Buying a house on Curacao from the Netherlands

You have started your search for a home on Curacao or maybe just stopped because you have already found your dream home. At our real estate office we regularly get the question “can I buy a property on Curacao from the Netherlands?” I can answer the answer to that question with a YES. Below I briefly explain (4 steps) what the procedure is for buying a home on Curacao and arranging all of that from the Netherlands. Additionally, I also give a number of tips to avoid the well-known pitfalls of buying a home in Curacao from abroad

Step 1. The decision

If you have decided to buy a certain property on Curacao and about the price and conditions, you agree with the sellers. Then the seller, but in most cases, the seller’s broker should offer you a provisional purchase agreement. This agreement describes all agreements such as price, delivery date, takeover of goods and any resolutive conditions. The selling broker can simply send this agreement by email and after signing it, you can send it back by email. In most cases, the selling broker will ask for a copy of the passport for identification.

Step 2. The official transfer

The official transfer of a property on Curacao always takes place through a Notary, after all necessary documents necessary for the transfer have been submitted by the sales broker to the notary, the notary will contact you directly to discuss the transfer he or said will then ask you how you are going to pay for the house if this is without financing from a bank (we call this a cash transaction) then the notary will send you a form on which you must fill in information about the origin of the money. In addition, the civil-law notary will ask if you are personally present at the transfer. If this is not the case, you must provide a certified copy of your passport. Because someone still has to sign for the purchase of your home on Curacao, the notary will ask you to provide a power of attorney, this power of attorney is usually drawn up by the notary and it is stated which property and which agreement it usually concerns. one of the employees of the notary office who is then authorized to sign the purchase agreement for your home on your behalf, but this can of course also be someone else, for example a good friend or acquaintance who is present on Curacao at that time.
In the more than 11 years that I have been active as a purchase & sale broker on Curacao and Aruba, I have of course also seen a lot of mistakes when buying a home on Curacao from abroad. Below a number of tips that I want to give if you decide to buy a home on Curacao and arrange it from abroad.

1. Make sure you know what you are buying

   If you have not yet seen the property you are purchasing yourself, but only through photos, it is advisable to have someone personally view the property if you do not have a contact person on the island, it is wise to engage a purchase broker for the purchase real estate agent knows the local market and knows what to look out for, he checks the preliminary purchase contact and checks whether all legal aspects of the house are correct and will sometimes advise to have an architectural report drawn up. A structural engineer looks at points such as foundation and roof construction and the electrical part. By investing a few hundred guilders you can be sure that you will not buy a pig in a poke.

2. Insurance

   Make sure you arrange the insurance for your home in advance and not afterwards. Most insurance companies provide provisional coverage, which you can request after consultation of the provisional purchase agreement.Once the property is registered, you can always make an appointment with an appraiser from the insurance company to have an appraisal carried out so that you are never under insured and in the event of damage, only a part will be paid out instead of the entire damage

3. The transfer

   Prior to obtaining the key at the notary, it is important that someone walks around the house to see whether everything is still as agreed and whether all equipment is functioning properly. Have all the lighting checked, whether all taps are watered and closed properly, the drains are functioning properly and whether there are no traces of termite or moisture in the walls in the meantime. The most convenient is to have this done by someone who was involved in the sale and who knows exactly what the situation was during the purchase decision and knows the preconditions of the agreement. If you have taken in hand a buying agent on Curacao, this will also be one of his tasks.

 

Dit artikel is geschreven door Adriaan Smit  aan en verkoop makelaar in Curacao  voor meer info over dit onderwerp of andere vragen over vastgoed op Curacao kunt u contact opnemen via adriaan@sunlife.realty

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