Costa Rica Expertise LLC

The ultimate mediation and arbitration
. . . Paul mediates while Peter selects destination

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

Q. What is the difference between a good priest and Peter at the Pearly Gates?

A. One is a mediator and the other is an arbitrator.

Most people do not know they can pick their own arbitrator in Costa Rica if they know what they are doing.

A mediator is a person who can assist two or more persons to come to an agreement but has no decision power one way or the other if they do not.

An arbitrator moderates disputes but in the end can make a decision as to who wins and who loses.

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Custom document protects buyer and seller

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

Finding a good deal on real estate can be harder to do these days in Costa Rica with land prices sharply increasing.

Once found, lock it up with an option contract, and register it with the Registro Nacional. This step puts a legal lien on the property so the seller cannot weasel out of the deal if another buyer with more money shows up. Double dealing occurs everyday in a fast-moving real estate market.

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

Why do so many who come to Costa Rica get hoodwinked, bamboozled, hornswoggled or just downright screwed?

It is because they come to buy a dream and do not think or do the proper homework before jumping into a project or investment.

Yes, there are many good deals in Costa Rica. There are also many good real estate agents, attorneys, and advisers who can guide a newcomer in the right direction. However, there are also bad ones. Some people, without legal Costa Rican residency, move to Costa Rica, hang out a shingle, and start selling property and/or investment schemes.

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Watch out for this guy

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

A whole lot of money is being made by those selling condos up and down the coast of Costa Rica.

There are as many weird deals. Some condominium projects are skirting the law. This explosion is due to the “Ley Reguladora de Propiedad en Condominio” or condominium law, published in La Gaceta on Nov. 25, 1999. Apartment buildings, commercial places like malls, office buildings, and — unbelievably — even cemeteries use the condo law to divide up property.

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Another in a series in legal awareness

Let the buyer beware: Some deals are done in triplicate.

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

In many places in Costa Rica, property values are moving so fast that a great deal reached Monday could be history Friday.

Here is the ever-so-common scenario: A dream property is found for only $100K. A deal is struck between seller and buyer, and a firm handshake is exchanged between parties to clinch it.

In the days of chivalry, when a person’s word was as good as gold, that would be enough. This in not true today. If the seller finds a better offer before money changes hands and before the property is legally transferred at the National Registry, the great deal sometimes fizzles out.

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