Orotina Properties

How to evaluate land before buying it in Costa Rica: a due-diligence checklist.

Buying land in Costa Rica is safe and transparent, but the outcome depends on something that happens before you sign: due diligence. Reviewing a parcel properly avoids the most common and costly mistake — discovering, once the property is in hand, that the dream project isn't viable. Here's the checklist of what to verify.

1. Registry status

Confirm with the National Registry who the owner is and whether the parcel has mortgages, liens, annotations, or limitations. An attorney does this in minutes with the real folio (title number).

2. Cadastral survey plan

Verify that the plan is registered and that the measurements and boundaries match reality and the Registry.

3. Land use

Request the land-use certification from the municipality and confirm your project is permitted. It's the most important viability filter: without the right use, there is no project.

4. Water availability

This is the constraint that stops the most developments. Confirm feasibility through the ASADA or AyA (water utilities), or the viability of a well. Get it in writing.

5. Environmental conditions

Check proximity to rivers or streams (which create non-buildable protection setbacks), recharge zones, and any SETENA requirements.

6. Access and utilities

Verify legal access to a public road, the condition of the road, and the availability of electricity.

7. Taxes current

The Registry will not register a transfer if the seller's municipal tax is not up to date.

With this review done — ideally with an attorney and using escrow for the funds — you buy with peace of mind. And when a parcel already has part of this path resolved, the risk drops noticeably.

This 4.57-ha parcel in Orotina already has a cadastral survey plan, registry study, and certification of the seven approved uses.

See how to buy in Costa Rica
Want the underlying documents?

The due-diligence file is in the data room.

Qualified parties get the full file, including the use certification, after a short introduction.

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