How we measure properties in Costa Rica

How we measure properties in Costa Rica

By Ivo Henfling

When in school, you might have learned about yards, inches, square feet and acres. Well, in Costa Rica, all that is no good and you will have to learn about the metric system. Unless you have found a real estate agent you trust.
If you are buying property in Costa Rica, you will find the measurements will normally be in the metric system, though many real estate companies list the size of the house for sale in square feet and the size of the land in acres as well as in hectares.
I know, you do it different back home but just like you have to learn the Spanish language to make your new life easier, you will also need to understand how we measure properties in Costa Rica.
To help you a little with this difficult part of buying property for sale, we’ve made a Costa Rica Land Measurement Chart below

Under roof

Houses in Costa Rica are measured by taking the width by the length of the house, as opposed to many places on earth where they measure interior space, a/c space or even by volume. Houses in Costa Rica are measured in square meters or m2 and everything under roof is what counts. To get to find what the size of the house is in square feet, take the size in meters and multiply it by 11 is an easy shortcut.
Costarican builders and real estate agents just take full measure of interior spaces as well as exterior spaces. Some might not include a covered terrace; most do include the garage as they always have tiled floors and are mostly finished as nicely as the living room.

Registered size of a house

The size of the house is never registered in the National Register or on the survey. For that reasons, most option to purchase sale agreements will show an approximate size of construction. The only ways to find out how large the house is would be to measure it or to try to find the construction plans in the Municipality. You will need a lot of magic for the second option.

Registered size of a condo

The size of a condo in Costa Rica is what will show in the National Register and will show the size of the living space only. Many condos will include parking spaces and storage spaces as common areas and some will have a separate registered title with its own survey for the parking and another for the storage.

Registered size of land

Land is registered in the National Register in meters. But you will find that property will be described in a listing in m2 when it is under 10,000 m2 and in hectares when it is more than that. One hectare stands for 2.5 acres though you’ll still find a lot of local farmers use the word manzana, which is 7,000 meters (1 3/4 acre), the size of the minimal allowed agricultural lot size. When you purchase a property in Costa Rica, make sure the size on the survey is the same as the one showed in the National register.

Shortcuts

Easy shortcuts for you would be:

• Translate 1 linear meter (m1) into linear foot: multiply meters by 3 (to be exact 3.28).

• Translate 1 square meter (m2) into square foot: multiply by 11 (to be exact 10.76).

• One meter is one big step of a middle sized person, for easy measurement.

• One hectare is 2.5 acres.

When you buy property in Costa Rica, make sure you do it through a real estate agent who knows his/her job. Talk to a GoDutch realty agent now.

How we measure properties in Costa Rica

Foreclosure Auction coming up on Escazu property

Press Release by Mortgage Broker

Upcoming Real Estate Foreclosure Auction of Escazu home by mortgage broker on the 14th of June 2012, contact us now for participation. This Costa Rica real estate auction will take place at 1600 hours in the Stewart Title building in Escazu.
Have you been waiting for your chance to purchase a Costa Rica property at a bargain price? This is your chance. Bottom feeders are welcome! This home was rented at a very good ROI and will be delivered in good working condition.
If you would like a member of our real estate team to represent you at this upcoming auction, just let us know.

The property

This two-story Escazu home is in a prime location only blocks away from Multiplaza in Escazu, in a very secure compound of 5 homes. No condominium fees.

 

This 4 bedroom / 4 bathroom home for sale offers large social areas and kitchen, plus a good size laundry area. Good sized garden and plenty of parking.

 

Property Size: 694.39 m2 (7,638 sq.ft.)
Construction Size: 470 m2 (5,170 sq.ft.)
The opening bid must start at US$265,101

Terms and conditions

Bidders must deposit 50% of the base price by certified check or direct deposit into the account of the Trustee, having a time limit of three working days from the date of the auction to deposit the remaining fifty percent and have to pay the corresponding title transfer cost.

 

Failure to pay on time, the auction will be declared groundless and fifty percent of the selling price previously delivered to the Trustee shall be retained as compensation for damages caused.
In the absence of bidders in the first auction, a second attempt will be made ten working days after the first and with a base price of 25% below the base of the first auction. In case of no bidders in the second attempt, and ten days after the second auction, there will be a third attempt with a base of 75% below the set as a base in the first auction.

    

At any time the auction can be suspended in case the borrower cancels the entire amounts due under the guaranteed loan and all fees, insurance and other costs incurred by this Trust.
If you are interested in any other Costa Rica real estate auction, make sure you subscribe to our weekly newsletter and you’ll be kept up to date.

Interested parties can contact us NOW for more information. Real Estate agents are welcome.

Do half the people who move to Costa Rica move back again?

By Ivo Henfling

Adventure, sunshine, lower cost of living, being happy and a better lifestyle, to mention a few, are reasons that make us take the decision to move to Costa Rica or to any other country.

It is a great decision or a horrible one, there is nothing in between, no matter if you move to the city or to the beaches. If it is a happy story or a horror story does not only depend on being committed or not, there are a lot of big and small details involved.

Costa Rica Public Hospitals

By Ivo Henfling

If you have residency in Costa Rica you are obliged to be registered at the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social  or C.C.S.S.  though this government mannaged health care system has long been broke. To see any doctors, you will need to start standing in line at 4:00 am to get attended and most of the time they’ll give you an appointment 6 months later. The system works though for those who do not have private insurance like I.N.S. or any other insurance company, you just need to be a bit patient and bring a book.