Building a Life in Costa Rica: An Expat Journey with Quatro Legal

Client Success Story – Interview with Tami and Darin Transcript

Okay. So, we came to Costa Rica apparently three and a half years ago. We’re back and forth to the Seattle area. We started up in Guanacaste, on the beach, and actually, Gonzalo helped us to buy our condo up there because we actually bought it on our first trip out here, which we loved.

We stayed there for a year, but it turned out the beach was about five degrees too hot for us. So we worked all the way down the coast and ended up buying another house in Atenas, which they say has the best weather in the world. We agree; it’s really a great place, 2,500 feet elevation, and the temperature came down. We’ve got a beautiful house, no heater, no air conditioner, and we love it.

The Essential Role of Legal Support in Costa Rica

Gonzalo helped us buy that. It was a little more complicated. There were some lot line issues, and the attorneys on the other side were having a hard time figuring it out, but Gonzalo fixed it all. Now we’re sitting in our third property, a condo here in Santa Ana, which is a little more of a city location.

Gonzalo has helped us buy that. Sweetie, what else has Gonzalo done for us? He’s really made it easy for us. We didn’t come out to Costa Rica to get buried in details. We had a pretty detailed life back in the States, and we really have enjoyed being out here, but some things can get complicated.

The Value of Expert Guidance for Expats in Costa Rica

Setting up a bank account can get complicated, as can buying a car, buying health insurance, and you might not realize coming to Costa Rica that the attorneys are really your best friends. We were lucky to get introduced to Quatro Legal right out of the gate with our real estate agent.

In Costa Rica, attorneys handle all of the paperwork in transactions. We’ve had three real estate transactions. We’ve purchased a car through Quatro Legal. We have all our insurances, including health insurance, through Quatro Legal. We’ve filed for our residency and are in the process of getting residency.

We have done our Costa Rican wills through Quatro Legal. We’re set up as a corporation, even simple things like setting up a bank account. We had friends that had nightmares about that, and Gonzalo had it set up for us. We literally walked into the bank and 15 minutes later had our accounts. Apparently, that’s an unusual scenario.

He’s helped when we’ve been between houses; he’s even helped us find a place to park our vehicle. He has offices in Guanacaste, which is about five hours from here, and also here in Escazu. I think one more, maybe even in Manuel Antonio.

Quatro Legal has a great team, and they’re all on board helping in different departments, with the closing of a property, with the business aspect of setting up the corporation, and filing the appropriate taxes. It’s just been a great experience.

Anytime we have a question about what to do next, our Spanish is un poquito, like not good. So we call Quatro Legal, and the team there helps us with anything we need to set up or accomplish here. Yep.

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