Can You Get a Mortgage in Costa Rica as a Foreigner?

Financing is where the "foreigners have the same rights as citizens" rule gets complicated. Legally, you can own property in Costa Rica the same way a citizen can. Practically, borrowing money to buy it is a different story, and this is the part brokers tend to skip over or wave away.

This guide covers the real options: Costa Rican bank mortgages, seller financing, and financing from your home country, plus what most foreign buyers actually end up doing.

Costa Rican Bank Mortgages: Possible, Not Easy

Local banks do lend to non-residents, but the terms are noticeably worse than what you would get at home. Loan-to-value ratios run lower, meaning you put more cash down. Interest rates for foreign borrowers tend to sit above what Costa Rican citizens pay. And banks want extensive documentation of foreign income, which can mean months of back and forth if your finances are not straightforward.

Some banks also restrict which properties qualify, favoring established residential areas over rural land or new construction. If local financing is part of your plan, ask the bank directly, early, before you fall in love with a specific property.

What a Down Payment Actually Looks Like

Where a US or Canadian buyer might put 10 to 20 percent down, a foreign buyer financing through a Costa Rican bank should expect to put down 30 to 50 percent. That number moves based on the bank, the property, and how clean your income documentation is. For a lot of buyers, once you run the math on a large down payment plus a higher rate, financing locally stops looking much cheaper than paying cash.

Seller Financing: More Common Than You Might Think

Seller financing shows up often in Costa Rica, especially for land and smaller residential properties, particularly when the seller does not need the full amount immediately. There is no standard product here. The interest rate, the down payment, the repayment schedule, and what happens if you default are all negotiated terms that need to be written into the purchase contract in detail and reviewed by an independent attorney, not just handed to you by the seller's side. Our guide to hiring a real estate attorney in Costa Rica covers what to look for in that review.

Financing From Your Home Country

A large number of foreign buyers skip Costa Rican financing entirely and pull funds from home instead, most commonly through a home equity line of credit or a similar product secured against a property they already own. This route is often faster and cheaper than qualifying with a Costa Rican bank, since your home-country lender already has a relationship with you and understands your financial history. It also means the loan is denominated in your home currency, which some buyers prefer for predictability.

Why So Many Foreign Buyers Pay Cash

Once you weigh the higher down payment, higher rates, and slower approval timeline of local financing against a straightforward cash purchase, cash often wins. Cash deals close faster, give you more room to negotiate on price, and remove the risk of a financing contingency falling through partway into a transaction. This is a large part of why cash purchases are so common among foreign buyers here, more so than in markets where local financing is easy to access.

What Documents a Costa Rican Bank Will Ask For

If you do pursue local financing, be ready to provide several years of tax returns, recent bank statements, documented proof of foreign income, a credit report from your home country, and a property valuation from a bank-approved appraiser. Anything issued outside Costa Rica typically needs to be translated, and depending on your home country, may need an apostille. Build extra time into your timeline for this step. Our guide on how long it actually takes to close on a property in Costa Rica breaks down where financing tends to add delay.

What This Means for Your Purchase

There is no single right answer between local financing, seller financing, home-country financing, and cash. What matters is figuring out which route fits your situation before you are under contract, not after, since financing terms directly affect your negotiating position and your closing timeline. A property that looks like a good deal on paper can turn into a slow, expensive close if the financing plan was an afterthought.

If you are evaluating a specific property and want an independent read on the numbers before you commit to a financing path, The Buyer's Office can help. Send us a message here and we will get back to you.