Tips for Buying Property in Costa Rica

The real estate market in Costa Rica is booming. A stable government, an economy in balance, great benefits, amazing landscapes and friendly people and welcoming all help to make the country one of the most popular destinations for retirees and investors. This is a guide to some of the most prized real estate.

Tips to share property in Costa Rica

A good legal adviser

Buyers should use either a company renowned real estate or your own attorney. Costa Rica has a legal system different from most, so buyers should go to a trusted lawyer to investigate charges of any kind on the property, the boundaries of the property, the owner's name, and other things that could affect title or future construction. It is important that the buyer's attorney do your own search and title search, in addition to provide seller.

Familiar with Costa Rica before you buy

Avoid Paradise Syndrome. Many tourists fall in love quickly in the stunning scenery and the lovely people of Costa Rica. But real life is not a permanent vacation. There are bills, chores, work, and cultural adjustments.

Research location

Focus on your needs. Do you want modern conveniences like the Internet, cable television, public and commercial power grids? Or would you rather live in the rainforest with monkeys only as neighbors?

Costa Rica has a wide variety of climates, from the dry plains of Guanacaste, through the Alpine mountains of Heredia to the rainforests of the Caribbean coast. Once you have found the weather, make sure you are close to what is important to you, whether it's a great beach for surfing or first-class shops.

Make sure you see everything that surrounds the property, "." How close are the people? Are there schools and banks close? Does the property have water and electricity? All these are questions you should ask before buying, "emphasizes the agent.

Finally, examine well the type of community that would be living. Places like Manuel Antonio, Escaz?, for example, have large communities of expatriates, which still could feel at home. You could also choose an area with few foreigners for complete cultural immersion.

Compare and contrast

Once you have seen several properties, make a list of pros and cons of each. Carefully consider market conditions, quality of construction, the surrounding neighborhood and amenities. After a detailed analysis will be easier to make a decision.

Once purchase is made, introduce yourself in the culture

Moving to a new country is not easy, but it can be exciting and worthwhile. Take time to learn conversational Spanish. His experience will be infinitely richer if you can communicate with their neighbors. Also try a dance class or Latin cuisine. Venture to the farmers' market. Live like a Tico. The more effort made to learn about local culture, the faster the process of cultural assimilation.

Be sure beachfront paradise before you buy

It sounds ideal: You find a beautiful beachfront property in a peaceful country, where you expect to spend their days watching the sunsets and ocean waves.

Unlike many countries, foreigners in Costa Rica have the same rights as residents properties, which means that if you buy a property title, you become the sole owner of this property. However, many properties have problems with their titles, and buyers should be careful before getting into a costly investment.

In addition, many investors do not have full knowledge of the problems that can make the purchase of a property facing the sea.

Since the law went into effect in 1977 maritime zone all land within the first 200 meters from the high water mark is considered public property and can not be subject to any private transaction. These 200 square meters of land "untouchable" are divided into two sections. The first 50 meters from the high water mark can not be possessed or developed in any way and remain as public property. It is possible to build on the next 150 meters, but only rent the land to the municipality long-term (usually 99 years).

Many homeowners are facing serious challenges in building on their land oceanfront, even with government grants. The law provides that both the high tide mark as 50 meters after this must be indicated by markers. Although this responsibility belongs to the National Geographic Institute, many beaches have not yet measured and marked the spot.

Another obstacle to build the beach house of your dreams is the Regulatory Plan, a zoning plan that defines what type of construction is allowed in each area - whether residential, industrial, recreational or commercial. If a district has not completed a plan, investors can afford to complete. However, this is a process that can take six months to two years, and is subject to public debate before being approved.

The only exceptions to Terrestrial Maritime Zone Law are the old port cities such as Limon and Puntarenas, and marinas, which are subject to other legislation. If a marina meets stringent environmental requirements, it can be built within the 50 meters mark. As a marine, now the Los Suenos Marina is the only legally approved in Costa Rica.

However, investors should remember that the land within the 200-meter mark can only be rented with a government grant. "The concessions still belong to the government," an expert in real estate. "If at any time the government wants to recover ground, you can resume. Owners can do nothing."

ASG-Legal S.A.
Costa Rican law firm
http://www.asg-legal.com/

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Residential Conveyancing Checks For Buying a Property

Residential conveyancing is the legal terminology for the process involved when legally transferring ownership of a property from one person to another.

The process itself involves a number of checks to ensure that you are aware of the local environment, any unpleasant things the land may have been used for before it was built on, and exactly what you are being sold.

Let's go through the process in stages.

You have seen the perfect property, you have been to see the mortgage adviser and have been told that they can provide the money that you need, so you make an offer on the house and the seller accepts. Gazumping apart, the process starts in earnest.

You should first go to a local solicitor that you either know or have heard are good. If you don't know any, call a few solicitors in your local area and ask them to give you a quote for conveyancing the property you want to buy. You can go on price but it is advisable to go with the person that you connect with most as you will be dealing with them for the entirety of the process.

What will then happen is that the sellers' solicitor will start writing up a contract detailing what you are actually getting for your money.

The contract details will include selling price, the boundaries, what fixtures and fittings are included (for example wood burning stove, cooker etc or if you are buying land you may have agreed a tractor as part of the sale!), legal restrictions or rights on the property, planning restrictions, a description of the services to the property (septic tank or electricity), and finally a completion date for the purchase.

While all of this is going on your solicitor will be making a number of checks to see if there is anything that could effect your decision on purchasing the property.

The checks can be broken down into environmental search, local authority search, chancel repair search, and if in a mining area, a mining search.

The environmental search lets you know if the ground is prone to flooding, has issues with Radon Gas, has had mining in the area, or is listed as contaminated land (landfill, fuel stations or waste treatment sites nearby).

If the environmental search, flags that there is mining in the area a further mining search can be carried out to see if the mines would have an effect on the property that you own.

The Local Authority search will let you know if there are any pending planning applications that might affect the land that you are looking to buy. You can also go into the local planning office yourself to have a look at plans in the local area.

The chancel repair search is to find out whether you have to pay the local church a set amount of money towards the repair of their chancel. This will soon be easier to check as churches have to register their chancel charge in the next few years or lose the right to claim the fee. There is chancel insurance that you can take out to cover the eventuality of this but a good solicitor should sort this out for you.

What then comes (if the buyer and seller are happy with the contract that both solicitors have prepared) is an exchange of contracts which then makes the sale legally binding. At this point both parties have legal recourse should the other person pull out of the contract.

Next, the solicitors will make sure that everything is ready for the completion of the conveyancing process. This will include them ensuring that their are enough funds, checking mortgage documents (if any), doing a final land registry check, ensuring that all things that have been agreed in the contract are carried out, and ensuring that all legal documents are completed to transfer ownership. This is then followed by the final transfer of the total funds and receipt of the legal documents that prove ownership. You then need to pay the solicitors fees and register the ownership of the land with the land registry.

The final cost that you will have to pay is the stamp duty on the property which when this article was written was 0% for properties purchased below the price of £125,000, 1% for properties between £125,001 and £250,000 unless you are a first time buyer when you don't have to pay any stamp duty. This price then increases by 1% every time you double the purchase amount.

There are a number of Government sites that clearly take you through this process and they are worth consulting too.

By Rebecca G Wishford.

If you are looking for residential conveyancing Salisbury or residential conveyancing Andover, try Parker Bullen LLP.

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