When expats wish to purchase property in Panama, they will find that they are able to do so with few problems and that they have the same rights as Panamanian citizens. One of the few restrictions on expats buying property in Panama is that they cannot purchase land or houses that are within 10 miles of the borders of Costa Rica or Columbia. Panama is becoming a very popular place for expats, particularly retirees, and property is relatively inexpensive. The procedures for purchasing property are much the same as in many other countries.

Property in Panama falls into two categories. They are either ‘titled’ which means that you own the freehold of the property, or they are ‘right of possession’ which is similar to leasehold, in which you do not own the property outright. Right of possession properties cannot be used to raise a mortgage and will not help expats to qualify for an investment visa.

Legal advice is essential when you are purchasing a property in Panama. Lawyers can help with the research that you need to do and will carry out all the validation and security checks. It is a good idea to ask around when finding a lawyer to help you with this process and choose one that is recommended to you by other expats who have gone through the same process.

Once you have found a property you can make an offer to the person selling. Before you sign a contract which commits you to buy, you need to carry out a few checks on the property. The property and ownership records are available from Panama’s Public Registry or the Ministry of Economy and Finance. A lawyer can help you to check if there are any financial or legal problems that might prevent you from becoming the legal owner of the property.

The sale of contract must be in Spanish, but you can request that an official translation is made available to you. Each contract is different, but it must include information on the payment method, what the seller and buyer are obliged to do and any penalties which will be incurred (on both sides) if there is a breach of contract. A deposit must be paid when you sign the final contract. This can be between 3% and 20%, depending upon the property and its value, and this deposit could be lost if you change your mind in the last stages of the purchase, so you need to be sure that you really want to buy before you commit.

A survey is also carried out on the property to check the structural soundness of the building and to ensure that the description provided by the seller is an accurate description of the building’s condition. Problems that are thrown up by the survey can then be dealt with by the seller or negotiated by the buyer before the sale is finalised.

The property’s seller must make a legal declaration and provide supporting documentation to prove that there is no legal reason why they are not able to sell, such as any debts or legal disputes. The seller should ensure that there are no outstanding bills attached to the property and any maintenance fees such as water supply or sewerage should be paid before the transfer of ownership takes place. The seller is also obliged to ensure that his own mortgage on the property is dealt with by the time the purchase is finalized.

When it is clear that all of these matters have been taken care of, the seller and the purchaser can sign the deed of sale, which must then be confirmed by a Notary Public. This document is then passed on to the Public Registry with copies of the documents that prove that there is no outstanding debt on the property. They will then authorize the transfer of the property title to the buyer. This process can take around 10 days to complete provided there are no last minute problems.

After this has been completed you can take a copy of the deed of sale to the Property Registry and the Registry of Government Property (part of the Ministry of Economy and Finance). When this is done, the sale is final.