Hello there, fellow travelers. 👋 I’m michael alan, and I’m thrilled to be your guide for 🇨🇷 Travel Costa Rica NOW .com. Are you 💭 considering buying property or real estate in Costa Rica? If so, you won’t want to miss this 🎥 video. We’re going to be 💬 chatting with Jasenia, a top-notch 🏠 real estate 👩💼 lawyer based in Costa Rica. She has helped 🤝 countless gringos and expats avoid ❌ being ripped off over the years, and she’s a lawyer👩💼 you can trust. Believe me, I don’t just sit down with any old lawyer. It takes time to feel good about who I’m working with. Not everyone in her field is as ✅ trustworthy as she is, but she’s the real deal.
We’re going to dive into the basics of real estate law 👩⚖️ and what you can expect from a lawyer when buying property in Costa Rica. Who can own property? 🤔 Do you have to be a resident? Do you need a lawyer? 🤷♀️ What do you need to know before buying a house in Costa Rica? We’ll cover it all. You have 2️⃣ options when it comes to buying property in Costa Rica: forming a corporation or buying property under your own name. If you choose to form a corporation, you’ll need a lawyer and a resident agent to assist you. 🤝 If you buy property under your own name, you can do it personally. Finding a good lawyer is crucial, and we’ll cover that in another video. But for now, let’s focus on what a lawyer can do for you. Tune in to learn more about the essential role a lawyer plays in real estate transactions in Costa Rica. 🇨🇷
Let’s say you’ve found the perfect property, and you’re eager to start the buying process. But before you jump into anything, it’s essential to follow the correct steps to ensure that everything is legal and above board. In Costa Rica, all properties have a registry number, and there is a survey and property plan layout called a “plano,” which also has a number. At the property register, you can find all the details about the property, including its size, ownership, and any other relevant information. This is like the official title, and it’s crucial to verify that everything is correct before proceeding. That’s where a lawyer comes in handy – they can check that everything is accurate, and that there are no issues like incorrect ownership or outstanding taxes. Once the lawyer has confirmed that everything is in order, you can proceed with buying the property. It’s important to note that in Costa Rica, you must pay property taxes, and any outstanding debts or mortgages on the property must be paid before the sale can go through. While technically you don’t have to have a lawyer, it’s always recommended, especially in a foreign country. A reliable lawyer will ensure that everything is legally sound, giving you peace of mind and protecting your investment.
Are you considering buying property in Costa Rica? If you’re dreaming of living in this beautiful country, then the video ‘Buying Property in Costa Rica – Talking with a Costa Rica Real Estate Lawyer’ is a must-see. This video is perfect for anyone doing research and homework on living in Costa Rica, whether you’re looking to buy a house, land, or any other type of property. Presented by TravelCostaRicaNOW, this informative video will provide you with invaluable insights and tips from a real estate lawyer who knows the ins and outs of buying property in Costa Rica. So, before you make any major decisions, be sure to check out this essential resource. Visit www.TravelCostaRicaNOW.com
What Was Said In the Video
00:00
01:17 Who can buy property in Costa Rica?
01:47 Resident Agent
02:08 Buy property in your name or corporation?
02:22 What is a lawyer going to do for me?
03:58 Checking if there is a lean or any taxes on the property
06:11 Do you need a realtor / real estate agent?
06:39 What’s the difference between a Real Estate Agent and a Lawyer?
09:12 Is anyone doing checks and balances on the lawyer?
09:54 Who do you transfer /give your money to when moving money around for a property?
11:50 Who’s paying the realtor and lawyers fees?
12:50 can the contract be in english?
13:30 What should a buyer be doing to do his due diligence? 14:20 What are the fees? 15:25 Does the lawyers actually go out to the properties to have a look at them?
Hey guys, I’m michael alan for TravelCostaRicaNow.com. If you’re thinking about buying property or real estate in Costa Rica, you are definitely going to want to watch this video. We’re going to be talking real estate lawyer, and we’re going to be talking to Jasenia, who is a real estate lawyer. She’s been helping gringos and expats not get ripped off for a number of years. And I gotta tell you one thing first, not any…I just don’t sit down with any lawyer. Trust me, it takes a long time before I feel good about who I’m talking to.
Thank you.
No seriously, it’s hard to find. I don’t want to say anything about your field of lawyering, but not everybody is as trustworthy maybe as you are.
Thank you very much.
So anyway, guys, we’re going to be talking about the basics of real estate law and what you can expect a lawyer to do if or when you buy property here, and what the lawyer is going to do for you. And I want to start off with a very easy question, a softball question to you. Who can buy property, own real estate in Costa Rica? Do you have to be a resident?
Okay, well thank you very much and thank you for trusting me. In Costa Rica, it is very important to have a lawyer. And in Costa Rica, if you are not a resident, you can buy property here. There are like,
“So I don’t live here, I live in California, I want to buy a house here and I can buy it?”
Exactly. What you need in this case is a resident agent, right? And normally, it is a lawyer. And you can buy properties in two ways. In two ways, you can come here, make a corporation. I mean, for the corporation, you need to have a lawyer to help you, a resident agency.
So, like, you would do that?
Exactly, I do that. Yes, of course. And you can buy property by yourself under your name.
So you can either form a corporation and buy a house, personal property.
Yes.
Personal property.
Or you can do it personally. I can buy a house.
Exactly.
So, I find a lawyer, which, that’s a whole ‘nother video on how to find maybe a good lawyer, but so I find a lawyer. What are they going to do?
Okay, first, let’s assume…
I have a property.
Yeah, let’s suppose that you find a person who’s going to sell your property, or you saw a property online. The first step that you have to do is the properties in Costa Rica, they have a number, right? They have a number. There is a survey, a planner we call that here, and it has a number. So, if you give me that number, I can go to register, the register where we register the properties, and I can go there and see all the details of the property. For example, let’s suppose that you tell me it is 400 square meters, the house that you want to buy in La Fortuna, for example, and I can go there and see if it is correct. If you tell me, well, it is under the name of, I don’t know, Juan, so I can go there and see if it is correct.
Is it like the official title?
Exactly.
So it’s the title of the property as it stands at this time I want to buy it.
Exactly, and you’re seeing if it’s if it is correct all the information that you’re giving me there. Let’s suppose that it is 400, but I see that it’s 400 or less, maybe 350 square meters, I can say no. First, you need to correct this paper because it’s not, I mean, it’s not appropriate, right?
Don’t sell, don’t buy anything until everything is correct.
Exactly, so that’s why you need a lawyer here also. After I check all the information, I have to see, well, if everything is correct, right? If your neighbors are the ones that sit here, and also I’m going to check if the property has paid the taxes because in Costa Rica, we have to pay taxes. So what I’m going to do is check if everything is correct. After I check that, I can say, I can tell you, well, yes, the property is good, you can go and buy that, right?
So it’s ready to buy because everything on this, the taxes have been paid, there are no liens against it.
Exactly. Or even, for example, you can buy a property with a mortgage. Let’s suppose that this person, Juan has a mortgage in the bank, for example, many of us, we have properties with mortgages. So, I can tell you, well, let’s suppose that you pay me the money. So, I’m going to the bank, and as well, if Juan is gonna pay the mortgage, so I do that as a lawyer. And after, I mean, when you pay me, I go to the bank, the property is clean. So, now you can get the property under your name or under the name of a corporation.
Now, I don’t mean to go back and I don’t want to throw a wrench in what you’re saying, but technically, the registry that you’re looking up, that number, I think even I can do that, right?
Well yes…
I mean…I can actually…I actually think I’ve done it before.
Yeah, you can do it by yourself.
So, what I’m asking you is technically, do you have to have a lawyer? Of course you want a lawyer. Especially in a foreign country. But technically, do you have to have a lawyer?
Well, yes, because let’s suppose…
At some point you’re going to need a lawyer.
Let’s suppose that you do it by yourself, and then when you come to me, you say, “Yes, the property is clean or good,” and I’m gonna do the register. I mean, if you buy, I need to have here the buyer Juan that is going to sell. You need, I mean, both you need to come to my office, and I’m gonna write how much is gonna be, how much you have to pay for the taxes, I mean to transfer the property, how much less support that you needed to pay to the bank. So, you need a lawyer to do the transfer of the property.
So technically, you don’t need a real estate agent to buy the house, technically.
No, technically.
So, I could actually find a house, and then I could just contact you, and me and you could get that house for me with actually out the realtor.
But, I would recommend, maybe not a realtor. I have to tell you that you have to find a person that you trust. If not, you’re gonna get in trouble.
Okay, so what’s the connection between the real estate lawyer or the real estate agent and the lawyer? Are these two different people from two different places? So if I find a realtor and I find a house, so he finds me a house, should I find my own lawyer or is he going to say, or is she going to say, “Oh, I have a lawyer.” I don’t think that would be good. We want to separate them.
Normally, when you come to me with a realtor, for example, of course, the person who’s going to sell is going to pay them the commission. What I recommend is that the person who is going to buy should choose their own lawyer.
It seems like it would be better to have checks and balances if there’s a separate agent and a separate lawyer who don’t necessarily know each other.
Well, not necessarily, because for example, in a town like Fortuna, we know each other. We know everybody, and I can say, “Well, go to this lawyer, go to that one, and that person is not a realtor, but they can sell you a property.” In most places in Costa Rica, small places, we know each other. So I won’t recommend someone who is going to cheat or do something wrong.
As far as the lawyer, you’re basically doing pretty much the same thing a lawyer would do in the United States or you would do in Canada. You’re checking for taxes and liens on properties and making sure registrations are correct and all paperwork is in order. So at the end, if something is wrong, could I buy the property and two weeks later, my neighbor says, “I’m encroaching?” Am I finding another lawyer, or are you going to help me with that? Who is responsible as the lawyer?
As a lawyer, we are responsible. For example, let’s suppose you bought 400 square meters. Right. So I am responsible to go to the registry and see if your neighbors are okay with your property.
I guess what I’m saying is, if anything is wrong in the paperwork, anything, anything in the paperwork, and you find that out maybe later on, are you standing by me?
Yes, of course.
You know what I mean, just in my case, because people can make mistakes. And this is maybe even a more silly question, but does anybody do checks and balances on the lawyering you do for the paper? So when you submit the papers, are they kind of going, “Uh…”
Yes, of course. In the register, there is a person that is going to say, “Well, this is the north limit. It’s not”, Anna, it’s going to be another person. So a person is going to check what I’m writing as a lawyer. And also, if we, as lawyers, do something wrong, not professional or not ethical, we can be sued. That’s why we have to be very careful with the title, the transfer title. Everything has to be perfect, right? If I made a mistake as a lawyer, I can destroy. Something that is also very important. For example, you’re going to buy a property here, 400 square meters. So the money is very important. You cannot give the money to the realtor, or it depends if he or she works with a company, a very serious company. But normally, the lawyer is going to be in charge of that too.
So the transfer of my money in the United States to the property down here in La Fortuna is going through…
No, not through my bank account, but I am responsible.
But you’re responsible for the transaction.
Exactly, the transaction, but not in the bank, for example. Remember that you’re going to buy Juan’s house, right? So I have to write here in the paper that you’re buying the house from Juan, that you brought the money from the States, from California. Right. Everything has to be written, and it’s going to be transferred to a bank account here of Juan. But everything has to be, let’s say, clean and transparent, and I am responsible for that. I don’t touch your money.
Because they have a lot of problems. You know, Costa Rica is all about money laundering. Where’s that money coming from thing? So a lot of people kind of go, “Why do I need a bank account? How do I get my money down there to buy the house?” So they don’t really need a bank account here.
No, because…
They just need you.
Yes, or, I mean, they need me to be sure that Juan has the bank account in the correct bank. I’m going to help you to bring the money here to his account. The bank here is going to ask your bank where does the money come from. Right.
So even in the United States, there is…
Yes, of course. We cannot open our bank accounts to bring all the money that you want.
Darn it…
No, no, no.
Because I was going to buy Juan’s property.
Of course, a limit to how much money you can bring to open a bank account. We have to be careful with that, and everything has to be written in the legal paper that lawyers have to do. This is very important for you to know.
Who pays you?
Ahh okay, from this, remember…
Juan is paying you or I am paying you?
Remember that Juan is going to give the realtor or the person that you found the 5% cash, or depending on the amount, but normally you and Juan both have to pay, depending on…
He doesn’t have his own lawyer?
No, no. There is only one lawyer. In Costa Rica we don’t need a lawyer for the buyer and the seller.
I did not know that.
We don’t need, but it’s recommended
That Juan has a lawyer too.
Exactly. Because as a lawyer, let’s suppose that I’m on your side, or I know the person who’s going to sell you. So what I normally do is that I said, “Well, Juan, this is the paper, this is a draft. Tell your lawyer to read the draft until I send an email and tell him, your lawyer if everything is correct. Normally, that’s what we recommend.
All contracts have to be in Spanish, though, right?
Yes, because we have…
Is getting it transcribed in English a separate thing?
Well, that’s supposed…
I don’t know what you’re saying in this contract. Okay, so if I am responsible, and of course, you have to, let’s suppose that I’m your lawyer and you say, “Well, I want you to check everything to see if the number is correct, taxes are paid,” of course, I have to charge you, and I’m going to say, “Yes, I can do everything in English, but you have to pay a lawyer for the business, right?”
Uh, so what would you recommend that a buyer do for their due diligence? What should they be doing during this process? Do they have any responsibility, or is it just about finding a good lawyer? What is me as a buyer, should I be doing to be responsible for my finding and the real estate?
Well, normally, as lawyers, we are always recommended. Let’s suppose you have a friend, Brent from Canada. Let’s say I have worked with him before. I sold him a beautiful hotel in La Fortuna, and he’s going to tell you, “Okay, come here. I’m going to recommend Jesenia because she is very good.” Or, to the contrary, “Don’t go to her.” Normally, if you come to Costa Rica, you’ll have friends, a person that came before you, or a person that is, I don’t know, in Liberia in San Jose. Of course, all the time you have to watch out about prices. We as lawyers have a chart to charge you a fair price, of course.
Do you mean a chart from the government?
Yes, yes, of course. I mean, I cannot charge you. You can’t just make up your fee. Depending on, for example, if it is in Spanish, there is one fee. If it is in English, I’m going to give you a service in English. Let’s suppose that I have to go to the airport, some lawyers do that and pick you up because you’re coming from California. I’m going to take you to La Fortuna, so I can do that. Or, let’s suppose that you have different questions and you call me like many times, depending on the work.
That’s me. I would do that.
Hire me, and I can charge you. No, no, no. Normally, in my case, and I think that all my colleagues, we try to be fair, depending also on the office that you work.
Does the lawyer go out to the property, physically to see it, or is this all on paper and everything? Or do you actually go to the property?
In my case, I try even to pick you up at the airport because this is a very, I mean, that’s a service. I know that in the States or in Canada, it’s not common, but we do it. I mean, not only me, lawyers.
But do you check out the property? So you’ve done it all in the registry and you’ve checked that everything is right, but do you physically go look at the property?
In my case, I do it.
But you don’t need to, it’s not necessary.
The paper is going to say everything.
Yeah, right. I was just wondering if it’s that. Do people, do lawyers do that here? I don’t even know.
Not all of them, I mean, I guess that’s why the real estate agent is around.
In my case, I try to do it all the time, I mean if the property is around. But with the paper, I know, of course, let’s suppose that it says there it has a house, or it has eleven rooms, or it has a restaurant. In a case, I’m going to help you sell a hotel, so if I were my colleagues, I would go there to check. Yes, it is recommended.
Well, Jesenia, I think you gave us a little bit of groundwork here. We can build. I can buy off Juan soon, and I feel like I can make a transaction here.
Yeah, of course.
I think we’re going to be talking to Jesenia again. I’m almost positive we like her, although she’s trying to sell one’s property to me. Thank you very much, I appreciate it.
You’re welcome.
We’ll see you in the next video somewhere. Okay, one thing real quick, if you have any questions for Jesenia, I would like to promote. She doesn’t know I’m going to say this, so you just can’t email her and just start asking her questions. That’s not fair. That’s not fair. If you’re thinking about really buying a property and you’re really going to buy a property, Jesenia wants to talk to you, but she can’t use her day to answer emails. Alright guys, I’m michael alan, travelcostaricanow.com. This is Jesenia.
Gracias.
Peace, guys. Hope it helps.
In conclusion, if you’re considering buying property in Costa Rica, it’s essential to know the legal requirements and have a reliable lawyer on your side. The video ‘Buying Property in Costa Rica – Talking with a Costa Rica Real Estate Lawyer’ is an excellent resource for anyone considering purchasing property in Costa Rica. Presented by TravelCostaRicaNOW, the video features a top-notch real estate lawyer who will provide you with invaluable insights and tips on buying property in Costa Rica. Remember that having a lawyer can help protect your investment and give you peace of mind, ensuring that everything is legally sound. So, if you’re looking to make Costa Rica your home, be sure to check out this essential resource before making any major decisions. Visit www.TravelCostaRicaNOW.com to learn more.
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