due to inefficient processes, delayed payments, and a lack of professional support, which will eventually drive them away from the project.
- For end customers : Poor buying experience, inconsistent documentation, and a sense of improvisation that contradicts the professional image the developer wants to project.
- For the developer himself : Reputational damage, slower sales, and potential legal complications due to non-compliance or errors in documentation.
It is a false economy to think that you are "saving" by handing the project over to a friend without structure, when in reality you are accumulating much higher intangible costs.
Implementing an effective debugging process
Professional developers should implement a structured evaluation process that includes:
- Infrastructure verification : Visit to the physical facilities of the real estate company to verify its actual operational capacity.
- Document review : Request and analysis of documents that prove organizational structure, official records (UAF) and formal designation of compliance officer.
- Process evaluation : Analysis of your administrative, legal and management procedures.
- Initial trial period : Establishment of a trial period with clear performance indicators before committing to long-term exclusivity.
This systematic approach allows one to transcend the comfort of personal relationships in order to prioritize professional effectiveness.
Conclusion
The paradox is evident: developers who invest millions in creating exceptional projects but risk their success by handing them over to improvised commercial structures out of mere friendship.
A Master Broker without a proper structure not only affects marketing, but also harms the entire chain: frustrated sub-brokers, poorly served customers, and ultimately, developers with compromised sales.
It's time to shift the question from "Who do I have the best relationship with?" to "Who has the professional structure to properly represent my investment?" In an increasingly competitive market, this decision can determine the difference between success and failure.
This article is part of the series "Good Real Estate Practices in the Dominican Republic"
The author is a real estate lawyer, real estate entrepreneur, CEO of Echenique Group, Secretary of the Board of Directors AEI 2024-2026, realtor and analyst of the Dominican and international real estate sector.
