HOW TO CHECK A PROPERTY TITLE
IN COSTA RICA
USING THE REGISTRO NACIONAL
(NATIONAL REGISTRY) WEB SITE

Okay, you want to check a property that you are looking at. You have the map that has the Finca number on it and you want to find out if it's as big as they say it is, who owns it and if there are any liens or mortgages or other encumbrances on it.

USING THE REGISTRO NACIONAL WEB SITE

Follow these 5 Easy Steps to check any Costa Rican real estate, to see if it has a clear title, who owns it, and how big it is:

1.) First, click on this link: "Por Número de Finca o Concesión".
[NOTE: If and only if this link above does not work, you will have to follow these instructions on the next five lines; otherwise if the link above works, proceed to #2 below:
First, go to this link:
http://www.registronacional.go.cr/
Now, click on the link across the top of that page that says "Bienes Inmuebles".
Then choose the link on the left that says "Consultas".
Now click on the link that says "Por Numero de Finca o Concesion".]

2.) Now look at your the Property Map you got from your realtor or your attorney, and find the place at the bottom where it has a number preceded by a letter. For example it might be N2-123456-000

You are concerned with that number. Ignore the N. The next number after it is "2". In this case, above, it is "N2") That 2 means that the property is in the 2nd Province or Provincia, which is Alajuela. So in the first drop down menu on the Registro web site under Por Numero de Finca o Concesion, where it says "Provincia", choose 2 - Alajuela. As you see from the drop down menu there, 1 is San Jose, 2 is Alajuela, etc.

3.) Okay. The next box below that says "Finca" and that's where you put the number that is preceded by the N in our example. But don't put the whole number. No, you've already put the 2, so ignore that 2 after the N and put the next 6 numbers in the box. Forget the last 3 zeros in our example.

In the example above, the numbers are 123456 (which is not a real Finca number, so don't try it).

*For now, you'll Ignore the next 3 boxes which say "Duplicado", "Horizontal" and "Derechos".*

4.) Now enter the password letters you see in the box that allows you to use the system (where it says "Digite las palabras de arriba:". (If you cannot read the words, click on "Deme Otro CAPTCHA" until you get 2 words you can read.)

[***NOTE: sometimes the Registro web site does not work. It gets bogged down with too many people trying to access it, and you can't get the info you need. The best thing to do is try again an hour or two later. Sometimes it works better late at night or on the weekend.]

5.) Now click on the button below that which says "CONSULTAR", and ...

THERE is the info on the property you are inquiring about!

What does the page say? Well, if you can't read Spanish, you may just want to copy or print it and send or take it to someone who can.

But the basics are this:

CHECK THE TOTAL AREA OF THE PROPERTY

You want to pay attention to the part that says "MIDE" which means measurement, and it will tell you how big the property is, in square meters. For example:
"MIDE: TREINTA Y CUATRO MIL NOVECIENTOS CUARENTA Y CUATRO METROS CON CINCUENTA DECIMETROS CUADRADOS".
This says that the property in question is 34,944 square meters with 50 decimeters or 3.4944 hectares. The translation above says, (exactly translated):
" Measurement: 30 and 4 thousand, 944 meters with 50 decimeters squared." Or the way we would say it, ""34 thousand, 944 square meters" (dropping off the fairly insignificant decimeters) or "34,944. square meters." Just move the decimal point over 4 places to get hectares, so we have 3.4944 hectares. (remember that 10,000 square meters is a hectare, so if you have 34,000 it is clear that you have 3.4 hectares; 78,000 would be 7.8 hectares, etc.

Multiply the hectares x 2.47 to get acres. So this property of 3.494 hectares is 8.63 acres.

CHECK WHO OWNS THE PROPERTY

Now, the next thing you want to concern yourself with is the part below the area, where it says:
"Propietario". The info below "Proprietario" says who the owner is. If the owner is not who they told you it was, or if it has several people or several S.A.'s or LLC's listed, then you are buying from who it says there. If there are 2 or 8 people or corportations listed then you have to have all their agreement. This is something your attorney will have to check out very carefully. If it's one person and that is the person you were told, that's a good sign! IF there are 3 people listed there and you were told one person is selling it, that could be a problem; or not, depending on if the others have also agreed to sell. This is why you must have an attorney who will check things out closely for you.

CHECK LIENS, EASEMENTS, ENCUMBRANCES, AND SO ON

The other thing you want to concern yourself with, on the Registro Nacional or Registry page, is the part where it says:
"Anotaciones sobre la finca" (annotations) and "Gravamenes" (encumbrances, which includes mortgages, liens, easements, etcetera.

Hopefully both of these are followed by "No Hay" which means there are none, which is good. If it has entries there, it may not necessarily be bad, but they are things that should be looked at carefully by your attorney. For example, one thing that might be there is an easement. In the case of my lots at Rancho Silencio, for example, there are Gravamenes which refer to the fact that there is a "servidumbre de paso" or a driveway that is allowed to go through the side of each lot in order to gain access to the other lots back to the main road. Another type of "gravamene" that could appear is if some money is still owed to the bank, and that can be taken out of the money you pay the owner so he can pay it off and all is well. The bottom line is, ask your attorney about any gravamenes.

MAKE SURE YOU REALLY OWN YOUR PROPERTY!

Remember that once you buy a property and are back in the U.S. or Europe or wherever, you can come to this Registro page on the internet to make sure you actually DID buy your property. Because if it is not listed here in the Registro under your name, then you do not yet own it, even if you paid cash and think you own it; or if you did own it, you may not any longer. (Assuming there was not some sort of mistake on the web site.)

The bottom line is that you will want to check the Registro site a month or so after you buy your property to make sure the property was correctly entered in the name of your Corporation (SA) or Limited Partnership (LLC). If after a month it is still not changed into your name or the name of your company, contact your attorney and ask him why.

Thereafter, you should check it about every 5 months just to make sure nothing has gone wrong, no one has hacked in or somehow sold your property to someone else, put a lien on it or whatever. This is not likely at all, in fact it is almost unheard of. But if you're like me, you'd rather be safe than sorry, and checking up on things, as we have learned, is always a good thing in Costa Rica.

If all is well - the size is correct, the name of the owner is correct and listings of easements and encumbrances are correct -then all is well!

Congratulations on owning your own little piece of paradise, in beautiful Costa Rica! Believe me, it's a good feeling when it's all done and in your name! Go grab that bottle of champagne you bought for the occasion and drink a toast to being a property owner in Costa Rica!

NOTE RE PRINTING PLANO MAPS FROM THE REGISTRO WEB SITE:
You can't! You have to go to the Registro office and get them yourself or have your attorney get them. (I'm not sure if you need proof of ownership to get them or if you just need the info or i.d... Ask your attorney! )

Please take a look at our other pages on How to Buy Real Estate in Costa Rica, How to Choose an Attorney in Costa Rica, How to Open a Bank Account in Costa Rica, and our FAQ and LINKS pages.

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Thank you for your interest in Costa Rica and thank you for stopping by RanchoSilencio.com!