Dominican Republic Real Estate Scams: What Foreign Buyers Need to Know

The Dominican Republic is open to foreign buyers and easy to enter. It also has, by absolute dollar volume, one of the largest foreign-buyer loss histories in the Caribbean. Industry reporting and Public Ministry actions have documented losses exceeding USD 1 billion in the Punta Cana area on unfinished developments alone in recent years. This guide covers the recurring patterns.

Problem 1: No deslinde, no secure title

The deslinde is a legal demarcation of property boundaries, conducted by a certified surveyor and approved by the courts. Without a current deslinde, the buyer's title certificate does not unambiguously attach to a specific physical parcel. Properties without a proper deslinde should be treated as a red flag, particularly in rural and coastal areas.

The underlying registration system is sound. It runs under Law 108-05 on Real Property Registration, and used properly it protects the buyer. The weakness is the instrument, not the register. Many properties are still sold on a Constancia Anotada, a document that recognises ownership of a share of a larger unsurveyed parcel without defining which part you own. Constancias have historically been the favoured vehicle for fraud, because the same underlying parcel can be carved up and sold to several buyers who each hold paperwork that looks valid. The instrument you want is a deslindado Certificado de Titulo, where the boundaries have been surveyed and individualised in the Registro de Titulos. If the seller can only offer a Constancia, treat it as an unfinished transaction and budget for completing the deslinde.

How to defend against it: only purchase properties with a current deslinde. If the deslinde is missing, the seller must complete it before closing, not after. The process can take months and the seller pays.

Problem 2: Sale of properties the seller does not own

Fraudsters present fake or outdated title certificates. In January 2024, the Public Ministry dismantled a network of real estate scammers who sold more than 300 apartments without construction permits and, in some cases, without ownership of the land.

How to defend against it: a title search at the Registro de Titulos by your attorney, current within 30 days of closing. The Certificado de Titulo presented by the seller must match what the registry shows.

Problem 3: Punta Cana off-plan delivery failures

Foreign buyers of pre-construction units in the Punta Cana area have lost more than USD 1 billion in recent years on unfinished developments. Roco Ki, Punta Perla, and Cap Cana phases have been cited repeatedly as examples of projects that took deposits but did not deliver as promised.

How to defend against it: review the developer's prior delivery record. New brands without a closed-out project history should be approached with extra caution. Tie payment milestones to verifiable construction stages, not calendar dates. Avoid developers that have changed corporate names after prior project problems.

Confirm where your deposits sit. Off-plan payments should be held in a properly structured construction trust (fideicomiso) rather than paid directly into the developer's operating account, and the contract should state in plain terms what happens to that money if the project is not delivered on schedule.

Problem 4: Unlicensed agents

The Dominican Republic does not require real estate agents to be licensed. There is no national licensing standard. The Asociacion de Empresas Inmobiliarias (AEI) is voluntary. Anyone can market property, hold themselves out as a broker, and collect deposits.

How to defend against it: work only with AEI-affiliated agents and engage your own attorney for closing. Do not rely on the agent for legal verification.

A bill to regulate real estate intermediation and deceptive advertising passed a first reading in the Dominican Senate in April 2026. It is not law. Until it is, no licensing standard exists and verification remains entirely the buyer's responsibility.

Problem 5: NYC and diaspora-targeted resale schemes

A documented pattern targets Dominican diaspora buyers in the New York metropolitan area: a relative or family contact in the country presents a property as a bargain, collects a deposit, and the property turns out to be either non-existent, not owned by the seller, or burdened with undisclosed liens. Epicenter NYC has reported on this pattern.

How to defend against it: even with family-introduced transactions, use an independent attorney in the Dominican Republic, run a full title search, and require all payments through formal escrow or attorney trust accounts.

Problem 6: Dual title fraud

A high-value pattern in coastal areas involves selling the same property to two or more buyers, each presented with a different version of the title documents. The first to register with a complete title package generally prevails, but earlier purchasers can be left with civil claims against an insolvent seller.

How to defend against it: register the title transfer immediately after closing. Do not delay registration. The buyer's attorney should walk the documents to the Registro de Titulos personally.

Problem 7: CONFOTUR claims without certification

Some projects market CONFOTUR tax benefits without actually being certified, or before certification is granted. A buyer who relies on the benefit and finds it does not apply has paid more in taxes than expected.

How to defend against it: ask for the actual CONFOTUR resolution issued by the Ministry of Tourism. The resolution number can be verified with the Ministry directly. Do not rely on sales brochure claims.

Problem 8: Power of attorney misuse

Foreign buyers who cannot be present for closing grant a power of attorney to a local representative. Broad powers have been used to sign onward sales, take out mortgages secured on the property, or adjust contract terms.

How to defend against it: limit the power of attorney to specifically named actions on a named property, with a defined expiration date. Choose the attorney yourself.

Problem 9: Cash-back and price-manipulation schemes

A scheme that recurs in the Dominican market involves inflating the contract price by 10 to 20 percent and rebating the difference in cash to the buyer, often through a mortgage that is partially financed by the difference. This is mortgage fraud in the buyer's home country if the mortgage is foreign, and it leaves the buyer with an inflated tax basis and unenforceable claims.

How to defend against it: declare the actual price. Do not accept cash-back arrangements presented by sellers or agents.

Problem 10: Squatters and established possession

Land that sits empty, particularly larger rural or beachfront parcels, attracts occupants who accumulate possession rights over time. A title can be technically clean while the parcel carries an occupation problem that is slow and expensive to clear.

How to defend against it: inspect the physical property before paying, and have your attorney check for possession claims and pending litigation at the Tribunal de Tierras alongside the Registro de Titulos search.

Problem 11: Land that cannot be built on as described

A recurring scheme markets protected or restricted land as buildable, or sells beachfront without disclosing coastal setback limits. Registered boundaries also do not always match what is on the ground, and overlapping claims are a known issue in specific coastal and rural areas.

How to defend against it: verify zoning and any environmental or maritime restriction for the specific parcel, and have the surveyed boundaries walked on site rather than accepting a brochure or a verbal assurance about what can be built.

Verification before transferring money

The five checks that catch most foreign-buyer losses in the Dominican Republic:

1. Title search at the Registro de Titulos within 30 days of closing.

2. Current deslinde for the specific parcel.

3. Independent attorney engaged by you, not the developer.

4. CONFOTUR resolution verified directly with the Ministry of Tourism, if claimed.

5. Escrow handling of deposit funds in your attorney's trust account.

Bektu publishes verified developer profiles and project records for the Dominican Republic so that foreign buyers can cross-check what they hear in a sales gallery against documented delivery history.