Down payment options

Last activity 05 June 2022 by Tippj

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rosariojennMember03 June 2022 13:30:11

Does buying land in Las Terrenas require a 30% down payment? Anyway room for lower down payment?

plannerDominican Republic Expert03 June 2022 15:30:38

17101

Welcome to the forums. Exactly who is financing this? That will determine what down payment they will and will not accept.

Usually financing on land is a tough one to get.

rosariojennMember03 June 2022 18:35:49

Good Question. I'm coming from the states, where we have multiple (bank) land loan options available. I am not sure, what financing options I have available for buying land in DR.

plannerDominican Republic Expert03 June 2022 19:01:27

17101

Many less than there. It will not be easy at all.

ddmcgheeDominican Republic Expert04 June 2022 12:26:18

1731

We have not financed any of our purchases here (apartment, two land lots), but we looked into it very briefly before the apartment purchase. The interest rates are high, the terms are much shorter than in the US and are based on age, and the process can take a long time! We never even submitted an application. I know people here who have attempted to finance the purchase of a home and after months of getting nowhere, they've walked away. If you don't have an existing relationship with a bank here, it's going to be even tougher.

I have heard that normally any property loan here does not exceed 70% of the value, so 30% down would be required.

Some alternatives: purchase through a self-directed IRA, use the equity in your home in the US, take out an unsecured/signature loan in the US, or find a property here offering seller financing. We have a friend here in LT that sold his home and the buyers are paying it off over 10 years.

Tripp789Contributor04 June 2022 13:37:41

173

We were able to finance our condo in Cabarete with roughly 50% down. that was the amount we determined we wanted, so I'm not sure what they would have accepted.

Even with that the process took a long time (6 months), but we got a decent rate (5%) but it resets every 5 years like a commercial RE loan. To get that we had to bang two banks vigorously against each other. Rates are generally much higher than that.

I agree with the rest that getting land with a loan will be very difficult.

TippjSerial expat05 June 2022 00:39:57

563

I talked to the manager at the bank where I’m at in the DR , and she said the interest rates are very high…. It depended on your age , how much you put down , how long you wanted it for…. It could take anywhere from 3-6 months…how much money you keep in there bank . In other words don’t bother ….. most sellers here I found would give you financing at anywhere from 5-7% because that’s what they think the bank would give them in a long term savings account , and they would want it payed in full a lot of times within 5 years …. If you go that way be very careful because one late payment is like breaking the contract…. Get a very good lawyer that knows the ins and out ….. no bank in the U.S. will give you a loan to buy property in another country

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