Costa Rica Land Sales – Paragon in Parrita – True? Or too good to be true?

My friends and I are hearing HUNDREDS of stories about a very aggressive telemarketing operation called ‘Paragon.

They are also doing business as Paramount International Sales with offices in the US and in Costa Rica selling cheap land in an area called Parrita…

Now this could be the opportunity of a lifetime, but then again, it might not be and here’s what concerns us…

1. Paragon insists that you send them your money first, before they show you the land (?)
2. The Paragon company brochure states that “property taxes vary from 0.5% to 1.5%” – That’s wrong! Property taxes are 0.25%
3. The area of Parrita has NOTHING! There are no facilities of any kind. The nearest town would be Quepos which is a 20 minute drive.
4. For US$16,500 it will be extremely difficult to buy one acre of Costa Rica land which is an “easy walk to the beach.” Which is what people are being told/sold unless of course you are a former marathon runner or ex-Special Forces.
5. If they have a ‘successful development’ project, why don’t they include photographs of that on their website?
6. If they are selling land, why don’t they show you exactly where that land is located on their website? Where is the road that leads to the project?
7. According to the website drawing of the property, Phase I (more than 100 lots) and Phase II (approx’ 80 lots) are supposedly ‘Sold Out’ – That’s nearly 200 lots sold.
8. According to the same drawing, they also have approximately 160 lots in Phase III so with nearly 200 lots sold and another 160 for sale, why do none of the Realtors in the same area know where this development is?
9. You can NOT see the size of the lots on the drawing of their property.
10. You can not see the title number of any of the lots. When a property is divided into lots, each lot is given it’s own individual lot number. If the seller can not give you a title number of your lot – there must be a reason why! And, you must know why!
11. The photograph of the marina on their website is NOT a marina in Parrita, it is in fact a photograph of the marina at Los Suenos which is a minimum of 30 minutes away by car.
12. The Paragon website states that; “This offer is not valid in the state of Florida or for the residents of the state of Florida‘ which makes it appear that it is somehow ‘regulated’ yet the person we received the ‘Reservation and Purchase Agreement’ from lives in Florida so they are obviously not too concerned about their own country’s strict laws…
13. Their ‘Reservation and Purchase Agreement’ states that ‘The infrastructure of roads, electricity and water will be substantially in place within 12 months from the date of this agreement.” So does that 12 month period start with your signature or the signature of the first of the supposed nearly 200 people that have previously purchased land?
14. As of 3rd November 2004, there was NOTHING listed on the internet for their Florida company.
15. The Florida company is however listed as active since April ’04 in the ‘Department of State, Division of Corporations’ but would you believe that they have spelled part their own company name wrong?
16. NOT one of the people that we have spoken with have received documents to prove that they own a specific piece of land in Costa Rica.
17. Nobody in Parrita knows anything about this specific development!
18. As of 3rd November 2004, there was NOTHING listed on the internet when searching for their Costa Rican business name except some negative ‘Discussion Forum’ postings.
19. As of 3rd November 2004, there was NOTHING listed on the internet when searching for their project name.
20. According to the national registry, the property was bought for approximately US$1,214 per acre and they are now selling one acre for US$16,500. A gross profit of 1,259%.
21. After all the land is sold, then what? Do you have to build your own home?
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22. What are they selling? According to their ‘Reservation and Purchase Agreement,’ you are actually agreeing to buy “.. the stock in a Costa Rican corporation.” And the agreement then states that this “… includes assets of ………… acre (s) of real estate in Costa Rica.”
23. But it does not say where this land is or, give any kind of identification number for that land. Does that sound professional or legitimate to you?

There should be enough bells clanging and red flags flying and you should do your homework and due diligence very carefully indeed!

Buying land anywhere in the world from someone you don’t know without seeing it first is simply insane no matter how good the ‘deal’ might sound…

• You must check out the property in the land registry to make sure the people asking you for the money are the people that actually own the land? No legitimate real estate sales professional would refuse this request? And you should know that…
• The land has not been legally divided into lots in which case you will not be able to find an individual title number for your land but…
• Unless you have the title number of that land, you can NOT determine whether there are any liens or encumbrances that may affect that land.
• Never, ever work with the seller’s attorney. Work with an attorney that protects you – the buyer and not the seller.
• Why are there no ‘people’ or ‘faces’ on their website?
• You do want to walk on the land and see ‘who’ and ‘what’ your neighbours will be right?
• Have you seen soil tests done by a qualified engineer? Do you know the area is not prone to flooding during the rainy season?
• Please also bear in mind that this area is prone to earthquakes too …
• Are there any possible drainage and erosion problems? Where will the rain water drain?
• If the property is on a hill that has been cut, get a ‘compaction test’ be done to ensure that the land is stable and can be safely built on.
• Get a ‘perk test’ done because you will probably have to put in your own septic system and this must drain properly right?
• Have you checked out the track record of the ‘developer?’ Have you spoken with some of their previous ‘satisfied’ clients?
• Have seen written ‘proof’ that the water, electricity and telephone lines are in place or shortly to be put in place?

If not, then run away! There is plenty of land for sale in Costa Rica.

Do not get ‘rushed,’ ‘persuaded’ or ‘pressured’ into buying anything because “all the lots are selling fast!” And how attractive and ‘peaceful’ would that development be ‘if’ it did eventually have nearly 400 homes on it as their plans show?

Buying cheap land from Paragon may sound like a great idea but think of it as a highly speculative ‘penny-stock.’ There’s normally a reason that it’s a ‘penny-stock.’

Last of all, please remember that there are plenty of ‘planned’ communities, but not all of them are planned well and even fewer of them are actually completed!



When you purchase property in Costa Rica, you would be well advised to hire an attorney who will look out for your best interests and protect you. Remember that the Costa Rica legal system is based on Napoleonic Law, not common law – Please do not assume that you know how it works.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.