Before considering investing or purchasing a property in Costa Rica, two key issues must be taken into consideration:
-Costa Rica's complex legal system is based in the old Napoleonic Code, and its general motto is "If there's no blood, there's no damage". Taking a civil issue to the courts costs a lot of time and money.
-In the U.S., to be a real estate broker one must be registered and take an exam, as opposed to Costa Rica, where anyone can operate as real estate broker, agent, or intermediary.
Because of this, when buying a property in Costa Rica, it is important to take the following precautions:
1- Be warned if the property looks abandoned. These properties are the most "attractive" to fraud schemes, as their owners do not frequently control the legal status of their assets.
2- If the broker seems foreign, ask him for his residence permit or his identification document.
3- Check the Internet to see if there are complaints or police reports against him.
4- Get advice from a real estate attorney.
5- Be cautious. Specially for not spending money in high-value properties that will begin construction in more than two years...
Source: ticotimes.net
More on this topic
August 2010
A lawsuit filed in the U.S. accuses a company of luring investments from retirees using a ponzi-like scheme.
The text of the lawsuit establishes that during the past six years, Paragon Properties of Costa Rica, a Hollywood-based company, received money from over 900 U.S. retirees, promising to build residences in various Costa Rican communities, insisting that unhappy investors would receive 100% of their money back.
December 2009
Demand for Real Estate, frozen by the economic crisis, is starting to rise due to lower prices.
In the first 10 months of 2009, Costa Rica's real estate market was severely hit by the economic crisis and investor fear due to the burst of the U.S. real estate bubble.
However, as the year comes to an end, there are recovery signs in the market, driven mostly by a sharp reduction in property prices.
June 2011
Reductions of up to 40% on prices reflect the bubble that was created in Costa Rican real estate sector.
The economic crisis that struck the U.S. and Costa Rica also had a great impact on the Costa Rican real estate industry, where demand has fallen to levels never seen before.
May 2011
Learn to make good real estate investment returns by simply following five steps.
If you are venturing for the first time into the world of real estate investment, and want to be successful, Kohli Tej’s article will help you do so.
1. Investigate in detail
Make sure the area you are considering buying in is in demand.
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