How to Choose a Real Estate Agent in Costa Rica

There is no licensing and no MLS. Here is how to tell a professional from a business card, and the six questions that sort them.

Costa Rica has no real estate licensing, no mandatory agent training, and no multiple listing service. Anyone can print business cards and call themselves an agent, and plenty do. That does not mean good agents are hard to find; it means the burden of checking is on you. Here is what to look for, what to ask, and what should make you walk away.

Why the market works differently

In the United States and Canada, a licensed agent lists a property once in the MLS and every other agent can show it. In Costa Rica there is no shared database. Each agency keeps its own inventory, sellers often list with several agencies at once, and the same house can appear on five websites at three different prices. Buyers who browse portals see a fraction of what is available and no reliable picture of what anything is worth. The agent's job, therefore, is different too: a good Costa Rica agent is your researcher and filter for the whole market, not a gatekeeper for one company's listings.

The other structural difference is oversight. There is no state licensing board. The Costa Rican Chamber of Real Estate Brokers (Cámara Costarricense de Corredores de Bienes Raíces) offers voluntary training and membership, and since 2017 real estate brokers and agencies have been required to register with SUGEF, the financial regulator, under Costa Rica's anti-money-laundering law and report suspicious transactions. That registration is the one hard credential that exists, and you should ask for it.

Six questions to ask any agent

Are you registered with SUGEF? A registered broker has passed a background check, has a compliance officer, and is legally accountable. An agent who has not heard of the requirement or waves it off is telling you something.

Will you show me properties listed by other agencies? Without an MLS, the honest answer is "yes, and I will co-broker the commission with them." An agent who only shows their own inventory is selling, not advising.

Do you live here? Not "do you have an office here" but do you sleep here. Water pressure at the top of a hill, the noise from the bar on Saturdays, which HOA is in a lawsuit, which developer finishes on time: none of that is on the internet. The agents who know it are the ones who live in the town they sell.

Who handles escrow and who is the attorney? Deposits should go to an escrow company registered with SUGEF, and the closing attorney should be yours or independent, not the seller's cousin. An agent who suggests wiring a deposit to the agency's account or the seller directly is a red flag you should not ignore.

Can I talk to your last three buyers? Reviews on a website are easy. Names and numbers of recent clients are not. Any established agent can produce them.

What happens after closing? The best agents on the Gold Coast are also the ones who manage rentals, coordinate contractors, and answer the phone six months later when the water heater dies. Ask whether the relationship ends at the notary's office.

How agents are paid

Commissions are paid by the seller, typically 5 to 6 percent of the sale price plus 13 percent VAT, and are split between the listing agent and the buyer's agent when two agencies are involved. Buyers do not pay their agent. Because the seller pays, a small minority of agents push their own listings or steer buyers away from co-brokered properties. The questions above are designed to surface that.

Red flags

Pressure to skip or shorten the due-diligence period. A request for a deposit outside escrow. Reluctance to put the offer in writing before money moves. A listing described as "beachfront titled" that turns out to be concession land. A price on one site and a different price on another with no explanation. An agent who cannot tell you whether a lot has a water letter. Any of these on its own is worth a pause; two together and you should find another agent.

What a good agent actually does for you

Before you arrive: builds a shortlist across every agency's inventory, including off-market properties, and tells you honestly which ones do not match what you said you wanted. During your visit: shows you the neighborhoods at different times of day, introduces you to the HOA manager and the neighbors, and tells you what a place will rent for based on real numbers, not a brochure. During the purchase: coordinates your attorney, the escrow company, the surveyor, and the inspector, and reads every document before you sign it. After closing: hands you off to property management or stays on as your point of contact for contractors, utilities, and the hundred small things that come with owning a home 3,000 miles from where you live.

How Expat Properties CR works

We are a SUGEF-registered agency based in Playas del Coco. Our team lives in Coco and Ocotal, manages about 40 vacation rentals here, and shows properties from every agency on the Gold Coast, not only our own listings. Every deposit we handle goes through a registered escrow company, every buyer gets an independent attorney, and every lot we list as build-ready has its water letter in hand. We tell you what a property will rent for from our own management data, and we are the people who answer the phone after you close. If that is the kind of agent you are looking for, tell us what you are searching for and we will start the shortlist.

This guide is general information from a licensed real estate agency, not legal, tax, or immigration advice. Laws, thresholds, and rates change; confirm current figures with your attorney and accountant before you act.