Do We Charge for a Site Visit? Here Is How It Works at GAP
We never ask for money up front just to come and look at your property. The site visit is the last step before closing, and when your loan closes, the site visit fee is refunded to you.
Here is exactly how a GAP loan moves, step by step, so you always know where you stand.
Some people take your money and walk away. We don’t.
I have been doing this in Costa Rica for over 20 years, and I keep hearing the same sad story. A property owner needs a loan, and someone calling themselves a lender asks for a thousand dollars or more just to come and see the property. They show up, walk around, and a few days later say, “Sorry, we don’t like the deal.” And the money is gone.
Nobody checked the papers first. Nobody found a lender. They just pocketed the fee.
That is not how GAP works. We are an honest company, and we do things properly. We do the work first, and we only ask for the site visit fee at the very end, when your loan is ready to close. Then we give it back to you at closing.
The short answer: no money up front to look at your property. The site visit fee is paid only at the final stage, after your documents have been reviewed and a lender is ready to go ahead, and it is refunded to you when the loan closes.
How a GAP loan moves, in order
Every loan follows these six steps. Look at where the site visit sits: right at the end.
We receive your loan request
You send GAP your loan request with photos, the location of the property and the basic information.
We review it and collect the documents
We analyze the request and collect the remaining documents, checking the taxes, the ownership and the other requirements to establish whether the loan is feasible.
We find the right lender
We identify a lender who has the funds available and likes the loan and the location.
We arrange the site visit
Once the documents have been reviewed and the lender is ready to proceed, we arrange the site visit to confirm everything is as described.
You pay the site visit fee
Only now, at this final stage, do you pay the site visit fee. Not at the start, and not to “take a look”.
We close, and you get it back
We close the loan, and the site visit fee is refunded to you at closing. If the loan does not close because the property is not as described, the fee is not refunded.
By the time we visit, the hard work is done.
Before anyone drives out to your property, your papers have been checked and a lender has said yes to the loan and the location. The visit is there to confirm that the property is exactly as described.
Think about it: why would you pay someone to visit a property before anyone has looked at the title or found a lender? You would never do that back home, so don’t do it here.
A site visit is real work. It is often a full day on the road for two of our people. That is why the fee is not refunded if the loan does not close after the visit.
And let me be honest about why a loan stops at the visit. Almost every time, it is because the property is not what we were shown. We have driven out after seeing beautiful photos, only to find they were ten years old and the place was completely run down. That happens to us far too often. So please send us current photos and honest information, and there will be no surprises for anyone.
GAP never accepts cash. Funds move through the proper banking and closing process.
Site visit questions
Do you charge for a site visit?
Yes, there is a site visit fee, but you only pay it at the final stage, once your documents have been reviewed and a lender is ready to proceed. It is refunded to you at closing.
What if my loan does not close after the site visit?
Then the site visit fee is not refunded. By the time we visit, the papers have been checked and a lender is ready, so a loan that stops at the visit almost always stops because the property is not as described. Send us current photos and honest information, and that will not happen to you.
How does the site visit work?
When the papers are checked and the lender is ready, we arrange a visit to the property to confirm everything is as described: the property, the location and what was in the photos and documents.
Do I pay anything to get started?
No. Sending us your request, our review of your documents and the search for a lender all come before the site visit fee.
Someone wants money just to come and see my property. What should I do?
Be careful. Ask them first: have my papers been checked, and is there a lender ready for this loan? At GAP, the visit only happens after both.
Send us your photos and location
It costs nothing to start. Send us your property photos, the location and a few details, and we will tell you honestly whether your loan is feasible.