Terms of Service
1. Acceptance of These Terms
These Terms are accepted by checking the acceptance box presented before payment. This replaces a separately signed engagement agreement; checking that box is the client's signature for purposes of this agreement, and it applies to the specific edition, property or zones, and fee confirmed at that step. If you do not accept these Terms, do not proceed to payment.
2. What THE REPORT Provides, by Edition
THE REPORT, operated by Jota Properties CR, provides independent, fixed-fee property and area verification for Costa Rica's Central Valley. Each edition includes exactly what is listed below, and expressly does not include anything not listed.
| Edition | Included | Expressly Excluded |
|---|---|---|
| Area Edition | Neighborhood and access comparison across up to three zones. No property address required. | Any check tied to a specific property: title, corporate status, tax status, HOA, permits. |
| Records Edition | Title, corporate status, and tax status check on one named property. | HOA/condo financial health, permit-to-construction compliance, site visit, property condition snapshot. |
| Full Edition | Everything in Records Edition, plus HOA/condo financial health, permit-to-construction compliance, a site visit, and a property condition snapshot. | A structural inspection. The site visit and condition snapshot are visual and observational only: what is visible from a walk-through, matched against the listing and permit file. THE REPORT does not open walls, test systems, or certify structural, electrical, or plumbing soundness, and makes no finding beyond what a licensed inspector would be engaged separately to determine. |
3. Source Basis and Accuracy of Underlying Records
Findings are based on public registry records (Registro Nacional), municipal records, and, where applicable, information provided directly by an HOA administrator or property manager, each as they exist on the date they are pulled or received. THE REPORT verifies what these sources state; it does not warrant the accuracy of the underlying records themselves. If a registry or municipal record is later found to be incorrect, incomplete, or fraudulently filed, that is a defect in the source record, not in THE REPORT's verification of what that record said as of the date checked.
4. Delivery Timelines
Stated turnaround times (Area: 1-2 business days; Records: 2-3 business days; Full: 5-7 business days) begin once payment is completed at checkout. Where a municipal office, the National Registry, or an HOA administrator is closed, delayed, or slow to respond, THE REPORT will complete the engagement once the needed information is obtained rather than deliver an incomplete report on the original schedule. This extends the delivery date; it does not change the fee owed in either direction, and does not itself entitle the client to a refund or discount.
5. Client-Provided Information
THE REPORT verifies the property, zones, entity, or HOA the client identifies at the time of order. THE REPORT is not responsible for a report performed correctly against an incorrect address, folio number, or entity name supplied by the client. If a client identifies the wrong property and the error is discovered before delivery, THE REPORT will attempt to confirm and correct it; if discovered after delivery, correcting it is treated as a new engagement at the applicable fee, since it requires verifying a different property.
6. Full Edition Site Visit: Access
THE REPORT will make reasonable efforts to access the property for the site visit, including coordinating with the seller, listing agent, or property manager in advance. If access cannot be obtained, gated community entry is refused, no caretaker or key-holder is available, or the property is otherwise inaccessible despite reasonable effort, THE REPORT will deliver the remainder of the report on schedule with the Property Condition Snapshot section marked as not completed and the reason stated. This does not reduce the fee owed, since the records-based sections of the report are unaffected. THE REPORT will attempt the site visit again at no additional charge if access can be arranged within the original delivery window; rescheduling beyond that window is at THE REPORT's discretion.
7. Fees and Payment
Fees are fixed and stated at checkout. Payment in full is due at the time of order for every edition, processed through Stripe. For Full Edition specifically, THE REPORT sends a personal confirmation of the engagement, separate from Stripe's automated payment receipt, within one business day of payment, confirming the property details and delivery timeline directly.
8. Refunds and Cancellation
Once payment is completed at checkout, the request cannot be canceled and the payment is non-refundable. This applies regardless of what the verification finds. A report that identifies a problem with a property, an unpermitted addition, an underfunded HOA, a tax arrears, has done exactly what it was engaged to do, in the same way a report that finds no issues has. THE REPORT is paid for independent verification work, not for a particular outcome.
If THE REPORT is unable to complete the engagement for reasons within its own control, or determines it cannot perform the verification, for example, if a property cannot be located in the applicable registry, or THE REPORT declines the engagement, the fee is refunded in full.
If you believe you were charged in error, or a payment was duplicated, contact THE REPORT immediately at contact@jotapropertiescr.com, billing errors are corrected and are not subject to this policy.
9. THE BRIEFING
THE BRIEFING is a separate, optional subscription billed monthly, with content delivered quarterly. It may be canceled at any time; cancellation stops future billing and does not entitle the subscriber to a refund for the partial month or quarter in which cancellation occurs. THE BRIEFING covers regulatory, infrastructure, and market conditions across the zones THE REPORT covers generally. It does not track, monitor, or report on any individual client's specific property, entity, or HOA, and a subscription to THE BRIEFING does not extend or renew the scope of any prior report.
10. Annual Refresh
The Annual Refresh is a re-check of a property THE REPORT has previously verified for the same client, at the fees stated at the time of the request. It is available only to past clients, and only on the property covered by their prior report. If the property identified at checkout cannot be matched to a prior engagement, THE REPORT will contact the client before beginning work; where no prior engagement exists, the fee is refunded in full.
Base scope. Every refresh includes a records re-check: title status, corporate standing, and municipal tax standing as they exist on the date the refresh is performed, presented against the prior findings so that changes are identifiable.
Optional additions. At the client's election, and at the additional fee stated at checkout, a refresh may also include any of the following: HOA or condominium financial health; permit and construction compliance; and a Site Visit/Condition Check. Where all three additions are selected, the bundled Full Refresh rate is applied automatically. A refresh covers only the base scope plus the additions actually purchased. Anything not selected is not examined and is not reported on, and the absence of a finding on an unpurchased item is not a finding that no issue exists.
Site Visit/Condition Check. A Site Visit/Condition Check purchased as part of a refresh carries the same limitations stated for the Full Edition in Section 2. It is visual and observational only: what is visible from a walk-through, matched against the prior report. THE REPORT does not open walls, test systems, or certify structural, electrical, or plumbing soundness, and makes no finding beyond what a licensed inspector would be engaged separately to determine. It is not a home inspection and not an engineering assessment. Access is governed by Section 6 and is the client's responsibility to arrange. THE REPORT will make reasonable efforts to reach the property using the access information the client provides, and will reattempt at no additional charge if access can be arranged within the delivery window. Where access cannot be obtained, the refresh is delivered with the condition section marked as not completed and the reason stated, and the fee for that addition is not refunded: THE REPORT is engaged for the visit attempted on the information the client supplied, not for a particular result. Rescheduling beyond the delivery window is at THE REPORT's discretion. A prior report having included a site visit does not guarantee access on a later one.
What a refresh is not. A refresh states conditions as of the date the refresh work is performed. It does not revive, extend, reissue, or re-warrant the prior report, and it does not create any obligation with respect to the period between the two engagements. The limitations in Sections 11, 12, and 14 apply to a refresh exactly as they apply to any other report.
The Annual Refresh is client-initiated only. THE REPORT undertakes no obligation to monitor a property, track changes to its status, or notify a past client that a refresh may be advisable; the client is responsible for requesting one if they want one. Nothing in this section obligates THE REPORT to accept any particular refresh request.
11. Reliance Limitation
Each report is prepared solely for the named client identified at the time of order, for that client's own use in evaluating their own transaction. No other party, including but not limited to a seller, a real estate agent or broker, an HOA, a subsequent buyer, or a lender, may rely on the report for any purpose. The report may not be republished, resold, or provided to any third party as verification supporting a transaction, financing, or any other decision. A client who shares the report with their own attorney for the purpose of that transaction does not violate this section; forwarding it into a deal as proof of anything to a party THE REPORT did not engage with does.
12. Limitation of Liability
THE REPORT's total liability for any claim arising from or related to a report, however framed, is limited to the total fee paid by the client for that specific report. THE REPORT is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, including any loss connected to the underlying property transaction, whether or not THE REPORT was advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation applies to the fullest extent permitted by law.
13. Independence and No Agency
THE REPORT takes no commission on any related sale, holds no client funds, and has no financial stake in whether a transaction closes. THE REPORT does not represent the buyer or the seller in any transaction, and its engagement is independent of, and separate from, any real estate agent, broker, seller, or attorney involved.
14. What This Service Is Not
THE REPORT is an independent verification based on the sources listed in each report's delivery manifest. It is not a legal opinion, does not substitute for review by a licensed Costa Rican attorney, and does not guarantee the outcome of any transaction. THE REPORT is not a law firm, not a lender, and not a concierge service, and does not advise on whether to proceed with a purchase.
15. Governing Law and Venue
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles, and any dispute arising from these Terms or a report will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Texas.
16. Language
These Terms are authored in English. If a Spanish-language version is published, the English version controls in the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the two.
17. No Ongoing Obligation, Generally
Each report is a single, complete engagement. It does not create a subscription, retainer, or ongoing advisory relationship beyond what is separately stated for THE BRIEFING above. The client is welcome to request a new engagement, an Annual Refresh, or a subscription to THE BRIEFING at any time, at the terms in effect when requested.
18. Changes to These Terms
These Terms may be updated from time to time. The version number and effective date at the top of this page identify the version in effect for any given order; the version accepted at the time of an order governs that order even if these Terms are later updated.
19. Privacy and Data Handling
At checkout, THE REPORT collects the information necessary to fulfill your engagement: your name, email address, phone number, billing address, and the property or zone details relevant to your request. This information is used only to prepare and deliver your report, to communicate with you about your engagement, and for THE REPORT's own recordkeeping. It is not sold, and it is not shared with third parties for their own marketing purposes.
THE REPORT does not receive, process, or store your card number, CVV, or any other sensitive payment credential at any point. Payment is processed entirely by Stripe, a third-party payment processor. THE REPORT's visibility into a transaction is limited to whether the payment succeeded or failed, and the billing name, email, and address you provide at checkout. Stripe's own privacy practices govern the payment data it processes directly; see Stripe's privacy policy at stripe.com/privacy.
Information collected is retained for as long as needed to fulfill your engagement and for reasonable recordkeeping afterward, including for accounting and legal purposes. THE REPORT takes reasonable measures to protect the information you provide, though no method of storage or transmission is completely secure. Questions about how your information is handled can be sent to the contact below.
20. Contact
Questions about these Terms can be sent to contact@jotapropertiescr.com.