The Costa Rica Due-Diligence Checklist

Everything starts at the National Registry (Registro Nacional). Before price, before inspection, confirm the seller actually owns what they are selling, free and clear.

• Confirm the finca number. Identify the exact parcel by its Folio Real (finca number), the registry’s unique ID. Make sure the listing, the deed and the survey all point to the same finca. How to find the finca number.
• The seller is the registered owner. Pull the registry study and confirm the person or company signing is the titular registral, the registered owner, not just someone holding the keys or an expired power of attorney.
• Read the Antecedentes (title history). Trace the chain of title backward. A clean, unbroken chain of prior transfers is what makes the title safe; a gap or an irregular transfer is a warning to investigate before going further. How to check a title, step by step.
• Check the Gravámenes. Pull the certificación de gravámenes. It lists every charge against the land: mortgages (hipotecas), judicial liens (embargos), and annotations (anotaciones). These follow the property, not the seller, so anything here becomes yours unless it is cleared at or before closing.
• If a corporation (S.A.) owns it, vet the company. When the title sits in a Sociedad Anónima or Limitada, decide whether you are buying the land or the shares. If you buy shares you inherit the company’s debts, taxes and lawsuits, so verify corporate standing, who controls the shares, the libros legales (share and minute books), and CCSS social-security and tax status.

Know exactly what kind of land it is, and confirm the lines on paper match the lines on the ground.

• Titled freehold vs. concession (ZMT). The first 200 meters from the high-tide line is the maritime-terrestrial zone (zona marítimo terrestre), public concession land, not titled freehold. Confirm whether the property is true title or a concession before anything else on a coastal lot. Run the maritime-zone (ZMT) check.
• The plano catastrado matches reality. The registered cadastral survey map carries the boundaries, area and catastro number. Confirm it matches the finca and the deed, and that the area you are paying for is the area on the plano.
• Have a topographer verify the corners. Boundary disagreements with neighbors are common, especially on larger rural parcels. A licensed topographer (topógrafo) staking the corners against the plano is cheap insurance against buying a fence line that is in the wrong place.
• Check for boundary or overlap disputes. Ask the neighbors, look for overlapping planos, and confirm the area on the survey reconciles with the area in the registry. Quiet possession by someone else is a red flag.

Confirm nothing is owed. Unpaid taxes and fees attach to the property and become the new owner’s problem.

• Municipal property tax. The annual property tax (impuesto sobre bienes inmuebles) runs at around 0.25 percent of the registered value, paid to the local municipality. Confirm it is current; arrears can block the transfer, and a clean municipal certificate (constancia) confirms it.
• Luxury-home tax, if it applies. Higher-value homes above a threshold set each year owe the solidarity tax on the construction (impuesto solidario). If the property is in that band, confirm it has been filed and paid.
• Everything paid current. Get written confirmation that property tax, any luxury tax, and the corporate franchise tax (if a company owns it) are all paid to date before you close.
• HOA or condominium fees. In a gated community or condominio, confirm the monthly fees, that the account is current, and read the reglamento (rules) for restrictions on rentals, building and use.

A beautiful lot with no legal water or no legal road is a problem you cannot fix after closing. Confirm all three.

• Water. Confirm the source: the national utility (AyA), a local community water board (ASADA), or a registered well concession. Ask for a water-availability letter (carta de disponibilidad de agua). No legal water means no building permit.
• Electricity. Confirm service is available from the provider (ICE or CNFL, depending on the area), or what it would cost to bring a line to the lot if it is undeveloped.
• Legal road access and easements. Confirm the property fronts a public road or holds a registered right-of-way (servidumbre de paso). Access across a neighbor’s land that is not registered as an easement is not legal access, and lenders and the municipality will treat it that way.

If you plan to build, rent or develop, confirm the land actually allows it before you count on it.

• Uso de suelo (land-use certificate). Request the municipal land-use certificate to confirm zoning, density and what may be built or operated there. A residential lot may not allow commercial use, and setbacks vary.
• SETENA environmental viability. For development, the national environmental authority (SETENA) viability process governs what you can do on the land. Confirm the status, especially near rivers, wetlands or steep terrain.
• Construction permits. If buying with an existing structure, confirm it was built with permits and matches the registered plans. Unpermitted construction can mean fines, demolition risk, and problems reselling or insuring.

How you close protects everything you verified above. Independent representation and real escrow are non-negotiable.

• Use an independent attorney or notary. In Costa Rica a notary public drafts and records the transfer deed. Use one who represents you, not only the seller’s notary. Your own attorney runs the title study and protects your interest at closing.
• Hold funds in real escrow. Move the purchase money through a licensed escrow agent registered with the financial regulator (SUGEF). Never wire the full price directly to a seller before the deed is signed and recorded. Real escrow releases on registered transfer, not on a promise.
• Confirm the registered transfer afterward. The deal is not done at signing, it is done when the registry shows the property in your name. Pull a fresh registry study after closing to confirm the transfer is recorded and the title is clean in your name.