Real estate investment in Costa Rica is quite a project, but by keeping a couple of helpful tips in mind you can successfully venture jump through all the hoops and end up purchasing your own little plot of land in paradise.

In recent years more and more fradulent real estate dealings and investment scams. Therefore, it is important to keep your wits about you and don’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt. Many foreigners come to Costa Rica expecting things to run just as smoothly as they do in the States when it comes to business dealings, and sadly, that’s just not they way it is down here.

So, how can you protect yourself from being subject to a scam? If you are looking at property, here are a few things to watch out for:

• How does the property look? If it looks like it has been abandoned or not well taken care of, it is possible that the people trying to sell the property aren’t the actual owners.
• Check to make sure your agent has his residency or citizenship in Costa Rica, especially if he/she looks foreign. This adds to their credibility. You can also Google their name and business and see if any issues come up. And, if you are connected to Costa Rican forums, ask around on there about the specific agent.
• In high profile areas like Santa Ana, Tamarindo and Jaco, be very aware of scams. Since these are hotspots for new ones, and foreigners and dollars are commonplace, so are scammers.
• Lastly, get yourself a real estate attorney. You may not think you need it, but they can help you navigate the system. A good attorney, maybe from the list of bilingual lawyers that the US Embassy provides, will be able to make sure the property has a clean title and is a good sale.

That being said, there are two very important things to keep in mind if you are considering relocation or retirement in Costa Rica and planning on purchasing real estate.

1. The laws in Costa Rica are quite different than the ones in the United States and other first world countries. The government is honestly a lot quicker at handling violent, glorious crimes than they are with helping gringos get their money back. Taking matters through civil courts takes time and money, and no one in the Costa Rican government system seems to jump to do it.

2. In the United States if you want to become a real estate agent you have to take a test. This is not the case in Costa Rica. Anyone, literally ANYONE, can decide they want to be a real estate agent or broker. Ther are no permits, and no school is required. You actually don’t even need to be a resident or citizen.