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Ehehe, thank you Scott! 🙂
[quote=”Scott”]… and thank you for participating.
I help purely out of selfish reasons, after all, you might become my neighbour one day. 😀
Scott[/quote]
Thank you Barbara!
CostaRicaFinca: I though the automatic deposit for rentista has to be converted in colones. Meaning there is some loss on the exchange rate. But I did not know the amount HAS to be spent each month. How can they enforce that?
Thank you Barbara! Yes, the 90 days visa would be a good way to test the water. However, we do not want to be perpetual tourists… 🙂 If we do decide to settle there, we’ll take the necessary steps to become rentistas.
If you do have an idea of the real-estate costs in the area, please let me know. Unless your property is still on sale in 1.5-2 years from now, I don’t see us making an offer 🙂 but it would be really helpful to have an opinion about prices.
Thanks!
Thank you all! I would have assigned more thank you points, but I have already spent my daily quota giving them to CosaRicaFinca 🙂
Sure, there is no substitute for a first-hand experience.
We travel a lot, we wake up early and we are quite active during the day. But we also go to sleep early. We would probably be not outside after 9pm, that usually keeps most of the troubles away 🙂
I think there is space for everyone: locals, visitors, foreigners who are becoming locals, people who want to relax, party-goes, etc. As long as there is respect.
1) Is there any residential area which is quite and in line with American building standards? Maybe a gated community at a walking distance from the sea. I work online, my wife can teach yoga and pilates in the resorts near-by if possible without too much hassle, so location is not an issue, as long as it is not too far from SJ and it is safe, nice, clean and quiet. If you know, what’s a realistic cost for a townhouse or apartment in such residential area? Or I can google it if I get the names of the areas.
2) Would a 2k spendable budget per month allow for a decent lifestyle for a couple? That would be $450 for the Caja, $250 for electricity, $50 for internet, and the rest for rent, food, car costs and small expenses?
3) Naive question… but I need to know considering it is my livelihood. Is the internet fast there? I need to be reachable almost 24/7, Sunday to Friday.
Thanks!
Thanks! Ok, so from one side I understand the increase may be a way to get more people to contribute, in a fair way, to the Caja’s costs. We know that $400 for a foreign is not as hard to pay than $400 for a local.
At the same time, it seems also a way to pay one’s way to residency 🙂 Anyway, that’s the way it is.
I hope those payments will be considered for a future pension etc. so at least something comes back to the payer, if he/she is still in CR at retirement time.
Thanks!
Ok. So, after 2 + 2 years as rentista, will the $450 go down to what other residents pay? Or will it stay that high?
Thanks.
That would be $400/mo multiplied by the rentista term length (24 months) multiplied by the number of terms necessary to apply for permanent residency (2). Assuming the monthly dues decrease once a person becomes a permanent resident.
THANKS!
Thanks! I was aware of the 2nd 60k, which would have been OK because I work remotely. However, the caja premium really comes at a… premium. $400/mo * 24 * 2 is quite substantial.
Thanks! Better to know these expenses now.
Thanks! Yes, I usually look into permanent residency requirements first. That’s why Thailand was excluded from day 1, one can only be there by renewing a “language visa” and cannot own any property. The 2.5 per month / 60k for CR are not a problem.
However, if one has to spend 300k to get a home in a nice area in CR, then there are plenty of other locations in Canada, USA and Spain which are the same, or even cheaper. The goal is not to go to a cheap place, but to go to a nice place where the cost of living is still reasonable.
Thanks!
Thank you all. That’s true, one needs to rent before committing mid-term with a purchase. So it would make sense to rent in an area where we can afford to buy, if we so decide.
The prices are indeed quite substantial. I was thinking about 100k to 150k for a nice apartment or an OK townhouse, but I see the apartments alone sell for much more than that. BTW, Scott the apartment you listed looks amazing, that would probably go for 500k+ in US. But still, it is out of budget for us.
We’ll visit CR again this year. We’ll also visit Southern Spain and maybe Tenerife. Paperwork-wise (we are EU citizens) and even real-estate wise, Spain seems an easier place to go for us. However, geopolitically and ecologically speaking, CR has a better future, at least in my opinion.
Thank you for sharing! It is sad to see that this red-tape is keeping children away from loving families.
I don’t think we could agree to this kind of agreement. Raise a child without knowing where he/she will be moved next.
Thank you Scott! The procedure looked reasonable on paper, now I understand that is different from how bureaucrats put that in practice… I noticed the number of yearly from US was were low, that would confirm the procedure is still tough.
I’ll keep you posted when I find out more. THANKS!
Thank you Scott! Online, I have seen apartments between 90k and 200k+. And townhouses for less than 150k with swimming pool etc. There is quite a variety of prices. Maybe it depends if the properties are listed in English vs. Spanish, and of course on the area.
Can we say that 100k for an apartment and less than 150k for a townhouse are realistic prices for a 5 years old or less home in a good community? Maintenance fees look something between $80 and just over $100 per month, not too bad.
THANKS!
Thank you John! Just for me to understand: is this said 1/2 tongue in cheek, or is that your real assessment of the situation?
I don’t think CR is dangerous, otherwise we would not consider it. We wrote Ecuador off because it is dangerous. But, like everywhere else (LA, NYC, London, etc.) there are areas and property types which are safer, and some which are at risk.
Thanks!
