accesorio: Accessory. Separate living unit created within a single-family home and occupied by either a family member or a non-family tenant.
acreedor: Creditor. One to whom a debt is owed; one who gives credit for money or goods.
áreas comunes: Common areas. Areas within a property that are used by all owners or tenants. Examples:
clubhouse and pool of a condominium development
the hallways and stairs of an apartment building
the elevators in an office building
the mall area of a shopping center
asamblea de condóminos: Condominium Council. Organization of all unit owners in a condominium to oversee the common elements and enforce the bylaws.
bien inmueble: Real property, real estate. Land and everything growing on, attached to, or erected on it, excluding anything that may be severed without injury to the land.
bien mueble: Chattel good. Anything owned and tangible other than real estate.
canon: Canon. Annual payment.
concesión: Concession. Benefit granted by a seller to induce a sale.
copropiedad: Joint ownership. Ownership by two or more people.
deber: Duty. Legal obligation owed or due to another and that needs to be satisfied; an obligation for which somebody else has a corresponding right.
declaración jurada: Affidavit. A written statement sworn to or ratified before an officer who is authorized to administer an oath or affirmation.
demarcación: Demarcation. Separation of territories under different jurisdictions, usually established when the political situation does not admit a final boundary arrangement.
elementos communes: Common elements. In a condominium, those portions of the property not owned individually by unit owners, but in which an undivisible interest is held by all unit owners.
Examples: grounds, parking areas, recreational facilities, external structure of building.
enfiteusis: Emphyteusis. From the Greek “implanting.” A hereditary leasehold; a nonowner’s right to use land in perpetuity, subject to forfeiture for non-payment of a fixed rent or for certain other contingencies.
expropiación: Eviction. The act or process of legally dispossessing a person of land or rental property.
finca filial: Subdivided plot. Concept used in Costa Rica to refer to a piece of land that used to be part of a source property, but once it is bought belongs only to the buyer or new owner.
finca madre: Source property. Main property.
fundo dominante: Dominant tenement. Land that benefits from an easement on another property. The other property, which is usually adjacent, is the servient tenement.
hipoteca: Mortgage. A written document that creates a lien upon real estate as security for the payment of a specified debt.
impuesto territorial: Property tax. A government levy based on the market value of privately owned property. Sometimes referred to as AD valorem tax or real estate tax.
notario público: Civil notary public. Person authorized to take acknowledgement to certain types of documents (deeds, contracts and mortgages). In Costa Rica, this person must be a lawyer, while this is not a requisite in the United States.
plano catastrado: Cadastral map. A legal map for recording ownership pf property. The map describes boundaries and ownership.
pro diviso: Latin for “as divided.”
propiedad horizontal: Horizontal property. Condominium.ownership of property.
servidumbre: Easement. The right, privilege, or interest that one party has in the land of another.
unidad: Unit. In a multifamily residential property, a suite of rooms making up a residence for one tenant. It is generally characterized by a private entrance and some method of individuality from other units in the building or complex.
usufructo: Usufruct. A right to use another’s property without damaging or diminishing it, although the property might naturally deteriorate over time.
Note: The previous definitions were taken from the following sources:
Friedman, Jack P., Jack C. Harris and J. Bruce Lindeman. Dictionary of Real Estate Terms.
5th ed. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, 2000.
Garner, Bryan A. Black’s Law Dictionary. 7th ed. Minnesota: West Group, 1999.
Lic. Andrés Montejo
Andrés Montejo was born in San José, Costa Rica, on January 23, 1966. In 1989, he graduated from the University of Costa Rica as attorney and notary public. He also studied in Tulane University, Louisiana. Besides being a successful professional, he has also participated actively in the country’s public administration. He was first member and then president of the National Consumer’s Commission, an important institution within the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce. He was designated vice-president and then president of the National Institute of Housing and Urban Planning, where he also worked as an external notary public for several years. In addition, Mr. Montejo was legal advisor to the Board of Directors and assistant advisor to the President of the Institute of Municipal Promotion and Advisory. At the same time, he was part of a specialized group of attorneys who provided notary services for one of the national banks, the Banco Popular y de Desarrollo Comunal (BPDC).
Montejo has had a great deal of academic experience. Since 1994, he has been professor of property law in the University Of Costa Rica School Of Law, where he is the general coordinator, and he has also taught courses in the master’s degree program in Notary and Registration Law. He has led various seminars about property law and related topics and has published many articles in well-known magazines. Currently, he is teaching special courses about real estate and offers them at least four times a year in Guanacaste. Recently, he received a special distinction as Honorary Professor and vice-rector for Foreign Affairs in the Central American University of Entrepreneurial Sciences (UCEM) (Managua, Nicaragua). Andrés Montejo is considered an expert in real estate matters and is entirely devoted to this field of study.
