For those of you who have been asking for more details about my new Escazu luxury apartment… Please remember that you are learning about one of Costa Rica’s most exclusive areas… Escazú.

Well maybe they’re not that ‘exclusive’ if they allowed me to move in…

The recent move from a four bedroom, three bath home with a garden in Trejos Montealegre de Escazú into a brand new Escazu luxury apartment building in San Rafael de Escazú where I have rented a fourth floor, three bedroom two bath penthouse apartment with an ‘awesome’ view is done!

From my Escazu apartment, you can clearly see three of Costa Rica’s volcanos – Poas, Barva and Irazu volcanos.

When you look at these photo’s please bear in mind I have only lived here for a couple of weeks and there are still a few boxes left to unpack…

The rent charged for the apartment is US$1,100 per month which includes rent, 24hrs security, water and all maintenance of the grounds and that is a good deal for this area.

Unless you know the best real estate agents with the right connections though, it’s unlikely that you’ll be shown the same ‘deals.’ The average broker would obviously much prefer that you rent a US$2,000+ per month home.

Why did I move?

As always, there are a combination of factors:

My dog ‘Vashik’ who unfortunately had been badly abused before I rescued him now has a very happy new home with a ladyfriend of mine and her six other dogs so I no longer need the garden.

The French neighbour who seems to think there’s nothing wrong with allowing his unleashed large dogs to scare the living daylights out of people as they walk along a public street and allows them to bark at all hours and 3: It was time for a change.

Standard Costa Rica Rental Agreement:

The standard Costa Rica rental agreement is for three years although there is normally only a 60 day notice period so don’t worry yourself silly thinking you ‘must’ live there for the full three years. You will however normally be expected to live there for a minimum of one year.

If your Costa Rica rental contract is in US dollars, your US$ rent can not by law be increased during that three year period. If your contract is in Costa Rican colones, then your Costa Rican colones rent can be increased but, not by more than 15% per annum as part of the agreement. If inflation in Costa Rica exceeds 15% per annum then the government will set the maximum rate allowed for that year.

Please note that there may be some changes in this in the future as there have been proposals about increasing property taxes (at present, Costa Rica property taxes are trivial – Only 0.25% per annum which is paid by the owner) and implementing new taxes on rental property.

What are you expected to pay?

It is usual to pay one month’s rent in advance plus one month’s security deposit so in my case, I had to fork out US$2,200. You will find that some landlords will also ask for a telephone deposit to pay the telephone bill in case you decide to leave the country without paying.

I was asked to pay a US$500 telephone deposit but since I use the internet to make all my long distance calls and the normal landline telephone bill for my calls is never more than about $25 per month they were happy to take that paragraph out of the agreement.

As I’m sure you know it takes some time to pack and unpack and put things in the right place but the ‘help,’ the Costa Rica moving company was tremendous and of course the Costa Rica price was definitely right! And the movers did not break or damage a single thing! Although I unfortunately did …

It took three men about six hours to help me move everything from the house to the apartment. Thankfully the ‘move’ was only a few miles away but they could not fit two large couches, two enormous book cases and a mammoth ‘L’ shaped office desk into the elevator so they had to carry those items up four flights of stairs. And how much did this move cost me?

For three men, their truck, six hours of their time and a few gallons of sweat? It cost a grand total of 45,000 colones which was about US$106.

Needless to say, I gave them a big tip! What a deal! What a country!

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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.