The Biggest Mistakes Investors Make in Costa Rica

1. Hire the wrong Costa Rica attorneys, please take your time to meet your future legal counsel, determine if you will be able to communicate clearly with your Costa Rican lawyer. Ask about his or her education and experience with foreign clients relocating to Costa Rica. International education and/or experience is desirable from your Costa Rican lawyer or other consultant, in order to determine the level of compatibility between your cultural and business culture with that of your counsel.

2. Purchase Assets directly on their name and not under a Costa Rican corporation, if you hire a qualified Costa Rica attorney in Real Estate Law and Asset Protection, the first legal advice you will listen from him will be to incorporate a Costa Rican company or purchase a Costa Rica shelf company prior to purchasing assets in Costa Rica, doing this will provide important regulatory advantages for protecting your assets and will reduce your liability and will facilitate future sales of assets.

3. Not planning a real estate purchase with enough time, Costa Rica has a modern centralized property registry system, however because of the various details involved in title search and due diligence, please plan accordingly by using a pre established procedure with your attorney in coordination with your real estate broker.

4. Not taking enough time to understand the different cultural, legal and business practices, Costa Rica has a very particular history and it is a mistake to assume that certain aspects will be similar to other Latin American countries, it is better to visit the country and receive advice from qualified Costa Rica attorneys, consultants, relocation experts.

5.Visiting the country on a limited schedule, because of the business and legal differences that you will encounter we suggest to plan a trip of at least 5 business days so that you will be able to have a basic understanding of how the country works, despite its relatively small size Costa Rica offers vast business opportunities for the newcomer.

6. Not taking enough time to read from various sources about Costa Rica prior to your visit,it is highly common for the foreigner to visit Costa Rica with very little information, about its resources, economy, education and demographics. We suggest you to ask you legal or business counsel to provide informational material on how the country is structured and its history.

7. Delaying Costa Rican residency applications and staying as a perpetual tourist, if you plan to live in Costa Rica at least four months in a year you should consult with a Costa Rican immigration law attorney to initiate your residency application, Costa Rican Immigration Law offers various options in order for you to establish yourself permanently or temporarily in Costa Rica without the hassles of fines and expenses involved in leaving everytime your visa is expired, the residency application process requires attention to detail and cooperation between you and your attorney.

8. Not having English translations to all your legal documents, verify the location of all your important documents, such as corporate paperworks, titles of property, residency, legal books, we believe that more than bad faith in business or legal advice most of the mistakes originate in misunderstandings, cultural and business gaps, and lack of proper translation to your native language.

9. Following the advice of pseudo experts, it is common for foreigners to listen to other expats who have a distorted perception of Costa Rican legal and business environment, many times decisions are influenced by people who claim to "know-it-all" about Costa Rica just because they have been in the country for many years dealing with other expats, in our opinion if you are not completely fluent in Spanish, it is just not possible to fully understand the Costa Rican mindset, we do not wish to disqualify respected foreign consultants, however it is important to be aware of this situation in order to fully understand the opportunities and difficulties available.

10. Not investing or retiring to Costa Rica, only 2.5 hours away from Miami, with the strongest democracy in Latin America, a diversified economy, a highly educated labor force, with exhuberant locations, with highest life expectancy and literacy rates than the United States, with the opportunities available only in developing countries yet certain advantages of a developed nation, Costa Rica currently presents and for years to come a crucial period to explore available opportunities for retirement, relocation, real estate, outsourcing, construction, health industry, eco tourism and much more.