Costa Rica Expertise LLC

Another Gringo gets a property surprise

By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Why take the long way around when you can get three witnesses to say a driveway is a public road, and voilà, like magic, it becomes public.

Then bulldozers do a great job of tearing down private entranceways.

This is what happened a week ago to one U.S. citizen from Chicago. Four years ago the man fell in love with Costa Rica, as many foreigners do, and bought a farm in Cartago. The title to the property was squeaky clean and had no annotation of easements or any other restrictions.

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Condo easement situation is example

By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

When laws collide, the fallout can hurt the little guy — or in this case, keep the little guy from getting full title to his new condo.

A simple pyramid can explain the legal system in Costa Rica. Sources are the Constitution, legislated laws, presidential and executive decrees along with the rules and regulations that give instructions on how to apply law.

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Easements can keep the backhoes away

By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Costa Rica is growing fast. Much of the growth is uncontrolled and can trample you if you’re not careful. Costa Rica has strong laws to protect intrinsic property rights, many of which are unknown and thus go unused here.

Powerful little-known easement laws protect property owners so they can control what is built around them. Much like the property rights law, certain easement rights can be acquired over time, like the easements of right-of-way, right-of-view and right-of-illumination. These and other important legal easement rights can also be transferred to another person acquiring a property, making real estate much more valuable in the right situations.

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