www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Couldn't disagree more: There are numerous differences in the CR market that make it a very poor market in comparison to the U.S to buy a house; here are just a couple;

1) Squatter's Rights codified into law. A squatter simply has to occupy your land to get rights to it. The longer he or she or them, occupy your land, the more rights you get to it.
2) The government can simply take possession for it if they want to.
3) Dubious title search services don't prove who really own the land.
4) Dubious real estate agents or would be owners sell houses and land that don't belong to them
5) Gringo tax, nuff said.



Those are just five reasons off the top of my head; My guess is you have a dog in this fight, but that is just a guess. Your rebuttal is welcome.

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“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” And we are the guys that keep them in Eggs & Grits

Many of us posters do have personal experience in ownership. 'Experience' being the key word.


This is a ridiculous set of statements except for the comparison of buying property in Costa Rica being simular to buying Florida Swampland.

"buy, buy, buy" You go ahead.

6) Once you buy, it is very difficult to resale.
7) You will be the only one in your building or community that notices things like sewer gas entering the homes.
You should not buy a home in a country where you don't first have residency.
9) After you buy a nice family moves in next door and stares at all your guest and you can't move because you bought instead of rented.
10) After your 2 or 3 year itch to move comes you can't because you bought instead of rented.
11) You visit Medellín and want to stay for a month or two but cant because of your crappy Costa Rica purchase that you can't sell.
12) The walls in your building allow rain to seep through the walls but your the only one that seems to care.
13) You want to sell but don't want to be dishonest to the potential buyers about all the crap thats wrong with the building.
14) You don't have people in Costa Rica with residency that you trust that are necessary to be the secretary and officer for your corporation for your home.
15) The alarm in the government building across the street goes off all night, all weekend, Christmas day etc, but again, only, "the gringo" seems to care.
16) You meet a beautiful girl and want her to stay the night and the next but since you own you cant because if she lives with you , she can claim domestic abuse and keep you from your home for a year or two.
17) Every other problem, hurdle, and challenge is magnified because you own and the pressure is on. No more, 'foot loose and fancy free in Costa Rica'.
18) Your roof leaks and you have to sue the homeowners association to get it fixed 3 years later.
19) You buy during one season and realize during the next just how crappy the construction is.
20) A new neighbor moves in upstairs from you and stomps like a lumber jack and shakes your walls but now you cant move.
21) You buy a home with 20 foot walls but somehow all your crap still gets burglarized .
22) Homeowner's association fee $350 a month.
23) Nobody in your neighborhood has been able to sell in 4 years.
24) You want to switch from a beach location to the city or to the beach from the city but cant because nobody had sold in 4 years.
25) Even if you could sell, you'd lose money so what was all the hassle for ?

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

It is very easy to understand and also it indeed holds true. The legal issue is related to the matters which are quite and very costly and because of it most of the people refer it for rent than buy the house. I is very good to thread for getting best knowledge.

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Go DUI

I own property here and have looked to buy others. If you are set on living here, then a good lawyer is the key to avoiding problems. The law firm of LLMR&T are who I've always used. They are in La Sabana, behind the Toyota dealership. PM me for the best English-speaking lawyer. This firm are experts in Real Estate and do a great job. Saved me on my first purchase because during their investigation of the property, found it was built too close to a waterway. I'd have confidence in their work and know they won't try to screw you. However, pretty pricey service...
But the warnings you've heard are all good and valid reasons not to buy....

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The only thing that matters is happiness in all it forms...

I agree totally with Bilko. I have owned real estate in Costa Rica, used the best attorneys and Stewart Title to handle the closing. I also have 30 years in a combination of buying/selling businesses and real estate in Florida. Where I live, I'm considered an experienced expert in this area. I was excruciatingly carefull and required the seller to hold a small mortgage for the purpose of any chargebacks or construction liens later discovered.

After closing, a CR friend and neighbor suggested that I check the Register since he knows the seller personally and does not trust him. When I did, I found the seller had imbedded a general power of attorney which could allow him or his wife at any time to mortgage the property, rent it in my absence, and even to sell it. Naturally, I had my attorney quickly remove the power of attorney so every thing worked out ok for me. However, had my friend not lived in CR for nearly 20 years and therefore aware of what can happen, I could have been taken for a sizeable amount and there would have been nothing that I could have done about it, but cry in court.

I initially came to CR to see if I could expand my business of brokering businesses in the US to include CR. After several years of evaluation, I can tell you that even with all of my years of experience and using the best available attorneys in CR, I could not assure anyone that when the closing has occurred that in fact they own the business or real estate free and clear of any unknown liens. The laws in CR do not support clear title ownership and the mood of the government does not seem to have any desire to change this - particularily for gringos. It makes no sense, but that's the way it is.

There is also no bar association to discipline errant attorneys and the attorneys do not typically carry errors & omissions insurance to cover your losses from their screw ups - accidental or intentional. There is no licensing of real estate brokers in CR and many are even more crooked or ignorant than the attorneys. Some, (but not all) are the real estate brokers & developers from Florida who ran some of our biggest scams. Welcome to real estate investing in Costa Rica.

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Slut Puppy in Training

Is low self esteem a prerequisite for being a good Ho or is it a result? ;-)

Lennydo I believe you just created the next CR national motto, or translated the true meaning of Pura Vida.

Here is the number of a notary I use to do clerical work, auto titles and tags, check the local courthouse records, double check any thing my attorney gives me to sign, attend homeowner association meetings with me etc.

I like this guy, maybe because hes a family guy and has a full time job of 8 years so he doesn't need to steal. Again, he is a registered notary , not an attorney so he does not charge like an attorney AND he likes to tell on them if he sees any thing off. I have taken him to business meetings, since Spanish is not my first language and I think just having him there prevents people from trying things. He has given me some great advice over the years. He does have a full time job so he has to work around that but he gets auto tags and titles faster than full time services.


Federico Mora Azofeifa contact Information Cell Phone 8327-4532


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My attorneys are . Note: They are expensive so I negotiate fees and use the above guy to to leg work .
Facio Abogados
Ignacio Esquivel


Centro Corporativo Plaza Roble
Edificio El Patio, tercer piso
San Rafael de Escazú, San José
Costa Rica
+(506) 2201-8700 Work
+(506) 2201-8707 Fax
+(506) 8831-1993 Mobile
Email: iesquivel@faciolaw.com
URL: http://www.faciolaw.com

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.