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If what you were looking at is on the Necoya penninsula then the Rancho Las Lomas project would not be it. That is just out of Parrita in the Central Pacific area. In regards to the price point you are talking about that is being advertised, I think the most important thing to keep in mind is, “you get what you pay for”, and that truism could not be more true than when it comes to construction here in Costa Rica. There is a development near us that has gone from $79K to $129K in one year on their smallest home which is only 680 sq ft. It’s a similiar bungalow type house with one bedroom and a loft. I have been through the first one they completed and the quality of construction is not very good in my opinion.
I will disagree pretty much 100% with most of the above. We own a 1977 Land Cruiser and have a lot of friends that own similiar years and also Land Rovers. Parts are available and the statement that any parts you are going to find are going to be 30 years old simply is not true. We have had only minor problems with ours and new parts including a radiator, light switch, turn signal dimmer switch, etc. we were able to get new. I know of several good ones that are for sale in our area if you need some help. You will be looking at $4000 to $6000 for a good one and in my opinion it is well worth it, especially if you are going to be in a rural area. Ours is our primary vehicle and we drive it from the Pacific Coast to San Jose a couple of times a month.
Just don’t make the mistake so many people make and try to cram too much into such a short trip. One week is a very short time, especially if your arrival and departure days are included in your “one week” trip. If that’s the case then you really only have 5 days, and depending on your departure time you might have to plan on being back in the San Jose area the night before. I would suggest splitting your trip into maybe only two locations to keep your travel time to a minimum. Costa Rica is a small country but travel time from one location to another is long. If you want beach time, I would suggest the Central Pacific coast. It is only two hours from the airport, so you can easily get back for your departure. It really depends though on what your interest are. I prefer exploring on our own as well. Where we live you can visit national parks, horseback riding on the beach, ziplines through the jungle, canopy tram over the jungle, swim, surf, or just relax. You would really need to let people know the area you plan on concentrating on for people to be able to suggest a rental.
I’m curious as to why you did not mention anywhere in your post what CD’s response or reasoning was when you complained about the encroachment of your property. I’m assuming you did complain?
it would be great to have a lot of pertinent information updated on a regular basis, but this is a free website and it takes time and money to always be updating information on a homepage, and that is just not real practical to ask someone to provide that kind of service. Just my opinion.
Jenny, It was Dave and Kate in 2003, so it’s been awhile. We had a great time though. Hermosa is doing fine with all the rain. The same for Esterillos. Bejuco had some flooding, but the worst has been in Parrita. The entire neighborhood on the south side of the bridge in Parrita was about chest high in water for almost a week.
I am sure that Jenny does not remember my wife and I, but on our first trip to Costa Rica we spent Thanksgiving at Jenny’s and had a wonderful time. We met some great people and from those people gathered a lot of great insight that led us to make our move to Costa Rica.
It’s unfortunate that you have given up your dream here. While there are targeted areas that are experiencing incredible development, if you don’t have to be in the heart of the Central Valley or in the most populated areas along the coast, Costa Rica still offers an abundance of the things you say you first loved about it. Development is a two edged sword and Costa Rica is starting to take measures to at least have some simblance of control over it. Development ideally brings with it ecomomic benefits to the local population in the way of jobs and more tax revenue that hopefully will be spent on improving infrastructure and services to everyone. I will commend you on your level of research to come to the conclusion that Costa Rica is not for you. Keep in mind though that people are looking for different things in life and what is a negative for you is a positive for many others. It isn’t fair for some who come here to find their little piece of paradise to turn around and say “ok, shut the door”.
Simon as the self proclaimed new moderator of the forum you might want to take a look at the terms of service regarding name calling. Very mature my friend
I fortunantly have not had the need for care at Cima but have heard nothing but good things about the care there. My good friend just a couple of weeks ago broke his leg in two places and crushed his ankle in a fall. A medivac flight from Quepos with two medical technicians on board was $2200. compare that to $10K to $15K in the states. His surgery, drugs, attending physician, nurses, etc. and two nights stay in the hospital I believe came to $9000. It was a long surgery requiring two internal pins being placed in his leg, and a brace being attached with two metal rods going into his leg and two other metal rods going into his ankle. A little steeper than I had thought it might be, but again compare surgery and two nights stay in the hospital in the States and you’d be looking at probably $30K minimum. The one thing I did not know, was that he needed to have a name of a doctor before arriving at Cima. A doctor at the Quepos hospital was very adament about letting him set up a doctor to meet him when he arrived. In my friends words, you could see the salavation of a big referral fee in his eyes. My friend called his attorney and had him arrange for a recommended doctor to meet them when they arrived. Does anyone know if this is true that even arriving on an emergency basis, you need to have the name of a doctor? If so, I will try to establish a relationship with a couple of good recommended doctors that practice there so we will have the names and relationship ahead of time.
Scott, you do realize that the moral to that story I’m sure was totally lost on certain people. Good moral though for those who get it.
Lotus, I’d give it up, it is so obvious this guy is the type that loves to argue for arguments sake. A discussion with differing opinions is not, and does not have to be an argument. Let me think……Oh, yeah it’s a discussion with differing opinions. what was I thinking?
Argument? I”m not sure what the whole reason is for your postings simon. The only person that started an argument is yourself. I simply pointed out what is well known and well documented in dozens of complaints against several of the large developers. Simply do a search on this forum and you will stay busy for the better part of a day reading complaints. For what ever reason you want to argue about this and want to defend these companies, that is up to you. This discussion is over now. Go do some actual research.
Thank you Lotus, These guys are great and I can’t recommend their service enough. It’s an amazing different perspective you get once you clear the tree tops. I have gone up with them 3 times in 2 weeks and won’t hesitate to do it again.
I don’t have to give you details. I am not targeting any developer in particular. Your experience in Costa Rica is obviously very lacking. In general, When it comes to Costa Rica, you are guilty until proven innocent in Costa Rica regarding critisism of an individual or company. I offered generalities that are based on personal experience and conversations with many individuals. As I said, I am not targeting any particular individual or company. No, I will not offer you specifics. If you want to invest with a developer that has numerous complaints against them and is not offering you absolute guarentees, then that is up to you. I simply do not do business with developers that do not have a proven track record of delivering on thier promises.
Simon you apparently haven’t had experience with many developers down here. This is not a personal critisism. The mistake many make down here is that they assume things are the way they are back in thier home country. Most of the larger developers will buy up large parcels of land and divide it into small lots and start selling those lots long before they even start the titling process. Many times even before confirming they can even get individual titles for lots. These developers incorporate high pressure phone sales marketing and end up selling the vast majority of their lots, sight unseen to buyers from all over the world. Once they have your money, you really have very little recourse. For the most part, your home countries judicial system has absolutely no jurisdiction to assist you in pursuing compensation when your contract is not fully honored. Many people do not have the extra resources to travel to Costa Rica, establish a relationship with an honest attorney, and then spend the time to persue legal action in Costa Rica against a given developer. As Scott can tell you, you can spend a small fortune here simply defending your self against law suits by developers suing you for deflamation simply because you publicly question their methods and point out their lack of follow through on committments. It still baffles many of us as to why people would purchase land, sight unseen and sometimes without even have ever visted Costa Rica. Even after being warned about questionable practices by some of these developers, people still hear what they want to hear and act on emotions instead of sound advice and sound information.
