Raw land – New here lots to learn

[Ramanand]

Well my wife and I have plans and hopes but we also have a lot to learn.

We bought land in Hawaii but it was a bad idea. The low prices enticed us and the property was great. All was good until a meth lab moved in down the road and someone started a grow op down the road in the other direction.

We sold it.

We also didn’t really want to be in the US.

So we have never been to Costa Rica. We are coming in August for 2 weeks.

Our 2 year goal is to find a piece of land 6-10 acres for 100,000 in a tropical rainy area under 1000′ elevation.

[b]Where should we look for this?[/b] We do have a climate zone map. [b]Any recommendations though?[/b] The wetter yet warmer the better. We do not mind rain and heat.

We prefer raw land.

We prefer to not be in a sub division.
Property must have all year flowing water.

We have seen properties online but figure the best deals can’t be found online.

[b]We are also interested in owner financing. Because it seems that banks want you to be a resident? Is there a way to finance without residency?
[/b]

[b]Where should we start with all of this?[/b]

Our goal is to get land in 2 years after we have been down a few times and have decided it is the right place for us.

[Ramanand]

Also we heard something about 200,000 investment to get residency. So we can get our land and then use that towards the 200,000?

[costaricafinca]

You can’t use land worth $100K as part of the investor requirement. Plus applying as Investor is not as easy or uncomplicated as it sounds…and not every property or business is acceptable to immigration.

We were ‘denied’ Investor status before we applied as [i]Rentistas[/i]. When accepted under the Investor status, your mandatory CAJA healthcare premium is based on the $200K investment, which could make your monthly premiums around $700 or more a month.

Suggest you read the info on the [url=http://www.costaricalaw.com/Immigration-and-Residency/residency-general-information-and-summary.html]Costa Rica Law[/url] website

You will have to get a good lawyer to check out the rules regarding building near and/or using water from all rivers on your property.

You are required to have the property in your name, [u]before [/u] presenting your application for residency, and realizing it could be denied.

Visit and check out areas you think may work for you….before purchasing anything.

[Ramanand]

Thanks.

Yeah we were hoping after building on the land the value would go up and then we could use the land as the requirement.

We actually want to find a way to open a small health clinic/retreat center. My wife is currently in med school to become an ND.

We wont use water from the rivers but just want water on the property. We would use rain catchment.

What is this CAJA healthcare thing? sounds terrible.

[costaricafinca]

Many beautiful retreats here, but your guests may not want to be in a very wet environment…and during the [url=http://costa-rica-guide.com/Weather/WeatherMap.html]wet season[/url] here, it can get [i]very[/i][b][b][/b][/b] wet.

You must get permission to remove trees from the property, and I think it may only be only 7 trees per acre.
Your wife will be required to get re-certified here in Spanish, and both would be required to be a permanent residents before you can legally work.

[url=http://www.usexpatcostarica.com/arcr-rate-hike-for-caja-plan/]CAJA premiums[/url] are explained more here, although the Investor premiums are not specifically mentioned although they are higher than [i]Rentista [/i]and neither [i]Rentista [/i]or [i]Investor [/i][i][/i]residents are permitted to claim expenses towards a lower premium.

It will take some time but suggest you read [b]all [/b]the info on the website.

*The property with buildings to be used for Investor status, would have to be registered in the National Registry at a value of at least $200K.

[rosiemaji]

The property taxes would be based on the $200,000 investment also and would include an extra amount in the form of a luxury tax.

[costaricabill]

[quote=”rosiemaji”]The property taxes would be based on the $200,000 investment also and would include an extra amount in the form of a luxury tax.[/quote]

I would suggest that it would be better to say “The property taxes would be based on the $200,000 investment also and [b][i][u]could possibly be subject to[/u][/i][/b] an extra amount in the form of a luxury tax.
The calculation of value for purposes of determining if a home and property reach the threshold for payment of the “luxury tax” has very little to do with what you paid for it.

[Author]

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