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Stephanie,
This is Dennis Easters in Atenas. I would like to start by asking with whom you spoke? I do not remember speaking with you nor does my partner Gerardo. I also went through all of my e-mails and do not see a correspondence with you.
As you can imagine we get several hundred calls per week and unfortunately once and a while one falls through the cracks. If that is the case I am truly sorry and ask you to accept my apologies.
However, if you had spoke with me, I would have told you that we do not work the Sarchi area! Grecia and Atenas are the extent of our coverage area. The reason for this is that if we spread ourselves too thin, we cannot give our clients the quality service they deserve.
It also seems that you are not familiar with real estate here in Costa Rica. It is very true that licensing does not exist here as it does in the United States and other countries, so you must be careful and make sure you are comfortable with the professionals you choose.
I still hold a real estate license in Florida but that does not convey to Costa Rica where licensing is non-existant. However, we are members of the Camara Costarricence de Corredores de Bienes Raices (www.camara.cr) which is the same as the Association of Realtors here in Costa Rica. We have passed their course work which is very similar to that in most of the United States.
In terms of a MLS, that is also non-existant here in Costa Rica as in the United States and Canada. When you hire a sales agent in Costa Rica, you are only going to get advertisement on their website and marketing to their client list. Why? Because generally speaking in Costa Rica we do not have EXCLUSIVE listings.
Our listings are considered OPEN listings, meaning that more than one agent represents the listing. In a scenario with open listings, most agents do not want to spend extra time or money adversing a property or taking professional photographs of a property that they may or may not sale.
This is especially true of properties that are not in the main area an agent works. In addition, as you have found out, it is not unusual to spend $400-$500 for a “professional” photo shoot!
Much to most peoples surprise, traditional advertising DOES NOT WORK. That is true 100 fold here in Costa Rica where 70%+ of our buyers are coming from outside the country.
How do we get our clients? 99% come from the internet, therefore our websites making that the most powerful advertising tool we have. This is true in the United States as well.
Take an open house for example. Agents only host them for 2 reason: to satisfy the seller and to pick up buyers for properties OTHER than the open house listing. Less than 1% of properties are sold via open houses.
In terms of agents charging 5% commission, that is standard here in Costa Rica. In the United States you will easily pay 6-7%. If the agent brings a client and sells your property doing all the leg work necessary, is that not the results you are looking for?
If they do not, then you pay nothing. In Costa Rica given there is not MLS and most of your buyers are obtained before they are even in the country, it is vital to market your home with an agent.
If you don’t think it is worth the 5% commission, then I suggest you trying to sell it on your own, then you will appreciate all the unseen work that goes into being an agent in Costa Rica.
It seems as if we do NOTHING but trust me, those of us who actually take our businesses seriously work on average 10-12 hours per day. Having said that, there are many sales agents out there who are just selling real estate as a hobby. Trust me when I say, you cannot “sell” anything part time.
If you wish to e-mail me at purelifedevelopment1@gmail.com I will do my best to direct you in finding the best means to market and sell your property. As I said, we do not work the Sarchi area but we are happy to give advice.
Pura Vida,
Dennis
I found this to be a very interesting and educational discussion. From what I gather this seems to have come about over the use of the term REALTOR, which is a very common term that we in the business have always used off the cuff. This forced me to do a bit of research and I learned a lot. It seems that a very high percentage of the general population, real estate sales associates included, mis-uses the term REALTOR. The term Realtor along with the blocked R logo are trademarked. I am sure I had learned this fact at one point during my pre-licensing education but forgot (I am now pulling my old books to re-read and brush up). In order to use either, you must be a member of NAR, which we all know stands for the National Association of Realtors.
This lead me to pull my license and lo and behold my State of Florida license says : Real Estate Sales Associate (Dennis J. Easters – AC# 5832995). That part I was very aware of, however I was not aware (obviously forgotten) that I am not a REALTOR unless I am a member of NAR, which I am not, nor have I ever been. It would only make sense to be a member of NAR if I were currently practicing real estate in the United States, which I am not. I have never stated that I was a member of NAR but I have called myself a REALTOR. Now having the facts in place, I will be happy to refer to myself as a Real Estate Sales Associate and owner of Pure Life Development. Now I have the daunting task of educating 99% of the population that I am not a REALTOR, that we are all misinformed. Really, shame on me, I should have known this. Really. I found an interesting article on the subject that can be found at: http://www.agentharvest.com/blog/real-estate-industry/realtor-vs-real-estate-agent-when-is-it-appropriate-to-use-the-term-realtor/ as there is much misunderstanding about the term REALTOR.
There are a few things that I would like to point out. One does not need to be a member of NAR to hold a real estate license (which I indeed have), however you must have an active real estate license to become a member of NAR. In terms of ethics, I truly believe that ethics are based in the morals and values that you were taught by your parents and family (or not taught in some cases). Being a member of any organization is not going to automatically create an ethical individual if they do not have it with-in themselves to be ethical. I feel that NAR is a wonderful organization that serves a great purpose for members and the protection of the general public.
Having a license issued by your state of residence, Florida in my case, the state holds you to a high code of ethics and standards similar to that of NAR. FREC or the Florida Real Estate Commission, has specific requirements, including finger printing and background checks as part of the licensing process. You can read more at: http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/re/documents/FREC_FAQs.pdf. I am very confident in my 16 years experience and abilities in real estate and our continued success is proof of that. Our goal is to educate our clients, provide them with all the possible facts and then let them make their decision based on the information at hand.
In terms of being members of CBR, (Camara Costarricense de Corrdeores de Bienes Raices), http://www.camara.cr/new/ , we, meaning Pure Life Development are indeed members, and we can be found at the following link: http://www.camara.cr/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=6, Gerardo Gonzalez-Porras with Carne #1785, who is my business associate and 1/2 owner of Pure Life Development. I thank everyone in the thread for an interesting and educational discussion!
Pura Vida,
Dennis[quote=”PeggyS”]We live near Atenas. Can anyone tell me where I can get a live Christmas tree? Thank you.[/quote]
Hello…This is Dennis with Pure Life Development in Atenas. Live Christmas trees can normally be purchased every Friday at the local Feria that is set up in front of the central school downtown. If you cannot wait until Friday, then I noticed that Wal-Mart in Escazu and Alajuela have them for sale too! Good luck!
Dennis
