What you Should Look for When Buying a Property Overseas

What should you look for when buying a home overseas?

There are many different kinds of properties and many different places where you could be looking to purchase, but in every place there should be certain things in common. It is my goal here to provide you with some basic information that may help you to know what to look for (and what to check) before you buy a property overseas.

No duplicate title or claim on the property
Every country will have a different name for the organization which has information on who has legal title to the house/condo/ land about which you are inquiring. In the United States the county in which the property resides has information about the legal owner of that property. In Costa Rica, the Registro Nacional has all the information about who has legal title to a property. Each property is assigned a ‘Folio Real’ which is a unique number, and the current owner as well as the ownership history is recorded in the Registro Nacional every time there is movement on a property. If you are buying property in Costa Rica, you need to make sure that the person or enterprise selling you the property is actually the owner. You can verify this yourself with the Registro Nacional in San Jose, or you can use a reputable attorney to investigate the property. In either case, you or your attorney must check the Registro Nacional.

Water Issues
When buying property in Costa Rica you MUST make ABSOLUTELY SURE that water will not be an issue. This is especially true if you are interested in buying an undeveloped parcel of land. The community you are looking in will have what Costa Rican’s call an asada… A&A. these are small, local groups which control water rights. You need to check with the A&A for your area to find out who is or will be supplying water to the property you are interested in. If you do not speak Spanish, contact a reputable attorney for this specific purpose. Do not simply take the seller’s word for it that the property has water. They might be as honest as can be, but they could be mistaken, too. You must know for a fact that the property has water or where the water will come from.

The Development, House or Condominum complex has obeyed all the survey and engineering laws.
I have heard and seen cases where some developments were built encroaching on a public street or where a condo swimming pool was built on an adjacent lot not owned by the developer. You can easily make sure that the Condo you are buying has been signed off by the Colegio de Ingenieros, the architect and the ministerio de Salud before buying. If the developer cannot show you the signed off documents, then think twice before buying. Do not just assume everything is ok simply because the development is pretty or costs a lot of money.

Construction is of Good Quality
Make sure that you know how the building was built. This is important because there are many fly by night developers who buy cheap materials and skimp on things like rebar because it’s costly. You need to ask what number of rebar they used and how much has been used. You need to know if the walls are concrete or drywall. You need to know if the structure is concrete or if its metal beam. You need to know if the development has a seismic foundation (in earthquake prone areas) or if it’s built to hurricane standards (in a hurricane prone area). Check things like wall thickness between units, how many and where are the supporting beams. Do not just pay attention to pretty little details like paint or cabinet knobs. Those do not matter.

Access to Telephone and Internet
Unless you want to get away from it all and not have a phone or internet, it is important that the property you buy comes ready for phone service and internet service. A lot of times you will have trouble getting either service, most likely because the provider doesn’t provide service in that area or simply because it’s a government run monopoly that is grossly inefficient. However, your job is to make sure that the property is CAPABLE of receiving these two services.


If possible, buy a furnished unit or house
The reason I’m suggesting this is because in most countries outside the United States, your supply is limited to some degree. In Costa Rica, you have a good selection of nice furniture, but its not as easy as jumping in your car, driving 3 blocks to the nearest furniture store and finding exactly what you like at a reasonable price. In Costa Rica, you will have look, and that takes time and effort. Time and effort are in short supply if you come only for a few weeks to vacation and have fun. There are many fine furniture stores, but there’s always something. The furniture is nearby, beautiful but way too expensive. Or the sofa you like is in San Jose, the table is in Sarchi, the beds are in Palmares and the rest of it is imported from Bali, but costs a lot of money. My advice is buy a home that is already furnished. If it isn’t furnished, make arrangements with the seller to furnish it. You will spare yourself a LOT of heartache.
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