Private Beach Front

[gambler93 0]

Was watching House Hunters International . The sales person said that the house came with private beach. I read some place that the beach was open for the first 100 meters. Is this so or am I dreaming. Would be great to own to the water and not share. I am American.

 

Ed

[Epicatt2 0]

Was watching House Hunters International . The sales person said that the house came with private beach. I read some place that the beach was open for the first 100 meters. Is this so or am I dreaming. Would be great to own to the water and not share. I am American.

Sorry to have to disabuse you of your dream, Ed, but no one can own any property 'down to the water', except maybe inland on a lake or river. On the ocean that is prohibited.

 

One can have a provisional sort of lease starting a certain distance well above the mean high tide line, but no one can own or lease anything closer to the water than that setback. That has long been established by law in Costa Rica.

 

HTH

 

Paul M.

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[gambler93 0]

Thanks Paul

 

Buyer beware. On national TV a couple were sold a private beach in Costa Rica on HGTV. These were people with means and not like me. They to should have read the Forum and may have saved the purchase price of the " private beach"

 

Ed

[eleanorcr 0]

I have to say --- anyone who buys property on House Hunters International is more interested in being on TV than buying something that makes sense.

 

But yes - good warning to everyone considering purchasing beach property.

[!Mark! 0]

I copied this from the website "Costa Rica Law":

 

Beach Front Property.

In most cases, beach front property is untitled property because in Costa

Rica the ownership and possession of the shoreline is governed by the

Maritime Zone Law (Ley Sobre la Zona Maritimo Terrestre) which restricts

the possession and ownership of beach front property. By law the first

200 meters of beach front starting at the high tide markers is owned by

the government. Of the 200 meters, the first 50 meters are deemed

public zones (Zona Publica) and nobody may posses or control that area.

 

 

So, it appears that, legaly, there is no such thing as a private beach in Costa Rica. IIRC, leases for property within the 200 meter zone are limited to uses for the public good like hotels, etc. But, each municipality has control over leases within its jurisdiction so in the past there have been some liberal interpretations but the feds have been cracking down. A hotel on the Carribean was demolished recently. I would run, not walk, away from anyone offering Costa Rica beach front for sale. Even IF the current owner has a title obtained by some sort of means, the title could probably be revoked at some time in the future.

[gambler93 0]

Wish that couple had read the Forum. You can save yourself money and heartache if you are well informed. . Not sure how many people are members of the Forum. But it is great having a group with extensive knowledge of Costa Rica to bounce things off. The group may not total agree on all things but it is a good place to gather information to help make informed decisions. Not sure when I will be coming to live permanently but do feel better prepared due to the Forum. You are a great group of folk. Like any "family" there is some dysfuntion, not perfect.

 

Ed

[ReevesTribe 0]

Ed, we put the "fun" in dys"fun"ction!

[Epicatt2 0]

Ed, we put the "fun" in dys"fun"ction!

Jessica,

 

I think yours is my favorite Forums reply for this entire month!

 

Thanx...

 

Paul M.

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[ciclista 0]

The beach is public, but I think it's possible to own the access for many meters in either direction, thereby making it hard to access except by boat.

 

On the little dirt road to Playa Barrigona, near Samara, there is a dirt road to the beach that runs along the side of Mel Gibson's ranch. There are two deep mudholes right in a row that cross the entire road. It's suspicious because that section of road is flat, firm, and dry, and there is no reason those holes would be there, unless somebody dug them.