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I have not personally heard anything about this but would appreciate if you could be more specific… What are these ‘canals’ for exactly?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comDon’t believe we have San Ramon attorneys listed anywhere on this site.
The best professionals of practically every profession are located in San Jose which is not that far from you in San Ramon
‘Down to earth’ is good but you are less likely to find a bilingual ‘down to earth’ professional, the further you go from San Jose.
You will find articles by an accountant called ‘Randall Zamora’ on this site as well as about a dozen articles by attorney Jose Rafael Fernandez, both are very professional, bilingual, ‘down to earth’ and have dozens of our VIP Members as very satisfied clients.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comThis site will NOT be used for the private sale of real estate in any form.
Should someone wish to sell their real estate on this website and they are not a professional real estate sales person they can visit our Help-U-Sell section at
Best wishes
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCoistaRica.comAnother problem you’ll find vegaknite is that there are very few people here (like the people you have found on this site) who will even bother to respond to your emails.
HUNDREDS of people have told me that they wanted to do business with our recommended real estate professionals because they replied to their emails when most didn’t even respond.
And you must bear in mind that for every 100 people that contact a real estate agent online with a thousand questions of living their dream in Costa Rica, only about 8% of them will actually visit.
Because of that many real estate agents won’t spend too much time on emails etc., but will certainly focus on your needs when you are actually here in Costa Rica.
Hope this helps.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comGood point mediatica
We do feature a few developers who charge the buyer the same price whether he is represented by a broker or not.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comI noticed you said that in another post …
Just as a matter of interest dwaynedixon, how many real estate transactions in total have you been a part of in Costa Rica?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comYou could build your own portfolio of stocks too but tens of millions of investors prefer to buy a mutual fund managed by other people with the goal of benefit from the experience of a proven manager…
Most Costa Rican developers have very little experience dealing with English speaking buyers although that is changing quickly.
Most developers will have in-house sales people if they don’t have outside brokers so there is invariably somebody earning a small commission although this will normally be smaller than the commission earned by outside brokers.
And as you know from personal experience vegasknite there are many developers that you should simply steer clear of and it’s difficult to know that unless you know the local real estate market like an insider which is what a good real estate professional “should” know…
Had I not told you, you would never had known that one of the partners of the “XXX” Development Company in Escazu (WHICH WE WILL NOT NAME HERE) had used the deposit money money he received from the buyers of his ‘to be built’ apartment building to build a home for himself…?
Don’t ask me why he did it, we just know he did it… But having said that, as far as I can gather here, you have significant construction experience anyway so what’s appropriate for you may not be appropriate for someone who has never built a home.
Some buyers believe it’s worth paying a small premium to get that ‘peace of mind’ knowing that they are dealing with a knowledgeable broker and they are buying a property from an experienced developer with a proven track record of building quality real estate.
Hope this helps a little…
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comPS. The experienced, full-time agents I recommend WILL help you with paperwork which is invariably in Spanish and there are dozens and dozens of “trained professionals” in the Costa Rica real estate industry too so they are NOT all cowboys.
You will need a bank account to ‘prove’ that you have a legitimate presence in Costa Rica when you apply for other things… So yes! That would be a good start…
If you plan on doing everything for the spa in a corporate name to protect your personal assets, then open the bank account in that corporate name.
Keep your business assets in one corporate name, each car in it’s own corporation name and your personals assets (minimal) in your own names.
Keep six months living expenses inside Costa Rica, keep the rest safely ‘offshore’ meaning out of Costa Rica.
“Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean that they’re not trying to get you …”
You will also need an accountant if you are planning on doing business here and I would recommend Randall Zamora. Seach for ‘Zamora’ on this site and you’ll find him …
Scott Oliver
WeLoveCostaRica.comTry and get everything started as soon as you can yes…
Depending on the type of account, it can sometime be problematic to open an account long distance but it’s getting tougher and tougher EVERYWHERE in the world to open bank accounts, especially for US citizens so get it done when you can.
Depending on the area, telephone lines can also take quite some time to get so once again, you would be best to gets that process started too …
I do not know if there are any special permits required to conduct the type of business you plan on building but I am hoping that you already know all about that…
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comAlajuela is a busy and well established area with many expatriates and of course it’s only 20 minutes (depending on traffic) from other places with lots of expatriates in Escazu etc.
There are many clubs here for specific expatriate groups like the Canadian Club and different American clubs so I’m sure you’ll quickly find lots of new friends. And there are also many different bars/restaurants where you’ll find dozens of North Americans hanging out and watching American football games etc, like the TexMex and Rock & Roll Pollo in Santa Ana.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comFollowng two posts posted in the wrong place and reposted here by Scott
Posted Jan 21,2007 5:44 AM BRYAN
Thank you to everyone whom sent me emails. Since there seems to be so many people interested in information I will give you my opinion on how I would handle them. I have been studying them and speaking to them now for about a month. They are definitely using the hard sell marketing by an impressive website along with aggressive follow up calling. They are very particular whom they send there information out to and that made me a little curious. They have sent me references on others whom have bought land from them in either Costa Esterillos or Costa Montana. The references as expected check out but do not offer any hard answers. They have another project called Costa Reserva that is not being shown or marketed unless you visit them in Costa Rica, it is next to Esterillos location with mostly water view property and they are showing lots to be well over an acre per. One thing they push prior to visiting is the initial deposit which they send you a reservation contract and the deposit is to go into an escrow fund with Gibson and Gibson PA base in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I checked them out and they are legit. The contract is also legit after having my lawyer look over it but I still suggest as everyone else does not to give them any reservation or deposit money until you have visited and make judgement for yourself. I suggest you visit on your own paying your on way and at that time visit other properties as well. Do not fall for the hard sell reservation method and them paying for your visit. As many have said this is a gamble, if they follow thru with the master plan of a gated community and beach club house yes you will have done well with your lot and money but on the other end it seems to me they could stop at a nice entrance and a few roads and you are left holding a lot with nothing to show for it. These are just my views and opinions and I hope the best for everyone involved with these developments. That being said I am still not against the gamble and will make a judgement once I visit in March. I will keep everyone up to date with any additional details I find out or come up with.Reply Delete Edit
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Posted Jan 21,2007 8:21 AM jmorberg
Bryan,Hi, would it be possible to talk?, we are checking Esterillos out as well. We just came back from Costa Rica, visiting family, and it was too late to check them out down there, as i just discovered their website right before leaving. I did ask for references and they gave me someone in my state, whom i did talk to for about 1 hour, and had a great conversation. It’s good to get more than a few opinions though.
Thanks
Steve
Edited on Jan 21, 2007 08:26
Edited on Jan 21, 2007 08:26
Posted in the wrong place and reposted here….
Posted Jan 20,2007 9:57 AM cliff mcleod
Two real estate sales ladies from Prudential talked me into holding out for top dollar and I picked up my check yesterday.At one point I called and suggested we lower the price not for any reason other than I didn’t want to face the coming hurricane (the house needed a lot of work)season,insurance,maintenance cost etc.I owned the property outright so no other pressure on me.Since I own another waterfront property and home I’m hoping this is a sign of the market picking back up,moving me closer to my goal of moving to Costa Rica.
Buena Suerta
Cliff Tampa,Fl.There are quite a few comments on this site about this developer
May I suggest that you click on ‘Search messages’ and search for ‘Costa Developers’ and also ‘Costa Esterillos’ and you should find some information
If anyone has any NEW information about this project, by all emans contribute
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.com
