Purchasing a condo in Sosua

I am not a resident and am in the process of purchasing a home about 15 mins from Sosua. I will likely use it as an Airbnb for a little bit. It’s not my long term goal.  I have a property manager who will handle rentals for me.

Is the W still being built? I thought that project was shut down last year because of violation of land use laws.

Buying without being a resident happens all the time! We bought an apartment and two land lots here before we got our residency.

Hi, how long have you been in Sosua?  How long also before you purchased? 

I want to make sure I'm not jumping too quickly into purchasing a property.  I get the feeling it may not be this price if I wait one or two years.

Oh that's reassuring to hear.  I don't know of many countries where you can come and go so easily so it was a big worrisome to me.

I don't know the backstory of the W but I noticed the signs last week when I was driving to Cabarete.  If they are indeed going to be here the other big hotels will follow.  I want to be established before they arrive.

Here's the article on the W's permit being rejected.

Yes, it is easy to come and go here from the US, but remember that with the tourist card that is included in your airfare, you can only stay for 30 days. You can apply for an extension of 90 days, for a total of 120 days. You also cannot legally work here, even if it is running your own online business, without residency. People do it, but there is risk involved.

Thank you for explaining that.  I will continue to research.  I was quite confused with the Haitian restaurant owner on the beach told me he has no residency and has been there for five years.  How can that be if he has a business?

OP stated: However, my business senses lead me to believe that the property prices here will have increased drastically by then

The North Coast has traditionally been quite stagnant when it comes to tourism and real estate and mid market typically. We have seen so many hotel projects fail to get off the ground too over the years. Casa Linda seems the hospitality exception.

With inflation, loss of Russian and Ukranian tourists who represented a large percentage and a 15% surcharge on international airline tickets which will impact European travel, I wonder if this is an optimistic view?

I see one upside and that is that building new property will cost more but will renters pay more in potentially tough times to come?

I can understand the East Coast could be more resiliant to the current challenges because it is relatively new, modern and growing with ease of air travel from North America.

vixenmartine wrote:

Thank you for explaining that.  I will continue to research.  I was quite confused with the Haitian restaurant owner on the beach told me he has no residency and has been there for five years.  How can that be if he has a business?

Non-residents can own businesses, but without a cedula, they cannot work here legally.

The Haitian restaurant owner is definitely not in this country legally unless he has a work visa, which would be darn near impossible for a restaurant worker - the skills are just not specialized enough to justify the visa. His restaurant might not be operating legally either. There are plenty of bars and restaurants around the country that are not registered businesses, are not licensed, don't pay taxes, don't adhere to labor laws, hire everyone under the table, etc.

The DR is working on avenues for Haitians to regularize their status. We need Haitian workers here to support the economy. Search for the threads on that for more info on those programs.

The restaurants don’t have health department license either , I know a lot of people who work in these secondary jobs and they tell me that the restaurant owners are hurting badly since the pandemic and they can’t afford to throw outdated food away…. So guess who is getting it

That is likely true in many areas. 

Let's get back on topic.

Here's the article on the W's permit being rejected.

Yes, it is easy to come ... - @ddmcghee

Non-resident foreigners have no problem owning property in the DR.  Selling that property is the problem.  Recently, selling has been less of a problem in the Cabarete/Sosua area.  If you want to remain in the DR, it is advisable to become a legal resident which starts in your home country at the Dominican Consulate. 

Thank you for explaining that.  I will continue to research.  I was quite confused with the Haitian restaurant owner on the beach told me he has no residency and has been there for five years.  How can that be if he has a ... - @vixenmartine

Quite simply, nobody has cared to deport him as of yet.  Odd as that is. him being from Haiti he has a target on his back larger than most illegals. 

vixenmartine wrote:

Thank you for explaining that.  I will continue to research.  I was quite confused with the Haitian restaurant owner on the beach told me he has no ... - @ddmcghee

My resposnse is below: 

I am not aware of any new Haitian Regularization plans at the moment for those who live in the DR.  There were previous attempts to do this.  Now they a building a wall at the Haitian border and I expect more deportations and not regularizations with respect to Haitians.   The only thing I have heard of is a day  pass kind of visa where Haitians can cross the border to trade and must go back to Haiti each evening.  They cannot do other work in the DR. That is the only thing I know of currently being done regarding Haitians other than deportations. 

You can get residency easily, if you can employ at least one Dominican, if he or she can support their family

- @maggielola57

Is the W still being built? I thought that project was shut down last year because of violation of land use laws.

Buying without being a resident happens all the time! We bought an apartment and two land lots here before we got our ... - @ddmcghee