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I was about to purchase a lot from the above company, 1/1/4 of an acre – ocean view close to Quepos/Manuel Antonio area. It is one of those deals where they are asking for $25,000 down which I was about to do. I then started to read the comments regarding Paragon and am having second thoughts. The comment of not actually standing on the propery and putting money down, albeit refundable, is kind of irresponsible. Although Emerald Dunes is this companies third project and I have spoken to 3 references I’m not sure and do not want to make a mistake. Has anyone dealth with CR tropical or any comments are welcome.
Thanks,
Tom from NYTom, spend the $500 on airfare and go down there, even if it’s for 3 days. I’m sure they will pick you up at the airport and shuttle you down there. Unless you have a family member as a principle of the company how on earth can you send $25 grand to total strangers for something you have not seen?
Good advice Lotus – Thank you
We will be prohibiting these posting in the very near future – to be perfectly blunt – I am bloody exhausted answering questions like this…
Seems to me that people do more research on buying a new refrigerator than they do in buying land in Costa Rica.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comIt amazes me also when I hear this. And these appear to be educated people. What in the world are they thinking about when buying in another country without seeing the property or investigating their legal rights. This borders on “rapture of the deep”, for you diving fans. We all love Costa Rica, but this has to be insane. No one in their right mind would do this at home. Do they think this is paradise or nirvana and it is impossible to get ripped off? Everytime I see it I’m as shocked as Scott. And by the way, when I buy a new refrigerator, I check out consumer reports and actually look at the appliance before I buy… Just common sense.
Caveat Emptor!
“Do they think this is paradise or nirvana and it is impossible to get ripped off?”
Sorry Alfred, I do beleive people do hear that and belive it. Even the smartest people can be mislead!
They hear it from word of mouth that their friends came and love Costa Rica and then they begin to belive that this is a place where no harm comes to people!
No need to be sorry ScottB. You confirmed what I was thinking all along. The real world, is still the real world.
Part of the problem is that people are reading about land prices going through the roof in Costa Rica. They want in before properties are priced out of their budgets..the old gold rush syndrome.The two human emotions that run stocks markets the word over, GREED AND FEAR, are also being capitalized by land developers and real estate people in many places.
No matter how much good advice you lay out before people, these two most basic of human emotions may still have sway over many of them. And since there is no good data on real estate pricing in Costa Rica, except that it is probably going up and at what rate nobody knows, it is a safe bet fear and greed will be he root cause of a lot of these blind purchases.
We are all doing a whole lot of remote buying from home these days with computers from major appliances to wearing apparel. But for me, a piece of property where I intend to make a home for myself is something so personal that it has to be seen and walked thoroughly in person.
What is interesting to me is if this property was in the states, most of these people would think a real estate agent is crazy for asking them for a sizeable amout of money and then saying that the agent will pick the property for them. Then, when they got around to seeing it, maybe they could pick something else if they didn’t like it. Most people would run the other way. I just don’t get it, maybe it is greed and fear.
Scott, I know this type of post must make you nuts by now, but if it keeps a few people from making a big mistake, I would think it is worth it. Costa Rica is a small country but there is plenty of land left! Come see the country, talk with some of Scott’s recommended agents, get a feel for where you want to live and/or invest.
i’ve looked at most of the websites that are hawking land at inflated prices and the sales tactics used by some of these companies who shall remain nameless are nothing short of predatory. their psychically manipulative verbage is appalling. . . to me, but hey, what do i know???
I have searched all CR internet websites Soooooo Much when I was looking for a property myself….
Now I have just seen the CR Tropical Properties inc. and their website seems to be a private site. Seems that only members can see what they are selling… or building… or just doing !!!
To my point of view, it is not good marketting business to spend a fortune on a website, and keep it closed when you are supposed to be wanting to SELL !!!! Anything I didn’t see ??
Ciao
JoDoesnt that also put up a big red flag saying BUYER BEWARE?
So the question is why do people get suckerd into that kind of advertising?
THIS POSTING WAS EDITED BY SCOTT OLIVER
ScottB, I think people are basically trusting and honest. They expect they will get treated as they would treat others. Throw in a little GREED and FEAR in the mix, and the apples become ripe for the picking by unscrupulous developers.
making a website private implies exclusivity. it’spsychic manipulation. everyone wants to be part of something exclusive, so that’s the hook.
First, it was Warren Buffett that said “most investors put in more time researching which big screen tv to buy than their big investments”.
Now my reply for the original post. You are investing probably $75K (since you mentioned the downpayment alone is $25K) and you’re not even willing to spend $600 to checkout what you are buying? To put that into perspective, you’re not willing to spend 0.8% of your investment money into research. That my friend is called penny wise but pound foolish.
Do people not read the newspapers? Foreclosures here in the US is at a 12 year high, they’re resorting to auctions just to sell these properties. Put in the time to research big investments, don’t listen to salesmen because the bottomline is that’s their job – to sell.
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