Costa Rica Expertise LLC

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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Crooks are getting smarter

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

A good detective can catch crooks in Costa Rica. The court now voids contracts, deeds, documents and deceptive acts more than before based on mere indications and clues of wrongdoing. Good thing too, because day by day the wicked get worse and believe that they can get away with anything here.

Even expats get caught up in stealing property and other assets that are not theirs because they believe they will not get caught by the law. It is true the judicial system is slow and inefficient at times, but it is equally true the country is striving to make it better.

Legal issues in Costa Rica involving theft and fraud usually form a triangle of players: the victim or plaintiff, the defendant and a third party. For example, in property fraud, the victim represents the true owner, the defendant is the crook, and the third party the person who bought land from the crook.

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It's the law, officials say

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

The Registro Nacional confirmed its policy last month of turning its back on fraud. The government institution stated in its publication “Materia Registral” that fraud is the exclusive responsibility of the courts and not of the Registro Nacional. The ruling came from the administrative directorate of the organization.

Property records at the Registro Nacional are under daily attack by fraudsters. The director, Roger Hidalgo Zúñiga, is under suspension while a thorough study of strange property transactions takes place.

However, the organization does not feel legal matters, like transferring property fraudulently, are its problem.

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Officials decline to act on suspect document

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

The supposedly secure property records at the Registro Nacional are under daily attack. Computers make up what amounts to a virtual vault, securely holding titles to trillions of dollars of Costa Rican properties. Paperwork and other computers are the attackers commanded by crooks stealing the assets of others.

The thieves are smart and know how to beat the honest out of assets in a fell swoop. They use the weaknesses of the registro to their advantage. The over-burdened organization’s computers collapse under pressure almost on a daily basis. There are those who work there willing to risk their career for a fast buck.

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