The safest way to buy real estate in Costa Rica is through escrow services.
These services are a secure way to transfer funds between a seller and a property buyer. The escrow company is a third party that handles these funds in return for a fee. This fee is usually 0.25% of the funds to be wired, with a minimum of $900.
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes When you purchase a property in Costa Rica, and your savings are in a different currency than US dollars, you will need the assistance of currency brokers. Transferring money to Costa Rica for your property purchase is not cheap, the reason for this article. While property in Costa Rica is…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Did you know that real estate agents seldom list foreclosed property in Costa Rica? Unusual, isn’t it? Real estate licensing is not mandatory. This is the reason banks do not use real estate professionals to sell a bank-owned property. Only in a buyer’s market, some banks ask realtors to register.…
Why do money laundering and buying property in Costa Rica often go hand in hand? Should you be afraid to be seen as a money launderer when buying property in Costa Rica? The answers are simple: In Costa Rica, real estate is still a means of money laundering. Yes, you should be afraid, but only…
What has been a major obstacle for foreigners moving to Costa Rica? The inability to open a bank account in Costa Rica. The reason was that a residency card or Dimex was needed for such a service. When you move to another country, it is important to be able to wire money to a bank…
I had the opportunity to a mortgage refinance on different properties in Costa Rica in December last year. So I’d end up with a mortgage on just my house. That way, I’d have the other properties free and clear. With the mortgage refinance I would pay no mortgage administration fees and make a much lower…
Our real estate agent said we could make an offer contingent on the sale of our own property. Can you explain in detail how that works and is there any cost to us? Also, what if our property doesn’t sell in the time given? Thanks Quite a few of our Costa Rica real estate buyers,…
Our agents sell a lot of investment property in Costa Rica to absentee owners and it is often a problem what to do with the rental income. Many investors use their retirement funds to purchase a home for future retirement. Often, our agents or property managers take care of keeping the home rented, short-term or…
When you buy Costa Rica real estate and you need to finance the purchase, you will need to know some important facts about the mortgage cost. Like, who will register the mortgage and who will pay for this? Of course, you will ask the bank or whoever finances the purchase for information first. In case…
Do you need to send money to Costa Rica? Is it easy to wire money to someone else to make payments? We started doing property management for quite a few clients who bought a property through our office many years ago. Those homes are not rentals but used by their owners whenever they come to…
Your American-European real estate agent can help you determine the best route for mortgages or financing in Costa Rica. This should be done according to conditions in the market and your personal situation. In today’s market, if you are looking to purchase a property through mortgage financing with a Costa Rican bank, you need to…
Looking to get financing for a Costa Rica real estate purchase? Then you need to fulfill several requirements for a mortgage. The most important one is that you need to be a resident of Costa Rica or you have to buy cash. Very few banks will give a mortgage to a non-resident. The mortgage rates are…
You need to have a hard look at the mortgage conditions each bank will give you if you plan to buy a Costa Rica property with a mortgage from a Costa Rican bank. Getting a mortgage in Costa Rica is very different from many other countries because we don’t have any mortgage brokers in Costa…
The Costa Rica banks are not the same as what you are used to for service. The Costa Rica banks opening hours are different from one to the other. If you landed on this article and you’re looking for bank mortgages or something bank-related, go to our Costa Rica bank articles. For many years you…