Trick question! From what we have seen real estate licenses don’t exist in Costa Rica. NO studying, NO test and NO experience required to sell real estate in Costa Rica. That means that pretty much any average Jose can sell property. There is no recognized, official entity that monitors or certifies real estate agents/brokers like in the United States. This means that prospective buyers should do some due diligence on the agent before working with them. It is good practice to get several references to confirm a positive track record. Obviously working with an experienced agent will help avoid potential pitfalls.

Finding the right property to purchase can be a challenge in Costa Rica since there is no central database or MLS (multiple listing service) with all the properties. This means that most buyers need to surf multiple sites in order to find a more accurate inventory of listings in a specific region. Sharing inventory seems to be more common than before, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Another important difference in Costa Rica is that most real estate listings are not exclusive to one agent/company. This means that if you are selling a property you can list it with 10 different companies. The first company to sell the property receives the commission. As real estate blogger and Costa Rica expert Ben Vaughn puts it, “There is no listing agent, nor sellers agent.” This is pretty common throughout Latin America. With the proliferation of large franchise brands this seems like it could be changing, but in no way is it the norm.