Do real estate agents have to charge sales tax on real estate rentals and sales in Costa Rica? Do tenants now have to pay sales tax on top of their rental? Many real estate agents and their clients are not very clear about the sales tax on real estate sales in Costa Rica, so let’s…
Estimated Reading Time: 3 Minutes If you say no me toquen el pito in Costa Rica, make sure you’re sitting in your car. If you are not, this can become quite a misunderstanding, especially if you are a male. Tocar el pito means honking. Another way to say honking is tocar la bocina or tocar la…
If your property in Costa Rica has been on the market for 3 months or more, it’s probably time for a price reduction. Has it been sitting for a while without a buyer? Often, I hear sellers say “my agent is not doing anything”. Or “I haven’t had a showing in months”. Well, it’s time…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Jim asked about how realtors work in CR. Do real estate agents only show you their own home listings? Don’t they show home listings from other agents? Is it possible to use a realtor that will show you everything in a certain area even if it’s not listed by them?…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes Let me show how different things can be in Costa Rica. I am going back to an old theme here, but the culture of Costa Rica is a constant source of amazement to me. Here are a few differences I have observed. In Costa Rica, there are many things different…
policemenTheWhen you move to Costa Rica, you should know how to recognize the different police forces, know what they do and recognize them. As you all know, Costa Rica has not had an army since Pepe Figueres abolished it on December 1st, 1948. The country needed a police force that came under the command of…
Estimated Reading Time: 3 Minutes Qué vaina is one of those expressions your landlord might use when you complain about a leak in the roof. Or when your coffee maker stopped working and you’re asking for another. In this case, the translation is “what a problem”. But. instead of qué vaina, it is also possible…
Firma Digital is a digital signature, which is used for making or signing an electronic document using the technology known as public-key cryptography. It allows you to digitally sign a document. Only as such will a document be received and accepted by the Costa Rican government or finance agency. The card is personal, and meant…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes An unfinished house in Costa Rica is as difficult to sell as a rented house. I don’t even know why I sometimes make the mistake of accepting to list an unfinished house anymore. I rarely do because I know they’re almost impossible to sell. Most of the time, it is…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes Can you learn from other expat recommendations and their experiences? Of course, you can, those expat recommendations will help you tremendously to learn what they did right and wrong. So it won’t happen to you. A couple of weeks ago, I published an article Why Bill does not consider Costa…