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I have not seen anything re: Mortgages in CR. Is one expected to pay cash for a home? While that is probably what we would do, it would be nice to have knowledge as to any choices available.
As a new resident to CR it would be hard if not impossible for you to get a mortgage here. Plus the interest will be higher than North America.
If you have the funds, you can bargain, and since you won’t be able to work to help pay it….
An owner [i]may[/i] consider 50% down if they are desperate to sell.
But, most of us on the forum recommend renting first to see if this is the place for you, especially if you haven’t spent much time here.Thank You! I just wanted to have the information. We are seriously looking at the Lunquist tour as an initial CR experience with more than likely additional trips plus renting prior to any final decision or purchase. Again Thank You! 😀
John, I remember you mentioned this before, and if I remember right you were one of the few if not the only one that managed to do this. At least of those of us who was discussing this issue. Am I correct? However, yours was I recall was for a small property so possibly it would/could depend on the amount required and how much one put down.
We got a construction loan through a mortgage broker about eight months after arriving in Costa Rica. By that time, we’d paid for our property and our guest house and so had lots of collateral. We also have a steady income and a near-perfect FICO score (which they examined).
A year after the main house was completed, thanks to the construction loan, we refinanced it via another mortgage broker. That was to get the cash out to finish some exterior projects.
Since we got our second mortgage, the published interest rates have gone way up. And we knew a couple who offered the bank as much as fifty percent down and still couldn’t get financed. They said they, too, had a very impressive FICO score, but who knows.
The process of getting a mortgage here, especially if you have no local credit history, is more complex and will take longer than in the U.S., so be prepared to wait . . . and to be disappointed. Mortgage lending here, as in the U.S., appears to have tightened up a lot in the past couple of years.
We have seller financing for our beachfront, we placed 50% down, and pay the sellers corporate trust every six months. The owner is only charging us 3% interest on the outstanding balance.
[quote=”soldier”]We have seller financing for our beachfront, we placed 50% down, and pay the sellers corporate trust every six months. The owner is only charging us 3% interest on the outstanding balance.[/quote]
Good work Soldier!
Lotus,
Thanks. As luck may have it, we vacationed in CR September-October 2009, decided to just take a look at some of the beachfront homes and prices in Playa Hermosa, Guancaste. We looked at eight homes. The last home was the one we both wanted, and, at a 30% discount (the seller was in a divorce situation and needed to sell at a fire sale.) To add to our luck, the seller was willing to finance at only 3% interest on the outstanding balance, after 50% down. Talked to friends in CR and my accountant in the U.S., they all strongly advised us to buy. In just three short days, we hired an CR attorney, started a Ltda. and hired a property management company. To continue our luck, the home is only four years old, and came fully furnished with top-of-the-line appliances and furniture. Take Care.
Inside Costa Rica, the online newspaper, reported today that Banco de Costa Rica is or will be offering 25- to 30-year mortgages at fixed or variable rates, in dollars or colones, and with 100 percent financing. There weren’t many details except that the borrower has to be able to demonstrate his or her ability to repay the loan (what did you expect).
Here’s the link: http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2010/february/20/costarica-10022008.htm
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