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OK…here’s my situation: I’ve closed and now own a 2bd condo at Sunset Hills in Playas del Coco. I’ve been paying my 200/month HOA fee and the place sits as an empty shell with no furnishings. I could probably sell it at a small profit, as I bought it pre-construction and I think there is some appreciation, although I could be completely wrong.
Option 1: Sell it as is (a blank slate)
Option 2: Furnish it and sell it
Option 3: Furnish it, keep it and rent it out.Any advice? Also, if anyone has some advice on inexpensive options to furnish my place, please let me know. It’s a nice unit, so I don’t want it to look “cheap”, yet I don’t want to spend $20K either.
[quote=”jrondares”]OK…here’s my situation: I’ve closed and now own a 2bd condo at Sunset Hills in Playas del Coco. I’ve been paying my 200/month HOA fee and the place sits as an empty shell with no furnishings. I could probably sell it at a small profit, as I bought it pre-construction and I think there is some appreciation, although I could be completely wrong.
Option 1: Sell it as is (a blank slate)
Option 2: Furnish it and sell it
Option 3: Furnish it, keep it and rent it out.Any advice? Also, if anyone has some advice on inexpensive options to furnish my place, please let me know. It’s a nice unit, so I don’t want it to look “cheap”, yet I don’t want to spend $20K either.[/quote]
Speaking as a ‘customer’, if you want to sell, I would suggest renting some decent furniture (if that’s possible in C.R.) OR buy a minimum amount of inexpensive but attractive furniture to give the place a ‘liveable’ look, (this is pure marketing advice), and if possible give the buyer the option to buy the furnishings. Some buyers may like the option of a turn-key buy, others may want to furnish themselves if they plan on living there for extended periods.
If you decide to commit to renting it out, the quality of your furnishings may have an impact on the future rentals. Personally, as a somewhat picky person, I’ll never go back to, nor recommend to others a cheaply furnished place UNLESS it is honestly advertised and priced as a bargain rental, as there are plenty of well furnished places in C.R. to choose from. As we all know, rental reviews are very public nowadays on places like TripAdvisor, etc., so it’s not so easy to present a place as being furnished at an ‘upscale’ level when it’s really furnished to IKEA standard (the truth will come out eventually).
BTW, beds, bed linens and bathroom linens, along with basic kitchen gadgets like wine-openers and necessities like paper goods, coffee filters and basic spices are essentials you should NEVER skimp on, no matter what, as women, the most important decision makers :D, will notice and evaluate them accordingly!
Therefore, I personally suggest you commit to either selling or renting, one way or the other, and furnish accordingly.
That kind of decision depends on your personal needs and what your long term plans are in Costa Rica. Why did you originally buy it?
No matter what you do, if you rent it out or if you sell it, its going to be very hard to sell a unfurnished Condo right now. You can get bargain deals on Condo’s in many places.. I think if you were in a situation to rent it out, that would be the best idea, to establish rental history and to help pay it off/cover the costs, then after a few years you can see how it works and then sell it as a functional rental with rental history, furnished, which is a lot more desirable then a bare Condo.
If you want to furnish your condo for a reasonable cost and yet still get very nice furniture – You may want it made. I can recommend a great woodworker in the Coco Area who does everything from Beds, Kitchen Tables, barstools, Desks, Entertainment centers, Sofa’s, Outdoor furniture, etc. Very affordable, for example he charges $500 for a hardwood, 6 person dining table with chairs, all hand crafted from local tropical woods.. If you buy anything here in Costa Rica for that price at the stores it will be chinese, fake wood, not good quality and not very nice. Plus that way you can make anything you draw up and design, if you want to check out his wood shop or have me send you some pictures of his work let me know.. He’s done the furnishing’s for hundreds of homes and Condo’s in your area.. having custom furniture made is usually you best option in Costa rica because of the cheaper hardwood available and the low cost of labor.
I agree with the above poster in that it will be hard to sell an unfurnished condo in Playa del Coco. In fact, it is hard to sell a furnished condo, right now.
While getting furniture made locally may be the way to go, I suggest you head to Alyss and purchase furniture & accessories plus whatever else you need. Making the furniture will take time, so if you need to start renting it ASAP, this may be the deciding factor.[quote=”costaricafinca”]I agree with the above poster in that it will be hard to sell an unfurnished condo in Playa del Coco. In fact, it is hard to sell a furnished condo, right now.
While getting furniture made locally may be the way to go, I suggest you head to Alyss and purchase furniture & accessories plus whatever else you need. Making the furniture will take time, so if you need to start renting it ASAP, this may be the deciding factor.[/quote]Costaricafinca is right on. Rentals are a little slow too unless it’s a holiday.
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