DECIDING TO SELL
So you have decided to sell your property in Costa Rica. Coming to this decision can be an emotional one, but it needn’t be a complicated one. Before anything else, it is a good idea to sit down and clarify your motivations and draw up a basic time frame for the selling process.
Why Sell?
Ask yourself why you want to sell your property. Do you intend to simply find a larger property, or do you plan on moving to another neighborhood or area of Costa Rica? Have you decided to invest your funds elsewhere? You might think your reasons are obvious, but it would serve well to consider the implications of each option for your lifestyle, opportunities, and finances. Being clear about your intentions for selling will make it easier for Flamingo Beach Realty to determine the most appropriate option for your specified financial, lifestyle, and real estate goals.
When Should I Sell?
You should immediately establish your time frame for selling. However, managing expectations is also important. In Costa Rica, it’s not unusual for homes to take longer to sell than in North America. It can often take months or even a year to sell. Keeping in mind that we are mainly a cash market here, we have to find the right buyer for you. If you need to sell quickly, Flamingo Beach Realty can help to speed up the process by giving you a complete market analysis and action plan to obtain all of your goals. We harness digital marketing, digital campaigns and social media campaigns to enhance our efforts and help you achieve the timeline you have in mind.
What Is The Market Like?
Here’s some good news: unlike North America, the Costa Rica real estate market is relatively stable, with little exposure to bubbles and busts. However, Flamingo Beach Realty comes to the table with many years of knowledge and expertise to arrive at the best market prices and terms. We will keep you up-to-date on what is happening in the marketplace and the price, financing, terms and conditions of competing properties. With us, you will know exactly how to price and when to sell your property.
SELECT AN AGENT & PRICE
Why Should You Choose Flamingo Beach Realty?
Flamingo Beach Realty has been a top brokerage in the Guanacaste area since 2018. In 2022, we were the top brokerage selling over $139,000,000 in property. We give you a fair and honest assessment of your property and we work tirelessly to get it sold for you at top dollar. We will ensure that you maximize your opportunities in the current real estate market. We believe that having a good and open communication channel with our sellers is key to our success. Please do check out our Google Reviews to read what other sellers say about us.
With over 23,000 qualified contacts in our network, we employ the most effective marketing and advertising strategies for your property. We harness the power of social media, such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram to expand reach to more prospective buyers and investors. Flamingo Beach Realty also uses Digital Marketing like Google Ads, SEO, and Point2Homes Gold Ads to get your property in front of more people than possible with smaller brokerages. Our targeted email marketing campaigns put you in front of a captive audience.
What Is Your Property Worth?
Without a professional agent, most independent property sellers tend to overestimate the value of their property. You can avoid this pitfall by consulting with an experienced real estate listing agent. As you may know, there is no formal MLS in Costa Rica that is used by all and there is no way to find out what properties are sold for. At Flamingo Beach Realty, we have a database we have been keeping since 2018 that tracks all the listings in the area, what they were listed at when they sold, and when they sold. This gives us some data advantage to talk about market pricing.
Because Costa Rica doesn’t experience bubbles and bursts in the real estate market that are common in North America, establishing the value of your property requires thought. We can help you determine the appropriate price range for your property and help field offers that align with your goals.
PREPARE TO SELL
We can do a lot, together, to increase the appeal of your property and to create a lasting impact on potential buyers.
What To Do To Prepare:
The following are a few factors to keep in mind when listing your property for sale:
- Curb Appeal: Keeping your landscape pristine, and adding creative touches to your yard, such as colorful plants and flowers, will create an immediate impact on passers-by and potential buyers.
- Property Repairs: Simple upgrades such as window repairs, polishing the doorknobs, and a fresh coat of paint in the most frequently used rooms will instantly brighten up the property.
- Cleanliness and Staging: Keep your property uncluttered, sweet-smelling and well-lit from top-to-bottom. Pay attention to details: put away the kitty litter, place a vase of fresh flowers near the entryway, pop a batch of cinnamon rolls or cookies in the oven, have your sofas and curtains cleaned. Your agent will scan the property before it is listed for sale to see how you can improve the staging of your property.
- Inspections & Legal Procedures: We are very familiar with the legal procedures involved in selling your home and are ready to suggest home improvement measures before placing your property on the market (such as termite and pest inspections). We can also recommend great local attorneys that speak English that can assist you on the legal side.
- Video and Photography: Flamingo Beach Realty will professionally photograph and video your property with a full multimedia experience for potential buyers. We stage and present your property on our popular YouTube channel to attract the largest number of prospects. And, our professional photographers produce the highest quality visuals for ultimate impact.
- Showtime: Presenting your property to potential buyers is a job that we will take care of for you. Buyers feel more comfortable discussing the property with the agent, if you are not there. Moreover, your agent will know what information will be most useful in representing your interests when speaking with prospective buyers.
ACCEPTING AN OFFER
The Price Is Not Always Right.
Price is not always the sole determining factor when accepting an offer for several important reasons: the initial offer is usually not final and there are a number of terms and conditions that may influence the final outcome of a price. You can trust Flamingo Beach Realty to help you thoroughly evaluate every proposal without compromising your marketing position.
Negotiating The Right Way.
We take the ethical responsibility of fairly negotiating contractual terms very seriously. It is our job to find a win-win agreement that is beneficial to all parties involved. You may need to field multiple offers before landing on the one you judge to be the most suitable for you – and as your agents, Flamingo Beach Realty will guarantee a thorough and objective assessment of each offer to help you make the right choice.
The Purchase & Sale Agreement and Deposit.
An effective Purchase & Sales agreement is a legal arrangement between a potential purchaser and the property’s seller. In order to be a legally binding agreement, the agreement may require consideration. This consideration (initial and additional deposit) is to be held in the closing agent’s escrow account pending the fulfillment of conditions or contingencies in the effective agreement. We use US and Costa Rican SUGEF approved escrows. Some important tips to keep in mind to streamline the process even further:
- Keep written records of everything.
For the sake of clarity, it will be extremely useful to transcribe all verbal agreements including counter-offers and addendums, and convert them to written agreements to be signed by both parties. We will assist you in drafting all the paperwork for your sale and make sure that you have copies of everything.
- Stick to the schedule.
Now that you have chosen your offer, you and the buyer will be given a timeline to mark every stage in the process of closing the real estate contract. Meeting the requirements on time ensures a smoother flow of negotiations and also ensures that each party involved is not in breach of their agreements. During the process we will keep you constantly updated so you will always be prepared for the next step.
ESCROW INSPECTIONS & APPRAISALS
Inspections and Appraisals
Most buyers will have the property inspected by an experienced property inspector within the time frame that was agreed upon in the effective contract to purchase. In the rare instance that the agreement is conditional upon financing, the property will be appraised by a licensed appraiser to determine the value for the lending institution via third party. A buyer of a commercial property may also have a complete environmental audit performed and/or soil test, if required by the municipality.
The Closing Attorney
In Costa Rica, an attorney, acting as a notary, will be selected as the closing attorney. The buyer chooses the closing attorney. The attorney’s job is to examine and ensure clear title to the property. After researching the complete recorded history of your property, they will certify that 1) your title is free and clear of encumbrances (eg. mortgages, leases, or restrictions, liens) by the date of closing; and 2) all new encumbrances are duly included in the title. It is helpful if you meet with your attorney ahead of time to ensure you have all the documents and proofs that the closing attorney will be asking your attorney for.
Contingencies
A contingency is a condition that must be met before a contract becomes legally binding. We call these Due Diligence conditions. For instance, a buyer will usually include a contingency stating that their contract is binding only when there is a satisfactory home inspection report from a qualified inspector. Before completing his or her purchase of your property, the buyer goes over every aspect of the property, as provided for by purchase agreements and any applicable addendums. These include:
- Obtaining financing and insurance;
- Reviewing all pertinent documents, such as preliminary title reports and disclosure documents; and
- Inspecting the property. The buyer has the right to determine the condition of your property by subjecting it to a wide range of inspections, such as roof, termite/pest, chimney/fireplace, property boundary survey, well, septic, pool/spa, arborist, mold, lead based paint, HVAC, etc.
Depending on the outcome of these inspections, one of two things may happen:
- Either each milestone is successfully closed and the contingencies will be removed, bringing you one step closer to the closing; or
- The buyer, after reviewing the property and the papers, requests a renegotiation of the terms of contract (usually the price).
How do you respond objectively and fairly to the buyer when a renegotiation is demanded, while acting in your best interests? This is when a professional listing agent like Flamingo Beach Realty can make a real difference in the outcome of the transaction. Having dealt with hundreds of property sales in the past, we guarantee our expertise and total commitment to every customer, no matter what their situation is.
CLOSE OF ESCROW
Closing Day
If you have come this far, this means that it is almost time for a congratulations, but not yet. Do not forget to tie up these loose ends:
Final Walk-Through Inspection
More of a formality than anything else, the final inspection takes place the day before, or on the day of the closing. The buyer may visit the property or send their agent to view the property to verify that all is in working order, everything is the same as when the buyer last viewed the property, and that there are no extra items left behind.
Home Services and Utilities
Please do not cancel your utilities. After closing, the closing attorney will register the property in the name of the buyer or their assigned corporation. This usually takes approximately 2 weeks for the registration to complete. Once completed, the closing attorney or the buyer can attend the utilities and municipal taxes and put them in the name of the new owner.
Be Prepared
We are ready to assist you should an unforeseen glitch pop up, even at this last stage. If something at the property breaks down or the buyers’ loan does not pull through on time, there is no need to worry. We have encountered these problems before so we know how to handle them efficiently and in a stress-free manner.
Closing
The Escrow Agent will furnish all parties involved with a settlement statement, which summarizes and details the financial transactions enacted in the process. The buyer(s) and seller(s) will sign this statement, certifying its accuracy. Most clients sign a Power of Attorney and are not present during the closing. If you are receiving funds from the transaction, you need to provide to the Escrow Agent the bank account details where you would like to have the fund wired to. The seller should arrange to have all property keys and any other important information for the new purchaser at the closing, so that the purchaser may receive these items at this time.
