Costa Rica Land – Check the measurements

Many people, when they buy a property, just consider its location, the look of
land and the views but forget other more important factors.

After the high following “a good buy” there sometimes follows disappointment:
maybe the land parcel measures less than you thought you’d bought; it wasn’t registered;
it is part of a larger estate that you weren’t told about.

These and other problems occur frequently if you buy land without using a topographic
surveyor who measures the land and records it in the Land Register.

“A surveyor will verify and mark out property boundaries”, explains
surveyor, Daniel Acuna, which involves an inspection to measure out the
location, distances and area and to make sure they correspond to data in the registered
plans.

Advice for the Costa Rica land buyer.

According to Acuna, carrying a notebook around is a wise idea to jot down
the most important points when looking at a property before coming to a final
decision.

Some things to consider are whether there are any development plans that could
restrict land use or whether the plot is part of a project (and therefore registered
with all permits).

The true owner must be established: is it a company or an individual? This
can be verified by asking neighbors or checking the National
Property Register

“You can find updated information on the property including the owner, the
survey plans, location, history and restrictions,” explains Acuna.
If the plot is split up or forms part of a larger estate, it is important to get
all the data and check out the situation. The surveyor can help ascertain if splitting
up the land is a viable option.

When visiting the land, Luis Amador, technical study director for the Costa Rica
Construction Chamber (CCC), advises checking out where the plot limits start (usually
fenced) and see if there are markers; also whether there are shared boundaries.
“Most problems start with rough-terrain land plots where adjoining plots
can encroach on neighboring parcels.”

Engineer, Jose Roberto Solis sees cases reaching the trial courts
when work has been carried out on land belonging to someone else. He emphasizes
the importance of studying the survey plans to verify the area and exact location
of the property using street intersections and bridges for reference.

“If you are looking at a middle plot, you must work out the distance between
one of the marker posts and the reference point shown in the plans,” he recommends,
adding that the unique property number (folio real) must agree, or in the case
of divided land, that it agrees with the overall estate’s property number.

Acuna advises buyers to check if the land is near to nature reserves, national
parks or beaches that are often restricted areas, to find out if any construction
will face a public street or if there are any easements. “It could be that
the street is a national highway with a 50-meter right-of-access on either side,
or a canton road managed by the local municipal authority.”

If there are easements, are they agricultural or right-of-access and how far-reaching
are they? Public services are not obliged to carry out internal link-ups of cables
or pipes.

Finally, Amador recommends backing one or two centimeters in from a neighbor’s
boundary to avoid problems. “If anything happens and building has to stop
temporarily, the best answer is to fence the property leaving 80% of the front
boundary visible to avoid neighbor encroachment, squatters and municipal fines.”

And what if a neighbor encroaches?

1. Prevention is the best option by keeping boundaries clear and communicating
with your neighbors.

2. If you think your neighbor has encroached on your land, contract a surveyor to see whether you are right or not.

3. Try conciliation: realign the boundary fence to its correct position if you
have to. Remember that if you accept a change to your property’s dimensions, you
must change the Land Register entry and have new plans made to reflect the changes.

4. If you have to go to court, you might face penal charges (with a prison sentence)
or liability (and have to pay out damages) over and above legal costs and time
involved.

The most common problems are misrepresentation, encroachment due to moved boundary
fences, double registration and invasion of public areas.

Our thanks to Gloriana Gomez and our friends at La Nacion – Costa
Rica’s largest Spanish circulation newspaper for their permission to use
this article…

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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.