Your #1 Choice To Find Property for Sale in Costa Rica

Yes! The great news is that both foreigners and Costa Ricans have the same property rights. Private property is protected by the Constitution of Costa Rica. It is no different than owning property in Europe or the US.

There are no specific restrictions that apply solely to foreigners buying property or land in Costa Rica.

Once you have found your dream property, your agent will submit an Offer to Purchase (or Letter of Intent) to the Seller or their listing agent. This will agree on the terms of the deal and sales price.

Following acceptance of your Offer from the Seller, you’ll need a Costa Rican attorney to draft the formal Sales and Purchase Agreement – a legally binding document that clearly states all the terms and conditions for the transfer of the Deed. You will usually need to put down a deposit of 10% of the overall property value at this point.

Next it’s time for due diligence checks – these are extremely important and can last between 30-60 days, depending on the state of the property you are purchasing. As you would when purchasing property anywhere else, you’ll need the complete legal research of the property to ensure that there are no legal issues, liens etc.This part of the process also requires surveys, soil tests, home inspections, and so on.

Following completion of this, is the Closing / Conveyance of the Deed, which will occur before a Costa Rican Notary Public, who registers the property under the new owner’s name or the Corporation name. Here you will pay the final 90% of your payment via Escrow.

Finally, the property will need to be declared before the corresponding Municipality for the purposes of property taxes. This is done by filling a simple form and presenting it, along with any relevant documents, either yourself or via your attorney to the municipality.

Yes, but it’s recommended (and commonplace), to acquire the property after setting up a Corporation. This helps to protect you personally, separates any potential personal liabilities, facilitates the closing procedure and makes it easier to transfer to relatives in the case of casualty. The Costa Rica holding company will also make it easier for you to access key services, such as opening a local bank account and acquiring insurance.

No. Although it’s always better to sign these yourself, this may also be executed through a Power of Attorney, with a third party in Costa Rica that you trust. This Power of Attorney can be specifically for the sole purchase and signing the closing document.

Closing Costs may vary, based on the sale price of the property and the transfer of ownership process – it’s worth factoring this in when considering your financing. For closing costs, estimate around 5-10% of the purchase price.

Transfer taxes, stamps and duties usually total 3.5%, then there is an additional notary fee, which is charged on a sliding scale.

Per Costa Rican law, agent commissions may range from 3-10% of a property sale price. This mostly depends on the region where you’re buying the property. The seller is legally responsible for paying the entire commission, unless the buyer agrees to split the costs.

Due to money laundering laws in Costa Rica, it is not advisable to try to wire in large sums of money from a foreign bank account. If you plan on using a foreign bank account, you should use an escrow company.

These companies facilitate the transaction by receiving money from the buyer, holding it in a separate bank account and then transferring it to the seller at the time of closing. Costa Rican Escrow companies are similar to personal bankers – so once you’ve set this up, you’ll be able to use your account in the future to pay bills etc.

All Titled properties are registered in the National Registry, which is located in San Jose, Costa Rica. Records are kept with the owner’s name or the Corporation Name, any liens, mortgages, or any damages against the property. All Titled properties are registered with a unique Folio Real Number.

Annual property tax in Costa Rica is 0.25% of the taxable value of the property. For a new owner, that value is the purchase price. The taxes can be paid in four instalments, due in March, June, September and December.

Every five years, property tax payers are obliged to update the local government on the state of their property. Homeowners fill out a declaration form that notes changes to the property and other details.

For homes worth more than about US$233,900 (£170,500), there is a Luxury Home Tax. This helps subsidise low income housing in Costa Rica. It’s a sliding scale, between 0.25 – 0.55%, depending on the value of the property.

There is also a Corporation Tax, where the amount varies depending on if the corporation is inactive or active. Most properties are held in an inactive corporation, because they will not be reporting income. If you have a rental property, you can open an additional, active corporation to report income and expenses. These taxes are paid to the “Ministerio de Hacienda”.

It’s worth noting that in Costa Rica, any property located within the first 50 metres of the high tide line is considered public land, meaning it is protected and cannot be Titled. In short, this means that, no, direct oceanfront properties are off the cards.

The Maritime Terrestrial Zone (MTZ) refers to the 200 metres from the median high tide line. A non-citizen can only own up to 49% of the concession rights for a concession property within the MTZ. To check that there is a clear title on your prospective property, you’ll need to hire a real estate attorney. We’re happy to assist you with this process.

Anyone can check the status of a property in Costa Rica at The National Registry website (www.rnpdigital.com). You will need to register and have the property’s Folio Real number.

All Recorded and Titled properties have a Plano Catastro, in short, a survey plan. This should detail (amongst other things), the boundaries of the property, the size, the ownership, the Folio Real number and the date it was registered.

A Folio Real number is a unique number and all registered properties will have one. The numbers represent where it is located (province), the specific property number, the property rights and the number of owners of said property.