Few subjects in Costa Rica real estate create more confusion than beachfront property.People hear that Costa Rica’s beaches are public, that coastal property cannot be privately owned, that foreigners cannot hold concessions—or, just as often, that a particular beachfront property is fully titled. All of those statements contain some truth, but none tells the whole story.The re...
One of the things I've learned after years of selling real estate in Costa Rica is that our market doesn't operate in a vacuum.Costa Rica has its own economy, its own construction costs and its own peculiarities when it comes to buying and selling property. But when it comes to the international real estate market—particularly the lifestyle and higher-end market—the economic mo...
One of the easiest mistakes to make when evaluating land in Costa Rica is to focus too much on the number of acres or hectares.A ten-acre property is not necessarily more useful than a five-acre property. And a fifty-acre farm may have considerably less land available for your intended purposes than the numbers on the survey would lead you to believe.When evaluating land, I thi...
If you’ve bought, sold, developed, or represented rural property in Costa Rica, you’ve probably encountered four letters that can suddenly change the course of a transaction:INVU.The Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo plays an important role in Costa Rica’s land-use system. Among its responsibilities is issuing alineamientos fluviales—official determinations of the prot...
If you follow me regularly, you already know that I tend to be pretty positive about Costa Rica.And why wouldn’t I be?I’ve lived here for more than two and a half decades. I’m a real estate broker who helps people relocate here, and despite all of its imperfections, Costa Rica is still the country I choose to call home.But I don’t want to be Pollyannish about it either.Costa Ri...
For many years, one of the biggest differences between buying real estate in Costa Rica and buying a home in the United States or Canada was financing.Historically, most foreign buyers purchased property with cash.Conventional mortgages were difficult to obtain, seller financing was often the only realistic option, and many buyers simply assumed they would need to liquidate inv...
Almost every foreign buyer eventually encounters a Costa Rica property listing that causes a bit of confusion.You are browsing homes and come across what appears to be a beautiful, completely detached villa. It has its own entrance, outdoor living space, and perhaps even a private yard. Then you notice that it is described as a condominium.“How can that be?” you may wonder. “It...
One of the biggest surprises for people buying rural property in Costa Rica is learning that finding water on your land doesn’t automatically mean you have the legal right to use it.Whether it’s a crystal-clear spring emerging from a hillside, a creek flowing across your property, or even groundwater beneath your feet, the water itself is considered a public resource under Cos...
One of the most common questions I hear from North American buyers is:"Does Costa Rica have an MLS like we do in the United States or Canada?"The answer today is...No—at least not quite yet.And understanding the difference can save you a tremendous amount of frustration during your property search.The Good NewsCosta Rica's real estate industry has been moving steadily toward a...
One of the most misunderstood aspects of buying land in Costa Rica—especially among foreign buyers—is that two properties with the same size, same view, and even the same price can have dramatically different development potential simply because of how they are accessed.In other words, the road matters. A lot.I regularly speak with buyers who assume that if a property has legal...
If you’ve been watching the Costa Rica real estate market lately, you’ve probably noticed something has changed.Properties that would have moved quickly a couple of years ago are now sitting longer. Sellers who entered the market with aggressive pricing are increasingly being forced to adjust. Buyers have more choices, more leverage, and—perhaps most importantly—more time.In my...
One of the more common requests I get from buyers interested in Costa Rica sounds something like this:“I want a beachfront property where I can build right near the water… maybe even with a dock or pier extending into the ocean or river.”That’s often the point where expectations collide with Costa Rican reality.One of the first things many foreign buyers are surprised to learn...
With buyers having more negotiating leverage in the Costa Rica real estate market than they have had in some time, seller financing has become a more common topic of discussion.In a softer market, sellers who might once have insisted on all-cash offers may become more open to financing part of the purchase price in order to get a deal done.That said, seller financing in Costa R...
One of the most common questions I hear from buyers—especially during due diligence—is some version of this:“This house (or casita, or pool) was built without permits. Is that a deal breaker?”The frustrating but honest answer is:It depends.And in Costa Rica, it depends on more than just what the law says.That may sound unsatisfying, but if you spend enough time in Costa Rica re...
One of the more confusing aspects of buying land in Costa Rica is something called segregation.I’ve seen many buyers assume that if a seller says, “We’re selling 3 acres off a larger parcel,” then that smaller parcel already exists as a separate legal property.Often, that is not the case.In Costa Rica, a piece of land can be physically identified, surveyed, and even shown on a...
