Hey Phillip, I'm curious. When I was researching a move to Costa Rica there were some crazy rules about Americans could own property there but had to leave the country every six months. Also a U.S. citizen could gain Costa Rican citizenship through proof of a annuity in the amount of $200,000 or investing $50,000 in a Costa Rican company. I also heard some horror stories about the squatters rules where Americans had hired people to look after their property and because they hadn't been to the property in over a year the caretakers laid claim to it and won. Do you have dual citizenship and which route did you go to obtain it? Also with several properties there do you have to take any precautions in regards to squatters? I am seriously considering retirement down there although several years away. I can't imagine a better place to be when the shit hits the fan over here!
Hey Groove. Hope all is well man.
Foreigners can own property in Costa Rica buy you need to do it through a corporation. Most property is owned via a corporation anyway because of the legal system and the benefits of corporate sheltering here. It shields you personally and limits your liability.
You still have to leave the country every 6 months for 48 hours but most attorey's and people know how to get around that. You just send your passport to the border for 2 days and get it back with new stamps in it. Costs about $200. If you have residency then you don't have to worry about this. Also, once you are in the residency process they normally give you a paper that exempts you from having to leave as well.
You don't get Citizenship here in Costa Rica because that would mean you have to give up your U.S. Citizenship. You get what's called Residency. Pretty much the same thing. The laws have gotten tougher to get it in the last 5 years but any decent attorney can go through the process with you and get it done within 12-18 months for around $1500. It's a lot easier to get if you are retired and can show a pension as well. as have your pension deposited in a Costa Rican account (they have banks in the U.S. with mirrored accounts to Costa Rica banks). I've seen people get residency in 6 months this way.
The whole squatter thing is in the past. They changed the laws 6-8 years ago and it's not a problem anymore. I mean, if you bought a property and never returned to Costa Rica for 20 years and some guy built a house on it and lived there that whole time then you might have a problem. It's really hard to squat someone's land these days. I haven't had any problems with squatters at all. i have guys who live on some of my properties but they also sign a simple employment contract that is filed in the National Registry and they can't squat my property even if they wanted to and I was gone for 10 years. You actually run into more problems with renters as they have tons of rights. Basically if someone has rented from you for 1 year you have to go through a huge process that takes like 6 months to evict them.
I have residency so I don't have to leave the country. The only thing that I can't do (as opposed to Citizenship) is vote or serve public office. All the other protections under the law and rights are open to me.
is their any good ways to make money their?
