Buying a property in a foreign country can be scary and exciting at the same time.
Take your time to interview a Real Estate Agent and make sure you trust him/her to have your best interest at heart.
There are some important questions you can ask potential agents;
How long have they been working in Real Estate?
Do they do this as a full-time job?
What is their area of expertise? (if they tell you they can represent you in the entire country or providence - be cautioned)
How many sales have they closed last year?
What is their average sales price?
Ask where they live to make sure they are very familiar with your preferred area.
Are they registered with SUGEF? (The General Superintendency of Financial Entities (Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras,SUGEF) of Costa Rica is the public entity overseeing the stability, resilience, and efficiency of the national financial system; and inspects and regulates the operations and activities of the financial entities.)
Beware that there is no official MLS (Multiple Listing Service) in Costa Rica so make sure you work with an agent that works inside a reputable company that has been around for a long time. They will have all the data needed for comparisons, property sale history, development history,...
What is their relationship with their competitors? (Your agent can represent you "the Buyer" for any listing you find, even if it is with a competitor, so you need to make sure they work well with others). You can ask how many of their deals they closed with their competitors?
Hire a specialist!! (you would not hire your landscaper to perform your heart surgery)