Serious Advice on How to Move to Costa Rica

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Despite all the craziness that’s been going on in the world over the last 12 months, there’s been a noticeable uptick in Costa Rica real estate demand…

In fact, I think that the reason for this uptick may in fact be all the craziness that’s been going on in the world over the last 12 months!

It seems that many out there view Costa Rica as a safe haven from all that craziness…

That may or may not be true, but this post is not going to address that issue.

I have seen (and continue to see) a lot of really bad advice about how to move to Costa Rica. Much of that bad advice is anecdotal. In other words, many times it stems from one person’s bad experience that he or she tries to pass off as a general rule, as opposed to an exception that perhaps was motivated by the advice giver’s own ignorance.

So, I thought I’d chime in.

Caveat Lector: I am a real estate agent in the southern zone of Costa Rica. Therefore, my advice could be seen as biased. Nevertheless, it is my genuine and heartfelt advice that you are free to either take or leave.

I am going to address the issue of how to move to Costa Rica from the standpoint of someone who wants to come to Costa Rica, buy a home and live here. That’s the first step for many. I will not get into the second, third and following steps of getting residency, integrating into the culture, etc., etc. And, of course, some choose never to buy and instead rent a home to live in. I am also not going to get into renting, as opposed to buying. I will probably get into these topics in other posts (and I indeed have in my eBook), but this post will focus on much of the bad advice about buying a home that I would like readers to avoid.

In that light, I believe there are 4 main steps to accomplishing your goal…

Step 1: Choose Your Location

I have written in the past that this is the most important consideration for a would-be Costa Rica expat and will largely determine your future happiness. I have also written a framework that I call the 4 C’s of Costa Rica Expat Living to help you determine the best place to live.

The best way to choose your location is on the ground, as opposed to on the internet. That is, you should plan a trip of sufficient length and spend some time in each area that you think might interest you. I would caution greatly against trying to make this decision exclusively through internet research, largely because of all the bad advice that’s out there. However, research can at least help you narrow your choices to a manageable few. There are some out there offering help in setting up expat exploratory tours, like me for instance.

My advice would be to get as much help as you think you need. Plan a trip for 10 days to 2 weeks and visit 3 to 4 areas that you think might work. Don’t spend all your time looking for your dream home on this initial trip. For sure look at some properties, with agents and perhaps on your own. However, spending time in the prospective community, walking around, talking to the people, and getting to know the area is even more important initially.

Step 2: Choose Your Agent

Now this is an area in which I might seem biased. But the truth is, all that advice you’ll read out there about how you should NOT use a real estate agent to buy property in Costa Rica is predominantly BS…

For starters, the best homes in most areas where gringos want to buy are probably listed by realtors. Now in my area, the southern zone, there are a couple exceptions to that rule. Around Perez Zeledon there is a strong tico market and many of the homes in that market are not listed. Also, much of the land that is for sale in the area is not listed. Nevertheless, practically all homes along the coast are listed and even in Perez, some of the choice properties are listed (many of them by yours truly!).

You’ll also read the bad advice that unlisted homes usually carry better prices. In my experience, the exact opposite is true. I turn down listings routinely because the owner is unrealistic about price. And then what does that owner do? He tries to sell at that ridiculous price on his own for a few years until finally coming to his or her senses.

During your exploratory trip you may have come into contact with a few agents. You may have been communicating with one or more agents via phone and email from home. Pick the one you have the best rapport with.

Don’t make the mistake of dealing with multiple listing agents. The reason is simple. Those agents aren’t going to be interested in helping you find your dream home. Their objective is going to be to sell that listing, pure and simple.

A good buyer’s agent will know how to find properties in your area that match your criteria, regardless of who those properties might be listed with. In Costa Rica most areas operate under an informal MLS “non-system.” You’ll need a local expert to decipher it for you.

A good buyer’s agent can be worth his or her weight in gold as a trusted resource. You will likely need help on the ground when you go back home before your deal is sealed. The buyer’s agent can be instrumental in providing that support, as well as really rolling up the sleeves and assisting you with your property search.

So, pick your agent and stick with him or her. If you’ve chosen well, you’ll be glad in the end. And you’ll probably have a long-term friend in-the-know in Costa Rica for years to come.

Step 3: Choose Your Home

Say you’ve looked at a dozen properties and think you’ve found the home of your dreams…

Now is when the real work starts and your agent should greatly assist in this effort…

Once you’ve made an accepted offer and have the property under contract, you will enter an important phase called due diligence. That is when you get to inspect the property from all angles, legal and otherwise, to make sure there are no “gotchas” that could make your transition to expat life in Costa Rica a miserable one. After all, you don’t want to become one of those trolls in expat FaceBook groups, handing out bad advice as if your bad experience was a general rule.

Your agent should assist you in hiring your advisors and other professionals who will help you complete due diligence in a thorough manner. Of course, a good attorney is essential. However, don’t believe the bad advice that a good attorney is all you need to complete a successful transaction in Costa Rica. I know of zero “good attorneys” who will also assist you in finding the right home! That’s just not their job.

Step 4: Choose Your Attitude

Much of your success in this process will depend on the attitude you bring with you. Costa Rica does not operate by North American rules, standards, or on a North American style timetable. Things are slow, sometimes maddeningly so, and you just have to go with that flow.

One mistake I often see made is for people to adopt a warrior’s stance of distrusting virtually everything and everyone. After all this is a foreign (3rd world) country and my damn money is at stake, by god!

In my opinion, a healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing. However, harboring a suspicion that everyone down here is trying to rip you off will more than likely help you to get ripped off.

Once again, it pays to have good advisors. Once chosen, unless any one of those advisors gives you good reason not to trust them, then you should in fact trust them. If they tell you the sky is blue, don’t argue that it’s red!

Many people get themselves into trouble by “trusting their instincts” over their advisors. Don’t adopt the position of being the smartest person in the room when the room is located in a country you know very little about.

So, there you have it. My ten cents on how to move to Costa Rica without losing your shirt and having a little fun along the way.