How to Buy Property with Financing in Costa Rica (2026 Guide)

Yes, foreigners can now buy property in Costa Rica with real financing and without 50% down or crazy interest rates.

For decades, foreign buyers in Costa Rica were forced to pay cash or use private lending options with high interest rates. But in 2025, Costa Rica Playbook has new programs that make buying with financing a realistic, secure option.

What’s New in 2026?

Costa Rica Playbook now offers a financing program exclusively for clients from the U.S. Canada and Europe.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Program terms: down payments start at 25% for the strongest files, with 30–35% typical.

• Rates currently run 7% to 9.5% depending on LTV, documentation and property type. The two worked examples below are real quotes at 30% and 35% down, which is where most buyers land — treat 25% at 7% as the best case, not the expected case.

• Eligible Properties: Commercial, Residential and Land

• Ability to pull Equity from your current properties

  
  

Current Program Offerings:

• 30-Year Fixed – Lock in your rate for the full term with predictable monthly payments

• 5/6 Adjustable (ARM) - Fixed rate for 5 years, adjusts every 6 months after

• 7/6 Adjustable (ARM) - Fixed for 7 years, adjusts every 6 months after

Additional Charges:

• Origination Fee: 2.5% of loan amount

• Underwriting Fee $1,895

• Appraisal, and standard home closing costs

Who Qualifies?

• U.S. Canadian, or European Citizens with proof of income or asset backing (like a property)

• Purchasing titled property in Costa Rica

• Working through Costa Rica Playbook (this is not a public bank loan - this is done through our brokerage)

You don’t need residency to qualify.

Real Example: Financing Breakdown

What would financing look like for a home priced at $849,000 USD

$849,000 3 Bed 3 Bath Home in Uvita | More Info

Financing Option 1

• 65% Loan-to-Value

• $297,150 down (35%)

• 8.875% estimated interest rate

• $551,850 loan amount

• $4,391/month estimated payment

Financing Option 2

• 70% Loan-to-Value

• $254,700 down (30%)

• 9.250% estimated interest rate

• $594,300 loan amount

• $4,889/month estimated payment

Note: This does not include taxes, insurance, or closing costs.

What Makes This a Big Deal?

Until recently, options like this didn’t exist. Not through the local banks. Costa Rican banks will lend to foreigners who hold legal residency and documented local income, but no CR bank publishes a mortgage product for non-residents earning abroad — and none of them will offer this combination of down payment and fixed rate to a buyer whose income is in US or Canadian dollars. That is the specific gap this program fills.

We’re making it possible for Americans (and soon Canadians) to:

• Own property in Costa Rica with leverage

• Avoid draining all their savings

• Even refinance or reinvest using property they already own

• ability to purchase a Property in Costa RIca using equity from properties back home.

What the payment doesn't cover

Registering the sale resets your municipal property tax base to your purchase price — 0.25% a year, so about $1,500 on a $600,000 purchase from year one. If construction value exceeds ₡143,000,000 (about US$316,000) you also owe the luxury home tax, and once you cross that line the land value is added to the base — Form D-174, due 15 January. On exit, capital gains are 15%, with 2.5% of the gross sale price withheld as a final tax if you are not tax-domiciled here.

How to Get Started

Book a call here to check your eligibility and discuss options!