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hi, I'm an investor and developer new to Puerto Rico, and recently had an offer accepted on a home in Vega Alta. Can you expand on what you mean by the "Probate process" - what hiccups have happened to make it take so long? Should others expect a similar process, or is there something unique about your deal that takes forever? Thank you for the answer.
-Charlie

I'll also refer you to my realtor based in San Juan, she is great! Veronica Montalvo - she may be able to help.



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Hi Charlie,

Everyone's situation is different.  But I believe what she is referring to in that probate process is the way inheritance laws work in PR.  When someone dies, all children become heirs.  If one of the individuals doesn't want to sell, the other children need to buy that person out.  If the probate attorney did not do his/her due diligence, they may not realize things such as tax liens that can be imposed upon the property you are trying to buy.  So the process of getting all the heirs to agree to sale and the process of a clear title search can take forever.  But this only happens if the original owner has passed away and now you are dealing with the heirs.

Hi Charlie -

Yes what the prior response said is correct, except in our case we are dealing with the original owners who passed, then by law their heirs get the property, but those heirs passed and gave the property to family members who sold the properties to a guy we were trying to purchase the property from. In our case, the probate process was never followed for the first heirs to legally own the property in their name. The laws in PR dictate very specific distribution of property and none of that was followed. If you do a title search this how it can be quickly identified. So in order for us to build we need a title in our name to pull permits, except the property is hung up/just started the probate process.

Ugh!!!  I feel your frustration.  Hopefully you are able to find a nice property with no issues.  Have you checked Clasificados Online?  Or talk to people who live in the area.   They might know of land for sale.  Sometimes owners don't advertise or haven't thought of selling until someone makes them a good offer.  Much a suerte.  I'm sure the perfect piece of property is out there waiting for you.

Drive around areas you might find attractive.  I would say half of the properties for sale are not listed but have a Se Vende sign out front.  I have purchased 3 properties that way.  They are that way sometimes for years and often have an old phone number.