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have you tried
http://images.google.de/[quote=”elindermuller”]
No I do not. Off course the landlord can do whatever he wants with the security deposit he receives from the renter at the beginning of the rental period, as long as he comes up with the money at the end of the rental period to pay it back. Off course he can use the initial deposit to pay a commssion to the broker, or he can drink the money in a bar, or flush it down the toilet. But once the renter moves out, all bills are up to date and no damages are done to the building, the landlord can not refuse to pay the security deposit back with the excuse that he had to pay a commission, unless it is agreed to in the rental contract by all parties involved.
[/quote]On 20 March you wrote that the landlord can use the deposit to pay the commission only “if all parties agree” – all I have been trying to get you to acknowledge is that there does not have to be an agreement between the parties – the landlord can use the deposit for whatever, and you have now done that – thank you.
And there is no disagreement that the deposit is still subject to be reimbursed, in accordance with the terms of the rental contract. In your litany of conditions (no damages, all bills are paid….) you forgot to say “and the term of the lease has been fulfilled”. If the renter leaves early, that is typically a default and the renter forfeits the deposit.
Lease well…..
[quote=”elindermuller”]
Regarding the security deposit (to cover damages and unpaid utility bills), I never disagreed.Rental commission (which is the subject of this post), has nothing to do with the security deposit.[/quote]
Except that you refuse to acknowledge that in Costa Rica the Landlord has the right to use, and in fact often does use, all or part of the security deposit to fund all or part of the agent’s commission.
[quote=”elindermuller”]The CostaRican lease law does not obligate the landlord to put depo in escrow, therefore they use it for whatever they want. [/quote]
Thank you, I think you now agree with what both Scott & I said.
[quote=”elindermuller”]
The statement that the rental deposit is for commission.
You can do it this way if all parties agree, but it is not common.[/quote]Unless the deposit is required to be held in a trust account or otherwise prohibited from commingling with the owner’s other funds (like is common in states/countries where the practice of real estate is regulated and licensed) – then you really don’t know what the owner does with the renter’s deposit monies, do you?
You say it is not common, but once the tenant moves in and pays the deposit to the owner and starts paying rent to the owner, how do you know that the owner isn’t using part or all of the deposit to pay the agent’s commission? (or fix his car with it? or buy groceries with it? or go on vacation with it?……..)
Unless the agent is also doing the owner’s accounting and or property management and controlling the owner’s bank account, the agent really doesn’t know how the deposit monies are used.
Put quite simply, if the owner is allowed to commingle the deposit monies with his other monies, he is, in all likely hood using some or all of the deposit monies to pay the commission. Of course, he still has the obligation to refund all or part of the deposit at the end of the rental term in accordance with the terms of the rental contract.
[quote=”Danishlis”]Recently I was told that when you rent a rental property the party renting the property must pay this fee (commission ) not the property owner. Real or false.[/quote]
Really, the information you are getting is accurate, but in order for everyone to offer specific advice, it may help if we knew:
how long is the renter going to be in possession of the property?
you used the term “party renting the property” – is it a long term lease, or a short term “vacation rental”?
did the agent have a “listing” on the property?
did any other agent have a “listing” on the property, and if so, did the agent that made the deal go through the “listing agent”?
commission rates vary according to the agreement between the parties (if in contract) and are often “re-negotiated” to help make the deal work, in other words the parties make the ask the agent to reduce their commission and the agent realizes 7% of x is much better than 10% of nothing. I know this happens both here and in the States (and I presume it happens in Germany).
commission rates also vary according to “locally accepted customs”, the type of property (farm, condo, large house, small house, etc.) term, location and other particulars. For instance, a short term vacation rental may command a 10% – 15% commission, as opposed to a long term house rental that may be in the range that Scott mentioned.
So, I guess it is hard to say there is a country-wide “norm”. Even in the States where regulations and licensing prevail, it has been ruled that the local boards cannot publish or regulate commission rates – at least in the 3 states where I hold a broker’s license.
But, just like I said before, we are not in the Germany or the States. Costa Rica is the wild, wild,west of real estate!
[quote=”elindermuller”]Real Estate brokers get approached by both, landlords and potential renters, so in most cases they are dual-agents. So who should pay the commission ? In Germany the landlord lists his house with a broker, potential renters go to brokers office, broker sends them to the landlord. Still the renter pays commission in many cases (I had to, many years ago…)[/quote]
We are not in Germany.
First of all, who “hires” the leasing agent? If the owner of the property “hires” the agent to lease his property, represent the owner’s best interest and work on the owner’s behalf, then (unless it is specified and agreed between the owner and agent) it should be the owner’s responsibility to pay the agent. Afterall, the owner never has to pay the agent if the agent doesn’t perform, right?
On the other hand if the renter hires the agent to “go find me a property”, then they must agree in advance on who the agent is to look to for his commission. If the renter demands that the agent receive his commission from the owner, then the agent must disclose that to the owner in advance so as to avoid conflict once the deal is done. In this situation, the agent’s role becomes more of a “transaction agent” rather than representing the exclusive interests of either party.
In other words, agent, owner and renter should all be aware from the start (a) who the agent represents and (b) who is responsible for payment of the commission.
Of course, I am writing this as if the question is to be resolved in a country that has real estate ethics and regulations…….
G-M-O???
Silly me, all this time I thought they were arguing about GTO’s, the great little muscle car that Pontiac produced in the 60’s & 70’s!!!
Nevermind![quote=”DavidCMurray”]
crbill, I understand the vacuum-packing part, but are you aging these cuts in the bottom of the [u]refrigerator[/u] (at around 37 degrees F) or in the bottom of the [u]freezer[/u] (at near zero)?
[/quote]David, freezing stops the aging process, so put them in the fridge – I didn’t believe it either when first told by my friend, a retired chef. We have an extra fridge in the bodega, so I just put the vacuum sealed meat in there and forget about it. I have actually left it as long as 5 weeks and was fine, As long as it stays cold. After the aging process, I cut it into the portions I want and either freeze it or cook & enjoy it.
The food sealers are indeed a great kitchen tool. We have looked all over for the bags or the rolls of material – does Cemanco have those as well?
[quote=”pebo1″]OK so my question is—can you purchase any local vacuum packed tenderloin in CR and age in your fridge for the same affect?
I often see packaged local tenderloins at Pricesmart that look
good but heard most local beef is not aged locally and pretty tough.Thanks[/quote]
Yes, as long as it is vacuum sealed! I have bought tenderloins at P’ Mart (both local and imported USDA), brought them home and done the same thing and it really does help. Right now I have 10kg of brisket I bought at Liberia aging. That (like our local carnerceria tenderloins) was not vacuum sealed. I bring them home, cut to portions I want and then vacuum seal with our “seal-a-meal) put in the fridge and pull them out 3 weeks later. Then, if you want you can cut and freeze and then thaw when you are ready to eat and you will have a much more tender piece of red meat.
[quote=”Sailor”]I cannot comment on Black Angus beef. However, many of my expat friends in Guanacaste steered me to a butcher, in a strip mall, across the road from the Liberia Airport. The beef is from Nicaraqua, great quality, and can be cut with a fork.[/quote]
We generally stop there whenever near the airport. It has a very good selection of beef, pork, ribs, lamb, etc.
If you really want to experience enhanced flavor and even more tenderness, bring home the cryovack-wrapped (sorry for spelling) lomito tenderloin, and just put it (still sealed) in the bottom drawer of your fridge for 3 weeks or so. Then you can open the bag, cut off what you are ready to cook and freeze the remainder.Unlike dry-aging, there is no loss of weight with this wet-aging process, and it really does make a difference!!
[quote=”waggoner41″]
It really isn’t surprising that Costa Rica would have so many pleasant beaches when you look at the long continental shelf along the Pacific coast of Costa RIca compared to the rest of Central America in combination with the climate.[/quote]I agree Les, but in this case we must be aware that the list was compiled by those thousands of TripAdvisor “members” that voted (and presumably visited) the various beaches of Central America – so I think we probably have to expand your definition of “climate”.
Most of Central America enjoys a similar “weather climate”, but it is pretty obvious that the “political climate” varies greatly from country to country, and in this regard it seems obvious that (in spite of all of the bitching and complaining that you read on this and other forums) Costa Rica has been and remains near the top of that part of the list as compared to other Central American countries, and hence, is an even more attractive destination for most of the travelers looking for a pleasant “climate”.
Then, if you add in the “personality and happiness climate” of the general population and especially those trained in the hospitality industry, it gets even better.
Many places have prettier water and just as attractive beaches – case in point, the Bahamas – but the attitude of the people has significantly impacted tourism adversely for many years.
The only place I have been where the sincere friendliness of general population is as nice and as accommodating as it is here in Costa Rica is Cuba. It is amazing how nice the Cuban people are after decades and decades of being taught to despise the USA and hate all “yankees”. In general, the average Cuban has much less than the poorest of Costa Ricans, but they are just as happy and just as nice!
To find out if you have any taxes due, apparently in any form, go to Rigistro National at:
http://196.40.56.20/consultasic/wf_consultajuridicas.aspx
click on CONSULTA and select “Personas Juridicas” you can enter the cedula number of your property and click on the “Consultar Sociedades” button below.
[quote=”ratus”]Greetings all. We have made the plunge and purchased a home in Coco. We have set up a Corp. to transfer title, and on Monday we are going to Banque Nacional to TRY to set up a bank account. We are returning to Canada on April 8th and want to get everything we can done, before that time. We don’t have any status here, and don’t have a Cedulla or have even started the process ( THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A REAL ESTATE SEARCH TRIP…NOT PURCHASE<:) …can we open an account without the Dimex. If we can't what the heck do we do? Seems its getting harder to open an account here?[/quote]
I can only give you the details of current banking experiences in Samara as related to me by recent newcomers to our community.
Not one of them has been successful in getting an account open with BNCR.
All of them have been able to get new accounts with BCR!
I bank with BNCR and I am very pleased with the service I get at the local branch so the above info has no ill intent toward BNCR. Just reporting the facts as they have been reported to me. Actually, this was a big discussion yesterday at our First Friday event.
