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Appreciate your feedback on this, Scott, and for the name of the book. We will probably purchase it in the near future. I didn’t see anything in the article you sent re: lawyer’s fees for holding people’s shelf corporation paperwork. I’m sure there are a variety of fees floating around out there…and we just need to be able to access that list of lawyers and their fees for certain services. That’s what is difficult to find. Is there any site or place we can go to find this? The law firm we are with now wants to know our decision by Aug. 1st. on whether we want to pay for another year for them holding our shelf corp. The cost for this particular service seems high. We’d like to find out if it is, or if this is the standard price with all law firms there.
Wow, that’s really inexpensive compared to what we paid. Hmmm. Did you use a lawyer in San Jose for this transaction? Did you use a shelf corporation? Probably would help us just to ask around. Will probably order the book that Scott recommended reading. I don’t know if it gives a listing of lawyers or not, but will check it out for other information.
Hi Bob,
I’m glad you asked this question. We were referred to an attorney there and found his fees for certain things exhorbitant. We got married through him, thinking it would be less, and he was going to charge us $1,000. He went down to $700. Fortunately, our paperwork didn’t go through, so it was tossed out and we got most of our money back. So we just got married here in the states at a JP for $80.
I’m not sure what exactly you meant by purchase, car, boat, but if you meant purchasing land/home, I would definitely ask around about a good AND resonable atty. We were referred to this atty by someone on this site…and he’s really a nice guy, but sure does seem expensive to us.
I was going to post a question similar to yours about how much atty fees are for a certain service. In our case, it’s re: fees for having a shelf corporation which is held by the law office. We bought property and our atty recommended we put it into a shelf corporation which is held by the law office. So, they have legal custody, and it is a legal Costa Rican address for our company. First we want to know how necessary this is, and second we’d like to know how much fees for this type of service generally run. I know each law office is different and fees vary…but generally speaking. Sometimes I believe the Attys there think all foreigners are rich. I know we have more than most of them, so in their eyes we all probably are rich. However, there are some things for which I believe we’re being overcharged, and yet we have no experience with other attys to compare it to. Anyone have any experience with shelf corporations and fees? Are they over $600 a year? Are they necessary?
Diane and Paul
Hi Cindy,
You didn’t mention how much the customs taxes were for the car. I think there are a few of us who are debating on whether it’s better to ship our cars, or simply sell them in the states and buy a car down there. Thus, it would be good to know how much the customs taxes are just on the car alone. Appears you ended up paying about $7,500 for the entire ship. I was under the impression that Barry’s shipping company did come to your house and pack up everything. So it was good to know that he doesn’t; that’s another expense that will have to be weighed in the balance. How much did you have to pay for that nightmare packing company you ended up with in California. Don’t you hate it when that happens? From your negative experience, it gives one the idea to get references from people who have moved through them before hiring.
Diane
Hi,
Thanks for the feedback on the container. I’ve contacted the man that Scott told me about, but he hasn’t gotten back to me yet. Probably because we’re not moving right away. I would like to know what we’re looking at price-wise though…so your feedback gave me a realistic view of what to expect. I have to say, $5,000 seems a bit pricey to me, especially since my cousin sent hers to Italy for half the amount. But who knows…there may be reasons for the pricey cost. And like you said, if they did a good job, it’s probably worth the extra bucks. Did they deliver it right to your door there in Costa Rica? That would extremely nice…especially if they also helped you unload it.So, we’re probably looking at about $6,000-7,000 including the import taxes from the info you gave us. We, too, are thinking of bringing some building materials with us since it’s difficult to find them there, ie; cupboards, appliances, tiles…Costa Rica tile is nice, but it’s really too slippery for floors, especially when the tile gets wet. My cousin found that out the hard way…they built the outside stairway down to the lower level, and she slipped on them one day when it had rained…fell hard and broke her wrist.
Thanks again for your feedback on this. We really didn’t have any comparisons to look at until you wrote. Now we have an idea of what to expect!
Diane
Tomasino, you really went to a lot of work putting all this information on the forum and I hope everyone appreciate the time you put into it! We sure did. Thank you so much! We are definitely keeping all this in mind for when we build. We sold the lot and house in Petrero…and bought a larger lot up in the mountains south of San Jose. It’s much cooler up there, which is more to our liking. The beaches aren’t that far away if we want to go for the day. The people from whom we purchased the property have a daughter who is an architect. She has a staff of builders who use the pine trees that are cleared off the land to build the houses on the properties up there. That was why we were considering a log home. However, from all the feedback on this particular forum thread, we have pretty much decided not to build with wood, but maybe to incorporate wood “touches” into the home design.
Thanks again for all the information…we really appreciated you sharing your knowledge!
Diane and Paul
Hi Terry,
Paul and I live in the Houston area since this last September…and I bet there are termite problems here as well. I can ask around at termite control places for info on how to keep termites away. Thanks for your tips on places to contact. Where do you plan to live when you move to CR? There are so many beautiful places, aren’t there? We will build south of San Jose by about 1 hour, in the mountains. We’re thinking either of building with wood, or going with cinderblock/stucco. Wood seems better for earthquakes, and block/stucco seems better for termites. Hmmm. ??? Hard to know which is the best way to go. I’ll do more research on the termite questions though. Thanks for your feedback, Terry.
Diane
Well, if we figure it out, (where to post photos, that is)I’d love to see your dog, too! He just sounds adorable. Most people think Buddy is just weird looking…but we love him to bits. You know how it is…they become a part of the family. Let me know if you find out how to send photos and I’ll download a pic of my two characters.
Paul and I were members of the arcr but dropped it awhile back. We just didn’t require the services at that point. When it gets closer to our move down there, we’ll probably re-order their services.
If it’s not too personal, could you email me the cost of what you and your wife will be paying for the medical coverage with the INS? You can email me at the house address if you like. This will help us to understand what the rates are…even though ours may be somewhat different due to our age, etc. Paul is in his early 60’s and I’m in my 50’s. So we’re up there!!! Or, so he likes to tell me! haha.
How long have you two (three, four?) been living there? Have you become citizens yet? I hope you will be able to have the coverage you need without having to pay extra for the diabetes.
We will contact them when we get down there…I’ve written down the website address. Appreciate all the information. Did you and Marica go with this company? Did they charge you more due to the diabetes? (Are you the one who mentioned that? I may have it confused.) Sure do appreciate the feedback.
Diane
Oh Gosh! I can only imagine. Too bad we can’t include pictures…would love to see him. Hard to imagine what he looks like. I bet he’s adorable! I just love animals…especially dogs. Buddy, the Basset/Ger.Shepherd mix, is scary looking to some people because he has the look of a Ger.Shep. but is short. Big chest, face like a shep. and coloring…but squatty legs and long floppy ears. He’s just a “gentle Ben” and always has been. Good watch dog because he scares people off with his “Ger.Shep. bark” if they approach me. But if they said “Hi Doggy”, he’d lick their hands. He’s too sweet for his own good. The Basset (Mikey) is a little more tempermental, but cute as a bug.
Diane
Hi,
I was so glad to hear that your experience taking your dog with you to CR was a positive one. I have been concerned about that because I have two dogs who will be coming with us when we move down. It won’t be for another year or so, but still, it’s worrysome for me. Not just all the regulations and paperwork, but how the dogs will handle the trip. They’re larger boys, one’s a Basset and the other one is part Basset/part German Shepherd. (Yeah…try to picture that!) They’re both short, but stout! So they’d be contained in whatever part of the plane they put animals…which is what concerns me…is it too hot, too cold, etc. Yours was different since you were allowed to have it on board with you.Anyway, was happy for you that it went so well. Hope it goes that well for us.
Tom,
I went online and found a place called “the last straw” where they are offering workshops in Costa Rica in various methods, one being the use of straw. You may want to check this out…
http://www.thelaststraw.org/calendarNB.htmlI hope this isn’t considered soliciting? Sorry, Scott, if it is. Truly, I have no links with this group, although they sound interesting. I do think it might be helpful for readers to know there are alternative methods of building going on in Costa Rica though.
Diane
Lots of valuable and thought provoking information in “guru’s” message. I’m printing it off. Paul and I stayed in a place (Los Lagos Lodge by Arenal) that had the open roof offset at the overhang, so I understand what you’re referring to. We weren’t aware of the termite problems in Costa Rica, but it does make sense. We have property south of SJ in the mountains by Santa Maria de Dota where the temps are perfect (50’s at night-70s/day) and there are quite a few “log cabins” in that area. The man who sold us the property has a daughter who is either an architect or builder and has a “log cabin” construction business. From what you said, this might not be a very good idea. However, I do know that many folks are building with wood. I believe that’s what Scott did with he and his ladie’s new home. Wonder if there are ways to treat the wood to prevent termites from invading? I was more concerned with the rainy weather, thinking it would rot the wood. We have gone back and forth on the topic of what material to construct our home with…and concrete is definitely an strong option. Not as aesthetically pleasing to the eye as wood, but sturdier in that area. Not sure how concrete does with earthquake tremors though. Does is crack the concrete, or can concrete “move” with earthquakes?
