By Ivo Henfling

It is not so important to have a licensed agent to sell Costa Rica real estate or not, you just need to find an agent who puts love and care in your property purchase and that is what today’s blog is all about. The day after a real estate closing, I received a call from the buyers agent, complaining the appliances weren’t there. I told the agent that the appliances were not included in the property purchase.

The property was not advertised with appliances nor is it customary in Costa Rica to include them. The agent said that in the US they are always included and since the buyer AND the sellers are North Americans, they should be.

Beside the fact that we are in Costa Rica and not in the US, which I chose to ignore, I asked the agent if she had included the appliances in the inventory attached to the offer and to the option to purchase – sale agreement. She said she didn’t check….

By Ivo Henfling
 

I just went through the nicest Costa Rica real estate closing of my life, even though it was probably one of the most difficult ones too. I have had some real nice closings but I’ve also had some real impossible ones. Well, we went through practically every obstacle that anyone could ever come up with, mainly because this sale involved bank financing through a Costarican bank. I had the perfect buyers, the perfect sellers and the perfect bank employee in one room, quite a feat on itself. I am having a very low opinion of bank employees lately, but Nataly was incredible and unusual responsive and cooperative. This was a deal with a lot of heroes in it.
 

By Ivo Henfling
 

Not every Costa Rica real estate closing is fun. When purchase Costa Rica real estate and you have a Costa Rica bank mortgage involved, the documents mentioned in part 1 will pre-qualify you (or not) and once this is all approved by the bank, you can go on to the next step.

The paperwork mentioned in part I is mostly the same in every Costa Rican bank, but make sure you ask the documents enquired for the mortgage with the bank you will be working with. My nicest Costa Rica real estate closing was done through BAC San Jose and thanx to an ourstanding bank executive and very cooperative buyers and seller, this real estate closing had a very happy ending.

Your realtor should be able to help you on the property tax certification. Some property owners will have paid their Municipal and property taxes for the whole years but being able to show a receipt is not enough.

By Ivo Henfling
 

A Costa Rica real estate closing can be a nerve wrecking issue if you don’t know what you are doing or if you’re not in the good hands of a knowledgeable realtor when you purchase Costa Rica real estate. I just went through the nicest real estate closing of my life as described in part I and part II. The long and tedious closing process of filling out documents and more documents after that to apply for a Costa Rica bank mortgage is just like driving a bad Costarican road, it is full of potholes.  And going through an even more nerve wrecking Costa Rica bank appraisal and even a home inspection done by the same appraiser will get anyone heartburn.