Title Search
Land
title records of Costa Rican properties can be viewed
on the Internet but the document is available only in
Spanish. The following interpretation of key words should
guide you to the information that you are seeking.
-
You
will first need the six digit number that identifies
the property called the “folio real.” Then
go to www.registronacional.go.cr (the national registry).
-
Click
on the word “Consultas” (inquiry) on the
menu bar at the top.
-
Then
click on “Bienes Inmuebles” (immovable property,
(immovable property, real estate) at the top left
column and go to “Por Número de Finca
o Concesión” (by number of the property
concession), second from the top.
-
You
then insert the name of the province and the property
identification number (“Finca”) and click
on “Consultar” (get advice).
-
The
next screen reveals the name of the property owner
(“Proprietario”), the owner's identification
certificate number (“cedula de identidad”)
and the owner’s marital status.
-
At
the bottom of the screen is the word “Gravemenes”
meaning encumbrances. If there are none, the "NO
HAY" alongside. If otherwise and you are not
aware of any charges against he property, you should
then consult an attorney who can perform a more extensive
search and explain the facts surrounding the nature
of the encumbrance(s).
-
Also,
by clicking “Historia,” you can learn of
the history of property transfers and charges against
the title to the property.
It
is indeed fortunate that the government of Costa Rica
has made information concerning properties easily accessible
to property owners via the Internet. A purchaser can rest
assured that his/her financial interests can be authenticated.
HELPFUL
HINTS Microsoft
Word allows you translate Spanish (or a dozen other
languages into English (U.S.) and vice versa. It may
not be a perfect translation but it can help to obtain
the general tone of the message.Just
follow these steps.If
you have visited a Cost Rica website where the wording
is written in Spanish, highlight, copy and paste the
website text that you wish to translate into a Word
document.Go
to “Tools” then “language” and then
to “translate”. A window opens on the right.
Select Spanish to English. By clicking on the arrow
in the small green box, the computer searches the on-line
translation dictionary to provide the answer.Full
paragraphs may be translated in this manner and the
arrow to activate the search may be found by scrolling
down using the bar to the right.Other
helpful translation resources may be found at http://www.freetranslation.com, http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr and http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dict_en_esPLANNING
TO BUY A CAR IN COSTA RICA
The
government of Costa Rica has arranged a simple means
for potential car buyers to check the ownership of the
car that he or she plans to buy via the Internet. It
is the prudent thing to do.
-
The
current car ownership registration can be viewed by
going to the national registry at www.registronacional.go.cr.
The information is provided in Spanish only but this
article provides help with the interpretation into
English.
-
Click
on the word “Consultas” (inquiry) on the
menu bar at the top.
-
Click
on Bienes Muebles (movable property, chattels, personal
property) – and then click on “Vehículos”
(vehicles) at the top.
-
“Placa”
or licence plate appears at the top of the list. Enter
the licence plate number and then click on click on
“Consultar” (get advice).
-
The
name of the legal owner of the car appears. By clicking
on “Infracciones” you can learn if any problems
exist – and hopefully “Vehiculo no tiene
Infracciones” appears; meaning that that there
are no infractions that are held against the car.
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