Buying Costa Rica Real Estate – Should I buy now and retire later? Ten Important Facts To Remember

One of our VIP Members who considers himself too young to retire was asking me what he should do… Should he buy Costa Rica real estate now and retire later? Or, wait until later and then buy the new home he wants.

Assuming for the time being that he is a seasoned traveler and knows exactly what he wants in his new home in Costa Rica, in looking at the demographics of the USA and what our VIP Members are have been me, Costa Rica real estate prices in most areas are not going any lower anytime soon…

1. The vast majority of gringo buyers of Costa Rica real estate are not financing their purchases here, they are paying in full. Buyers that need to sell their homes in the US before they buy here are suffering because their homes are not selling, the others – who make up the majority of Costa Rica real estate buyers – seem to have the resources that will allow them to buy no matter what.
2. Having said that, there are more US mortgage companies showing serious interest in helping US citizens with equity in their homes to buy Costa Rica real estate so in the near future, it will probably be easier for middle income US homeowners to buy Costa Rica real estate.
3. Delta has announced a new direct flight from Los Angeles to Liberia starting in December, there are a lot of people in the Los Angeles area! According to the California Association of Realtors, California’s median home price is now about $567,360 so Costa Rica real estate prices look good.
4. As times get tougher in the USA, more people will look at Costa Rica as an easy to reach and attractive place to live where they will be able live on a lot lees than they would require in the USA.
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5. Property taxes in Costa Rica are a fraction of what they are in the USA. According to the Miami Dade County website, on a US$275K property in Miami, you would pay about US$6,875 in property taxes. With a luxury apartment in Costa Rica, the property taxes for a home of the same value would be US$687.50 per year (property taxes are only 0.25%). You would save US$515 per month just in property taxes.
6. Should we have any additional internal shocks in the USA, those people that are presently thinking and ‘planning that life-changing move will probably accelerate their plans to move to Costa Rica so that they can do it sooner rather than later.
7. Demographically speaking, forty-six percent of the baby boomers are still in their 40s while one in six is between 42 and 44 years old so there are plenty of baby-boomers that haven’t really started to think about their retirement but, they will soon. The more negative the environment becomes in the USA, the more receptive they will be to the idea of living and retiring abroad.
8. The overall public opinion in the US about US foreign and domestic policies appears to be changing dramatically and I receive angry emails every day from people who say they are seriously thinking about leaving the USA to escape from what they feel is political persecution and, the continued erosion of rights that they feel they should be entitled to as an American citizen. This is not a political statement on my part, but certainly an accurate summation of how so many Americans who are contacting me feel at the moment.
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9. I believe price points remain important. We prefer helping people more in the ‘high-probability, low-risk’ market where we feature quality homes that will appeal to a larger number of Americans rather than just a select few. In the last four months, VIP Members of WeLoveCostaRica.com have bought dozens and dozens of new homes with an average price of US$282,866 and there are probably quite a few sales that we do not know of…
10. It’s not just Americans that are buying Costa Rica real estate, there are plenty of Canadians buyers here, Central and Latin Americans and for most Europeans, Costa Rica real estate prices are ridiculously low.

Bottom line? The VIP Members of WeLoveCostaRica.com are telling us that in living and retiring in Costa Rica, we are in a truly wonderful place at a good time and, I remain confident that unless there are catastrophic political events within Costa Rica – which I do NOT expect – we should see a very profitable future ahead.

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Scott Oliver – Founder, WeLoveCostaRica.com

Author ‘How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa.’

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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.