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Let me preface my question by stating, that I have ordered Scott’s book and maybe my answers will be clear but I would like to know what are the thoughts out there on buying an existing house/condo, etc or buliding your own structure. It seems the latter would be difficult to accomplish unless you are living in CR most of the time. I had a very good conversation with Martin Gill of 2 Costa Rica Real Estate and was impressed with his knowledge of Mid-South Pacific Area. He suggested the Building idea- so what are the pluses and negatives of both???
The upside of building is that you get what you want and not what somebody else thinks you should have had or what they wanted. And it’ll be new and built to current codes.
The downside is that you have to plan carefully; there may be unforseen costs; you have to choose your architect and builder carefully; and it will be a while ’til you can move in.
It isn’t a good idea to build if you aren’t in the country.
It isn’t a good idea to own in CR if you aren’t living in CR – the more you own, the more it owns you, especially when you own in a foriegn country. If you are buying for investment, there are still plenty of investment opportunities in the good ole USA.
There is nothing exotic about owning investment RE in a foriegn country.
Wait until you can live in CR to build in CR. Rent for a year, then start building. You can find a really nice rental that you can make into a very comfortable home while you wait for your home to be built. I like the building idea better than buying what exists, because this is exciting to me, but only if I were present throughout the whole process.
Agreed Dwayne.
Having built a home here myself, having given a copy of my real estate book to the man who helped me build it saying that if he did a great job, we would recommend him (as we do with everyone that we see doing a great job) and he would get more business than he could handle… We will NEVER recommend him – ever.
This is not to say that I am not thrilled with my new vacation home – I am but, we butted heads on so many occasions about so many things it was amazing. Even items in our written contract had to be confirmed dozens of times because he simply ignored the written contractual instructions. And I wrote the darned book about buying real estate…
If you plan on building here and cannot be on site literally EVERY SINGLE DAY – I would suggest that it’s not a good idea.
There are exceptions, there are a few professionals that you can trust to build your home for you while you are back in your home country but, finding those trustworthy people now is very difficult because the demand for experienced construction professionals is so high so labor costs have increased significantly and as we all know, material costs have also climbed dramatically.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comWe are building a home there and for us it is a vacation home. We decided to buy/build for a number of reasons, we felt it was a good long term investment, we spend up to 2 months there every year and within the near future hope to spend 4-6 months. Also we are in the Central Pacific and prices are going through the roof, we only wanted beach property in this area(near Jaco). Our #1 reasons for wanting a piece of Costa Rica to call our own is because we love the country! And whether this boom continues or goes bust it wont change the sunsets or surf or beautiful jungles and the wonderful Ticos and a million other things we love about this place. If you are moving here renting for a year sounds like the way to go to test the waters and see if things work out. It’s a lot easier to pack up and leave if you don’t have to sell a home, on the other hand if you know the country well and would want a presence there either way, buying could be wise. Either way good luck!
Thanks for your thoughts. The more I think about what is said- given our
situation in life- we are 61 and 52 years old and my husband is looking to retire in the next 4 years-( I guess I will go with him-ha ha)building does not make much sense,
I guess what I am trying to say is , given our ages, we really do not need a brand new stucture.In addition,I would not to have the time to supervise such an undertaking.One thing not mentioned above is that you can get a great deal more by building rather than buying. In CR as elsewhere the developer makes a huge profit for the headaches of building. AND by building on your own, it will be what you want.
Scott’s book coveres a LOT of details and is the place to start.
As far a Scott’s problems, they were more than minor. They were the kind of things that you have to be there for every day (as he recommends). Clearing the lot, laying out the house location (they reversed Scott’s view). . . They were things that I would have fired the builder early on. Even though you have hired a builder you need to be the person in charge and check and approve everything at least until your wants are clearly understood and being carried out.
Yes, it is a daunting task. But if you (or your husband) are retiring what else do you have to do??? Unless this home is just a vacation spot and you are going to be world travelers then you will be spending a LOT of time there.
On the other hand you may find exactly what you want and be willing to pay the premium for being able to just move in.
The problems with building are certainly surmountable or so many folks wouldn’t be doing it.
You may think you don’t need “new” at your respective ages, but that is not the question you should be asking. The question you should be asking yourselves is whether, at ages 76 and 67 respectively, you want to be undertaking renovation of a house.
Remember, anything you do to renovate a house you must first undo. New roof? First take the old one off (and find a place to dispose of the scrap). And if it was cheaply done the first time, you’ll be finding that out sooner rather than later. New wiring? First tear out the old and figure out what’s feasible to replace it with. Inadequate plumbing? First tear up the floors, tile, etc. Then begin anew.
Having renovated one house and built four, I’ll take the “build from the ground up” experience anytime. And in all four of those “build” jobs, we got the house we wanted, not the house somebody else wanted us to have.
Builders of spec homes make a lot of profit building extra bedrooms, family rooms, and lavish looking kitchens that many folks don’t really need. If you’re one who doesn’t need all that, then think about building the house you need and want.
Yes, I belive this forum is correct about building!
How ever remember too that when buying a home many sellers are trying to make a huge profit. Many sellers buy a home live in it for a year and think that it is worth 4 or 5 times more than they bought it for!
So these are all of the delimas that you will have to take in consideration Time, Hasel, Money and Trust!
What ever you do I would suggest you come down and stay for 6 months just to decied if you can adapt to the culture and environment!
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