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So the “online marketer” promoting ????? made a quick $4 million… WOW! That’s really amazing… what’s even more amazing is that rather than operate the type of business he’s promoting and making the real money and taking the real risk… he sells a “package” that tell others how to do it! Where there’s NO risk to him! LOL
I get a dozen of these a week… I have to laugh at the vagueness of the pitch and the length they go to “explaining” the business yet not giving you any idea what it is! That is until they have your $139.95! This is all part of the “pretend” economy that got us into the mess we’re in now… people that don’t really SELL or PRODUCE anything… all paper “businesses” that work the magic of the internet while you sit at the pool surrounded by babes in bikinis with the aftermarket upgrades! LOL
In bad times the snake oil salesman always come out… people looking for a quick and easy solution… but let’s face it… we know the REAL deal with these pitches… don’t we?
Besides… the guy looks like a long hair burn-out… more likely the type trying to sell you weed on the beach at Jaco!
As for where the economy is headed… we all have our opinions… but remember… it took the “boyz” in Washington a year to figure out we were in a recession… and these are the fools driving the bus…
Edited on Feb 17, 2009 11:04
Just to clarify ‘chef’, it was not a 10% surcharge on the pizza, it was them taking an additional 10% when they converted US$ into Costa Rica colones …
As you know from our email exchange, I certainly understand that you are very angry with Tropical Rent A Car http://www.crtropicalrentacar.com and if I were you, I would never, ever do business with Tropical Rent A Car again either.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comScott, if you are in any foreign country is well understood that you need to pay with their currency. I’m from Costa Rica, and would not even consider paying with Colones in USA.
latintico2000.
I doubt the Costa Rica colon is accepted anywhere in the US for payment for anything….
On the other hand, US dollars are WIDELY accepted in Costa Rica. Every single one – 100% – of the US$50 million plus in real estate transactions I have been a part of over the last five years in Costa Rica have been in US dollars.
All of the restaurants and supermarkets that I frequent in San Jose, Escazu and Santa Ana are normally delighted to accept US dollars.
Scot Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comSo Scott, may I ask what you believe “the most catastrophic economic period that the modern world has ever seen” is going to do to CR real estate prices?
The poorest people in the world will of course – as always – suffer the most grifz77. These people are not VIP Members of this site.
I am primarily focusing on the same demographics as I always have for my investments and my client’s investment – The ‘Baby Boomers’ in the US and the equivalent groups in Canada and Europe who are not all poor!
There are millions of people in this group who have still have serious monies and if things really get tough, as I believe they will, then Costa Rica will be looked upon as a safe haven for people wishing to escape from the problems back home and for people wanting to retire.
It’s not just banks that are the problem at the moment, we have serious water shortages in many parts of the world, millions of cattle dead in the drought in Argentina, we have energy problems in the UK and Europe and we have the Middle East powder keg which could blow at any time thanks to Israel threatening – on a daily basis – to drop nuclear bombs on Iran.
It’s tragic I know but the tougher it gets in the US and Canada I believe the more people we’ll see wanting to live and retire here in Costa Rica…
And don’t forget we have seen quite a few companies cutting back in the US but opening up operations in Costa Rica …
Costa Rica is attractive now and based on the kinds of problems we will see in the future (water, energy and wars) it will look even more attractive in the future.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comProbably Scott’s lady is not a Tica or maybe she has plenty of money not to worry about or pay attention to the exchange-rate.
Knowing Ticos they are always thinking, checking and counting with this exchange-rate.
Scott, with all due respect, I think you got a little off point with your response. The biggest consumers of recreational property in CR are American boomers. What happens in the UK, Middle East, Argentina, etc. may impact CR net migration but at a very immaterial level.
Obviously the American/Canadian boomers are not all poor…however, I work in the real estate/financial investment world and we have clients that absolutely will not open their RRSP/401K statements in fear of what they expect to find in them. Wealth has eroded/evaporated on a scale I think you are grossly underestimating. Boomers are being forced to work longer, they are travelling less, and when you see retirement properties in desireable locations within the US (a fully developed nation) closer to their children/grandchildren, shorter flights, etc, for the same price or even LESS than what the equivalent property would cost in Costa Rica, staying home in the comfort of an english speaking population with expensive but first class health care becomes not only an affordable but a natural choice.
I guess we shall agree to disagree…at least for the immediate future.
The entire globe is in the process of being re-priced…you have not provided me with strong enough evidence to believe that Costa Rica will be an exception.
grifz77 – I have been a Wall Street trained professional investment advisor since 1986 and although I have not accepted new investment clients for many years, I still help manage about US$75 million for a few investment clients so have a general idea of what’s going on in the markets.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comSorry Scott, my comments were not intended to initiate resume comparisons. I know you are proud of your accomplishments, as you should be. However, your response in no way addressed why CR may avoid the re-pricing we are experiencing in every other corner of the world. I would be greatly interested in hearing the theories of an indicidual with the depth and experience you have.
You may be unaware of the number of other nationalities that have been buying properties in Costa Rica. There are other countries in Central and Latin America that have serious complicaciones and many of our clients from these countries have invested in multiple units with us here.
Our #1 Recommended Realtor in Santa Ana sold far more properties to non-US citizens in the last year than she has to US citizens and Canadians.
Let’s not also forget that many wealthy Latin Americans have removed their liquid assets from the US over the past few years (the stories I could tell you of LatAm clients who had their assets frozen in Miami for NO reason…) and, few of them wish to transfer it back to their own countries. We have three clients from one country in particular who have invested in entire buildings of apartments that we are helping them to rent and manage.
The reasons for US citizens moving here in the future will not all be financial, I believe that in the not so distant future we will see an increasing number of US citizens moving here for similar ‘political reasons’ and because of increasing instability and increasing crime in the US.
Even at this time, real estate prices in Costa Rica remain stable although some of our buyers have been able to negotiate deals better than they could have done a few years ago but so far so good…
Will prices remain stable and not start to fall? I’m not smart enough to predict the future and always assume that there could be surprises… But that brings me to my next point point…
If there is another September 11th like ‘surprise’ in the US, which I sadly believe there will be then we’ll likely see a flood of people moving here… With family and loved ones living in the US I sincerely hope that I am wrong about that…
You might want to read this very disturbing article about 10,000 Americans going into foreclosure every day.
‘It’s Time to Treat America’s Homeowners as Well as We’ve Been Treating Wall Street’s Bankers’ which you can see at [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/its-time-to-treat-america_b_167429.html ]
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comAgain, the numbers outside of the Americans are not material.
We can agree to disagree. I just do not see the mass exodus that you do. I understand that not all the motives are financial…I think distance the major factor. Thus why we see less europeans than we do Americans in CR…the same reason many people choose, Arizona, Mexico or Bahamas over CR.
You speak of crime…is it much better in CR? http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/costa-rica/090128/costa-ricas-criminal-underbelly
For relativity, “In downtown San Jose, the increase is even starker: In 2008, the murder rate was nearly 28 per 100,000 inhabitants, up from 18.5 the previous year, a 52 percent increase. Three out of five homicides in Costa Rica are committed with a firearm.” The same rate for 2007 in the US was 5.6.
And if so many Americans move to CR as you are expecting, does it not then become a terrorist target itself?
Edited on Feb 19, 2009 15:53
Why are the numbers of non-Americans “not material”? I had lunch today with non-American developers who have sold over one HUNDRED of their apartments to non-Americans/non-Ticos. That’s very ‘material’ and guess what? They have not dropped their prices by $1.
Listen to ANYBODY from Venezuela talk about crime and you’ll quickly understand that as far as they are concerned, by comparison crime is literally non-existent here.
You can’t just look at this situation through your American eyes, you have to look at it through the eyes of others too … Our Realtors have sold multiple units to people from Venezuela, from Mexico – where the murder rate is beyond comprehension at the moment – and Colombians.
I never spoke about a “mass exodus”… Costa Rica is a very small country and does not need a huge number of people to come here to maintain the status quo… And it does not need a huge number of people buying real estate to maintain prices.
You may be under the impression that Costa Rica has an abundance of finished real estate which remains unsold like Panama – that’s NOT correct! Especially in the Central Valley area where I could take you on a tour and show you a variety of buildings under construction that only have a handful (one hand) of apartments remaining for sale..
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comORIGINAL TOPIC:
I have found most Tico businesses to be quite honest and they always have a calculator and will show you the amount using the current exchange rate. In this case it was an Italian business reflecting poorly on Tico businesses. Scott’s form of public pressure is what keeps many businesses honest.
That is not to say that I have not been cheated in CR. But the only time I remember was by an old lady and her daughter selling fruit on a roadside. They doubled the price to the non-Spanish speaking tourists who could not really argue the point. But it IS well known that there are Tico prices and Gringo prices in Costa Rica.
$100 bills have been an issue in the U.S. as well and some of the forgeries are so good that banks have inadvertently given customers bogus bills. If you do not discover the error before leaving the bank then YOU are the one that is out of luck. This is not a frequent occurrence but it HAS happened more than once. On the other hand $20’s, $10’s and even $5’s have been found counterfeit.
Where I have a problem with the “No $100 bills” policy is when the price being paid for goods or services is frequently close to or over $100. Fuel prices late last year were such that you could pay nearly $100 for a fill-up even in small cars and min-vans. It is also not hard to hit the $100 in a good restaurant.
In Costa Rica I carry both Colones and US dollars. If the price is in Colones I generally pay using Colones and the same with dollars. On expensive items I will occasionally check the difference if both are given which is rare.
On the other hand I LIKED when the exchange rate was an even c500 per dollar (or close to it) because it was easy to calculate in your head. I can still do it at 540 or 550 but not so easily
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