Suscribe to our weekly newsletter
SYNDICATIONOur Costa Rica Home Specialist Rudy Matthews, follows up on last month’s article To FSBO or not FSBO written by our East Side San Jose specialist Patrick Mullheren. Rudy writes:
I share with you comments that I hope will be informational and helpful concerning Real Estate to you, your family and friends. My comments are based on my personal perspective of the real estate market here in Costa Rica.
FOR SALE BY OWNER
Several months ago there was a discussion of buying real estate here on CRL. One article caught my eye stating number one - DO NOT HIRE A REALTOR. That is interesting because a person much wiser than me warned me many years ago about making broad generalizations about people, professions and even countries. I have always believed that and generalizations can sometimes get you in trouble.
I would like to share with you my perspective of "For Sale By Owner ". Before evolving into sales I did consulting here in Costa Rica for one year. I enjoyed it except I was continually dealing with problems people had gotten themselves into. Ninety eight per cent of the problems were when a buyer went directly to an owner or developer. First of all the owner may think their property is registered segregated etc and ready to sell or they know it is not and hope someone comes along with a check. The buyer may think so also- only to have given the seller a down payment or purchased the property to find it was not what they thought they were buying. It happens.
Going directly to a developer-ever check a developers contract - it is skewed a little - usually totally in favor of the developer. Representing a client - the developer contract should be changed to be fair to both parties. There are many people who contacted me wanting their deposits back from Paragon Properties - it was and is too late and Paragon has legal problems all over.
TRUE STORY- Last month a client from Hawaii contacted a FSBO on Viviun - he came here - made an offer on a different property that was not accepted and had to leave early due to a problem back home.
He wanted me to check out the 200 acres he had an interest in. I went to the property - it was divided into four sections - the sellers gave me three sections that were registered. The fourth - they had a survey only - out of the 200 acres - it was 160 acres - the largest parcel. Checked it out - was not registered and the land was IDA which can be a problem here. Access was terrible - The land was cheap and will continue to be so. The buyer could have sent them a check and regretted it.
Everyone has choices and I respect that -many deals through FSBO may proceed and close without problems. I feel that REPRESENTATION is the factor you want on your side. A good realtor will check out the property and represent you in the many areas of the sale that are not readily noticed. A good realtor works very hard for you.
Patrick Mulheren has an excellent detailed article on FSBO on the GoDutch Realty web site for November, if you wish further information.
Rudy Matthews is a former Tampa, Florida resident with a vast and varied experience in real estate. Rudy is our primary Home Specialist and will provide you with an excellent perspective of "Quality Lifestyle Communities". His stated objective is for clients to have an exceptional buying experience in Costa Rica.