PUNTA PERLA is at the forefront of international property investment.  Situated fifteen minutes from Punta Cana International airport, this exclusive resort will be home to every luxury a seasoned traveler would desire. A variety of properties will be interspersed throughout the Italian themed marina, two signature golf courses and along five kilometers of beautiful beach. Here is a private piece of paradise for everyone The Properties. Punta Perla offers a range of properties, including: golf villas, inland pueblos, island, beach and marina apartments as well as multi-million dollar beach side villas. Varying in both size and design, the architects have created a cosmopolitan feel, with homes built to the highest standards of construction and finish. Each property has been poisoned to take advantage of the beauty of its natural surroundings, blending in with the natural contours of the land.

KEY PROPERTY INVESTMENT FACTS

• Property in the Dominican Republic is still very competitively priced compared to many Caribbean islands.

• The Dominican Government officially welcomes foreign investment. Law 158 on foreign investment enacted in December 1995 allows unlimited foreign investment in nearly all sectors of the economy. In October 2001 this was extended to make investment in business and upscale tourism exempt from income tax for ten years. As a new development, all investors at Punta Perla will benefit from ten years of tax free status - no taxes payable on capital gain or rental revenue.

• Rental income will be guaranteed. This return is possible since tourism in the area is growing dramatically. The World Tourism Organization’s ‘World Tourism Barometer’ measured an increase in tourism for the country of around 7-10% in the first half of 2004, with some statistics quoting 13% over the year as a whole. Against a backdrop of lower

worldwide tourism arrivals during 2003, the Dominican Republic was a star performer. According to the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic and the National Hotel & Restaurant Association (Asonahores), during this period the Dominican Republic attracted approximately 2.76 million foreigners, a 19.48% increase over 2002 and a 12.16% increase over 2000.

• Additionally, the Punta Cana/Bavaro area has rapidly become the fastest growing destination in the region. The Punta Cana International Airport received just under 50% of all foreign tourists. This airport receives not only hundreds of charter flights per week from all over the world, but also an increasing number of scheduled flights from world cities such as New York, Paris, Madrid, Frankfurt, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, Montreal, San Juan, Charlottesville, among others. During the high season there are approximately 300 weekly flights to Punta Cana. Hotel occupancy was up by 10% from 2002, reaching 84.2% in the Punta Cana/Bavaro area, furthermore, figures for the January-August 2004 period show 86.6% average occupancy in this region.

• In its 2004 Travel Trends survey, Punta Cana was also ranked by Carlson Wagonlit travel agents of the US as the fourth most popular international vacation destination after Caribbean Cruising, Cancun-Mexico and the Mayan Riviera-Mexico. The Dominican Republic is today the number one vacation destination for eastern Canadians.

• Tourism in the Dominican Republic is also changing dramatically in terms of the type of traveler, moving from an all-inclusive type of visitor to a more up market visitor. This in turn is leading to rapid investment in the area as people realize the potential in comparison to other more established Caribbean destinations.

• According to the Caribbean Tourism Organization's (CTO) Annual Statistical Report, 25% of Europeans traveling to the Caribbean cite the Dominican Republic as their preferred vacation destination, probably influenced by the variety of microclimates, mountains, beaches, cultural and historical wealth and variety of alternatives offered by this Caribbean Island.

• Tourism is popular with the Dominican people since the benefits are clear. Many improvements to the country’s infrastructure are linked directly to the pursuit of tourist income with many roads widened and paved and historic areas in major cities renovated.

• The Dominican Republic has seven international airports, more than any Caribbean island, which makes travel much easier than many similar locations.

• The government is spending many millions of dollars on a marketing campaign to attract tourists from around the world and pumping pesos into tourism-related infrastructure.

• Prices overall are attractive to the overseas visitor. A survey conducted by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) among holidaymakers to evaluate their perception of prices charged for services during their stay, revealed that out of every 100 foreign visitors, 70 considered that they were acceptable, 24 that they were too high or high, 4 that these were low and 2 did not respond. These results are consistent with the importance of the motto “reasonable prices” when selecting the Dominican Republic as a vacation destination.

• High interest bearing US$ accounts and US$ based investments are both available and tax-free. Security of the banking system is deemed good as the industry is very highly regulated by the Dominican Republic Government. Banking licenses very hard to obtain and applicants must submit to a lengthy review process by the central bank.

• There are no restrictions on foreigners purchasing property in the Dominican Republic. Formerly, Decree 2543 of March 22, 1945 and its amendments required that foreigners obtain prior Presidential approval except in certain cases. Decree 21-98 of January 8, 1998 abolished this regulation and established as the only requirement that the Title Registry Offices keep a record, for statistical purposes, of all purchases made by foreigners. However, holding property within a company allows for quick resale’s since it is much easier and less expensive to resell all the shares of stock of the asset-holding corporation than it is to convey real estate.

• There are no restrictions on foreigners inheriting title to property in the Dominican Republic. However, holding the property within a company simplifies greatly the handling of the estate and the transfer of control to the heirs. Under Dominican law, inheritance of real property is governed by local statute which establishes that part of the estate must

go to certain heirs by law (for example, a foreigner with a legitimate child must reserve 50% of the estate to that child irrespective of the existence of a will or of the law of his country of residence). This rule does not apply when ownership of real estate is held by a corporation.  Also, if the title is in the name of one or several individuals and one of them dies, the procedure to change the title to the heirs is cumbersome and time-consuming.

TAX INCENTIVES

Continued Government incentives to attract both real estate investment and tourism continue with the introduction of Law 158.  This entitles investors in the country several benefits such as:

• NO STAMP DUTY ON PROPERTY PURCHASES, SAVING IN EXCESS OF 4% OF THE PROPERTY PRICE*

• NO TAX ON RENTAL INCOME*

• NO CAPITAL GAINS TAX*

*All Applications in process.

It is important to remember that this is only applicable to the first purchaser of the property and therefore it is recommended that property is bought by a privately owned company. 

Given the area’s hugely successful tourist industry, high rental returns are far more achievable than many other more obscure international destinations currently billed as investment hotspots. Increasing numbers of tourists are demanding a higher standard of accommodation.  This has been recognized by many international tour operators, most of whom are fighting to secure rental property for their pools.  Given that the number of properties being developed in the area to