Foreigners can own real estate in Costa Rica, and obtain a "Fee Simple Title".

Real Estate may be owned as an individual or in the name of a Costa Rican Corporation or other business formats, as in North America or Europe.

All laws, real estate or otherwise, apply equally to citizens, foreigners or companies.

Costa Rica has an excellent system of titled land, with titles inscribed in a Central Registry, plus title guarantee is available.

a) Any encumbrance or lien that affects the title, must be inscribed in the Official Registration Book.

b) When an inscribed title is "free of encumbrance ", any claim not registered prior to the sale is invalid.

The Costa Rican legal system is based on Civil Law whereas Common Law is used in the United States. The main difference in regards to real estate is how judges make decisions and how contracts are written. Civil Law is more linear and does not allow the judges flexibility with interpretation. Precedent is not necessarily a factor and may be considered or viewed only for clarification purposes. The exception is the Supreme Court who will hear cases where the lower courts were restricted to rule only on provisions provided in the civil code.

Written contracts in Costa Rica are much simpler than in the United States. Contracts normally only include what the Law does not already state. Common Law contracts are more specific and detail oriented since they intend to allow for as little interpretation as possible.

Foreigners are allowed to own land in Costa Rica under the full protection of Costa Rican Law. There have been situations in the United States and other countries where the government has taken private property for public interests, i.e. roads, easements, protected areas, etc. The Costa Rican government has expropriated lands for national parks and protected areas. However these cases are very rare, especially today with new constitutional procedures where the government must legally demonstrate public interest and justly compensate the landowner. Article 45 of the Costa Rican Constitution guarantees equal rights and protection of private property, be it owned by nationals or foreigners.