Welcome to Costa Rica Real Estate

Costa Rica is an incredible place to live, retire and invest. The influx of ten's of thousands of people from all over the world is a good testament to this fact. In the rush to acquire your piece of paradise, there are a few things that you should be aware of.

The Real Estate industry in Costa Rica is completely unregulated. This means that there is no Real Estate Commission, no Board of Realtors, no Better Business Bureau and virtually no controls over those who are offering to "turn you on" to a great real estate deal. Almost every taxi driver, waiter, bartender and stranger on the beach will be quick to tell you about their cousin, uncle, brother-in-law or acquaintance who has a great piece of property for sale.

In Costa Rica, anybody can "sell" property. Unlike North America and other parts of the world, there are no licensing requirements, no training, no formal education concerning real estate rules and procedures. A "salesman" can get out of jail for fraud today and sell you property tomorrow. Be aware that there is very little recourse against misrepresentation, concealment of material facts or just plain deceit. Once your money has left your hand, in some cases consider it gone.

Due to the lack of regulation and accountability, we see instance after instance of people being financially ruined by bad advise. Remember....the best con artist is the one who you would never think would take advantage of you. There are many qualified, reputable realtors in Costa Rica. By the same token, don't be fooled by a fancy name or franchise affiliation..

The best advice that we can offer is to talk to as many locals as possible. Not about who they might know who has property for sale, but what they know about the local realtors. Then interview and decide who you want to represent you. Working thru an honest realtor will cost no more than working directly with a seller The difference is that you'll have someone looking out for you and hopefully, watching out for "danger signs" that could end up costing you your life's savings.

Just a few examples of issues that unscrupulous realtors may not divulge to you include:
The fact that you may not legally be allowed to remove trees from your property.

With very few exceptions, you may not own beach property within 600 feet of the high tide line. You'll hear everything from "this property is Grandfathered", to "this property is part of an old Spanish Land Grant", to "don't worry, that rule doesn't apply here". If you think we're kidding, look into how many hotels, bars & restaurants and homes have either been demolished by the government or given notice that they are scheduled for demolition.

You may not be permitted to install a well on your property.

The cattle trail that crosses your property is actually a "public road"

It is illegal to alter the land within a certain distance from any stream or river.

If you are sold "beachfront" property, under certain conditions anyone can camp on or use your property and there is nothing you can do about it.

The simple act of hiring a caretaker to look after your property could end up with your caretaker owning your property.

And the list goes on and on. Now we don't mean to unnecessarily scare you or dissuade you from pursuing your dream of living or having a business in Costa Rica. All we're saying is use the same caution that you would in choosing a surgeon. You wouldn't dream of letting someone remove your gall bladder because a taxi driver told you to go see him. Use only highly trained professionals with an unblemished reputation to help guide you thru you acquisition.