So you visit Costa Rica, and out of the places you visit, you fell in love with the OSA PENINSULA, Costa Rica. You can see having a vacation house, spending the cold, grey winter months in a warm sunny climate. In your mind, you can visualize your dream home. You can buy land and houses in Costa Rica if you are not a citizen. A couple of things to keep in mind. There are different types of land you can buy.
Titled land
The best is a titled land. A title means it can be yours forever and can be passed down to your family.
Plano land
Then there is a plano land. Basically, someone is selling the land without a title, but the land has been surveyed. Usually, this type of land is cheaper. It can get titled, but there is some red tape involved. If you are living here full-time, it would be ok, maybe? There is a new law that states, if you can have everyone sign off on the land and how long they have lived on the land, at least 10 yrs, then you can start getting the land titled.
Maritime land
The third land is maritime land. What you are buying is a lease to use the land; the leases last for 20 yrs and you can renew for a new lease. All beachfront land is public up to 200 meters from the high tide mark. If you build your house past the 200-meter mark, you should be ok.
Water rights
It is very important when buying any land to find out about the water rights. Some Barrios on the Osa Peninsula are not giving out water permits, not for a lack of having enough water, but because they need to build bigger pump stations to supply the water is the problem.
Tico town properties
Tico Town Properties is a great real estate company. Please go to their website and look at all their 5-star reviews.
Andrew has been living on the Osa Peninsula for over 30 years. He has a loving Tico wife and 2 children; their daughter became a doctor two years ago. Andrew is a down-to-earth person and will tell you the whole truth about land or houses for sale. I have to meet with Andrew this week to discuss his personal add. July 15th 2026.
