Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes The real estate agent, the closing attorney, and the buyer often forget about post-closing issues. Buyers usually assume these post-closing issues happen automatically. Well, in Costa Rica, nothing goes automatically. These post-closing issues seem so simple, and they are. You only have to wait until the property you bought shows as…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes You must have heard about the famous marchamo in Costa Rica. If you own a vehicle in Costa Rica, you have to pay the marchamo once a year. This is paid before the end of December. Let me tell you what a marchamo is all about. Before you read on, check our…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes If you have assets in Costa Rica, you should also have a will in Costa Rica. That’s the best way to save your heirs an incredible amount of problems. When you purchase a property here, get it done at closing so you won’t forget. If you use a foreign will…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Costa Rican beachfront property is located in the Maritime Zone, or ZMT (Zona Maritima Terrestre), and you should know about certain restrictions before purchasing. We have very little titled beachfront property, so this is very important information if you want to live on the beach. When buying a beachfront home,…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes Now and then, you will read that an expat or a local property owner lost their Costa Rica property rights to squatters or thieves. Unfortunately, the Costa Rican judicial system is a bit slow in resolving property rights issues. The system has loopholes allowing the bad guys to get away…
Estimated Reading Time: 11 Minutes Do you want to know everything about taxes in Costa Rica? We’re now in 2024, and the information below is updated. In this article, I will cover what type of taxes the local government charges and when they must be paid. You must pay taxes when you work, own a…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes The Costa Rica closing costs when purchasing or selling a property is just under 4% of the purchase price. When you research, you will find blogs that say 3.5% and others even less. Learn in this article about closing costs, how to calculate them, and who pays for them. It…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes If you want to purchase property, start looking for an escrow agent. An escrow agent is a neutral third party who holds onto the buyer’s funds related to the real estate transaction until both parties have satisfied their contractual obligations and charges a fee for this service. This fee is…
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: 4 Minutes For years, lawyers have recommended using a corporation for property ownership in Costa Rica for resident and non-resident foreigners. For many years, lawyers recommended a corporate structure to own a property because of personal liability, estate planning, tax planning, and a few other reasons. Also, real estate developers used to…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Why use escrow in Costa Rica real estate and how does it work? Some foreign buyers of Costa Rica real estate just assume that this works the same as it does back home. Wrong! Let’s start at the beginning. In Costa Rica, local buyers, as well as sellers, do not…
Estimated Reading Time: 3 Minutes Starting today, same-sex marriage is legal in Costa Rica today, on May 26, 2020. This is great news for the LGBT community in Costa Rica and those planning to relocate to Costa Rica. In January 2018, The Constitutional Chamber of Costa Rica gave Congress the opportunity to process a law…
Don’t “fall on your face”, like so many who moved to Costa Rica before you, when buying or renting a property. Protect yourself, your family, and your money. Learn about everything you should NOT do when you buy, or rent a property in Costa Rica. Participating in this legal due diligence seminar is the best…
You might not even know you have Costa Rican corporation problems, especially if your corporation owns property in Costa Rica. Or if you own a corporation and are not a citizen or resident. Above all, you don’t want to lose your assets in CostaRica because you are not up to date with your legal obligations, don’t…
I started practicing law in Costa Rica in 2003. At the time, incorporating, or not incorporating a company in Costa Rica to hold real property and other assets, was a straight forward decision. Property buyers were Incorporating a Company for basically 3 reasons: 1. Limited liability aspect afforded by the corporate structure. 2. Anonymity afforded…
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