Small Business Loan

[cacevedo222]

I am beginning the process of building a rental property in Heredia. I am married to a Tica and have applied for residency (It is going to take a bit longer I heard because of the elections and new scrutiny). I have some start up capital and have already started my sociedad anónima. Has anyone gone through the process of getting a mortgage and or small business loan from any of the banks down here? I am wondering whether or not it would just be wiser to take out a loan in the US (probably with HSBC or Citi as they both have a presence here). Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Carlos

[DavidCMurray]

We have obtained two mortgages from HSBC here. The first was to build our home and the second was a refinance. In both instances, we used a mortgage broker and felt like the cost was worth the assistance they gave us. Since then, it’s my understanding that mortgage lending has become more difficult but still it seems that the mortgage brokers would know what’s feasible and what’s not.

[rebetzen]

Citi Bank isn’t giving mortgages. I was just in C.R. and went to all the banks also. We are now going to try and obtain a mortgage with Stewart Title.

[cacevedo222]

Thanks! I felt that HSBC was definitely the right choice.

[DavidCMurray]

HSBC bought Banco Banex here in Costa Rica a couple or three years ago. While the parent company is the same, by all appearances HSBC in the U.S. and HSBC here have no meaningful connections.

I’ve asked about getting an account at HSBC in the U.S. and then transferring money to my HSBC account here in Costa Rica. The answer was that it was virtually impossible unless I opened a “Premier” account in the U.S. A Premier account requires a minimum balance of $100,000US. Fat chance!

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