Why the realtor’s recommended lawyer can’t fully protect you
The conflict is structural, not personal. The lawyer your realtor or seller recommends depends on that agent’s repeat business — dozens of future deals — while you are a single, one-time client. That imbalance quietly aligns their incentive with closing, not protecting you. Independent counsel works only for you, runs its own title study, and is willing to kill the deal.
Last updated August 2026.
Whose repeat business matters more — your one deal or the agent’s dozens?
This is the whole argument in one question. A realtor closes many transactions a year and sends the same handful of lawyers a steady stream of files. You will close one. To that lawyer, your transaction is worth a single fee; the agent’s goodwill is worth a career of referrals. When a hard question comes up — a clouded title, a survey that doesn’t match the registry, a seller who won’t use real escrow — human nature does the rest. The pull is toward the party who feeds the pipeline, and that party is not you.
None of this requires anyone to be dishonest. Most referred lawyers in Costa Rica are competent and act in good faith. The problem is that good faith is not the same as undivided loyalty. A structure that rewards closing over protecting will, over enough deals, produce closings that should never have happened.
Isn’t this just saying the recommended lawyer is corrupt?
No — and that distinction matters. A conflict of interest is not an accusation of fraud; it is a description of where the incentives point. When the same attorney or notary is arranged and often paid by the seller or the realtor, no one at that table is compensated to tell you to walk away. The deal only pays if it closes. Even an honest lawyer, working inside that structure, answers your questions in the register of “how do we get to signing” rather than “should you sign at all.”
Independent counsel removes the pull entirely. My only client is you, my only fee is your fee, and I have no relationship to protect with the agent on the other side of the table. That is the difference between a lawyer who processes your purchase and a lawyer who is free to stop it. For the broader case on why you need your own attorney at all, see do you need a lawyer to buy property in Costa Rica.
Same title study? No. The two roles are not the same job.
A closing-oriented lawyer moves the paperwork forward. An independent buyer’s attorney verifies, insists on regulated escrow, and is willing to tell you to walk. Below, the same transaction seen from both chairs.
| The realtor’s recommended lawyer | Your independent attorney | |
|---|---|---|
| Depends on | The agent’s future referrals | Your instructions alone |
| Title study | Often relies on the seller’s file | Own study at the National Registry |
| Your funds | Pressure to move directly to seller | Held in regulated (SUGEF) escrow |
| Bad news | Framed as a hurdle to closing | Reported plainly, for your decision |
| Will kill the deal? | Rarely — the deal is the fee | Yes, when the risk warrants it |
| Loyalty | Divided by design | Undivided — only you |
The single most expensive assumption a foreign buyer makes is that “there’s already a lawyer on it.” Ask whose lawyer — and whether that lawyer is free to tell you no.
What does an independent lawyer actually do differently?
Three concrete acts separate independent counsel from a closing-oriented one. The third is the one a referred lawyer almost never performs:
- 01
Runs its own title study
I study the Registro Nacional (National Registry) myself — liens, mortgages, annotations, overlapping claims and whether the survey plan (plano catastrado) matches the record — instead of trusting the seller's summary.
- 02
Insists on regulated escrow
Your money sits with a SUGEF-registered escrow agent and is released only at closing, under anti-money-laundering checks — never wired directly to a seller before title and conditions are confirmed.
- 03
Is willing to kill the deal
If the title is clouded, the numbers don't hold or the seller resists real escrow, I tell you to walk — and structure the contract so your deposit comes back. That single willingness is what a referral-dependent lawyer cannot reliably offer.
How do I bring in my own lawyer without blowing up the deal?
You simply say so — early, and plainly. Tell the agent you will be represented by your own independent attorney and that closing will run through your counsel’s title study and escrow. A legitimate transaction absorbs this without friction; verified deals close faster and stay closed. If a seller or agent pushes back on your right to independent review, that resistance is itself the most useful piece of information you will get all week. For the specific frauds this posture is designed to stop, read is it safe to buy property in Costa Rica and the title due-diligence guide.
After more than thirty years practicing law in Costa Rica — including as former Legal Director of RECOPE and as an attorney and notary public — my role for a foreign buyer is narrow and honest: to be the one person in the room whose only interest is yours.
Do you even need a lawyer?
Why your attorney must be independent — and what representation actually covers.
Is it safe? The 3 scams
The documented scams a closing-oriented lawyer is least likely to catch.
Title due diligence
The independent title study I run in the Registro Nacional before you wire a cent.
More in The Journal, or back to the Costa Rica attorney for foreign investors hub.
Should I use the lawyer my realtor recommends in Costa Rica?
Generally no — not as your only counsel. The lawyer a realtor or seller recommends depends on that agent for future referrals across dozens of deals, while you are a one-time client. That imbalance quietly aligns their incentive with closing the transaction rather than protecting you. Use your own independent attorney, even if the referred lawyer is competent and honest.
Is it a conflict of interest for one lawyer to represent both buyer and seller?
In practice, yes — even when it is technically permitted. When the same lawyer or notary is arranged by the seller or the realtor, no one at the table is paid to say 'walk away.' A conflict of interest is not about dishonesty; it is a structural pull. Independent counsel removes that pull because their only client, and their only loyalty, is you.
What does an independent buyer's attorney actually do differently?
Three things above all: they run their own title study at the National Registry instead of trusting the seller's word, they insist your funds sit in regulated (SUGEF-registered) escrow rather than moving directly to the seller, and they are willing to kill the deal if the title, the survey or the numbers do not hold up. A referred, closing-oriented lawyer rarely does the third.
Does hiring my own lawyer offend the realtor or slow things down?
A good realtor welcomes it — clean, independently verified deals close and stay closed. Hiring your own attorney does not delay a legitimate transaction; it simply means someone verifies the registry, the escrow and the contract on your behalf. If a party resists your bringing independent counsel, treat that resistance itself as a red flag.
How much does independent legal representation cost in Costa Rica?
For foreign buyers I start with a Strategic Valuation Session — a paid US$350 consultation (there is no free call) to review your specific deal and the real risks. Full buyer representation starts at a 1.5% floor with a US$5,000 minimum, and standalone due diligence starts from US$900. It is a fraction of what a bad title or a lost deposit costs.
Want one person in the room who works only for you?
We start with a Strategic Valuation Session — a focused, paid US$350 consultation (there is no free call) to review your specific deal, the real risks and the path forward, in English. It is credited toward your engagement if we proceed.
Book a Strategic Valuation Session