Home › Forums › Costa Rica Living Forum › Any New Info on Costa Developers?
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February 27, 2007 at 11:38 am #181755DavidCMurrayParticipant
VM, it would not be out of the question for a bank to consider the value of the land in deciding upon a mortgage application. Of course, if you own the land outright, without other encumberances, more’s the better. A year ago, we got a construction loan to build a house on a piece of land we own free and clear and which has a guest house on it. The bank took the appraised value of the land and guest house into account when making its decision.
February 28, 2007 at 1:52 pm #181756daisyinmiamiMemberMr. Scott Oliver,
YES! And just so you know this will be my last post on your site because of your sarcastic implication that I am lying and your un-professionalism. I have personally spoke with Jorge Jorge Flores, cheif operating officer, and Andrea Ovares, of legal dep’t, and it is my understanding that he contacted you and offered you a tour to the office, facilities, and of the property. You have not taking the oppurtunity to look and set the record straight with Costa Developers and continue to mislead many people. Almost the entire development at Costa Montana has had a 80-100% increase in value per Banco National and FYI I am processing my loan as we speak to build my dream home, I am a Non-resident of CR, no money out of pocket, and this is only because I am a client of Costa Developers. So I am sorry to tell you, your “VIP Members” will not have this option, only property owners of Costa Developers. They will also be offering this program in Costa Esterillos & Reserva. And so you don’t continue to mislead people Mr. Flores has allowed me to post his office number to anyone who wants credible information and is willing to explain this to anyone. The office number in CR is 011-506-588-0718 and his email is He also wanted me tell you the offer still stands for you to visit and see everything with you own eyes.
Sincerely,
Daisy GomezFebruary 28, 2007 at 9:28 pm #181757AndrewKeymasterI’m crushed.
1. I have no desire to visit the project and take at least a day of my valuable time because as you know from this site I only recommend experienced developers with a proven track record of building quality real estate, nobody has shown me that this is the case with this company.
2. As you know there are also many questions regarding the “questionable” background of some of the founders of this company. When there are so many experienced developers with a proven track record of building quality real estate, why would I want to waste my allowing them to try and persuade me that this “questionable” background doesn’t matter any more?
3. It’s like comparing mutual funds, why would I want to invest in a new fund with no track record especially when the fund manager has had ‘legal difficulties’ in the past when there are dozens of other funds with great track records and squeaky clean histories.
4. In my forum posting of Jul 11,2006 at 1:20 PM (https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/forum/openthread.cfm?forum=1&ThreadID=525 ), I stated the following:
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The Florida Department of State Division of Corporations website at clearly confirms that Ellis Kahn is named as the “Manager” of Costa Land Developers, LLC
The name of Ellis Kahn comes up as a “corporate officer” of a number of other Florida corporations, many of which do have financial sounding names which is where it would appear that Ellis Kahn has had some serious regulatory problems.
Mr. Ellis Kahn’s name is mentioned in an article entitled “The Real Boiler Room. Hollywood’s International Currency Management specialized in trading foreign currency — and helping clients’ money disappear” which you can see at:
According to “Kahn was the president and a principal of JCC. (Full company name JCC Inc) which was “expelled’ from the NFA (National Futures Association) which you can see at
You can see the serious allegations of United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. No. 94-4561. JCC, INC., Ellis K. Kahn, Paul Richard Bell, Petitioners, v. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION, Respondent. Sept. 15, 1995. detailed on the CaseLaw website at
JCC and Ellis Kahn are also mentioned in an arbitration proceeding detailed at where in the “Summary of Issues” JCC Inc it speaks of: “MISREPRESENTAION OF PROFIT POTENTIAL AND IMPORTANCE OF ACCOUNT OPENING DOCUMENTS, EXCESSIVE TRADING IN ORDER TO GENERATE COMMISSIONS, FAILURE TO DISCLOSE RISK, HIGH PRESSURE SALES TACTICS, FAILURE TO NOTIFY CUS- TOMER OF DEPLETED BALANCE, FAILURE TO PROTECT CUSTOMER.”
Needless to say that we are referring to one person here – Ellis Kahn – the “Manager” of Costa Land Developers, LLC. The company in Costa Rica may have some very experienced people behind it even though it would appear that Mr. Kahn has absolutely no experience in land development in any country never mind Costa Rica.
We would ask any of you that are in communication with this company to email them this information and ask them to inform us in this forum of what kind of previous experience Mr. Ellis Kahn has land development in Costa Rica.”
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5. At one of our VIP Members known as debbiesurfs asked the following question: “Can you conform what involvement Ellis Kahn has in this company Costa Developers because it looks to me like he has had a very ‘colorful’ career and some serious problems in the USA?”
And the attorney for Costa at that time Arnaldo Bonilla chose not to answer the question.
6. Why would Banco Nacional tell me that you would have 2% in commission expenses never mind other costs?
7. I have never misled people and don’t plan on starting now. If you can show me where that has happened, I would be happy to address the issue for you.
8. As you can see from my posting above, I have asked this question before but I’ll ask again.
A: We would ask what kind of previous experience Mr. Ellis Kahn has with any kind of development in Costa Rica or anywhere else for that matter.
B: What is his involvement with the company now since his name is rarely mentioned.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comFebruary 28, 2007 at 9:36 pm #181758RoarkMemberDaisy, Are your lots already paid for in full, and your name on the title?
March 1, 2007 at 10:56 am #181759*LotusMemberDaisy, Take it from someone who bought in a controversial project you will not find any sympathy here. As long as you have done your research and are comfortable with the “purchase” that is just going to have to be good enough…Scott is never going give you the thumbs up and tell you what a great deal you made. As He has stated many times here He recomends builders with a proven track record. And it certainly isn’t just because He receives some compensation from the companies on this site, as i’m sure Costa Developers would gladly ‘pay’ him for a favorable review. So don’t get your panties all in a twist, in this case I thought Scott was quite restrained after your remarks..lol! I knew I was taking a risk when I purchased and I heard it all..and kind of felt stupid argueing with people on a forum about things I thought would happen and they thought would not and luckily for me did. Roads got built, water lines brought in and finaly closed on my lot. Yes it took 1 year longer than they originaly told me, but I knew C.R. and expected it. I have seen Costas work as of December and my humble “opinion” is eventually you will close on your lot, this property is very valuble and the market in your area is on FIRE! But don’t expect this moderator to back you up just becasue you have had a “good” experience, just cross your fingers and hope that these guys are going to do what they said! Daisy this is the best site for information on Costa Rica you are only hurting yourselfby signing off. Scott: There are so many of these property developments happening with one or more “questionable” principles behind them, perhaps there is someway to rate them as they progress? I mean hundreds of people are buying these lots, over 200 in Columbus Hts.Or even a follow up on some of them would be very interesting this would be a great service to your members…just something to think about.
March 1, 2007 at 11:48 am #181760AndrewKeymasterI am offered money for “favorable” real estate reviews every week and so far have turned down all of them. I didn’t start this site for money, I make a great living already and if making money was my goal I wouldn’t have just removed 90% of the Google ads (some straggling code remains and is being removed).
100% of the developers recommended on this site have been invited by me personally to be a part of what we do because we only recommend experienced developers with a proven track record of delivery a quality product in Costa Rica.
There may be exceptions to that rule at some stage in the future but as far as I am concerned this is not an exception and just because hundreds of others are doing it, doesn’t mean that you should do it.
Millions of people thought they were right when they bought a variety of stock investments that had the words DotCom in them too…..
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comMarch 5, 2007 at 10:53 pm #181761buckeyeMemberI was at Costa Montana this past weekend, the road from the entrance going up the hill appears to be under construction. It looked good, but, it appeared to be very narrow and doubtful that 2 cars could pass each other on the roadway. I would estimate that the roadway to be only 4-5 meters maximum in width. This could be a real problem, because the steepness of the road will not allow drivers going up to see someone coming down and vice versa.
March 7, 2007 at 4:06 pm #181762geminigioMemberYes, I have been to these projects…My name is Artie Giordano and I live in New York, USA. I had the opportunity to visit Costa Rica in Late December, 2006 and found nothing but professional and genuinely nice people working at Costa Developers. After a very long day visiting these projects we headed back to Costa Developers offices. It was late, we were tired and we informed the staff that we were not ready to make a decision on a land purchase that night but that we would be happy to sit down with them again before we left the Costa Rica, sometime over the weekend. They were completely understanding and we felt absolutely no pressure to sign anything until we had a good nights rest and plenty of time talk with my wife and make our decision. They were agreeable and pleasant and so we met with them for lunch the next day at our hotel. The next day we met with Joe Beers, the Marketing Director for Costa Developers and Arnaldo Bonillla who is the Attorney handling their Real Estate Transactions. I can’t tell you how impressed we were when Arnaldo showed up at the lunch meeting with his wife and two young daughters. Arnaldo had planned to be with his wife and little girls that day but still made sure he was at the meeting to cross the t’s and dot the I’s and to answer our questions and make us comfortable with the deal. Not only were we impressed with this man as an Attorney but also a loving family man which we appreciated very much, who wouldn’t be impressed by this man?
I’ve read some very negative things in this forum about Costa Developers and besides a very aggressive Florida phone sales staff, I don’t believe any of these things and I think those of you that are getting nervous about Costa developers shouldn’t be..I’m not saying not to be cautious, (you should always practice due dilligence of course)but I honestly feel that this company is getting a negative image stamped on them and I’m not sure that it is accurate at all.
anyone wishing to exchange information can feel free to contact me anytime. I purchased 3 beautiful lots at Esterillos and will be visiting the site again in May, i’m vacationing in CR for 3 weeks or so, and I can update you personally on the progress I observe. artie & Luz Giordano, home phone number is 347-964-5768March 7, 2007 at 5:06 pm #181763MSG1014MemberSpecifically, which things or post do you not believe? The post about Ellis Kahn and Jeffrey Goldberg, the founders of Costa Developers, with a long history of questionable phone room deals, are for the most part, irrefutable. They are a matter of public record.
The fact of the matter is Costa Developers has never developed a development anywhere in the world. When they actually put up and have a funtioning sub division please come back on this forum and brag about it. Until then your post looks like a plant.
March 7, 2007 at 10:28 pm #181764flyboy52MemberYes, I would have to agree. “Artie’s” political advertisement for the virtues of the saints who own and work for Costa is a bit canned. Either that or this guy is just a mooch. Maybe he’s the same mooch who bought from Ellis’s company in Florida that paid 40%, up front, in commissions to trade in his Futures Long Term Account. This became a well documented scam exposed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as well as the National Futures Association in the U.S. leading to Ellis being permanently barred from doing business ever again in commodity brokerage. Yeah, your right “Artie”, that really doesn’t have anything to do with his current business and there is no way he would ever try to squeeze the nickel again… Scott has a good point: If they haven’t completed one project from A to Z in the “wild west”, maybe it would be smart to wait til they do. Ultimately, this forum would enjoy a lot less attention… woops!(sorry Scott)
March 7, 2007 at 10:59 pm #181765geminigioMemberWell, let’s not make what I said LARGER than what I said, ok…I don’t believe I made saints off all who own and work for Costa Developers. I am also not a “mooch” I have been investing in Real Estate for many years and I am insulted at the term, you don’t know me to say something like that. And this is exactly what I’m talking about folks.It seems you many of you want to show what great detectives you are at uncovering some big land conspiracy or something…I did my due dilligence and I stand behind Costa Developers…They have not broken any laws, both Esterillos and Montanya are ahead of schedule (many months ahead)and they are aligned with other excellent companies on these projects ans so think what you will of me I’m standing behind what I said earlier……………ARTIE GIORDANO
March 7, 2007 at 11:04 pm #181766geminigioMemberCosta Developers has completed many projects in Florida, all of you master detectives out there couldn’t come up with that bit of information?….Check out there completed projects in Palm Beach County Florida
March 7, 2007 at 11:34 pm #181767jmorbergMemberHow come when someone makes positive comments about a development, the Kahn and Goldberg team alway’s come up?, that’s the only negative thing that can be brought up? Probably not a good thing to have on your resume, obviously, we all are aware of these 2 people and their past, so it’s speculation at this point until the project is finished and homes are built. Some of us have more at stake than other’s, but Costa Developers has aligned itself with some pretty good companies in Costa Rica to get these projects done, along with Banko Nacional, and progress is being made. So if someone say’s good things about this project they are a plant and goes the same way, if someone say’s bad things, who knows, maybe they are a plant too?? Love the Drama here i must say. Who can you really trust. All i know is that i have done my due dilligence, my sister in law works at INVU and has friends in SETENA, so everything has checked out in Costa Rica.
March 7, 2007 at 11:43 pm #181768MSG1014MemberThe founders of Costa have very very questionable backgrounds. It is a matter of public record. In the past investors who have dealt with them have lost millions of dollars. Regardless of a previous post there is no evidence that Costa Developers has ever developed anything anywhere in the world
March 7, 2007 at 11:59 pm #181769geminigioMemberOh no jmorberg, this can’t be! I believe you must be a plant because your post sounds too positive ….lol…
Thanks for the valuable info. my friend,
Artie giordano -
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