What are the Steps of Purchasing Real Estate in Costa Rica?

So you have found that perfect piece of property Step one of a typical real estate transaction in Costa Rica normally entails making an earnest money offer to the seller. The buyer makes an offer based on the sellers asking price, and in order to get the ball rolling, a deposit is put in escrow as a show of good will and as motivation for the seller to take the property off the market. This escrow deposit can be held with the purchasers attorney, with sellers attorney, or with an escrow agent such as Stewart Title. Once agreements on the purchase price, terms of property transfer, and the Earnest Money Deposit Agreement has been signed by both parties, the property is considered off the market. Immediately following this agreement, the buyers attorneys will begin the due diligence process in which they look for any impediments to the clean transfer of the property to its new owner. In addition to other encumbrances, attorneys look for overdue taxes, liens, and title disputes. If ...  more

So you have found that perfect piece of property… Step one of a typical real estate transaction in Costa Rica normally entails making an earnest money offer to the seller. The buyer makes an offer based on the seller’s asking price, and in order to get the ball rolling, a deposit is put in escrow as a show of good will and as motivation for the seller to take the property off the market. This escrow deposit can be held with the purchaser’s attorney, with seller’s attorney, or with an escrow agent such as Stewart Title. Once agreements on the purchase price, terms of property transfer, and the Earnest Money Deposit Agreement has been signed by both parties, the property is considered off the market. Immediately following this agreement, the buyer’s attorneys will begin the due diligence process in which they look for any impediments to the clean transfer of the property to its new owner. In addition to other encumbrances, attorneys look for overdue taxes, liens, and title disputes. If ...  more