How to protect your property
If you have a piece of land or vacant property in Costa Rica you will need to protect it from squatters and fraud. Vacant and empty land or homes present an easy opportunity for thieves and white-collar criminals. When buying, selling, and maintaining your property you must do your diligence to protect your investment.
You can do this by not leaving it unattended and having regular groundskeeping and cleaning. Make sure you have a fence and proper clear signage so that there is no dispute on the land. Always have an alarm system on your house and have it serviced regularly. You may want to have a backup generator for frequent power outages or “blackouts”.
When renting your home:
Prepare a lease using a lawyer and make sure it is iron clad, there are system abusers everywhere, so do your diligence
Be aware of the landlord-tenant laws in Costa Rica-know your rights and responsibilities
Do a thorough inventory and inspection before and after renting.
Do a background check on potential renters. Hire a PI or run their ID in the system, trust us, it may save you a headache in the future.
Protecting your home from fraud:
You can take a Property Alert service, where they will monitor your property title and alert you if anything has changed in your title given by the National Register. Do your own due diligence on this because the registry takes no responsibility.
Check the title of your property online once a month. It takes only a few minutes.
Register a Cédula Hipotecaria on your property. This is much like a mortgage you own, to protect the property from being sold or mortgaged by anyone else. Ask your attorney about the Cédula Hipotecaria. If you don’t have an attorney, check the list of legal counsel we recommend.