In my last couple of articles about the steps in purchasing property I explained how to use the Registro Público or our local equivalent of the hall of records. However, not all your due diligence can be carried out in the National Registry. If you’re still interested in the property after the title search, your

It has been a few weeks since I wrote the second part of this series on due diligence when purchasing a home. Here is Part 3: To briefly review Part 2 , after you have done an Online Search for a property by finca number on the Registro Nacional’s (National registry or Hall of Records)

The most basic – and essential – part of any property due diligence is the title search. The goals of a title search are to establish the seller’s legal right to sell the property; and to find out if the property has any legal entanglements, like mortgages or rights-of-way. Remember, however, that Costa Rica operates

At least visiting a property before buying it should be the no-brainer first step. Unfortunately this isn’t always true in Costa Rica. There are people in the U.S. who buy Costa Rican property site-unseen. Often there are no problems; sometimes, there are big ones. The idea behind scouting a prospective property is to confirm the

Standing in a cow pasture overlooking the Pacific Ocean, you know you’ve found the perfect piece of property. The price is right, the location good, and you’re ready to sign on the dotted line. But wait. The property slopes. Can you safely build what you want to build there? Will environmental regulators let you build

The process of purchasing a condominium is basically the same as that of buying a house which I have discussed in previous blogs. There are, however, a few key differences that you need to be aware of when buying a condo for retirement: – Condo properties are registered under a different legal regimen that leaves

When retirees purchase property in Costa Rica they should be aware of the legal fee and taxes which they will have to pay. Fees are somewhat negotiable as far as who pays them, although they follow certain guidelines. Notary services range between 1% and 1.25% of the value of the property. The minimum fees are