Punta Cana real estate glossary
These are the words that change the contract. Not décor. Nine terms decide what you own, what you pay every year and what you can enforce if a project is late: CONFOTUR, IPI, título, deslinde, HOA, SRL, freehold, off-plan and the difference between gross and net yield. Each page below is one term, defined first and explained second. This is 2026 orientation for buyers, not legal advice.
Terms
- CONFOTUR
- A tourism-incentive status granted to a specific project by resolution — never to a zone, never to a neighbourhood.
- IPI
- The annual 1% tax on property value above an exempt threshold — the recurring cost most yield spreadsheets forget.
- Título
- The registry document that proves ownership. If it does not name the seller and the exact unit, nothing else matters.
- Deslinde
- The judicial survey process that turns a share of a large parent title into your own measured, individually titled lot.
- HOA
- The condominium or community maintenance fee. In Punta Cana it is the single biggest recurring cost after management.
- SRL
- The common Dominican limited-liability company. Sometimes useful for ownership structure — orientation only, confirm with counsel.
- Freehold
- Full, permanent ownership registered in your name. No leasehold clock, no local partner requirement.
- Off-plan
- Paying in instalments during construction for a unit that does not exist yet. Cheaper entry, delivery risk.
- Gross vs net yield
- Gross is rent over price. Net is what is left after every cost. Only one of them is your return.
- Fideicomiso
- A regulated trust structure used mainly to hold and protect off-plan buyer payments during construction.
- Plusvalía
- The increase in a property's value over time — the word Dominican sales decks use for appreciation.
- Cédula
- The Dominican national identity document. Residents get one; a foreign buyer usually closes on a passport instead.
- Catastro
- The cadastral system that identifies a parcel by number and measurement, separate from who owns it.
- Arras
- The deposit that reserves a property — and, depending on the wording, the amount you lose if you walk.
- Escritura
- The signed and notarised sale contract — the document that transfers, before the registry records it.
- Régimen de condominio
- The legal regime that creates a condominium: private units, common areas, shared costs and the rules you inherit.
- Rental pool
- A programme where owners' units are rented as one inventory and revenue is shared by formula, not by unit.
- NOI
- Rental income minus operating costs, before financing and before tax. The number a cap rate is built on.
- Cap rate
- NOI divided by price. A one-line measure of what the asset yields at today's value, ignoring debt.
The long pages behind the terms
- CONFOTUR
Granted per project by resolution — never per zone.
- IPI property tax
The annual 1% tax above the exempt threshold, and who pays it.
- Title and deslinde
Certificado de título, registry liens and what a lawyer must verify.
- Net yield
What survives management, HOA, IPI, voids and wear.
Definitions are orientation for buyers, not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects a contract with an independent Dominican lawyer.