Conflicting maps may jeopardize land ownership

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Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated.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!

This is the time to have a trusted surveyor second check to see if there are overlaying maps on any property owned in Costa Rica.  If there are contradicting maps, the uncertainty could soon cause big trouble.

Around three years ago, the Registro Nacional and its Catastro or plat map department started a plan to crosscheck properties.  Before this time, there was little or no checking done.  Now Registro workers are using sophisticated equipment, including NASA photographs, to check map overlays.

Here is a true story that happened recently.

Special setup lets employers duck Caja collectors

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Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated.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!

The Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, known to most in its abbreviated form as CCSS or just the Caja is out in force to collect money owed to the institution. Many companies owe the Caja money.  Some try to play games with the system, so they do not have to pay.  Here is a bit of background and a company structure that most expats and Ticos alike do not know about, that can be used to avoid the game playing.

Digital push at Registro opens door to crooks

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Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated.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!

Expats and everyone else holding assets in Costa Rica should check the documents pertaining to their properties as soon as possible to be sure everything is in order. Asset thefts are on the rise because of the digitalization of documents throughout the country.

The problem is that as the government institutions digitalize, the workers are omitting important information from the original documents. One could wake up one morning and find the house stolen.

Employee revenge can spell doom to a company

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!

Today’s employee could be a company’s worst enemy tomorrow.  If an employee turns, some will do as much harm as they can to their employer.

There are three important rules to finding and keeping a good employee:  selection, training and remuneration.  Even after going through a strict selection process, training employees extensively and paying them well, a day could come when they turn on the company.  

There does not need to be a particularly good reason for this to happen.  An employee may just decide to find another job, move on with their lives, or decide they would rather not work anymore.  Whatever the reason, many employees – especially in Costa Rica – see easy money by accusing their boss or others in their company of mistreatment.  Even though this strategy knows no sex, women employees know they can stretch their charges farther than men.

With proposed tax, they’ll get you coming or going

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!

There is a new tax on the horizon for all types of companies, including inactive ones, that could be expensive for expats living in Costa Rica.  This tax is just another way to squeeze everyone, including expats.  It will surely turn out to be a deterrent to investing in the country.

Web page easily calculates exiting employee’s pay

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!

Most expats in Costa Rica have experienced the problem of letting go of an employee or have one leave unexpectedly. One of the biggest headaches is calculating what is owed to them.

What usually happens is the employee goes to the labor ministry and has the calculations made there. An employer never knows if the numbers are right or wrong. Since many employees exaggerate the truth, the amounts sometimes end up in the stratosphere.

Here is a secret for expats to get a handle on employee severance pay.

New system provides those legal documents online

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!

There is nothing more frustrating in Costa Rica than to go to a bank, government agency or some store for a company purchase and the clerk asks: “Do you have a personería jurídica?”

The personería juridical is a legal document used in most Latin American countries to prove legal capacity or legal representation, mostly for companies, but there are certificaciones de poder, certifications of power — that are basically the same thing.

In the past, the only way to get one of these documents was to go to an attorney and pay him or her around $20. The attorney would print one on their fancy legal paper. A couple of years ago, the Registro Nacional allowed people to go directly to its offices and get a similar document for around 1,300 colons or $2.75 at the current exchange rate. A big difference from $20.

However, most people hate standing in the lines at the Registro Nacional and end up sending a messenger or using a messenger service. In the end, this turns out costing about the same.

Now there is something new. And, most importantly, it works, and it works great. The Registro Nacional has started something called the Registro Nacional Digital – the digital national registry.

Amazing, the digital system does work, and it is easy to use if one can use a computer.

Here is the rundown for anyone needing a personería juridica and a multitude of other documents provided by the system: