Legal Due Diligence on Costa Rican Property

Due diligence is the part of a Costa Rican purchase that decides whether the rest of it is worth doing. It is also the part most often reduced to a quick registry printout.

A proper estudio registral tells you who holds title, what liens and mortgages are recorded, what easements burden the property, and what annotations are pending. What it does not tell you is equally important, and that gap is where deals fail.

Beyond the registry

We verify the cadastral survey against the property as it physically exists, because a registered plan and a fenced lot are frequently not the same thing. We confirm water availability, which in Guanacaste is often the binding constraint on whether anything can be built. We check municipal standing, land-use classification, and whether the property falls wholly or partly within the Maritime Zone. Where a corporation holds the property, we review the corporate books, the shareholder record and the legal representation.

When to do it

Before funds are committed and while the purchase agreement still gives you a way out. Due diligence performed after signing is a report, not a protection.

Munduss Legal — José David Garro Castro, Attorney at Law and Notary Public. Offices in Escazú, San José and Tamarindo, Guanacaste. Request a consultation.