How to buy pre-construction in the Dominican Republic safely

How a pre-construction home is paid

You pay in stages while it's built. The most common plan is 20/30/50: 20% down when you sign, 30% in installments during construction and 50% on delivery, with a mortgage or in cash. You'll also see 10/30/60 and 15/35/50. Before the down payment, a reservation deposit holds the unit.

The construction installments usually carry no interest: the mortgage, if you need one, starts on delivery. Delivery usually comes about two years later.

The upside is clear: you pay little by little and buy at today's price something that's delivered later. So is the risk: you're paying for something that doesn't exist yet. That's why it pays to check five things before you reserve.

1. The MIVHED permit

Since Law 160-21, the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED) issues construction permits. A project without one shouldn't be selling.

The project also needs land-use approval from the city and its environmental permit (Law 64-00). In tourist areas like Punta Cana, Decree 396-25 also requires a no-objection from the Ministry of Tourism. Ask for the numbers of those permits: since July 2026, the MIVHED platform lets you check the status of an application with its case number.

2. The land and its title

In the Dominican Republic, what counts is what's recorded in the Title Registry. Law 108-05 says the Certificate of Title is guaranteed by the State and that there are no hidden liens.

Before you reserve, ask for the certification of legal status of the land. It shows whose name it's in, whether it has mortgages or liens and whether it's been surveyed, meaning its boundaries are measured and approved. The Real Estate Registry recommends always requesting it before buying.

When you sign the final sale, a certification with priority reservation locks the property for 15 business days, so no one can encumber it while your purchase is recorded.

3. Where your money goes

There are three common ways to protect what you pay during construction:

• A real estate trust (fideicomiso, Law 189-11). The project becomes a separate estate that the developer's creditors can't seize.
• An escrow account. A third party holds the money and releases it as construction advances.
• A surety bond. An insurer guarantees what you paid if the developer doesn't deliver.

With Instadigs, the reservation is paid into the developer's account and protected, depending on the project, by an escrow account or a surety bond covering 100% of what you paid. Instadigs never holds anyone's money.

Never pay in cash or to an individual. Law 155-17 bans paying cash for a property above RD$1,500,000, and the deed of sale must state how it was paid.

4. The contract

While the building goes up you sign a promise of sale. Before signing, look at:

• Whether the price is fixed or can rise with inflation or the cost of materials.
• The delivery date and how many months of grace the developer has before paying a penalty. Up to six months is common.
• What happens if you don't get the mortgage in time. Some contracts give only 60 days.
• What you get back, and when, if the project isn't finished or if you're the one who cancels.
• That the developer is bound to sign the final sale once you pay the balance.

If the project uses a trust, since March 2025 the Superintendency of Banks requires the trustee to give you the trust deed and a summary sheet.

5. The developer's track record

Look up what it has delivered before and whether it delivered on time. A first project isn't a bad sign on its own, but ask for more guarantees. Also search the project's name with words like "delay" or "lawsuit": if construction has stopped, buyers are complaining or the developer is in trouble, look for another project.

What Digger checks for you

Digger AI Agent, the Instadigs AI agent, runs this check before recommending a project. It confirms that it fits your budget, that it has a MIVHED permit, who's building it and what they've delivered, and whether it has delays. If it finds evidence of a problem, it won't recommend it, and for each project it tells you what it could verify and what's still to be confirmed. Asking it is free.