Costa Rica Retirement – A Family Affair

I bought my first piece of real estate in Costa Rica. It’s a brand new two-bedroom, two-bath condo. I was surprised to learn that when I took possession of the place, raw electrical wires were exposed in the ceilings, and I had to supply and install my own light fixtures.

Okay, so things are done a little differently here, at least in the condominium complex where I bought.

The purpose of this condo is investment. I got it at a good price; the day I closed on it I could sell it and make a $12,000 profit, but I chose to keep it for the rent it will bring in and for its further appreciation value.

This is the first time I’ve been a landlord by myself. I’ve owned rental properties over the years, but I was married then, and we shared the decision-making process, and always paid rental agents to look for and deal with tenants. Since I live so close to the condo, and I have a couple of years of real estate experience, I’ve decided to manage the property myself.

Call me soft-hearted, but I wanted to buy four ceiling fans for the condo. The unit has only 1,000 square feet, but I wanted my tenants to feel comfortable, and not suffer from the heat the way I do in my Santa Ana apartment.

A very good thing came from this decision: not only did I buy ceiling fans for my future tenants, but it dawned on me that I could buy a ceiling fan for myself and have it installed in my second-floor office, where I have been sweltering for the last two years.

So I went shopping for ceiling fans and light fixtures; I threw in towel racks and medicine cabinets, too. I compared styles and prices, and thought I found the best buys at EPA, until a friend with more furnishing experience in Costa Rica gave me a clue: make sure you can buy light bulbs for the light fixtures.

When I went back to EPA, sure enough, they didn’t have light bulbs in stock for the fixtures I wanted. I ended up taking all my business to ConstruPlaza and getting a very decent discount for my bulk purchase.

I was fortunate to have Andy Ramirez wait on me. He spoke English, he came up with solutions when what I wanted couldn’t be acquired from the distributor, and he even called me at home to save me a trip to the store. I had not encountered this degree of customer service before in this country, so I was almost tripping over myself in expressing my gratitude to him.

With all my purchases in hand, I was ready to have Juan, the right-hand man where I live, install everything on a Sunday, his day off. He was the one who volunteered to work that day; I was afraid I was taking him away from his family. Boy, was I surprised when he and his wife, his two daughters, the boyfriend of one of his daughters, and a dog showed up that Sunday morning.

I had planned to buy lunch and pay Juan for this extra work, so I started adding up the colones that this day would cost me if I paid for lunch and work for five people. Yikes! Plus I worried what six of us would do in the small condo. I didn’t think there was that much work for all of us.

On the first trip up to my sixth floor condo, I was grateful for the extra hands. We all carried boxes, tools and a couple of stepladders, and it still took two trips per person in the small elevator. The first task was to assemble the fans.

With three teams of two people each, we made all the mistakes that we could possibly make in putting the screws, washers and nuts in the wrong positions. When in doubt, read the manual. An hour into the jigsaw puzzle, I read the manual, and showed everyone the diagram of the correct position of everything. We quickly undid our work and did it up right.

At lunchtime, I went out and brought back six chicken dinners, which we devoured. There’s nothing like mental and physical work to build up an appetite. In the afternoon, the two men took charge of installing the fans, light fixtures, towel bars and medicine cabinets, while the women went outside to admire the pool and walk the dog. They came back and gave moral support to the guys.

One thing I learned that day was that this Tico family, and probably others, spends Sundays together, regardless of the activity. They find enjoyment in just being together. That’s the true meaning of “pura vida.” They’ll have stories to tell about the day they spent with the gringa at her condo, just like I have this story to tell about them.

Written by Margie Davis.

[custom_script adID=97]

If you are serious about buying a home, apartment or land in Santa Ana or Escazu, then please contact us using the simple form below:

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.