TPR Buyers Guide

An Overview
All real estate dealings in the Turks and Caicos Islands are based on a Registered Land System. The Land Registry, located in Grand Turk , ensures a legal land transfer process and provides a central system where details of ownership, title, mortgages and other interest in property must be recorded in a public register.

General Procedure
The procedure for purchasing real estate in the TCI is relatively simple. When you find the right property, we will ask that you sign a standard Offer Form – a standard practice employed by all realtors. Before doing so, and because real estate investment involves parting with substantial sums of money, or contracting a major liability, we recommend the buyer seeks legal representation. The Offer Form will state the offered purchase price, the conditions of purchase and the date of completion. The seller will either accept the offer as is, or return a counter-offer within an irrevocable time. Once the offer is agreed upon, the sale proceeds to both the seller and buyer's legal representatives for preparation of the Purchase and Agreement Contract. Before the lawyer will proceed with the contract, it is customary for a 10% deposit to be placed with either the Realtor's Company or the buyer's legal representative, in Trust until the formal agreement for Purchase and Sale is executed. The Crown guarantees Title, which eliminates the need for title insurance. The purchaser's attorney will perform a title search on the property to ensure valid ownership, and check any restrictions or any other legal encumbrance that may be registered against the property. This established, the seller's attorney prepares the formal Agreement for Purchase and Sale and once executed by both sides, will exchange with the buyer's attorney for the original 10% deposit.

The closing date is usually established as part of the original offer (typically 30-90 days). On that date the buyer's attorney furnishes the balance of the purchase price to the seller's attorney, who in exchange passes the land transfer document to the buyer's attorney. This document will be sent to the Registrar of Lands for certification and Registry. Typically there will be an administrative delay of 21 days, and usually both Purchaser and Seller agree to put a hold on the disbursement of funds for that period - following which the purchaser will receive either a copy of the certified land transfer or land register confirming ownership. The realtor's commission rate is based on the sales price: currently 6% on developed properties and 10% on undeveloped land - set by the Turks and Caicos Real Estate Association. Generally the commission is reflected in the asking price, and is paid by the seller.