Costa Rica Expertise LLC

Procuraduría General Web Site

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

Going to get into a legal fight in Costa Rica? Here is a great resource and it's free.

Most people do not know about the incredible Web site of La Procuraduría General de la República, the Attorney General’s office of Costa Rica. This authority is the superior juridical organ and public administration technician for the country. The attorneys of the Procuraduría represent the country in legal matters when affairs of the state are at stake.

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

Everyone knows what a test pilot is. How about a technology tester? In this day and age, it is almost the same thing. "Pilot program" is the term used today.

In Information Technologies, development stage engineering is broken down into three parts: The alpha stage is the beginning stage of a technology when it is in a very rough form. The beta stage is an active debugging or problem-solving phase, when a technology is heavily tested in preparation for its market introduction. The stable stage is when a technology is ready.

About five year ago, GrupoICE was looking for testers for advanced Internet also referred to as ADSL, short for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, a technology that allows more data transmission over existing copper telephone lines than is normally possible. ADSL supports data rates from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving data (known as the downstream rate) and from 16 to 640 Kbps when sending data (known as the upstream rate).

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

December and Christmas in Costa Rica is the prelude to tourism season and better weather, but this also is the time of the year to file certain crucial tax forms.

Everyone knows that life has two certainties: death and taxes. There is another: The national tax authority’s Web site stinks. It stunk last year, the year before that and the year before that. This year it is fancier with new graphics, new links, and a new search engine. They have obviously spent some money on revamping the interface much like the Instituto Costarricence de Turismo with its $880,000 site. However, it still does not work properly.

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Property theft and usurpación

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

“Stick 'Em Up,” says the robber to the tourist. “Give me all your cash.”

“José, move the property marker 10 feet. The neighbor will never notice. They're always in the States,” says the new landowner to his surveyor.

Both are examples of stealing and punishable by imprisonment in Costa Rica.

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

Most people believe selling a business in Costa Rica is like selling a piece of real estate. This is not true. There are other factors to consider and special rules that apply to the sale of a business.

Two different situations may arise: The business may or may not be part of a real estate transaction. However, the business sale part of the deal does not differ much between the two cases.

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

Construction of beach developments in Costa Rica has been frozen because the Sala IV constitutional court is considering a complex case that pits the central government against its own employees and environmentalists.

The issue involves the concessions that developers get to build within the maritime zone, which is the public land located between the ocean and the first 200 meters from the average high tide line. Construction is not permitted in the first 50 meters, but long-lasting concessions are permitted in the rest.

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

Every day more and more foreigners are investing in all types of real estate in Costa Rica. All types are the caveat words. There are so many kinds of property in the country, investors need to be very careful when buying anything. There are titled and untitled land, beach and concession property, forest reserve and protected land to name a few varieties.

To buy real estate here it is a good idea to have a checklist. Here is a simple one to use:

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

Welcome to the Wild, Wild West. There are prospectors, gamblers, gunslingers, and even saloons, and brothels. One can find gold in them thar hills. Oops, them thar hills are the gold — literally.

Yes, all this is referring to Costa Rica. The translation of Costa Rica to English is “Rich Coast.” Spanish conquerors gave the country its name because supposedly there was tons of real gold to be found in this country when they landed on its coasts. Or better yet, maybe those who arrived hundreds of years ago knew the secrets most people are learning now.

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

This article is about SINPE. No, it is not a new virus, disease, or pill. It is what is happening to online banking in Costa Rica; a new system that lets anyone transfer money into any account in the country.

SINPE, or Sistema Interbancario de Negociación y Pagos Electrónicos is the main payment system for the central bank. It translates into English as the "interbank electronic payment system."

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Accounts are open book to investigators

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

This is a scary story about a phantom called Transparency that is creeping secretly into everyone’s life. Thanks to Transparency, individual and corporate bank accounts are becoming open books for tax investigators from all over the world.

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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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The Hot Dog Kid likes Gallo Pinto, too!

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

Many well wishers at this year’s Fourth of July celebration offered congratulatory comments regarding my article published in A.M. Costa Rica June 20 titled “Those who choose citizenship have long road.”

One such person asked me what I was going to do about the Acts or Conditions section on the DS-82 application form for U.S. passport renewal? How was I going to answer the question when it came time to renew my passport?

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Dual citizens are torn by mixed loyalties

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

Becoming a citizen of Costa Rica is a long, tedious road.

The process is slow and requires patience. Filling out the forms is easy enough, but every document presented to el Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones or Supreme Court of Elections is put under a microscope to see if one qualifies. The mere misspelling of a word or name in any document can put the process on hold for months or years.

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Labor courts generally side with employees

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

Many business owners have found out here in Costa Rica that if they give an inch their employees will take a mile. They must act fast to pull in the reins, particularly after a recent landmark court decision.

The labor court said that if an employer does not correct unwelcome actions by employees immediately, such actions become the rule.

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Water, sewers, environment are factors to consider

The condo explosion

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

Get ready for Costa Rica’s condominium explosion. It is happening right now all over the country.

Beehive condos are popping up everywhere. The San José area, Escazú and Santa Ana are perfect examples. New condos are growing out of the ground fast.

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Corporations have at least six of them

Believe it or not, these are the books of a corporation worth millions of dollars.

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

Everyone doing business or owning assets in Costa Rica using a company is required to have legal books.

The books, referred to in Spanish as libros legales, are obtained at the stationery store and then taken to the tax authority, Dirección General de Tributación or DGT for short. To obtain the agency’s blessing on the books, company operators fill out a form called Solicitud de Legalización de Libros. This translates into English as application to legalize books.

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Legal technique gives landlords a boost

One does not have to be a bad guy

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

Owning property in Costa Rica comes with many decisions. One is whether to rent or not to rent when one is away for long periods.

Rental laws are very clear. Any contract automatically gives a renter a three-year rental term. No contract, no matter how well written, can change the law. The renters law, Ley de Inquilinato, specifically protects renters regarding term as well as in many other areas. Rent is synonymous with lease involving real property. There is no difference under the law.

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Annual cultural tax can really bite you

The tax bunny cometh

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

Everyone with a Costa Rican corporation, limited company or any other type of legally structured entity is required to file a form called D-110 in order to pay their education and culture taxes due March 31 every year.

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Superfast Internet in limbo for weeks

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

The phrase "Internet Hell" is a slogan to give fair warning to users of the Internet in Costa Rica.

The phrase also offers consolation to all who experience difficulties with the Internet here. Most expats in this country could write this piece themselves, each with his or her own twist.

High technology is wonderful. The Internet is wonderful. But there is a dark side. Computers and the Internet play with basic physiological buttons in everyone. They are very similar to nasty additive drugs.

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

Today could be your last day. The end could come fast, a collision with a bus or a whack from a coconut from a palm tree.

What happens then to all those assets accumulated in Costa Rica?

If the assets are in a personal name . . . ouch! The process is going to be difficult for heirs. Probate in Costa Rica is a long and tedious process involving a court case, which means finding a lawyer one can trust with tenacity to stay on top of the process. How do heirs know if an attorney is a lazy lawyer who will just exacerbate their situation?

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

Google has put Costa Rica on the map. Literally.

Google acquired Keyhole Corp. last October 2004 adding the firm’s service to its growing list of satellite imaging offerings.

Founded in 2001, Keyhole is the 3D digital Earth pioneer — the only company to deliver a 3D digital model of the entire Earth via the Internet.

Costa Rica is now included in medium resolution. At this 80-meter to 200-meter view one can’t see what Ticos are having for breakfast, but one can see the craters of most of the country’s volcanoes in great detail along with other sights of the nation.

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Nation confronts a sizzling market

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

Tourists arriving in Costa Rica this year have another attraction besides the beautiful beaches: soaring property values.

Potential investors in property are finding themselves confronted with land prices that are skyrocketing. The phenomenon is everywhere. Even tourists notice the flurry about them. Buyers have to hold on tight to offers as prices float even higher.

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Original 31-year-old plan for Nosara

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

Costa Rica is characterized by many old timers as the land of the "wanted and the unwanted." Some who come here are wanted criminals by other nations and others just do not fit in somewhere else, so they come to this country to live.

Want to make a million dollars in Costa Rica? Come with two and maybe you will leave with one. This advice, given to newcomers for over 30 years, should now have an inflation adjustment. Bring $5 to $10 million to leave with one.

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