Buying property in Costa Rica

Please. If you haven't lived here PLEASE rent first. It isn't what it seems.If you do have experience here just hire a lawyer, form a corporation and that's about it.
Plan on owning it forever.Real estate, development, and tourism are finished here (other than millionaire stuff) and it'll never return.

Tips.
WATER !I wouldn't buy anything without my own spring and "year round water" is often a lie."Secure" is ALWAYS a lie.
Good roof.
SAFE electric.
Figure on about $500-600 per month, plus that amount as aginaldo(christmas bonus) at the end of every year for a full time employee( this includes seguros-SS).
Yes. You need a full time employee so you can leave your house and go out.

Hi Arnold Ziffle!

Thanks for your contribution

Regards
Armand

We just purchased three acres one year ago.  The first step was deciding where.  There are so many different climates and temperatures available you need to spend time everywhere in order to come to a decision.  Once we determined where we wanted to be the next step was finding a reputable lawyer.  We were lucky in the respect that we asked the neighbors for references and many of them had used the same firm.  Once we made the decision that was it.  They offered us the choice of creating our own corporation of choosing one of their "off the shelf" corporations to make things faster.  We chose an off the shelf corporation and three months later (with one set of documents couriered back and forth from Costa Rica to Canada) we were set.  There are about 40 pieces of property in our development and in the last year we have seen one house sell and one piece of property re-sell.  There is no one in our development that has a full time employee although we have a land owners association and together we utilize one or two employees as needed.  We are currently in the antiprojecto phase of building our house (soil studies, soil permits, preliminary plans, etc) Every situation and location is different so our perspective is ONLY our perspective. Good luck and if we can help with any information please let us know.

As foreigner you can buy without problems
Only you have to be careful that the property has an title
Don't buy on the beach without special title and not near to a National Park
Actually you can find a lot of cheap land an houses

Hi Christine,

Yes a foreigner can buy a property in Costa Rica.

I would suggest you travel around and rent a place for a good 6 months.  Costa Rica is a great country but the cultural shock is different for everybody. 

I've been here for 24 years now.  Of course, I love it.  But I suggest you ask your embassy for a list of lawyer or ask a good friend.  Stay away from concession properties (on the beach).  Even if all the papers are in order, it will never be completely yours and laws change all the time.

Building can also be difficult.  Or you find a great builder with a good contract or buy a turn key house.

You can find great houses just outside the maritime zone and this way you will enjoy Costa Rica for what it is.  Good luck, Gi