A surefire way to protect your real estate here

By: Garland M. Baker B.

Exclusive to A.M. Costa Rica

Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated. We are currently preparing a comprehensive update. Sign up for our Alerts to be notified as soon as the revised content is live!

Behind every palm tree, there is someone lingering to steal a property one calls home.  Costa Rica is a win-lose society.  This means to win, someone else must lose.  Surely, this is the reason there is so much corruption in every level of the government.  Two ex-presidents jailed is a prime example of the current state of affairs. 

A common practice among savvy Ticos when investing in real estate is to self-mortgage a purchased property.  Usually, this is done by creating another company apart from the one holding the property and using it to hold a mortgage over the other.  

This practice provides a fail-safe measure over real estate because should some crook illicitly transfer a property to him or herself, the company holding the mortgage executes the document against the crook to regain possession and ownership. 

This custom is well known, commonly practiced but totally illegal, and this method does not guarantee full protection.  

Cremation: A logical choice for an expat here

By: Garland M. Baker B.
Exclusive to A.M. Costa Rica

Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated. We are currently preparing a comprehensive update. Sign up for our Alerts to be notified as soon as the revised content is live!

Tomorrow is All Souls' Day, a Roman Catholic time to commemorate the departed believed to be in Purgatory. The day purposely follows All Saints’ Day, today, to shift the focus from those in Heaven to those in Purgatory. 

Regardless of how difficult it may be to admit, death is a part of life everyone must face.  How one deals with death is as important as how one deals with life. 

In Guanacaste, Costa Rica, it is a custom of the local people in small towns to have a party for someone who has died. For when that person was considered to have lived a full and fulfilling life and had left no unfinished business behind. 

It is critical to leave a plan for loved ones.  Most people only think about death in terms of a will.  A will is only part of a good succession plan.  Another essential element of a good plan is leaving instructions on one’s preference as to burial or cremation.