January News for the Zone & Costa Rica

I have invited a new guest author to my blog. Frank Walker puts out a newsletter once a month that I have subscribed to now for some time. I always find his depiction of the news enlightening and fun to boot. Plus I wonder just how the heck he finds all this stuff out.
~ Ben

Matapalo police station.
The new police station in Matapalo Costa Rica, just north of Dominical.

Matapalo

Police Station – The police station was dedicated earlier this month in typical Tico fashion with speech after speech from various officials.  There was really a nice turn out from the local community.  As promised the station is manned.  The other day I actually saw two police at the beach. They were chatting up two young Ticas whose shorts and tops were so tight it looked like they used spray on spandex.  Guess the two young officers were engaging in a community outreach program.

Loss of Businesses – Word has it that this will be Susanna’s last season to be open.  Under the new liquor law the municipalidad is hitting her up for something like US$250.00 per month for her liquor license.  Word also has it that Phillipe will be closing down.  Whether or not he is going to sell his pulperia or close it down is unknown.

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Hungarian Goulash and the New Costa Rica Drivers License Law

This question just in from a client.
 
Question: As you probably know Tarminda (name changed) and I are perpetual tourists.
 
There is a driver’s license article in the new Ballena Tales. I think it basically says that you can’t get a CR license w/o a Cedula (residency card). And, that if you are pulled over w/o a valid Costa Rica license, your vehicle can be impounded and your insurance is null and void, even if it is paid for.
Police will check your drivers license for validity.
 
Do you know if this is accurate?  If so, it does not appear that there is a way to stay in CR past 90 days and drive legally.  Thoughts?
 
We can talk about this when we get together too.  It is just a little disconcerting to think I may be driving w/o insurance even though I have a policy that was just paid for this month.
 
My response:Hello Dingmeister (name changed),

Your foreign driver’s license is valid here for 3 months at a time. 

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Should I Offer Seller Financing?

This question just in from a land owner in Uvita.

I have a question about owner financing of real estate property for sale, and do not really know anyone else, besides you, to trust with a realistic, objective and intelligent answer.

We just received an email from the real estate agent who brought the buyer today, asking us what our financing terms would be. As of this moment, I do not know any details about the offer price, what the buyer’s financial position is, how much they have in cash as a down-payment, but before putting our cards on the table, I wanted to ask you about usual and customary seller financing terms in Costa Rica.

Seller financing in Costa Rica
Is Seller Financing a good idea for a seller of property in Costa Rica? Definitely. However, there are a few questions to answer first.

What would be typical and reasonable financing terms?

  • Is asking a 50% down payment, with a 7-8% interest rate, maybe a balloon payment or 2, in a year or 2, reasonable?
  • How can we make the deal air-tight as far as security of the down payment, and if buyer does not meet balloon payments, we get the property back, with no hassle.
  • Is there some sort of legal process, escrow or trust vehicle here in Costa Rica to protect us, the seller, from default?

Quick answer (based on info provided):

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How to Sell a Property in Costa Rica

It is common to think that you know all about how to sell because of your experience in real estate in another land. In Costa Rica real estate, this type of thinking can be a real hindrance.[/caption]

We have posted quite a bit on this blog about seller’s options in Costa Rica and in particular, The Zone. In this article I will list the pros and cons of the various Seller’s Options and hopefully help to unravel some of the perplexing issues presented by the lack of representation for the seller.

How to sell real estate in Costa Rica

Options:

  1. Open listing
  2. Exclusive listing

How to do an effective Open Listing:

For a raw land listing, here is a list of what you’ll need:

  1. The survey (plano) of the property.
  2. Information on the various fees associated with the property, ie. taxes, road dues, water, monthly maintenance.
  3. Current photos of the property and its view.
  4. Creative write-up

For a house listing you’ll also need, in addition to the above:

  1. A description of the house – number of bedrooms, baths, square footage, if there is a pool, garage etc…
  2. Who built it and when.
  3. Disclose any details about the house that the buyer has the right to know.

What you do with all this:

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