real estate guide, guide de l'immobilier pour les francais.par une francaise,consultez moi pour traductions, how to buy land in Costa Rica, pavones,Danny Fowlie, Dominical, guia de bienes raices.

In this real estate guide, you will find the words you need to learn, such as plano/ survey, escritura/title, traspasso/deed... We also explain the stages of buying land in Costa Rica, from survey to building permits, property tax and corporations.

So don't stress, enjoy your new adventure and don't hesitate to contact us .

TITLED LAND:

Geographically, most of the land next to the 200 first yards from the beach is titled land.Why most ? Indian reserves and national parks are mostly inside the title zone, and you really don't want to buy them! A piece of land should have a title, called escritura. But because of the cost, a lot of owners only have a survey, called plano.
A title process doesn't take that long , see our untitled section for more info.
In the southern zone of Costa Rica, you can build up to a 3 storey house on a piece of titled land or located in the title zone.
The title of the land is registered in the public records called el Registro Nacional. That is where your lawyer will check your land for any liens, easements and restrictions.

CONCESSION LAND:

The first 200 yards from the beach are maritime zone or zona maritima. Inside this 200 yards, the first 50 yards are owned by the government, no building allowed. In our area, it is the municipality of Golfito that defines the use of the next 150 yards.
The use of the land may vary from a recreational park to a hotel zone, restaurant, camping, protection or parking, or residential. So do your homework.
In the Pavones area, not one concession has yet been issued, however they are being processed. When you purchase a concession land, you are buying the right to use the land for 20 years ( renewable).You are not buying the land. Foreigners can only "buy" Concession land through a corporation, never in their own name.

From the public beach zone to the title land

SURVEY

The survey or plano is the map of the land .It shows the limits and the neighbors name.
A valid plano is registered at the public records, and should also bare the stamp made by the municipality.
Good surveyors are hard to find, we finally found a very good licensed professional. We have worked with him for two years and he has never failed us. See Johnny's business card. It is a good idea to check the limits of the land with a surveyor. We also use him to do a survey study before a sale, to make sure there are not 2 surveys for the same area.

Surveyor business card

PROPERTY TAX

The property tax is paid to the municipality, in Golfito.

The price vary with the location. For Cuervito, 4 miles rom the beach, the municipality charged us $35/ year for 2.3 hectares, around 7 acres.

To pay your property taxes, bring the title, and plano of your land with your ID or passeport copy.
If your land is owned by a corporation, bring copy and original of your corporation, personneria juridica, copy of your passport,and title and plano of the land.
It is an easy and fast process, just get all your paperwork and you will be out of the municipality in 15 mn.

BUILDING PERMIT

Same as the property tax, the municipality manages the building permits.It costs 1% of the labor estimated by a licensed builder. You will need to fill up the forms and provide a copy of the survey, and a plan from a licensed architect. Once the demand is on the municipality desk, an inspection of the building site is planned. The whole process takes around 2 months, but could take less.

In the southern zone, you are allowed to build up to a 3 storey house. Everywhere in Costa Rica, you cannot build on the first 50 yards from the middle of a navigable river, and on the first 10 yards from the middle of what is called "quebrada", small valley, green zone with water.

CORPORATION AND LLC:

When you buy land , it is a good idea to own it through a corporation , called Sociedad Anonima, or S.A. It brings you ownership privacy and protects you from losing your land if you get into trouble with the law and are considered responsible.
An S.A will cost you a minimum of $300. This includes the creation of the corporation and the books.If your corporation doesn't make money, your yearly tax is approximatly $20.
A licensed accountant can do that for you.
I know most of the lawyers would charge much more. My lawyer doesn't. It is up to you to shop around.
The day you create your corporation, do not be surprised that your lawyer adds 2 Costa Rican citizens as partners. Just make sure your lawyer doesn't assign them any power of decision, that means you don't want them to be president or treasurer. By law you need these 2 Costa Ricans sleeping partners to create the corporation, but you may remove them from it once you have your books.

LAWYER FEES:

Land purchase: the lawyer is required by law to charge 1.25% of the purchase price as their legal fees.

Transfer taxes and stamps = 2.5 % of the purchase price.

So get ready to add 3.75% on the top of your purchase price, that will cover what you have just read about, lawyers and stamps.

An option of sale may vary from $100 to $650, depending on your lawyer.

Corporation price may also vary from $300 to $1000, and the yearly maintenance from $20 to $500.

Escrow fees depends on the escrow provider, most of the time, you can use your lawyer as an escrow holder.

As you see, prices depend on your lawyer, the most important is to use one that has been referred to you, and tested.

UNTITLED LAND:

In the southern zone, 50 % of the land still doesn't have a title or escritura. This is only because the owner cannot afford it. Some have a survey, some don't for exactly the same reason. A title process takes around 8 months if it is handled by a good lawyer, and if he is assisted along the way. I will explain. We do sell land without title but very cautiously. We do know the 3 important steps of the title process:

1- Get the signatures of the neighbours to make sure they agree with the limits of the land.

2- Get 3 witnesses' names and addresses, ready to declare in front of a judge that they know the land and that it is not subject of a dispute. We will also take those 3 witnesses to the judge when our lawyer get us the appointment.

3- We will show the land to the MINAE inspectors ( land inspectors define the green zone along the rivers and the forest zone.)

We offer title services only for the southern zone of Pavones, Punta Banco, Zancudo, Ciudad Neilly, Rio Claro, Golfito, for a flat rate of $1000.

SQUATTER ISSUES:

There is really no need to stress about this issue once you know the law. Costa Rica is a country with laws that protect the land owners.
First of all, if you have a title in your name, or a corporation, nobody can take your land.
Secondly, if your title is being processed, nobody can take your land. Finally, to sieze land without title or without title in process, the squatters have to stay put and work the land for 10 years. So that is not that easy for the squatters.

REAL ESTATE GUIDE