Real estate in Aruba

There are no restrictions on foreigners buying property in Aruba. There are not many realtors in Aruba that represent the buyer. It would be prudent to hire a lawyer before entering into a purchase transaction, to protect your interests.

The first step is to make an offer. Once the price has been agreed upon, the purchase agreement will be signed and a 10% deposit is paid within three to five days from the signing. The lawyer will then obtain data from the kadaster and from the tax department to determine if there are any unsettled and conflicting charges against the property, and to determine the leggerwaarde, i.e., the tax value of the property, which determines the stamp duty payable. This whole process takes about six to eight weeks. Note that the buyer bears all closing costs, e.g., the transfer tax and the notary costs, which have to be settled before signing the final deed.

Transaction Costs  

Transfer Tax 3% buyer

Notary Costs 1% buyer

Registration Tax AWG 5.0 per document buyer

Agents Commission 5% seller

Costs paid by buyer 4%

Costs paid by seller 5%

Roundtrip Transaction costs 9% 

The round trip transaction costs include all costs of buying and then re-selling a property - lawyers' fees, notaries' fees, registration fees, taxes, agents' fees, etc. 

Transfer Tax: The Transfer Tax) is charged at a flat rate of 3% of the property value.

Notary Costs: Notary fees on the transfer deed is around 1% of the selling price.

Registration Tax: Registration of deeds signed by civil law notaries is mandatory in Aruba. The tax is charged at AWG5 ($2.78) for each document submitted for registration.

Agent's Commission: Real estate agents usually charge 5% of the purchase price for their services, usually paid by the seller.

Houses on Leased Land

Besides property land you can buy a house which is built on lease land. Long-lease fee is applied only to long lease properties. The Government of Aruba through Domain Control (Directorate of Land Administration) gives out the long-lease properties. The long-lease properties are given out for a period, usually, of 60 years. The long-lease fee is determined at the beginning of the contract and is fixed for the duration of the long-lease period. The long-lease fee is collected yearly and is 6% of the appraised value, determined by Directorate of Land Administration. The fee varies based on location and size of property and is fixed for the period of 60 years. Long-lease fees range between $200.00 and $600.00 per year.

By: Shabina Sanad
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