Finding a Costa Rica Realtor that knows the local market can save you a lot of stress and headaches and on occasions – a fortune!

I know of a home in an area just twenty minutes from where I am sitting that has been bought and sold by Americans four times in the last six years.

I first visited the home in early 2000 after a lovely young American couple from Connecticut bought it and we had became friends because of our shared passion for animals of all kinds. We had all rescued dozens of dogs.

Strangely enough it was exactly that – dogs – that drove all of them away…

The house they bought has an unusual but attractive design and the property has an enormous garden of at least two acres at the back but, there is a humble home in front of them owned by a local family that one could only describe as ‘difficult.’

You see, when you and I go house-hunting, we go during the day and it rarely occurs to us that maybe, we should also check the area at night.

We must remember that most Ticos have an extraordinary tolerance for noise. What we mean by that is that while dogs barking all night long may drive you and I completely round the bend (as is the case with the home we are chatting about), your neighbor will wake up in the morning all bright eyed and bushy tailed and think that you are stark raving bonkers when you – with the bags under your eyes – try to complain (in Spanish) that his seven barking dogs only allowed you to sleep for 90 minutes.

In our downloadable Living & Retirement 124 Tips & Traps Report you will see that in #12 we would highly recommend that when you are evaluating a place to live, that you remember to check the area for barking dogs at night as well as during the day.

Now this rarely applies to condominiums and other gated type communities as long as the regulations are enforced (which is not always) however, if you are looking at a stand alone home and not a condominium – check it out at night too!

You may not want to visit at 3am but it’s preferable to buying a home and finding out on your first night that your neighbor has a sawmill in his back garden that he only uses when he gets home after his day job or, as in this case, the neighbor has seven large dogs that bark all, and we mean all night long.




Finding a Costa Rica Realtor that will not ‘forget’ to tell about the barking dogs is a good thing…

Written by Scott Oliver, author of 1: How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa, 2: Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore and 3. ¿Cómo Comprar Bienes Raíces en Costa Rica, Sin Perder Su Camisa?

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.