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My husband and I are looking for a B&B for sale. One with needed work would be ok too or a house that could easily be fixed up to be one.
Thanks!
Koty
There is a US$1 million B&B for sale on this site already at and I will be posting another one later in the week which is under $300K.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comHere’s another one: http://www.intertica.com/tourism/angelvalley.htm
Did someone say B&B for sale. Got one doing business in good shape, well known, great client referral base. Waiting for the right offer. We will just wonder off into the Sunset. Just a cool $650,000 , we are not greedy. Put it in a brown paper bag and come on. All we need to take are the two suitcases we came to Costa Rica with. We will even throw in the 12 passenger mini van, pots and pans, license, telephone pbx system, highspeed internet, 3 excellent workers. All I need is Charlie, he has been my mate for 45yrs and I have to keep him with me.
Serious, I wish you the best in finding the B&B you want to purchase. We have been doing business now for over 4 years and it has been very intersting and a lot of fun.
You may not find a B&B for sale on the internet, but within each area there are B&B’s some need minor repairs and some need total renovation. There is one close to me that is actually a hotel, it is not making any money and it is poorly managed. Location, is excellent and I think if someone made a good offer the guy would sale. It has 12 rooms and one apartment a conference room, swimming pool and gym. It needs good management , the owner is Tico, he is in the USA and trying to run the business from the US.
The name of the place is Healthy Day Hotel in Grecia. It may be worth checking out. It is beautiful but it needs updates and repairs. The reputation is not so great but that can be worked out, if the price is right, it has a great location.
The best deals are not necessarily the ones you see advertised. Real good ground work and patiences will get you a great deal on a B&B. Many people start this business but find that they really don’t like people very much, or they can not afford it any longer and a lot of other reasons. It may take you 3 months or more to find that great location and good deal but it is here. Believe me, there are some deals here. We love to share our experience and information.
Yes Jenny, we would love to hear your story. We are now thinking B&B because we spoke with a couple who just bought one 4 years ago and has made it into a thriving business in Alejuela. However, she is a gourmet cook. Neither of them spoke Spanish and they are doing it. We are not afraid of hard work. What is your opinion? I guess our biggeest concern is the language barrier and speaking to vendors etc. as well as employees. We are trying to learn. I work in the people business (schools) and worked in a restaurant for 10 years. My husband, on the other hand is not all that social but has been very successful in the sales industry BSing his way with many people he does not like…. so between the two of us I think we would do fine. Hmmm/… what are the ups and down sides. Thanks for the responses about the advertized B&Bs. As luck would have it the one with volcano views came out the day I posted this.
Koty
Yes Jenny, my husband and I would love to hear your story. We are now thinking of a B&B. Last week we were down in CR again and we spoke with a couple who bought one 4 years ago and has made it into a thriving business in Alejuela. However, she is a gourmet cook, I am not but could learn ( I guess she did not know how until they bought it). Neither of them spoke Spanish and they are doing it. We are not afraid of hard work. What is your opinion? I guess our biggeest concern is the language barrier and speaking to vendors etc. as well as employees. We are trying to learn. I work in the people business (schools) and worked in a restaurant for 10 years. My husband, on the other hand is on the quiet side but has been very successful in the sales industry BSing his way with many people he does not like…. so between the two of us I think we would do fine. Hmmm/… what are the up and down sides. Thanks for giving us some ideas of B&Bs for sale
KotyYou just need to take time get good quality workers. We did not speak Spanish and they did not speak English but we managed. We pay a very good salary and so we have not had turn over. We take a loss or have taken one because we offer our workers steady work. We have managed to make them feel that our success is theirs.
Charles and I do not work hard, we got staff to do the work. We are retired and have no intention to work hard. I love to socialize and Charles enjoys me talking to others so I will not talk his ears off. We offered three people who had not job, good jobs.
We, have lived overseas before and knew what to expect. Neither of us get frustrated because our Spanish is okay and better today then it was 4 years ago, but I just keep talking until they give up and agree with me.
Do not worry about speaking Spanish, you know how to speak money and you will know when you are being snowed or over charged. Our workers have helped us a lot, we appreciate it very much.
I have no intention to work at this age, people need jobs here and we sure know how to put people to work. Good, quality people. We are members of the local church here and that has been our connection. We have established ourselves in the community. That is as important here as it is at home.
Any idea what the ball park figure of what that B&B would be worth? Healthy day hotel (it needs a new name!)
Koty – I’ve read in your posts that you have a child. Will you be living at the B&B with your child? My husband & I also at first thought of a B&B. However, I realized there was no way to know in advance the types of people staying as guests, & then it dawned on me that I could subject my kids to all sorts of people & it may not be all positive. It was not within our budget to buy a B&B & a separate residence for us, so the B&B idea went out the window. My biggest fear in the plan was having a pedophile as a guest & subjecting my kids to danger in the name of business. I don’t invite strangers into my home now, & if you live at the B&B it is your home as well as your business. Just wanted to throw that out there to you, mother to mother.
Jessica
Interesting thought and scary too. I had not thought of that. I just can’t stand the thought of hiding from everything. One more thing to think of. THANKS!
Joni
If you are that paranoid jreeves I would suggest that living in any foriegn country is probably not for you. There are probably more paedophiles in your country than the entire population of Costa Rica
bradbard – Give me a break. There is a big difference between living in a house where sure, there may be pedophiles in every house on the street, versus inviting the possibility of a pedophile into your house as a house guest. I am not paranoid. I am realistic. There are bad people in this world (generally, not aimed at any one country) & while I cannot protect my children from everything out there in the world, I can certainly, as a responsible parent, protect them to the best of my ability within the bounds of the home I provide for them. Are you a parent?
And for the record – I will be living in Costa Rica in February. I already have a house & residency. I am realistic about living in Costa Rica, just as I’m realistic about living in Florida.
Koty – I’m not suggesting you be afraid of everything, nor am I suggesting that pedophiles visit Costa Rica more than any other country. But, I stay at a B&B on either my first or last night in CR on every trip & I know what close contact there is between guests & owners. I’m just saying the B&B idea provides an opportunity for access to your kids that might not otherwise be present. Plus, you have to consider the fact that some guests will be on vacation to have a break from their own kids & may not appreciate being subjected to yours. For me, that was a distinct issue since I have 4 kids & they can be quite rambunctious at times!
Jessica
The major group of people who molest children are not strangers, but friends and relatives of the child.
Koty, a B&B should not be part of your home under any cirumstances. If you have to make it part of your home then it is a boarding house not a B&B. Most B&B’s have their personal accommodations private.
You can decide what type of business you want. This is not a business you just go into because it sounds good. You need to know something about it. You can have a place where anyone and everyone just drop in when ever they want. Or you can make it exclusive, by saying reservations only, all guest that stay with us have to be included by name in the reservation.
Do not allow fear to determine your life. Fear kills more people then drugs, cancer, heart attacks and diabetes. In fact it causes these things.
We have quite a few people interested in buying B&Bs contacting us and thankfully most of them have experience in hotel management and or restaurants but this is NOT a business for someone who wants to take it easy.
I appreciate that Jenny has a lot of great staff working with her but for most people, running a successful B&B is extremely hard work and very long hours.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comWhich group is most likely to molest has nothing to do with the point I was trying to make to Koty about owning a B&B – and I am rather surprised that concern for my children is construed as paranoia or fear, neither of which is part of my life or outlook on life. The whole point I was trying to make, which Jenny seemed to get to some degree, is that having a B&B that also serves as your residence doesn’t strike me as a good idea, especially if you have kids. My opinion – that’s it. If you have a private, separate residence on site, then I imagine that gives you more control over who is in contact with your children. During our search for B&Bs 3 years ago, we weren’t able to find such a B&B within our price range (we are a family of 6 & owner’s quarters never seemed large enough to accomodate us all).
I’d like to think in some parallel universe that people can actually state their opinion without being subjected to judgement by those who don’t agree…
Jessica
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