Costa Rica Real Estate, from Coast to Coast, the Right Way!!!

by Ivo Henfling for the Easy Times

When you are looking to purchase Costa Rica real estate in a development, no matter if it is in pre-construction or while construction is going on, do yourself a favor and make sure you do your due diligence on the development.

After the real estate boom in Costa Rica, many investors and developers went on their face and lost their money, just like anywhere in the world. Costa Rica is no different and with a different culture and a different language, someone who speaks our language we automatically trust. Therefore we have decided to give you a tool that will help you decide if you should purchase a property from a developer or walk away.

By Ivo Henfling for the Easy Times 

Home inspections in Costa Rica, find an inspector who knows what he is doing

You fell in love with that beautiful 2 bedroom ranch home for sale that offers these fabulous ocean views. The home has a pool and though the kitchen looks simple, you just fell in love with it. This is the home you have wanted to retire to or have as a vacation home. You have made an offer on this costa rica real estate through your American European Real Estate Groups' agent and your offer was accepted. What is the next step?

You have no idea if this home was built right, if the septic system was correctly installed and if the electrical wiring was done correctly. You don't know if this building lot was cut out of the mountain or if it was fill and if your swimming pool is secure or not. It might end up down the mountain one day.

Before you buy any Costa Rica beach front real estate, you should know there are certain restrictions for a Costa Rica real estate concession held by foreigners and the maritime zoning laws of Costa Rica.

If personally held, the foreigner must first have five years of legal residence in Costa Rica. For this reason, many foreigners purchase the rights to beach real estate or ocean front property by first forming a Costa Rican corporation, a simple process that takes about 30 days and can cost from $150 to $1,000, depending on the attorney that constitutes it, the type of corporation or if you use a typical shelf corporation.

Your Costa Rican corporation must have at least fifty percent of its shares held by a Costa Rican resident or citizen. Most people are not comfortable with this so at the time of closing the sale, the "token" Costa Rican shareholder, simply endorses the shares to the foreigner so that the foreigner is holding 100% of the shares.

When buying Costa Rica beach front property, you should first of all do so through our knowledgeable affiliate beach real estate agents. Second, you should use any of the closing attorneys our affiliate real estate agents recommend. But the following blog is hopefully useful so before you purchase Costa Rica beach front property in the Costa Rica Maritime Zone, you will be more knowledgeable than you were before, which will help you in your due diligence.

Land in the Maritime Zone of Costa Rica has certain restrictions that you should know about and we also want to tell you about the precautions you should take before purchasing land in the Maritime Zone.

Although local governments will collect a land use tax known as a canon from occupants of land located in the maritime zone it does not mean that a concession has been granted.

We get questions if you can own Costa Rica beach front property all the time and if there is maritime zoning in place, so it is easier to write a blog about it and refer to the blog. This will make it more accesible to everyone who is interested in buying Costa Rica beach front property.

To begin with, not all beach property is maritime zone property. You can purchase fully titled land in front of the beach or overlooking the beach or within walking distance to the beach and never have to worry about the Maritime Zone.

No matter if you are purchasing Costa Rica real estate or Costa Rica beach front property to live or as an investment, you should always contact one of our affiliate partners so you are sure or having an expert real estate agent who knows the area and all the pro and cons of each property or beach concession.

By Isabelle Jones for the Easy Times

Choose Atenas when you want to live away from the rat race, let me explain why. You have spent countless hours searching the internet trying to find that ideal location for retirement, second home and - or investment. 

You have narrowed your list and have decided Costa Rica is the country for you based upon its democracy, lack of military, lower taxes and a whole variety of reasons. It is now time to choose a specific town in Costa Rica that would suit your lifestyle.  Why select Atenas as your new home in Costa Rica?

Many ex-pats have chosen to settle in Atenas, whether they are retirees, young couples just starting out, or families with children.  My family and I are a good example.  We moved here over 7 years ago. 

By Ivo Henfling for The Easy Times

The new Costa Rica corporation tax was approved in January 1012 and though I thought someone would put a motion against in in the Sala IV, but that didn’t happen, so the new law seems to be going into effect on April 1st, 2012. My blog on January 7 tells you the whole story about the new Costa Rica corporation tax and how much you should pay and my blog on January 8 tells you how it interferes with your business or the Costa Rica real estate you have incorporated.

Between January and now, I have received lots of emails asking how you can pay the tax. Well, the government created the tax but didn’t create a solution to make the payments. Today I can give you the great news that the National Register and the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) agreed on working together on this.

III. Post Closing Issues of Costa Rica real estate.

1. Dealing with Utilities on the Property in Costa Rica that you are buying.

(a) Changing the Name on the Utility Bills

Once the property transfer title is recorded it is the responsibility of the property owner to transfer utilities from the name of the Seller to the name of the Buyer. Although this would appear to be a simple task, in Costa Rica it is not. In many cases a telephone line cannot be transferred and the Buyer must use the telephone line and leave it in the name of the Seller.

By Isabelle Jones for The Easy Times

When you purchase Atenas real estate in Costa Rica, you will need not only a great Atenas real estate agent but also a closing attorney. Pablo Arias Gonzalez, is a bilingual attorney who specializes in everything that involves real estate in Atenas for sale.

I have worked with Pablo for approximately 6 years.  He is honest, efficient and hard-working.  He truly goes the extra mile for his clients. Real estate law especially in a foreign country can be overwhelming, complicated and constantly changing. Pablo is dedicated to providing the guidance and information needed so that you can make the right decisions.

By Ivo Henfling for The Easy Times

It is amazing how many Costa Rica real estate deals go sour in Costa Rica because the buyer hired an incompetent real estate agent or because the buyer goes FSBO, even though they are in a new country with different rules, with a different culture and a different language. Just because the seller also speaks English! I know it is because they lack the confidence in the real estate agents here. Some have read online horror stories about it, other just believe they can do something as simple as buying a home in Costa Rica without any help. WRONG! Ask any FSBO buyer after their purchase, you never read about those horror stories because they feel ashamed to write about their mistakes. Only when someone else is to blame, these stories are written. Using a competent real estate agent in Costa Rica is the start for living a happy life in Costa Rica and not a horror story.