From the desk of Lic. Jose Juan Sanchez: 2012 Attorney Letter

Dear Client and Business Associate of the law firm: Over a year has passed since I have sent the last newsletter and I feel there are enough data and developments accumulated, to justify this intelligence report.

Real Estate: after a straightforward downfall since 2007 paralleling the Florida spiral, the CR Pacific and Guanacaste areas have not been able to reverse the pattern because they were areas linked to the North American market, unlike the Central Valley they did not get the influx from the local market or the outsourcing corporate relocation buyers. Panama has become another magnet center diverting some of the steady retiree winter birds who decide to relocate in the US near shore-offshore perimeter. 2010 did set unprecedented records of market correction in the form of bank foreclosures, repossessions and fire sales that still continue today, thus making it an interesting time-frame window to make some strategic acquisitions previous assessment made.

Law firm practice: The word due diligence has never been as relevant as now, let alone when you cannot afford to make mistakes involving the legal security of your life’s investment be it second home or retirement home. This has translated into additional work at the law office revolving around the real estate transaction: more demanding Buyers, more desperate Sellers and a more complex dynamic that needs to be articulated in order to attain total success. Trust is another issue as we have seen scams flourish targeting both Sellers and Buyers, and a local law practitioner in Jaco, allegedly embezzled us600,000 from an escrow account. In the mean time I have been attending CLEs at the CR Lawyers’ Bar for one year and half, feel free to check the certificates in the website (www.crlaw.info). Let me remind you I have developed a one stop shop platform of professionals: surveyor, engineer, architect, contractor, electrician, customs agent and insurance agent, that have been proven during my last 18 years practice.

Asset Protection: This is another area of practice in the law firm, defined as: an estate planning technique that integrates legal tools and strategies, to structure personal and private assets free and clear from illegitimate claims or arbitrary encroachment, or from abuse of the authority of the Law or of the State Jurisdictional Force. Its philosophical components are notions of natural and sovereign rights, acknowledged in documents as the Magna Carta Libertatum (England 1215) and the Declaration of the Rights of the Man and the Citizen (France 1793). The reason I bring this topic as the third bullet is because the economic crisis has fostered very frivolous and abusive litigation in the local courts, some reaching even extortion levels. Asset Protection becomes a preventive justice solution if properly enacted into your estate plan. Feel free to make an appointment so we can discuss it with a cup of coffee.

Facebook: Finally but not least I have decided to develop my long idle FB page: “Cr Law” which is linked to my Twitter account “CR_Law”, as an bi-directional communication tool where you can access my legal intelligence reports, business data and relevant facts about your personal rights and interests in Costa Rica. Some of you already have joined, some may receive an invitation to join.

Have a pleasant day, and remember this is the year of the Dragon: prosperity to those who embrace the change!