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I agree, the site looks great! But the properties are so far away from San Jose! I put a call into the Costa Rican Consulate today, requesting information. They told me that any other airport that might be built in the future is WAY in the future. They said they’d send me a package of information. If anything is new or extremely relevant, I’ll post it when I receive it.
A 5K deposit is not bad at all…they were asking me for either a 20,000 or 35,000 deposit(sight unseen) for a 2.5 acre parcel (lower if mountain view, higher if ocean view). And I got sooo many phone calls! One time, they called just to make sure I had the fedex envelope and contract, and asked when I was going to mail it!
It still amazes me that people will pay large deposits on property they haven’t even seen. Is it me or is it the world? The thing about Paragon that really got me, was when they out and out lie. I was told to call a local (Chicago) woman who purchased property from them before they’d even send me out information. They also told me this woman lived there 6 months out of the year, and was a retired teacher. When I talked to her, she told me she never lived there, and that her house wasn’t even built yet, but she had visited the site. And any ‘buyers’ you do call are compensated for their time (they are recruited, so can you really trust all that they say?)…She also told me that roads, electric, water, etc. weren’t in place yet (even though, on their website, they said that they would be by now). I’m sure you will end up with a house eventually, and if you visit they’ll treat you like a queen…(or king)…it might be a bit later than you planned, and you might need a muddy 4 x 4 to get there…with one property, they said the beach is only 2 miles away…but a friend of mine who looked said it might be 2 miles away as the crow flies, but to get there will take you almost 1/2 an hour. Buyer beware! Even if they had the best properties in the world, their sales and marketing are so annoyingly hokey, I personally would never buy from them.
I know an older couple who did that as well (and convinced 2 other couples to do the same–they wanted to all still be neighbors)…they looked up some companies on the web with flashy websites, lovely pics, and unfounded promises, with salesmen that make car salesmen look timid, who create that sense of urgency and ‘guarantee’ you can’t go wrong, and can get all your money back, buy now, worry about it later..blah blah blah….and believe that there is no way they can lose….easy for some people to really get sucked in unfortunately and in this case, the enthusiasm was infectious…couple one trusted couple 2’s judgment, and all three are trying to get their money back as promised!…if the sharks attack at the right time…they’re in! It’s really sad for everyone, especially for elderly people with a fixed income.
You should compare Costa Rican Bananas to Costa Rican Bananas (not to Dole Hawaiian pineapples!)…that’s only common sense….and I agree…if you don’t do your due diligence, if you get ‘ripped off’ , overpay, or have other problems, it is your own fault. I’ve found that it is very important to change your mindset and try to think and feel like a Tico, rather than like an American…and work with a different measuring stick. It’s important to embrace their standards to make prudent decisions. One can’t forget it is a different place and a different culture, and trying to place purely American standards on certain things will hurt you in the long run.
I wrote on another thread about my experience with Paragon Properties and their overly aggressive marketing tactics and jumping through hoops just to get information (you have to call one of our buyers before we’ll send out the info, we need two phone numbers for you, etc.)…if their property was so fabulous, and such a great deal, why do they have to be so annoyingly aggressive? (All those phone calls! EEEEK!) I just decided not to deal with them at all…but in answer to how they can guarantee prices for 5 years? My conjecture is that since CR is so hot right now as a retirement/vacation/relocation destination, prices, especially oceanview and beachfront, are bound to go way up as the available land is developed and less and less is available. Just my guess.
I think that would be a fabulous (not to mention extremely helpful) idea! It’s very difficult to ‘wade through all the mud’ when you are thousands of miles away!!
I was so turned off by Paragon Properties! I have never seen such aggressive (read that annoying) marketing in my life! You have to jump through such hoops just to get information. My experience: I am in the research stages of relocating–not even sure if I will relocate permanently or just part time yet–so I requested information from their site, as I am getting as much info on as many things as I can so that I can make an informed decision. (So glad I found this website today–it’s great!!!!) First I get a phone call “to see if you are really interested, as it costs 50 dollars for every packet sent out”. Then they called the next day, and told me I had to call a local (Chicago area) buyer, and speak with her, and he also added that she would get something from them after I spoke with her. So I called, and called back the company as requested. The salesman said he’d send out the info. He called the next day asking for a second phone number, saying they needed two numbers…so I gave him my fax machine number. He couldn’t give me a good reason why he needed a second number, only that it was ‘required’. They called back again two days later, and asked if we had read the materials and were ready to move forward. We said we just got them and hadn’t had a chance to look at them yet. Actually waited 3 more days before calling again! (Maybe the weekend had something to do with it!)…If what they were selling was so fabulous, why all the pushiness?
