What is the Real Scope of the Real Estate Fraud Problem in Costa Rica?
For sure it is safer to buy and own property in Costa Rica than in other Central American countries. And the legal system offers a great foundation to property owners. Big or small problem, reality does not allow to wave away that fraud exists. Here’s a summary of what I found in the Nacion: The somewhat alarming article states that the National Registry has it’s hands tied in trying to protect real estate ownership rights. The institute can’t control nor prevent fraud. Actually they don’t have a system to prevent fraud as it does not take place within the Registry. This crime appears when a person is robbed illicitly of his/her property and presents a serious problem affecting the Registry. Since 2004 over 250 of these fraud reports have been filed. How can a property illegally pass to another owner? In most fraudulent cases, a public notary, already deceived or part of the scam, modifies the registry data of a property by presenting false testimonies to modify a registered title. The
