For nearly a decade I've practiced real estate law right here on the Guanacaste coast — including Santa Teresa and the beaches around it — as a licensed Costa Rican attorney and notary public, trained at the University of San José. I built this firm on one promise: precise work, straight answers, and results you can count on.
Whether you're buying your first property in Santa Teresa or closing a complex development, I handle every stage personally — title and due diligence, corporate and trust structure, notary and closing — in plain language, in English or Spanish. You deal with me, not a rotating desk of associates.
My mission is to make buying property in Costa Rica safe, clear, and worry-free for the people who trust me with it. Too many foreign buyers lose money to problems that were entirely avoidable — a defective title, a maritime-zone concession they never truly owned, a corporation carrying someone else's debt.
I exist to catch those before they cost you. Ethically sound counsel, strategic advice, and a lawyer who actually answers the phone — that's the standard I hold on every single file.
Santa Teresa is the Nicoya Peninsula's boom town — surf, wellness, and some of the fastest-rising property values in the country. But the same remoteness that gives it character makes due diligence non-negotiable: unpaved roads, right-of-way, water and buildability decide whether a beautiful lot is actually usable.
Much of Santa Teresa's value sits in hillside and back-road lots where legal access can be an unregistered right-of-way, and water may hang on a well or a capped ASADA letter. Titled land is fee-simple in the Registro Nacional, and the beachfront touches the Maritime Terrestrial Zone (first 50 m public, next 150 m concession, never fee-simple). We confirm the pieces that make or break a Santa Teresa purchase before you're committed.
Registered legal access, a real water source in writing, clean title and honest buildability — that's the groundwork we do so your Santa Teresa property is one you can actually build on, live in, and resell.
One lawyer, personally, from the first question to the registered deed — in English or Spanish.
We pull the property from the Registro Nacional, confirm the true owner, check liens, taxes and boundaries, and verify water and access — before any money moves.
We advise how to hold it — personally or through a clean corporate/trust structure — and put a proper purchase agreement in place with your deposit protected.
As a Costa Rican Notary Public, David prepares and executes the deed and registers the transfer — registering your Santa Teresa transfer cleanly.
The same care whether it is a titled lot in town or a concession on the sand.
Here's exactly what we check before you commit — the avoidable problems that catch foreign buyers on this stretch of coast.
The first 50 m from the high-tide line is fully public, and the concession zone is the 150 m beyond it — governed by the municipality and ICT, not fee-simple title, and foreigners can't majority-hold it directly. We confirm the zoning (plan regulador), the concession's status and term, and whether you can legally hold it before you commit a colón.
A pretty lot with no legal water source or no registered right-of-way can't be built on — and it's rarely disclosed. We verify water availability (ASADA/AyA letter) and legal access before you're locked in.
Mortgages and municipal taxes follow the property, not the seller — and a lot held inside a corporation can carry hidden liabilities. We surface every lien and structure the purchase so you take on the land, not someone else's problems.
From Sámara and Nosara to Tamarindo, Flamingo, Conchal and Santa Teresa — local knowledge that protects your purchase, wherever on the coast you’re buying.
A laid-back Pacific beach town — from titled lots to beachfront concessions, we handle Sámara closings end to end.
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The Gold Coast’s busiest market — high-value transactions, corporations and concessions, done right in Tamarindo.
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A sought-after market of distinctive homes and development — title, due diligence and the buildability a Nosara property demands.
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A mature market of condos, homes and lots — condominium and title due diligence, done right in Coco.
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The Gold Coast’s luxury end — the marina, high-value homes and development, handled end to end.
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From laid-back Brasilito to gated Reserva Conchal — covenants, title and due diligence covered.
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Nicoya’s boom town — legal access, water and buildability checked before you commit.
You’re here — Santa Teresa ✓“David has been our lawyer for two years — honest and thorough. The best lawyer in Sámara.”
Straight answers to the questions we hear most in Santa Teresa — written by the attorney who handles the closings, not a copywriter.
Tell us about the property — we'll tell you exactly what to watch for. No obligation.