Again and again I hear stories about people making mistakes when purchasing property in Costa Rica. I really feel it is my responsibility to share the following with my readers. As you probably know by now Costa Rica has become very popular over the last couple of years. From all indications interest in the country is not going to wane for some time to come. Recently one economist told me the local boom could last for up to ten years more. Therefore, it is not surprising that investors are pouring into the country to purchase all kinds of homes and land. Unfortunately, in many cases they are not using their common sense. Scores of would-be entrepreneurs have set up shop here. Most have eye-catching web sites proclaiming their expertise and real estate offices. The problem is that some of these people are little more that modern day "carpetbaggers" with no credibility trying to cash in on the real estate gold rush. They are here to get what they can take and ride happily off into the sunset. A large number of these JCL's or “Johnny Come Latelys” are not even legal Costa Rica residents but tourists. Would you buy real estate in your home town from a tourist? Of course not! Only a fool would do it. A realtor friend of ours had the immigration department run a check to see what the status was of foreigners selling real estate in a certain beach area of Costa Rica. The results were frightening. Many of the realtors in the area turned out to be tourists living here illegally. Furthermore, the Costa Rican government prohibits anyone from working here who is not a resident. So when looking for real estate in Costa Rica you should only deal with time-tested real estate agencies and people who are legal residents of the country. Do your homework, ask a lot of questions and don't leave your “brain on the plane.”