Costa Rica Real Estate – Three Keys To Building Your Own Income Producing Home.

Gee, is it already March? I had hoped to start construction of my little piece of Costa Rica real estate by now.

Well, you must remember my three attitude requirements for living successfully here in CR:

1. Sense of adventure
2. Sense of humor and whole lot of ….
3. PATIENCE!

When I first signed up to buy my plot of land, my Costa Rica real estate – I did not realize that all of the requirements for the subdivision had not been completed.

In fact, I did not really know what Mike (the developer) had as a plan for the development. I did not care, since the lot is so great and exceeds all of my requirements for location.

Mike is in the final stages of having all of the approvals for this condominium so we can actually start construction. This classification of a development requires that 50% of the land area be dedicated to parks and common areas.

He will have all underground utilities, small lakes, protected areas for the stream that flows through the property, and the lots will all be from 600 square meters to 2,000 square meters.

So, I will own my 1,000+ square meter lot plus one share of the 53 shares of the overall condominium assets. All of this is way more and better than I dreamed of when I signed up. I like good surprises and the delay has not been a problem for me because I am just now getting the final drawings and material lists so I can start shopping for a Maestro and the material supplier.

I will be employing a ‘Maestro’ who will be the construction Superintendent. He will be responsible for hiring the labor and paying them correctly, making sure the plans are followed (the Architect will sign off at each stage of construction), and coordinating all of the labor, material, and subcontractors so the project is hopefully completed in about 5 months.

I will be on the job nearly every day and will be making all the last minute decisions and adjustments that are inevitable.

The Architect has given me his “high side” estimate of the construction cost. He has come in with 42,671,000 Colones or at today’s rate, US$100,402.00

There are 2,596 square feet of inside construction and 1,100 square feet of deck area. This comes out to $27.16 per square foot of construction cost for the project. This total amount is higher than I first estimated but I have added a lot of very nice improvements and there have been some radical price increases in materials in the last six months.

We will have two forty gallon Stainless Steel Water Heaters heated by two Solar hot water panels, a water reserve tank with a large pump to assure we always have enough water at good pressure, Columbian Stone counter tops, a 7 foot Marble bar, lifetime colored stucco walls inside and outside (no painting required), Armstrong acoustical ceilings and glass centers in the balcony rails up and down.

Now it is my job to negotiate better material costs, labor costs and overhead costs. I am convinced I can complete the construction for US$90,000. This would put the total cost of the project with the $23,000 lot at $113,000 plus furniture. Remember, I am building one 2 bedroom, 2 bath home, as well as two separate 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartments (that is 3 kitchens, 6 bathrooms, 2 laundry rooms, 6 bedrooms, and 3 living areas).

I have a few weeks to negotiate these things and we now hope to begin construction by early April. We’ll keep you informed!

Written by our friend George Lundquist, who is the founder of Costa Rica Retire on Social Security. If you are thinking of retiring in Costa Rica, you might want to consider the tour that George offers, his goal is to share his experiences here with you to save you time and money!

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.