Know Your Client and Escrow Accounts in Costa Rica

Hi, good evening. I wanted to take a moment to sit with you and discuss something that has recently come up with clients. Well, again, it's a topic that comes up a lot with clients, and it's the KYC, or Know Your Client, protocol, as well as opening an escrow account in Costa Rica. Long gone are the days of easily moving money around the world, and so Costa Rica is not unique in this. This is all in the name —money laundering, drug trafficking, terrorism, whatever you want to call it. I'm going to reserve my opinion about the subject and just deal with the facts because it's something we have to deal with on a daily basis. So as a buyer coming from abroad, you're going to have to sort of think of it like purchasing a home wherever your home is and the process you would go through of applying for a mortgage, even though you're paying cash here in Costa Rica. So you're going to choose an escrow company, and we have one or two that we really like to work with. They're tried and true and trusted, and they're going to send you out a package of information, and within that package of information is going to be a KYC form, your Know Your Client form, you have to fill out for them. Generally speaking, that's a 1 or a 2-page form, and it's gonna ask information, general information, you know, your name, your profession, your address back home, the source of your funds, your date of birth, et cetera, et cetera. From that information, they're going to let you know how you have to validate the funds that you're going to send for the purchase of your property., and then there will be another list of requirements and information that you'll need to provide to the escrow company. Some of those things may include, or will include for sure, a copy of your passport, possibly a copy of your driver's license or utility bill that shows your address back home, and then the source of your funds. Are your funds coming from savings? Then you will be needing to include at least 12 months bank statements. Have you sold a property or properties back home that you're going to use the funds for to purchase in Costa Rica? Then the documentation from those closings will be required to validate your funds coming to Costa Rica. An inheritance— you will need documentation where you inherited property or monies that you're using to purchase in Costa Rica. Are you using retirement funds or an IRA? Again, The documentation that backs up that funding will need to be provided to the escrow company here to justify your funds coming into Costa Rica. Once they give you the green light, which can happen within 48 hours, then money's going to be transferred clean, clear, no issues. We've had clients who within 48 hours their escrow account is open, monies are transferred, no issue. We've had other cases where it takes 4 or 6 weeks to justify the, the money and where it's coming from. It can be a tedious process, but generally speaking, it's not. It's not something to be intimidated about or worry too much about. So once that is open and set up, it's sort of free sailing from there, you know, it's not a big issue. What I'm going to do in the link of this video, I'm going to add the link to to an article that I've written on this subject where you will get more information. We'll give you a breakdown of all the possible documentation that you will need for this process, as well as information and contacts for the escrow company that we use here in San Jose, who have been really great with us and great with our clients. They, they are highly recommended. And, um, of course, if you have any questions about this process, feel free to reach out to myself or to Gerardo, and you can also feel free to reach out directly to the escrow company. Just tell them that Dennis and Gerardo of PLD Attain Usability has sent you. That way they'll know who they're working with. And, um, yeah, it's just a way for you to be informed before you come, to know what to expect, and that way it helps to grease the wheels and get the ball rolling, right? We hope that you find this information useful. Hopefully it'll answer some of your questions that you may have. And as always, we look forward to seeing and working with you in the very near future. Pura vida from Athenas.