Who can purchase property in the Commonwealth of Dominica?
Anyone can purchase property regardless of nationality. The important thing to note is that there may be requirements based on nationality.
Procedure for purchasing property in Dominica:
The buyer is encouraged to submit a letter offering to us the real estate agent stating your interest in purchasing land or property.
This is present it to the seller/owner.
The owner accepts the property using a “letter of acceptance” plus “statement of transaction” which will include purchase price, transfer, legal fees, and survey/valuation fees.
If the buyer accepts this “statement of transaction – we engage our lawyer to create a sale & purchase agreement.
The valuation is done by a license surveyor – we use xyz (Note that transfer fees are based on the valuation).
The surveyor prepares three survey plans to do transfer of titles.
You are required to pay 10% of the purchase price to secure the property. This is due upon the signing of the sale and purchase agreement.
This 10% is made to the owner where there is no encumbrance against the title or to the agent or lawyer who would hold the deposit in an escrow account.
The balance of purchase price is paid to complete the sale, as well as all legal fees as stated in the sales & purchase agreement.
The lawyer prepares a Memorandum of Transfer (MOT) which is executed by the owner and after payment of the pre-requisite transfer fees at the Treasury. You then present the MOT along with relevant documents and the original duplicate title obtained from the owner to the Land registry for processing of title in your name.
Main Fees:
Transfer Fees Payable – Dominican Nationals
All Dominican nationals pay a total of 6.50% of the total property cost. It is broken down as follows:
Legal Fees (+15% VAT): 2.5%
Stamp Duty: 2%
Judicial Fees: 1%
Assurance Fund: 1%
Transfer Fees Payable – Non-Nationals
The fee is 16.50% of total property cost broken down as follows:
Alien Landholders Fees: 10%
Legal Fees (+15% VAT): 2.5%
Stamp Duty: 2%
Judicial Fees: 1%
Assurance Fund: 1%
Note well:
There are additional fees that are not included in the fees referenced above:
Valuation and Survey Fees (this varies)
VAT if the lawyer is qualified for and paying VAT (additional 15% on legal fees)