Costa Rica Expertise LLC

By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Notaries who handle property transactions have been told that they must register and provide reports to the nation's financial watchdog. The order means that information about purchasers and sellers will be more widely available.

Resolution number 814-2007 of the Notary Directorate, published June 22, advises that all notaries dealing in financial transactions must register with the Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras. This includes, but is not limited to, purchase and sale contracts, mortgages, liens, and trusts.

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Bad guys exploit statute of limitations

A.M. Costa Rica graphic
The delay in cases here is simply a crime

By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Costa Rica is experiencing a meltdown in its court system. This is especially true in the criminal courts. Many cases are lapsing and are in mora judicial, judicial neglect.

Calling or writing officials regarding a case is a joke.

An answer to a written pronto despacho, an immediate attention request, last week was horrifying. The prosecutor in charge of an obvious stolen property case stated she is overwhelmed and asked that victims respect her predicament.

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Restrictions that can run with the deed

By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

People move to Costa Rica for a variety of reasons. Some come to join communities, others to build them.

Some expats are leaving the United States or planning to leave because laws, politics and Big Brother have them crazy. Others leave because they are wanted by the law or unwanted by society.

Whatever the reasons, Costa Rica is filling up with foreigners. Some of these outlanders are making small communities or sustainable developments — little utopias.

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Yes, there is more paperwork

By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Real estate buyers need a good checklist to stay out of trouble when buying property in Costa Rica. However, most people forget about what needs to happen afterwards. Here is a checklist for after the closing.

First, the property needs to be transferred at the Registro Nacional. This is the notary’s job, but many do not rush to get it done. Many drag their feet for days, weeks and some even months. This is dangerous. An unscrupulous seller can sell a property to someone else, or even sell it repeatedly. Sure, that is illegal, but it happens, and the first buyer has hell to pay to get the property back. When property is purchased in Costa Rica, transferring it to the new owner immediately is a must.

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By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

The rule of thumb in Costa Rica is when you cannot plan — or do not plan — panic.

This malady is part of the culture. People in the campo, the rural areas, learn this from childhood. Parents instruct kids sent to the pulperia, the corner mom and pop grocery, to buy one egg for breakfast. Not two, one for breakfast and one for lunch, or three, one for breakfast, one for lunch and one for dinner. Just one. One for breakfast.

Why, because the parents were not taught to plan and organize by their parents, so they do not teach their kids to do so.

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