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I am working toward retirement in CR and have a few questions. I’ve read 15 pages worth of forum boards and am not finding quite the answers I need, so I am posting.
1 – I have been looking at multiple property sites and find that many properties are “too” North American for me and some tico style houses may not be quite enough. I want something rustic but pretty, lots of natural woods, etc., probably about 1500 square feet. If I consider building, I’m estimating building costs of $100 per square foot, plus property cost. I would look for a property that already has electric and septic or some water system already in place.
2 – Or might I be better off buying an already existing home for around $200K and just work to renovate it to my liking? Am I right in my understanding that $200K is the number?
3 – I would work toward residency and understand an investment in property of around $200K is what is needed as a good start. I did read in the forum here that I build a house, land costs do not count toward the $200K. Does that sound right?
4 – And until I’m a resident, I need to travel in and out of Costa Rica every three months? So this could include visits to Nicaragua, Panama and the US? I expect to have my son with me for a couple years and he will be 18 so the same is required of him?
5 – If I have $ to last me 15-16 years (assuming I have no debt and my house in Costa Rica is paid for), plus gain social security well before that, am I wrong in assuming I’ll be ok with residency with enough passage of time?
6 – I’ve been to CR five times and will go back again by the end of the year. My plan is to choose my three favorite places and then live in each of them for three months, then choose the one I most like and spend another 6-9 months before buying property/a home. I’ll rent during this time. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks so much
I’d like to see some answers to these questions too. I am faced with either going to Mexico or Costa Rica. There are some really expensive gotchas if you aren’t careful with Costa Rica. Attorney’s fees for one! You’ll need one for residency and other matters and they aren’t cheap. Bringing in your personal belongings or even an automobile will make your eyes pop out because of the taxation. Just keep that in mind.
Yes, the property required for residency purposes must be in the National Registry valued at least $200K.
You are required to leave within the 90 days or whatever time you have allotted to you, to continue to use your home drivers license. Applying as Investor will result in a high CAJA payment for you, of [i]at least[/i] $450 per month, although I have heard that it is higher than this.
Your son, at 18 must apply on his own if he intends to stay here with you, [u]unless[/u] he is going to attend university here, full time. He will also have to have his own CAJA account, so probably will apply as a [b]Rentista[/b] and as under 55 could cost well over $450 per month. If he intends to remain a ‘tourist’, he must leave CR within the 90 days.
At the beginning of the fourth year, you can apply for Permanent residency, (it could take a year) which will lower your CAJA payments.
Best to rent first.Congratulations on thinking this through…
My comments below [i]are in italics[/i]…
1 – “Something rustic but pretty, lots of natural woods, etc., probably about 1500 square feet” [i]should certainly not cost more than $100 per square foot.[/i]
[i]Land costs obviously vary widely depending on the area… And yes! Buying land[/i] “that already has electric and septic or some water system already in place” [i]is a sensible idea… [/i]
2 – [i]$200K is the number for the ‘inversionista’ residency status but, as CostaRicaFinca has pointed out “the property required for residency purposes must be in the National Registry valued at least $200K” so the renovation idea may not work for you[/i] …
3 – I did read in the forum here that I build a house, land costs do not count toward the $200K. Does that sound right? [i]I believe that is correct! [/i]
4 – And until I’m a resident, I need to travel in and out of Costa Rica every three months? So this could include visits to Nicaragua, Panama and the US? I expect to have my son with me for a couple years and he will be 18 so the same is required of him? [i]Yes! He will be required to follow the same steps as you although I am not certain whether an 18 year old can be your dependent, you would need to verify that… [/i]
5 – If I have $ to last me 15-16 years (assuming I have no debt and my house in Costa Rica is paid for), plus gain social security well before that, am I wrong in assuming I’ll be ok with residency with enough passage of time? [i]It sounds great to me but if this is a solid, income that can be easily verified then you might want to consider ‘pensionado’ status (I have no idea how old you are) instead of ‘inversionista’ which would probably save you thousands a year just in CAJA payments… [/i]
6 – I’ve been to CR five times and will go back again by the end of the year. My plan is to choose my three favorite places and then live in each of them for three months, then choose the one I most like and spend another 6-9 months before buying property/a home. I’ll rent during this time. Any thoughts on this? [i]This is what everybody should do…. [/i]
Hope that helps….
Scott
Added link to a [url=http://www.arcr.net/residency/comparecostaricaresidencies.html]Comparison chart[/url] supplied by ARCR.
Note: The $60K mentioned for Rentista is required to be done twice, so actually $120k, before the individual can apply for Permanent Residency[img]https://www.welovecostarica.com/public/images/Compare-Residencies.jpg[/img]
Helps tremendously, Scott and costaricafinca! Thanks so much.
It looks like I could pursue residency on a number of levels and don’t want to end up with such a high CAJA payment each month.
If I bought a piece of property that is already electric and septic ready, it seems like I could get everything built to my liking. I don’t want a crazy big home. I just want something very nice and rustic in appearance. I do hear about the bugs and termites in particular but also believe there are wood varieties there that are pretty resistant? Last time we were there we stayed in a beautiful Balinese style house in Playa Avellanas and I loved that house but don’t need anything quite that large. I also want to go solar so I minimize my monthly expenses to be as low as possible. My estimate for the house I want is that this will probably cost somewhere between $11-$20K up front.
If I have an architect design a plan for me, is a year enough to build? I want at least 2 acres of land and plan to build a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom house, fully gated (to keep my animals safe). I’d also like a little casita on the property so friends can visit.
I work in oncology (a heart attack of a job) but am also an artist (glass) and plan to have a glass and ceramics studio on my property. I want to do animal rescue, set up some charity where folks with cancer or some other awful disease, can come stay at my property rent/expense free for a week to disconnect from their worries/stresses. I have been all over the world and Costa Rica is my peaceful, joyful place.
I will be 55 or 56 when we make my move. I have to get my son through school for now;)
Can’t even describe how much I appreciate this forum. Thanks:)
[quote=”Scott”]Congratulations on thinking this through…
My comments below [i]are in italics[/i]…
1 – “Something rustic but pretty, lots of natural woods, etc., probably about 1500 square feet” [i]should certainly not cost more than $100 per square foot.[/i]
[i]Land costs obviously vary widely depending on the area… And yes! Buying land[/i] “that already has electric and septic or some water system already in place” [i]is a sensible idea… [/i]
2 – [i]$200K is the number for the ‘inversionista’ residency status but, as CostaRicaFinca has pointed out “the property required for residency purposes must be in the National Registry valued at least $200K” so the renovation idea may not work for you[/i] …
3 – I did read in the forum here that I build a house, land costs do not count toward the $200K. Does that sound right? [i]I believe that is correct! [/i]
4 – And until I’m a resident, I need to travel in and out of Costa Rica every three months? So this could include visits to Nicaragua, Panama and the US? I expect to have my son with me for a couple years and he will be 18 so the same is required of him? [i]Yes! He will be required to follow the same steps as you although I am not certain whether an 18 year old can be your dependent, you would need to verify that… [/i]
5 – If I have $ to last me 15-16 years (assuming I have no debt and my house in Costa Rica is paid for), plus gain social security well before that, am I wrong in assuming I’ll be ok with residency with enough passage of time? [i]It sounds great to me but if this is a solid, income that can be easily verified then you might want to consider ‘pensionado’ status (I have no idea how old you are) instead of ‘inversionista’ which would probably save you thousands a year just in CAJA payments… [/i]
6 – I’ve been to CR five times and will go back again by the end of the year. My plan is to choose my three favorite places and then live in each of them for three months, then choose the one I most like and spend another 6-9 months before buying property/a home. I’ll rent during this time. Any thoughts on this? [i]This is what everybody should do…. [/i]
Hope that helps….
Scott
[/quote]
Expect to build for $11-$20K is indeed wishful thinking.
Termite resistant and other hard woods are much more expensive.
The cost of permits are decided by the College of Architects based on what [u]they[/u] think it will cost to build.
Read this article today on [url=http://www.qcostarica.com/high-costs-challenge-construction-in-costa-rica/]qcostarica.[/url] regarding the high cost of build here.Will do, costaricafinca,
You think $11K-20K is too low of a price estimate for installing solar? Another member said she was doing it for $11K but I don’t think she posted any updates.
Thanks
[quote=”costaricafinca”]Expect to build for $11-$20K is indeed wishful thinking.
Termite resistant and other hard woods are much more expensive.
The cost of permits are decided by the College of Architects based on what [u]they[/u] think it will cost to build.
Read this article today on [url=http://www.qcostarica.com/high-costs-challenge-construction-in-costa-rica/]qcostarica.[/url] regarding the high cost of build here.[/quote]I wrote this to the president of CR:
My partner and I are considering Costa Rica as our final destination in life when I retire in less than 2 years. I understand that CAJA will recognize same sex couples with regards to health, but my concern is residency. I have contacted a few lawyers and it seems that we would both have to enter as 2 individuals when we have effectively been a family for now 16 years in the USA. I am not asking for us to be considered as a married couple as we aren’t married. We are two adults who have chosen to take care of each other as a family and families come in all combinations. It would make our decision easier to move to Costa Rica and not Mexico (not my first choice) if the entrance requirements weren’t financially challenging. I am the one who has the income (pension) and investment so I would rather not come up with strange financial arrangements for us to become residents, when others, who are married, can just come in as a couple. I do hope that things change as I think Costa Rica is our best option. I will still be young enough to be of service to your country as I have technical skills and I love to mentor young engineers. We visited your beautiful country back in 2013 and we love Guanacaste! Thank you
Chris
Even as a married couple, the spouse of the account holder is often asked to present the wedding certificate to CAJA, especially when having to renew their [i]garnet[/i] and for some of us that have been living here for many years, it has been impossible to do so, without returning to their home country to get the required apostle, if their home country isn’t part of the Hague convention.
The same sex policy is geared towards Costa Rican citizens.
I know of many heterosexual ‘commom law’ couples who have been together for 40+ years and had to apply as individuals for residency, then been required to open their personal CAJA accounts
Even a ‘child’ over the age of 18 is not covered as an dependent, unless in university in CR until reaching 25 or is totally disabled.What I am fearful is that the medical costs will be assessed individually for him and me and that would be a deal breaker when it comes to our overall budget. Since he doesn’t have Social Security and solely depends on me, my income alone is not huge and I am worried that we won’t be able to afford CR as it is about as expensive or more expensive as it is here in Arizona. And I won’t even mention the ridiculous taxation on bringing in personal property into the country.
— added this —
You wrote “Applying as Investor will result in a high CAJA payment for you, of at least $450 per month, although I have heard that it is higher than this. ” How is that determined? He has no income at all.How is income really determined? Is that less taxes taken out for the IRS?
I have a pension and I will be pulling from my 401K. Then SS will kick in at 62. I am nervous about how much I’ll have to pay for me and you say $450/month for an investor (minimum). I just calculated my final income, less taxes, and my portion would run $817.51 and if his is $450 per month, $1267.51. It would be cheaper to stay in the US with Obamacare! Obamacare is not reasonable in cost.
Bringing in, used household goods is not taxed the same or as expensive as a vehicle. When you fly in, pack up your items in large plastic containers and paying extra baggage fees, you are not taxed on these items.
Yes, if your partner applies as a [i]Rentista[/i] his premiums will be based on the $2500 per month transferred into his account each month, so he will be required to pay approx $240 if he is over 55. Unfortunately [i]Rentista[/i] and [i]Inversionista[/i] are not permitted to deduct any ‘living expenses’. In fact, not all CAJA office will allow living expenses for a Pensionado, which is wrong … but we know it occurs.“living expenses”?
I think I could probably get away with showing my pension as only income, but all of that income is USA based so I don’t know if they go by “gross” amount or “net” amount (less the taxes basically).
You are right about the rentista as being a cheaper alternative. After the 2 years would he be able to stay there in CR as a full time resident? Remember he won’t have an income so I don’t know how that plays into it. Well we won’t be renting as that is throwing money away to me. So the $60,000 which will sit in a CR bank for two years won’t be accessible until after those 2 years?
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