Costa Rica Mortgages – A simple process with a professional mortgage broker on your team.

Welcome to this new series to familiarize you with the mortgage process for buying property in Costa Rica. Our goal will be to break down and demystify the often cloudy context and bring you clear, concise answers to many often asked mortgage questions.

I look forward to being your guide in this journey and will do my best to help you reach your goals with more ease. We will be tackling one aspect of international mortgages every week so you can be the skilled investor that you know you are, by asking the right questions and protecting yourself as much as possible in the buying process.

We will be covering many aspects but, if for some reason you have not seen your topic covered or you are seeking me to expound on an area that has already been covered by all means contact me using the form at the bottom of this page.

We will answer your questions personally and in as timely manner as possible. If we do not initially know the answer, we will tell you that we do not know however, I promise to give you our best estimated time frame to provide you with your answer. We will also feature questions that we get from VIP Members in this series, so check back – your question may be the one featured!

You may be planning a buying trip to Jaco or already in Escazu and have looked at a couple of homes and have finally walked through your dream home – either way the question inevitably always arises from my clients:

“What do I have to do to get qualified for a mortgage?”

Most buyers, even ones that can afford to pay cash prefer to finance their purchase to remain as liquid as possible so let’s take a look at the simple, three step Costa Rica mortgage process:

1. We will start by asking you to send us the standard mortgage application which most people are going to be familiar with.
2. We will then review your credit and…
3. You should also email me your tax returns for the last two years taxes.

Yes, I can see all you self-employed borrowers shuddering at the sound of providing tax returns who now think they are ‘out’ of the equation, this is not the case.

Although we do not offer Stated Loans,* self-employed borrowers can bring in on the income from their company to support the mortgage payments for their new home in Costa Rica, thereby adding the company on as a co-borrower. We have helped numerous clients this way who would not have never been able to qualify without this unique feature.

In this case, company tax returns will also need to be provided, unless you file a schedule K (as an example) through your personal return. Last two years tax returns are a general rule and there is no need to worry if you filed an extension, we just need to provide 2004 returns then.

I do not need originals of the tax returns, so faxed or emailed copies are always fine. In some cases, I tell my clients that they may need to hold off if they know their 2006 returns are going to be beneficial in their favor. This is difficult for some, I know – but it is essential to lead with your best foot forward in this arena.

Hasta luego!

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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.