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Step-by-step plan for buying a lot or house in the Caribbean.

  1. Financial inventory.

Before you can start looking for a home, it is wise to know what your financial options are. How much can you borrow and what are the monthly costs? You can easily calculate this online, but you can also make an appointment with a mortgage advisor. Some examples of banks on Curacao are: MCB : https://www.mcb-bank.com/ Banco Di Caribe : https://www.bancodicaribe.com/ RBC : https://www.rbc.com/caribbean.html Orco : https://www.orcobank.com/ Vidanova : https://www.orcobank.com/ CHB : https://www.chb.cw/ With the current regulations it is possible to finance up to 100% of the value of your new home. You must finance all other additional costs yourself. Therefore also calculate how much of your own money you need. 2. Find a suitable home. As soon as you know how much you can spend on a home and you have listed your housing needs, the search can begin. There are several ways to find your owner-occupied home. Terreinen ABC is the best way; Please click here: https://www.terreinen-abc.com/ 3. View the property. Have you found a home that appeals to you? Then it's time for the viewing. This way you find out whether the house actually meets your needs. Make an appointment with the real estate agent or owner to view the property. Keep this in mind the following: location, exterior of home, interior of home, installations, sustainability, necessary renovations etc. 4. Extra research from yourself. When you buy a house, you can expect that the house is suitable for 'normal use'. This means that it is possible to live safely with a reasonable degree of sustainability. However, there may be visible or invisible defects that hinder the normal use of the home. As a buyer you have an obligation to investigate. This means that you as a buyer are expected to examine the condition of the home. Visible defects that you could have discovered during the viewing cannot be designated as hidden defects later. These are for your own account.


5. Negotiation. Now that you have found the home of your dreams, the negotiations can begin. You should pay attention to this. When you buy a home and you enter into negotiations with the seller, you do not only do that about the price. You also negotiate the delivery date, the movable property and the resolutive conditions. Movable property. When you view a house, it is often still inhabited and furnished. As nice as the decor is, most people know that that stylish sofa and that beautiful table are not included in the sale. But what actually belongs to the house? When selling a home, a distinction is made between immovable property and movable property. If you do not agree anything further, you only buy the immovable property. In the model purchase agreement, this is described as 'ownership of the plot of land with a house and other appurtenances' (for example a carport or shed). Movable items are items such as a sofa, cupboard or mirror. Movable property is not included in the sale. However, it is not always clear whether something is movable or has become part of the immovable property. Now take a closet. A separate wardrobe will generally be labeled as movable by everyone. But what if there is a separate but specially tailor-made cabinet in a niche? There is a difficult point. What is now movable property and what is now part of immovable property has already generated many discussions. The legal distinction between the two is often difficult, even for lawyers. In order to avoid ambiguity afterwards, it is important to make agreements by means of a so-called 'list of matters'. This indicates which items will remain in the home, which will go with sellers and which items can be taken over. Make an offer. After determining the strategy, the offer and the (resolving) conditions, you make an offer to the selling party. This can be done in various ways. You can transfer the proposal in writing, by mail, by telephone or in some cases via the website of the selling broker


6. Signing the purchase agreement. If the buyer and seller agree on the price, delivery date, resolutive conditions and any agreements about movable property, then there is agreement. The law stipulates that the purchase of immovable property must be recorded in writing. As soon as the parties have reached an oral agreement about the sale, the parties are not yet bound, the oral agreement is not binding. This written requirement does not apply to the sale of all immovable property. It only applies to the sale of residential immovable property to private buyers. The selling broker records the agreements made in the purchase agreement. Time to think. The purchase is concluded when both parties have signed the purchase agreement. The purchase agreement goes to the notary and as a buyer you then have a statutory cooling-off period of three days in which you can still cancel the purchase without giving any reason. The reflection period of three days starts as soon as a copy of the signed purchase agreement has been handed over to the buyer. After this time, the purchase is final, unless resolutive conditions apply. 7. Financing a home. With the current regulations it is possible to finance up to 100% of the value of your new home. You have to finance the other costs yourself. These are the buyer's costs at a glance: transfer tax Notary fees Optionally, the following costs are added: Advice and brokerage costs Appraisal fees Architectural report Bank guarantee Deposit National Mortgage Guarantee brokerage commission You buy a new-build home 'free in name'. In that case, the buyer's costs are included in the purchase price. Appraisal The mortgage lender wants to know what the home is worth. That is why, in most cases, a valuation report from a certified appraiser is required to finance a home. Your buying agent and selling agent are not allowed to prepare this report because they are involved in the negotiation process. They can of course help you find a certified appraiser.


8. Obtaining your property. Only when the mortgage has been arranged, the reflection period has expired and any additional resolutive conditions do not apply, the purchase is final. Now the transfer can take place. A few days before the agreed delivery date, you will receive a draft deed of delivery and an invoice from the notary. Please check whether all information is correct. Just before the transfer, you inspect the house, possibly together with your purchase broker, to see whether it is still in the agreed condition. You then pay the purchase price, the other costs and possibly the price of the movable property taken over at the notary, almost always via the mortgage lender. Then you sign the deed of delivery. The house is now in your name and will be registered at the Land Registry by the notary! Congratulations on your lot or home!!




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