What are Costa Rica closing costs?

In Costa Rica, all closings are handled by a law firm, with a government authorized third party escrow, such as Secure Title Costa Rica. The fees are generally much higher than you would see in the USA or Canada, but surely nothing that will scare you away from a purchase.

The reason for this is simple. The government of Costa Rica, like any government, must collect taxes in order to survive. Most Costa Ricans live in the same house their entire lives. They are not like North Americans, who might buy and sell many properties in their lifetimes. It is very common for Costa Ricans to still live with their parents, even as adults. And many properties are given from the parents to their children for free. A farmer might subdivide his large property and give small sections to each of his children to build a house on. In the USA and Canada, there are many ways to collect taxes to keep the country moving.   Capital gains taxes in the USA are some of the highest in the world. There is also an inheritance tax and unfortunately a death tax. You have very high property taxes in most states, and also many additional taxes: School taxes, road taxes, garbage taxes, State taxes. It never seems to end.

Every year we go to the annual RE/MAX conference to meet with the best and the most successful Realtors in the business.  You probably are thinking – SUUUURRRE you are just going to party in Vegas for a week of R&R – Right.

Well now you can see for yourself through the eyes of third parties the amount of value that going to the RE/MAX conference brings.  Check out this article that talks about the benefits and payoff of global referrals.  We have been talking about this for years and have been putting it into practice.  Finally people are realizing the benefit.

Here is a link to the article from RE/MAX magazine Above