Listings

For Sellers, we are happy to help in anyway that we can, including finding comparable properties and examining value to appraise your listing, so that it sells and doesn’t sit on the market too long… just as important, we use a spider system of marketing. For every single listing that we take, after it has qualified as being salable, is entered into a system of social media, and website groups that literally reach over 500,000 people with just one click. Considering that we do not ask for exclusivity and are paid only at closing, seems like a pretty good option to list your property!

Not only are we seldom interested in listing properties exclusively, we will often times turn down listings that we do not believe are salable. The vast majority of listings we advertise are not exclusive, offering the sellers themselves the freedom to sell the property with another broker, or do anything at all! Everyone wins. It is part of our job to qualify any property when we list it. Remember, please, that we do not work for ourselves, we work for our clients, so if it’s not best for them,  the property will not be considered. Call anytime and we will come by and talk about listing the property nonexclusively and 100% risk free, so long it is without imperfections in title or legally unsound.

Whether a real estate broker wants to admit it or not, it is not in the sellers best interest to list exclusively with just one broker. If there were a fully cooperative MLS in Pavones (or CR) of which we were all members, then it would make more sense to list exclusively. However, there is not, so if you find a broker trying to convince you otherwise, he is looking out for himself and not your needs. There is 0% chance that he is making sure all of the other brokers are aware of your property. The only real reason to list exclusively is if the seller is an absentee owner that does not have anyone available for showings. Dual agency is very common, but when listing a property for sale, non exclusive with several companies is the way to go!!!

We do not charge sellers for appraising their property. We believe that it is a very valuable commodity to know what your property is actually worth. The first approach to appraising a property would be finding sold comparable properties, and weighing the two against one another, making "adjustments".... The second approach is known as cost approach, i.e. lot value plus the cost of the homes construction cost… The third approach is the income approach, based on future income forecasting. This is used primarily for hotels, restaurants, and income producing rentals or multi-units.

Our standard commission is 5% or 6% of the sale price. Once we qualify the listing and agree to a price, we will take professional grade photographs, and begin the marketing campaign, exposing your property to thousands of buyers who are looking every day. A sign in the yard is often a good idea but does not do it anymore. A marketing campaign based on the website, local knowledge, experience, SEO, bulk email, and spiders on social media. This is the future of selling real estate, and we are very well-versed after 20 years with the biggest companies in Costa Rica.

It is important for sellers to remember that at the time of closing, the attorney represents the purchaser. If the seller chooses to incur cost by having their attorney review documents, which is standard operating procedure, they will do so at their discretion. Normally, unless there was a mortgage, payoff or lien, that is discovered during due diligence, the only closing cost that the seller should incur is the commission to the broker. If the seller pays the closing attorney, any money, there is a clear conflict of interest. That is why we suggest usually to buyers to pay their own costs and if looking to save money ask the seller for a price reduction...

Per Costa Rica law, and to the advantage of many sellers who are motivated to sell, they can transfer the title at closing, and remain on the title as primary lien. This is called “hipoteca de primer grado” and protects the payments that have been agreed upon prior to close. Normally any closing costs affiliated with a mortgage are the responsibility of the borrower. There is a second way for a seller to offer financing options to a purchaser, and that is a trust. This is known as “fedecomiso” and basically the trustee acts as a third-party, and the buyer does not receive the title until the last payment is made, and the mortgage is released. Both options have good and bad aspects for either or both parties.

We are more than happy to send someone over to a property to meet with you and chat about terms, timeframe, salability, appraisals, surveys, listing the property on a non-exclusive basis, with zero liability, or to help answer any questions that you may have about why a property may have been on the market for a long time with no results. Thank you very much in advance for your business, and we look forward to hearing from you!