Guys In The Zone: Costa Rica Real Estate

This is the first of a 3 part series. Click for: Part 2. || Part 3
Down and Dirty:

• Pick your real estate agency
• Pick and Consult with your agent
• View properties
• Make an offer either in writing or verbally through your agent to the seller
• Negotiate the price and terms
• Get signed Offer To Purchase document to lawyer that outlines the details of the deal so that he/she can draft the Purchase and Sale agreement
• Deposit 10% with the accepted offer. The deposit is “non-refundable” with the exceptions of the contingencies mentioned in the offer. The deposit is held in escrow until closing.
• Due Diligence period
• Close

If you want to know specifically about any of the above details without reading through this entire 3 part article, please click on the bulleted point above to go directly to that information.
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This is part 2 of a 3 part series. Click for: Part 1 || Part 3
Go and View Properties:

Once we have identified the purpose that the person(s) have in looking to buy land in Costa Rica, the agent will consider this as he directs them to the available properties that suit their interest.

I have always found it interesting to watch the process of land selection. I think that we all come down to Costa Rica with some pre-conceived notions of what we want, and for most of us, these change after we’ve stood on a few properties. Our marketplace is, for the most part, coastal mountain terrain. It’s hard to arrive here knowing what these properties are like; they are quite unique, even on a global scale.

Throughout the consultation and property viewing, the buyer is asking questions, getting informed, and making decisions. They are considering the various value affecting features of the property such as: the view, the access, proximity to neighbors, proximity to the beach, golf course, waterfall, how much breeze there is, the jungle, and so on.

Most buyers of land in Costa Rica are not all that familiar with the peculiarities of the land. However, most have had experience in land transactions somewhere, and that familiarity of basic good business is helpful. Basic good business practices are the same everywhere. The broker should be an open book with respect to the properties, “full disclosure” being the key words here. You should get the sense that your broker wants you to know everything that he knows about the property, good, bad, and indifferent. If you don’t get that sense from your broker, get rid of him/her and find another one.

When their property is found, it is time to move on to –
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This is part 3 of a 3 part series. Click for: Part 1 || Part 2.

Due Diligence

The term for due diligence is normally 3 weeks, and closing is usually in 4. Due diligence starts when the deposit is made, and the written offer has been signed by buyer and seller. This document will have the contingency points detailed out. Some properties have no contingency points, some have several, it depends on the property. This is one of the more important areas where you, the buyer, has to rely on the expertise of your broker.

Your broker may have an intimate understanding of the property. He/she may not due to the amount of inventory available in the area.It just isn’t possible to know each property that well. I have some properties that I know extremely well, perhaps having sold a number of lots in the development already, and so I can authoritatively speak to the specific contingencies that should be itemized on the Offer To Purchase (OTP) form. When I don’t have this familiarity with the property, it still works out since I know what the basic concerns are. Road, water, electric, soil stability, and knowing for sure that the buyer will be able to use the property as they wish.
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