ILN: BUYING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE - AN INTERNATIONAL GUIDE

[BUYING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE IN COSTA RICA]

85

have existed previously. Once this procedure concludes, the Municipality will be able to pass a resolution approving the concession and authorizing the drafting of a contract with the selected beneficiary and such document must also be approved and signed by the Costa Rican Tourism Board. After this contract has been signed, a Public Notary must notarize the contract and file it before the Concession Registry of the Costa Rican Public Registry, to guarantee that the grant will be protected from potential future claims by third parties. ❖ Term of the Concession Concessions are granted for terms ranging from five to twenty years, but they may be extended for equal time spans if the beneficiary of the concession has complied with the Municipality’s requirements and established concession fees have been paid on the required dates. ❖ Payment of Concession Rights At the moment in which the concession is granted, the Municipality will establish an annual cannon (recurring tax obligation) that the beneficiary must pay in order to enjoy the rights granted to him by the Municipality. Condominium Property Condominium property in Costa Rica is governed by the Condominium Property Law

registration number in the Real Property Registry and the number will always include the letter “F”. ❖ Areas Within the Condominium Two types of areas are established in a condominium property, and together they comprise the total land area of the Condominium: i-Common Areas, which normally are for general use of the condominium owners, but such use may be restricted to only a portion of the owners, depending on numerous variations of the concept and, ii- Private Areas, which belong exclusively to each unit owner, who will have complete domain over the property. ❖ Rights of the Condominium Owner The unit owner is therefore the exclusive owner of his filial property and owner of a proportional right over the general common areas. Such proportional ownership will be determined by the size of the filial ownership as compared to the total land area of the condominium. No owner can be limited in the use and enjoyment of the general common areas, nor may he claim a preemptive right over other owners for having a larger percentage of ownership of the total property. ❖ Condominium Owners Assembly and Condominium Administration The Condominium Owners Assembly is the governing body with maximum authority within any property subjected to the condominium property regime. Its members are the owners of the filial or branch properties and their task is to oversee the general administration of the condominium, including matters such as budgeting, condominium fees, repairs and maintenance and other issues of general interest which will be voted on in the assemblies or meetings that will be called. There is also an administrative entity, which will

Registration

of

Property

in

the

Condominium Property Regime (System) Private property developments may be admitted into the condominium property regime, if the owners have complied with the necessary legal requirements established for this special category of property ownership. The system operates under the principle of one principal or main property from which filial or branch properties will be derived. Each of these filial properties will be assigned a different

ILN Real Estate Group – Buying and Selling Real Estate Series

Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online