Property Profile

If you want to breathe air that is pollution-free and see how the waves gleefully rush to greet the waiting shore, then, you should buy a house Costa Rica. A visit to the country makes you feel that you have moved totally to another world. The peace that prevails here, the tranquility of the surrounding provides you a very surreal experience of being in a magical world.

Costa Ricans, by nature, are warm and friendly people. They are very open and welcoming towards all. The crime rate in Costa Rica is much lesser that the other Central American countries. The prices of real estate are also very affordable in the magnificent country. Hence, people from all around the world, from all walks of life, rush to Costa Rica to find themselves a small piece of paradise. This article will guide you through certain steps while purchasing real estate in Costa Rica.

Before you proceed to purchase a property in Costa Rica, it is suggested that you avail the services of a local Costa Rican also called a “tico” who can help you with this process end-to-end. This is because; the locals quote different prices to “ticos” and “gringos” (foreigners). The price quoted to a “gringo” is nearly twice the price quoted to a “tico”. Hence, if you want to end up with a good deal, it is worth investing to avail the services of a “tico”.

The next step is to ask the seller of the property whether he is going to give you the “ownership right” or the “occupation rights”. “Ownership rights” is the transfer of ownership from one person to the other. However, you need to be careful in the case of “Occupation rights”. This means that the property has not been registered and hence a title search cannot be run to look it up. The process of registration of such property is also a lengthy process.

Once you have the type of rights to the property confirmed, you can move on to the next level which is confirming the title of the property. You get verify the title of the property easily by looking up the “Folio Real” which is a centralized database of registered properties in Costa Rica. This information can be accessed in the offices of Public Registry which is in the capital city of Costa Rica, San Jose

If the title search does not yield any result in “Folio Real”, then, you will need to find them in certain special books. These books are also kept in the offices of the Public Registry. If searching the “Folio Real” and the “special books” does not yield any results for that property, it implies that the property has not been registered.

The next logical step is to ensure that all the property taxes on the property that you are interested in has been paid and is up-to-date. If the owner of the property has not paid his/her tax dues, then you will be in trouble at a later day. Also, ensure the home insurance is in place.

Finally, all details are verified and you are ready to purchase the property, avail the services of a local attorney who is also a Public Notary who can draw up the sale deed for the property and also execute the sale. Post the sale, the attorney also has to update the records in “Folio Real” so that you reflect as the new owner of the property.