FAQ’s

• San Jose: Area: 4,959.63 km2, Population: 1,435,447 20 Cantones: San José, Escazu, Desamparados, Puriscal, Tarrazu, Aserri, Mora, Goicoechea, Santa Ana, Alajuelita, Vázquez de Coronado, Acosta, Tibas, Moravia, Montes de Oca, Turrubares, Dota, Curridabat, Pérez Zeledón, León Cortes.
• Alajuela: Area: 9,753.23 km2, Population: 767,143 15 Cantones: Alajuela, San Ramón, Grecia, San Mateo, Atenas, Naranjo, Palmares, Poás, Orotina, San Carlos, Alfaro Ruiz, Valverde Vega, Upala, Los Chiles, Guatuso
• Heredia: Area: 2,656.27 km2, Population: 378,681 10 Cantones: Heredia, Barva, Santo Domingo, Santa Bárbara, San Rafael, San Isidro, Belén, Flores, San Pablo, Sarapiqui.
• Cartago: Area: 3,124.67 km2, Population: 461,163 8 Cantones: Cartago, Paraíso, La Unión, Jiménez, Turrialba, Alvarado, Oreamuno, El Guarco. Guanacaste: Area: 10,140.71 km2, Population: 282,643 11 Cantones: Liberia, Nicoya, Santa Cruz, Bagaces, Carrillo, Cañas, Abangares, Tilaran, Nandayure, La Cruz, Hojancha.
• Puntarenas: Area: 11,276.97 km2, Population:384,302 Cantones: Puntarenas, Esparza, Buenos Aires, Montes de Oro, Osa, Aguirre, Golfito, Coto Brus, Parrita, Corredores, Garabito.
• Limón: Area: 9,188.52 km2, Population: 366,484 6 Cantones: Limón, Pococi, Siquirres, Talamanca, Matina, Guacimo

The political Constitution of the year 1949 guarantees equality before the law, freedom of speech, of meeting, of press and of being organized; it also guarantees these rights, not only for the Costa Rican citizens, but for the foreigners that live in Costa Rica as well, reserving the right to vote for the nationals. The Constitution prohibits the establishment of an army, placing Costa Rica not only among the very few ones, but the only country of the world, free of military interests. The social order is efficiently safeguarded by the police force. The effective political structure is divided in three main Powers: The Legislative Power (a Congress of a single camera) constituted by 57 Congressmen, elected representatives for four year terms; the Executive Power which include the President, the Vice Presidents and 18 Ministries whose Ministers are formed by the Presidential Cabinet and the Judicial Power, conformed by the Supreme tribunal of Justice, four appeal courts, the Criminal Courts, Civil and Special Court. Each Power works independently from the other ones, with a revision system and compensation similar of that in the United States of America. Every four years the country celebrates the popular elections to choose its President, Congressmen and municipal representatives. The Constitution has been reformed, and presidents can be re elected for another non-consecutive four year term. Besides the three Powers, and working together with these, the Supreme tribunal of Elections is considered the fourth power. This entity has the responsibility, the authority to organize and to supervise all those activities related with the national elections. This protection of the right to vote is very appreciated by all the Costa Rican citizens.

Costa Rican laws and the Constitution protect private ownership of land and foreigners enjoy the same rights as citizens do. There are almost no restrictions to ownership of private land, with the exception of those lands granted to Costa Rican citizens by the Government through programs. Even those lands can be freely traded or acquired by foreigners provided that the original owner has held the title for a certain amount of time. Neither citizenship, nor residence or even presence in the country is required to own land.

Costa Rica boasts a safe form of title registration to protect buyers from hidden claims. It is centered in the Registro de la Propiedad (Property Registry), where both title documents and surveyed plans for every property are recorded. Any change in the status of a title or any claim that might affect it must be also noted on the title registry page, thus making it easy to verify. Those who want to buy land in Costa Rica should get professional advice, which includes a search of the title in the Registry, so as to confirm there are no liens on it, and to establish its proper ownership. Once the deal is completed, you should also secure documents from a lawyer in order to prove that the sale was registered, for your own safety.

Knowledgeable lawyers agree that zoning regulations in Costa Rica are reasonable and logical, although far less stringent that in countries such as United States. A registered local engineer must sign all building and subdivision plans and also requires approval by the local municipality, the Ministry of Health, and the government Housing Department.

The taxes paid on properties in Costa Rica are very low. Yearly property taxes vary from 0.5% to 1.5% of the declared value of the property. This declared value is a common law practice in which a property's value according to the government is very low, almost always lower than the sales practice.

Closing costs for a sale include a transfer land tax, a stamp tax, and legal fees. Closing costs typically run 5% to 6% of sales price and are usually split 50/50 between buyer and seller. The transfer and land taxes are assessed based on the declared value, while legal fees are charged based on sales price of the property.

Costa Rica has recently made a radical change, for the better, in the currency law. While until recently sales negotiated in dollars had to be written in colónes, it is now possible to have contract in dollars give both buyer and seller a peace of mind previously unavailable. There's no need to worry regarding the devaluation of the colón, for example, difficulties introduced by having to translate back and forth between dollars and colónes. Another major effect is the possibility of having mortgages in dollars. These mortgages are still seller-leveraged more often than not, but can be written by another attorney and guaranteed by the property. Once sellers understand the implications of being able to offer this type of mortgage, it will likely become the most common type of financing, tempered by the buyer's desire to keep his property taxed lower, as a mortgage will automatically raise the declared value of the property to the amount of the mortgage.

When buying beachfront properties, one must be aware of regulations in Costa Rica about the coastline properties, all beaches are public. By law, the first 50 meters above the high tide line are inalienable and public, defined by what is known as the 50-meter Maritime-Terrestrial line. No one can restrict access or have a totally private beach. There are some exceptions, but they include port areas, old land grants, and some title prior to 1973. On 80% to 85% of the coast, the next 150 meters are government owned leases and also known as the maritime-terrestrial zone (or just maritime zone). Restrictions on maritime zone land for foreigners are that one must establish five years residency to own more than 49% of the rights to a lease. Two loopholes include holding the lease with a corporation that is wholly owned by a foreigner, or by having a Costa Rican hold 51% of the lease in name only. Development of the maritime zone do not discriminate against foreigners. A regulation plan must exist for area where the land is or just for the parcel itself. If there's no regulation plan, the developer must make one, then have it approved by ICT (the Tourist Board), INVU (the Urbanization Institute), and local municipality. Such a regulation plan will call for "zoning of land" includes public use areas, road, water, electricity and others. The other 15% to 20% of the coast is land that is titledc to the 50 meters line. That is to say that no maritime zone exists and the landowner may develop without inconvenience of filing a regulation plan. Tourist development must, of course, be approved by ICT, but almost anything else would require only building permits.