ARBITRATION LA VEGA CITY HELP PLEASE!!!

Hi Everyone,

I desperately need some help, direction and advice.

2 years ago in February of 2023, I put down a hefty deposit on a new condo in Santiago, DR.  Since November of 2023 I have been told month after month that this condo will be ready for occupancy.  This is in a 65 unit brand new complex, Rosmary V in Santiago.  The name of the construction company is:  Constructora Proyecmaka.  They have failed to communicate with me, my realtor and my past attorney on very important issues. The architect (in charge at this complex) that she was unhappy with me calling her directly in July of 2024 after she and the builder refused to respond to  an email to my past attorney after 2.5 months.  This was in May of 2024 and to date (1/17/25) there have been no answers. This construction is now in penalty phase since they promised to deliver without penalty these condo's by years end 2024.  I visited my condo/complex in early December 2024.  If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed the condition it was in.  First of all, the sea of trash on 3 of the complex was disconcerting at best.  Construction trash, garbage by the workers piled in areas up to 3 feet high. I have photos to back up all of the descriptions in this post.  In my condo there are structural issues as well as the most deplorable finish work I have ever seen in my life. In the condo workers have walked on the bare grouted custom tile floors for months, fracturing many of the tiles that need to be replaced.  None of the flooring was covered or protected at all.  I also purchased custom PVC baseboards throughout and bought the adhesive as well.  More adhesive was purchased and the workers put the baseboards on backwards leaving large blue print evident on the outside.  They have tried to "gloss" over the baseboards but apparently didn't use the type of paint I wrote to them that they had to use in order for the paint to adhere. The adhesive was "gooped" on the baseboards so that it left a rough finish on the front (facing out) and clumps stuck to the front and then to make matters worse they used caulking on top of this which never should have been used in the first place. They put the bedroom closets (3) and the linen closet floor tile to the outer edge of the closet, then "floated" the wooden closet frames on top of the tile, painting the outer edges of the tile to camouflage what they had done. They used MDF board to make the kitchen island then put black marble/granite on top.  The MDF board had fractured off at the base and you can see the cracks where it is glued/vaneered together. They had promised me beautiful white super glossy contemporary kitchen cabinets for my unit and without any notice to me they changed it to something else and never communicated it with me.  I would have flown to the DR and purchased an upgrade but I was never given the option. I was promised that they would offset cut a piece of the kitchen countertop to the right to accommodate per my request a large enough space to the left for a dishwasher early in 2024.  When I was there 12/2.24 the realtor informed me that they couldn't "honor my request" for this offset cut countertop because "they needed time to get the other condo's ready for closings." No previous communication whatsoever.  The tile in all 3 bathrooms was not put on straight and because of this there is a variance in the grout width as much as 3/8" of an inch in some areas, and 1/16th of an inch (which it should have been throughout) on the same wall in the same room.  Inexpensive aluminum flashing was used in the bathrooms when I was told that all the trim and tile in the bathrooms would be tile. Much of the tile in the bathrooms 3) is fractured and chipped. One of the bathroom door frames is literally "floating" in the air and not even touching the floor. I was surprised to see that even though more custom tile was ordered in November 2024 for 2 of the bathroom shower areas that these areas were tiled and grouted with tile that doesn't even match what I ordered custom for the entire place.  I was told by the realtor that they had to use this tile because "what you ordered was a liability for the builder".  This is not possible because what I ordered for custom tile as a senior citizen and a retired medical professional, iis a matte finish, textured porcelain.  They refused to remove it or change any of the tile in the condo despite it either not being what I ordered or damaged or installed incorrectly. The custom floor tile that was purchased in Nov. 2024 is still unused in the condo in a storage space.  There are holes in the floor around the drainage area in one of the bathroom showers.  All the custom floor tile that was installed is filthy, and covered with paint and a good portion of it is fractured due to the workers walking on it for months on end, dropping things on it and never protected in any way. Corners where walls meet and the entire window corners (sills, sides and top) are poorly pointed, tape not removed and painted over and the workers have already applied the first coat of custom paint, so I know there finish work is complete.  I purchased 15 gallons of custom paint at the only Benjamin Moore paint store in the DR and transported it to Rosmary V myself. When I visited this past 12/2/24, they had already applied the first coat of paint.  They didn't go all the way to the cornices at the top or to the baseboards at the bottom which when painted with the second coat of paint will show in certain lighting, streaks where the first coat of paint should have been.

They "capped" the balcony with the same custom tile that I requested however after they installed the "cap" they painted it white!  Why would they do that?  Even the marble veneer on all the community stairs are chipped and fractured and at that time there were no owners occupying the community.  There was a huge gaping hole in the exterior wall outside on the balcony and the black metal slider is all scratched beyond repair. The finish work is atrocious.  Even the promised lap pool is nothing more than a small dual cement wading pool  I could go on and on but I know you all get the picture.

Unfortunately I did sign the P&S agreement and I am at fault here.  My realtor told me that the attorney would have called you if she had any issues with the P&S after a week (I had tried to contact her but couldn't get through).  So I did a stupid thing and sent the money.  Then the builder and representatives didn't get the due diligence to my attorney in a timely fashion.  Why would they?  They had what they wanted.   My money.  My attorney said "you didn't seem worried about the P&S so I wasn't either.  I never knew what it said.  I don't speak or write in Spanish.  My realtor never told me that there were installment payments due or penalties or anything else.  He wasn't forthright with me. He told me on 12/2/24 after seeing the condo and community "I didn't tell you about the installment payments or penalties in the P&S because the architect Gladys said that because you were a cash buyer those things didn't apply to you."  I told him all the more that I should have known so the P&S could have been amended.  "Heresay" is not admissible legally.

I also did not know that there should have been a notary present as well as the representatives that were to sign the P&S agreement.  I will list their names and titles below.  Myself, the realtor and a friend of mine, a Dominican professional were the only ones in the construction trailer on the grounds of Rosmary V when I signed the P&S agreement.  Its is my understanding that in the DR for a P&S to be binding, the notary and anyone else that needs to sign the P&S need to be present al at the same time and that the notary must first be a practicing attorney.  I have learned only too late a wealth of knowledge in two years.  Had I known that I needed to make 10 monthly installment payments I would now be out another almost 40K USD.

The P&S states that I will receive 25% of my deposit back after the condo is sold to someone else.  How long will that take?  Who would want to purchase this condo in the deplorable condition that it is in?  My God, it's brand new! 

The arbitration clause is the P&S is as follows:

The parties agree that any differences or controversy arising from the interpretation or execution of this contract or the future violation or termination or invalidation, which cannot be resolved amicably or in good faith by peaceful discussion

between the parties involved, must be submitted to the arbitration procedure in the City of La Vega , Republic Dominican Republic administered in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the Chamber of Commerce and production of La Vega

and it's arbitration commission as established by law No. 50-87 dated June 3, 1987 and the Regulations of Arbitration in

force.  The arbitration must be executed in Spanish and will be the sole and exclusive means of said resolution of said differences and controversies.  The arbitration award will be considered final and unappealable by both parties,"

CONDO COMPLEX:   Rosmary V  Santiago, DR

CONSTRUCTION COMPANY:   Constructora Proyecmaka

COMPANY NAME:  AGROPECUARIA CASTANUELA SRL

OWNERS NAME:  Ramon Federico Almonte Tejada

ARCHITECT AND RESPONSIBLE PARTY at ROSMARY V:  Maria Gladyaliza Gutierrez Bonnilla

NOTARY NAME:  Graduate Enma Joaquina

Again, not ONE of the people above was at the signing of the Purchase & Sales Agreement.  Not one. I do have photocopies from the realtor of the P&S signed only be me that he send to my attorney after we all left the construction trailer where I signed this agreement.  You can see that only my initials on each page and my signature on the last page was the only signature on this agreement.

PLEASE!  I NEED YOUR HELP.  I NEED TO KNOW HOW I CAN CONTACT THE CORRECT ARBITRATION OFFICE SO I CAN GET MY DEPOSIT BACK AND HOPEFULLY SOME ADDITIONAL MONEY IN DAMAGES.  I am not Spanish speaking.  THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.

Please feel free to contact me privately if you choose.   

SINCERELY,

SUZANNE