Costa Rica Real Estate Blog - Latest Comments

Re: Let’s Talk Value in Costa Rica Real Estate

Sopner Pakhi — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 18:45:44 -0000

Now real estate business is very popular but you should promote your company. Because there are many company here. You can promote your company with online. Real estate auction websites are very active.

Re: Easements… Made Easy!

concerned.homeowner — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 15:36:23 -0000

are business owners allowed to put up advertisement signs on a servidumbre or easment

Re: A New Type of Property Buying Option in Costa Rica

Aerial Media Costa Rica — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 13:54:05 -0000

Thanks for sharing the video. Very nice write up and cmon we know you are the "all knowing Costa Rica realtor"

Re: How to sell a property in Costa Rica

marty — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 20:59:56 -0000

Thank you Ben! I'm am going to look online for a realtor and go from there. Thanks again for your help

Re: How to sell a property in Costa Rica

Ben Vaughn — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 05:36:04 -0000

Hi Marty,
I see 2 questions here:
1) Can he sell his property without getting ripped off?
2) Can you go for him?

Yes to both, with caveats.
To sell a property in Costa Rica without getting ripped off, you MUST have a good lawyer. Everything happens in Costa Rica with the aid of a lawyer. There are good ones & bad ones. References are the best way to find a good one. I've got a couple of good ones that I can suggest, although you might want to work in the "inland" area where the properties are for the sake of convenience. If so, ask around and find a good one. If you don't speak Spanish, you'll want to make sure that the lawyer speaks good English as well as is referred by others.

You can go for him if you have a power of attorney (POA) in the name of the corporation that owns his property. If his property is owned in his personal name, then POA in his personal name. This can be arranged and then you can sign the offer to purchase document as well as the Purchase & Sale agreement.

You'll likely need the help of a real estate agency in the area, or use one of the Costa Rica real estate agencies: so what I'm saying is a local one that works just in that area, or one of the companies that works the entire country.

Re: How to sell a property in Costa Rica

marty — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 22:47:38 -0000

My grandfather is Costarican, he's live in US since after he joined US navy in WW2. He has 2 regular houses in inland Costarica, he now has relatives living there but want to sell and cannot travel. How can he sell homes without getting ripped off and having to travel himself, can I go for him? Thanks.

Re: About

Ben Vaughn — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 08:20:50 -0000

Hello Madeleline,

Is your name actually spelled correctly? I've not ever seen it quite like that. If so, congrats! You are the first Madeleline I've met. :)

Great question. I'm sorry for the slow response. You're tucked back here on the About page.

Your question is a good one. I get asked it quite a lot. I'm not familiar with the Cabo Blanco area, but I can tell you what I tell folks here in The Zone who ask it.

Talk with others who have built and get the names of their engineer, architect & builder. Set up a list of 3 of each and interview them. If you don't hit pay dirt with the first go-round, repeat the process until you do.

The primary concern is integrity, and so a known history of this quality is vital, hence the references from others who have done it.

Also, chemistry is important. Pay attention to how it "feels" when you are interviewing.

As for costs. I generally say that building costs here straddle the $100 per foot mark. You can build for less than this, and in some cases quite a bit less, depending on your personal involvement in the process.

Speaking Spanish is a huge help, but is rarely the case with new residents/migrators here. So your General Contractor will need to be bi-lingual and interface with the various Costa Rica suppliers and service providers for you. Again, trust is hugely underscored in this relationship.

The cost can easily go over $100 per foot but this is all about the finishes and amenities that one wants. Figure around $30,000 for a pool. Again, this is a straddled number, depending on size, tiles etc...

That's what I've got in brief. I'd love to hear how your project goes.

Ben

Re: About

Madeleline Borden — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:18:00 -0000

Building a house
We have recently bought a great piece of property near Cabo Blanco reserve and want to build. I am having a hard time finding architects that come with positive recommendations. How do I go about finding reputable architects and can anyone recommend some. Also, we are finding that we are being given a wide range of cost when it comes to building, even when we say that it will be an average well built house but nothing fancy. In other words, no terracotta roof, teak, etc. Can anyone give me some base line by which I can guide my inquiries. Anything bit of info would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Costa Rica – What Are We Doing Here?

Ben Vaughn — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 13:11:00 -0000

The best for rapid response is ben (at) guysinthezone.com.

Re: Costa Rica – What Are We Doing Here?

Richard — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:52:05 -0000

eliza, try...benvaughn@gmail.com that works for me every time.

Re: Costa Rica – What Are We Doing Here?

elizalarge — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 01:33:12 -0000

Hi Ben! i dint rememnber ur email address and Michael has stopped talking to me so I couldnt get it from him... I wanted to say hi and ask you about these 2 books I have on my "interesting book titles, maybe I will get to them one day" book list. Thought you might be interested, you are such an avid reader...Millennium: Winners and Losers in the Coming World Order by Jacques Attali and The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America, Revised and Abridged Edition by Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt. Your biz site is fun to read, I will stay tuned to it. email is elizaporta@hotmail...send a note. All is well, Spring is glorious in Texas now, altho the area is not nurturing to my soul, I will move on in June after getting some funds together and wishing my mother a happy nother year...95! Take care of yourself. Love Eliza

Re: State of the Market – March 2013

Rod "Tigre" Martin — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:13:26 -0000

Great article, Ben. Real estate activity is definitely up in the area. Home sales and hotel sales lead the pack, although I do think it's a great time to buy raw land and build. I think it will take another year+ to see raw land/lot values go up, but they don't seem to be going down anymore. Nice to see you are still writing... I'm afraid my writing days will have to wait for my next sabbatical. ;-)

Re: State of the Market – March 2013

Ben — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 09:19:57 -0000

Thanks Cassidy. I'm getting broadly mixed data, making it hard to really "know" what the trends are. I'd appreciate any specific input on my take about prices and the way things are going in real estate.

Re: State of the Market – March 2013

Cassidy Scheer — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 07:40:14 -0000

Good stuff as always Ben.

Re: Seeking Refuge in Costa Rica

Tabra Tunoa — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:38:34 -0000

Please contact me soon. Thanks.

Re: Seeking Refuge in Costa Rica

Tabra Tunoa — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:37:02 -0000

I have some 27 to 30 hectares of beautiful land in Turrubares looking out at the Turrubares Mountain Range, on the old highway that goes past Turubari towards Puriscal - and is about 15 minutes from Orotina. It stretches from the old highway above to the Camaron River below. I am anxious to sell it soon, as I also have property in Limon on the Banana River and want to devote my time, energy and money to that property. I would like to set up a meeting with you, if you think that you might be the real estate agents for me.

I don't have a telephone or car presently. But you can reach me through my e-mail any day - as I check my mail several times a day. I am staying in San Jose for the month of March. I live part of the year here in Costa Rica and part of the year in Bali, Indonesia.

Re: The Luxury of Living in the Third World

Sam — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:04:57 -0000

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story, not only because of how touching it was, but because of how poignantly it illustrated the transition that has occurred in The Zone over the past few decades. We'll be in CR next week (after months of planning), maybe we'll work in a stop at Hacienda Baru!

Re: The Luxury of Living in the Third World

Danny — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:08:53 -0000

Great story, we will have to spend some time at the Refuge on our next visit to CR.

Re: The Luxury of Living in the Third World

Luis Figuer — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 10:05:16 -0000

Lovely story.

Re: February News

Frankly Speaking — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:40:32 -0000

You ask a good question which like almost everything else down here
depends on what news source you find info in. My input concerning the
30% tax on money leaving the country was based on articles I read in
amcostarica and insidecostatrica when this snake first raised its
head. Since I put the newsletter out I have read in various English
and Spanish language news sources that the idea of the 30% tax has been
dropped in favor of (1) resurrecting the value added tax issue, (2) only
taxing profits derived from speculation investments, (3) taxing money
coming into the country which of course would include what you and I
bring into the country each month for living expenses. Regardless of
what happens on this issue there is still the in-place 6% transfer tax
on property titles and the 8% sales tax to be paid on any profits
derived from property sales.

Like you we also have our property on the market which
also like you we purchased in 2007 which if we are ever able to sell it
we will be taking a loss also like you. Hopefully, the monies involved
in the sale will be from U.S. financial institution to a U.S. financial
institution with no monies entering or leaving Costa Rica.

I wish I could give you a more definitive answer but I
can't. Like a Tico lawyer told my wife and I a few years ago: There
are no laws in Costa Rica. The law is what ever the official you are
dealing with wants it to be.

Re: February News

ddken — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:15:23 -0000

The line "A legislative proposal is to tax all money leaving the country at 30%." scared the hell out of me as we've just listed a house we bought in 2007 (and lost 20% in value since then) however further research suggests the tax will be on expatriation of profits, not "all money". Is that your understanding? Thanks

Re: Should I Offer Seller Financing?

Karen — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:26:00 -0000

Thanks Ben, You are a treasure trove of factual and accurate information!

Re: How to Sell a Property in Costa Rica

Ben Vaughn — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 10:07:25 -0000

Sam, I'm deeply honored by your comment. Thank you.

I fully intend to "keep the articles coming". It is thanks to comments like yours that it is such a pleasure for me. Please let me know if I can assist with achieving your dream.

Re: How to Sell a Property in Costa Rica

Sam — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 08:42:21 -0000

Ben - I really hope someday I'm in a position to work with you on turning a dream into reality. I haven't come across any other sources of real estate information in CR that resonate so well. Thanks for your insight, please keep the articles coming!

Re: The “Toucan Test”

Ben Vaughn — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:01:26 -0000

Hi Steve,

Many thanks for sharing your experiences here.

I would be more than happy to discuss my experiences with you. Pain management, by its very nature is a challenge. I too am managing pain and am dealing with some of the same issues as you, but from the pre-surgery side of things. Unrelated to my back problems, I too am a victim of violent crime, so I'll bet we burn some daylight comparing notes.

I am currently using an inversion table. If you don't know what that is, search "inversion tables" in Amazon and read some of the comments about the Teeter EP-550. I suspect, however, with your history you know all about these. Its all new to me and the prospect of avoiding surgery with regular use is absolutely intoxicating. Today is day 3 for me using the table. Its a bit early yet, but I'm sensing some change, towards the good. They say that I should use the thing twice a day, just like brushing my teeth. I don't know what benefit the tables would have, if any, for your situation with 3 fused vertebrae.

I am currently looking into how insurance works here in Costa Rica as regards pre-existing conditions. It used to be that such conditions did not influence your insurance here. Now the insurance industry in Costa Rica is growing up and paying more attention. I have already found that getting straight answers from my insurance agent is a challenge. Everything is "no problem" until it comes time to submit a bill.

If you'd like, we can set up a visit, either in person here in Costa Rica, or via Skype or some other. However, I'd imagine that readers of this blog would benefit from some of the details that we discuss. So perhaps we can start here with a couple of your questions and go from there. There will no doubt be some research necessary on my part. Since I'm personally invested in this topic at the moment, I'm game.

Congratulations on dodging the bullet there at Hacienda Matapalo. There are other, very viable options here that we can discuss as well.

I look forward to our conversations.

Ben Vaughn