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You need nothing from the consulate to for an S.A., just a good CR attorney. There are several Scott would recommend on this site. Pensionista, Rentista or Inversionista status is akin to getting residency/citizenship and there is a lot of paperwork. It takes anywhere from 2-6 months to form an S.A., that will allow you to open a bank account. It may take a year or more to get residency status and it gets tougher every year. The easiest way is $60,000 per person in a bank account that you must withdraw $1,000/month/person for 5 years. There are many other requirements, like good standing legally (no criminal record) and other required paperwork, but it is best to consult an attorney.
Buena suerte.I do not aee the appeal of Guanacaste over other parts of the country either and have been there several times. Tamarindo is a travesty and most all of the resort towns are just that, with no real character. The weather in the hot months is not very tolerable and the mix of residents is skewed toward North Americans. I have found the best towns to be anywhere south of Samara, with a more diverse european, south and north amereccan mix.
There is a BCR in Flamingo. It is my understanding that you must have an S.A. or resident status to open a bank account. Most people do it with the S.A. Although, the banks are different in enforcement of their requirements, you will typically be asked for a domicile address (whether your own or that of the S.A.), a copy of an electrical bill that matches your address or S.A.’s address and a letter of reference, which would come from your lawyer or an upstanding citizen you have known for a while.
Alfred, I got my stats from State Department, but I would put more faith in FBI stats. Do you see the US gov’t getting smart enough to realize that much of the wealth is leaving the country and attempt to control our egress? My wife and I have stepped up our plans to become completely liquid within the next 5 years…no debt whatsoever other than the mortgage and the house will be sold as soon as the market is more favorable, however, the market here in Seattle is one of the few places in the country that has not been so adversely impacted. We have an S.A. in CR, a fantastic attorney, are fluent in Spanish (my mother is Argentine), travel there every 6 months and after our last trip, we are ready to bail. The overall stress level in this country is increasing dramatically, but most of us plod along our merry way like nothing is wrong or maybe most of us are to oblivious to care.
I disagree that North Americans are easily frightened. I believe the more appropriate term is complacent ignorance. In a recent survey, 25% of college bound high school students could not even identify Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria on a world map.
Furthermore, when asked if this region was important to the world the answer was NO. We are an insulated, consumerist, me, me, me society that is producing a generation of idiots who cannot even balance a check book.
This is the generation that will eventually run the country and we expect Social security to remain solvent?. Bill Gates has repeatedly begged congress annually to allow educated immigrants into the country to work for him and many of the other high tech firms for we simply do not produce enough of the caliber of people required. We will eventually become a nation that manufactures nothing, will be owned by the rest of the world to service the rest of the world.
Also, remember that the crime rate in Costa Rica is 12/1,000 vs the US average @ 80/100, almost 7 times higher.
The max speed limit in CR is 80km (48 mph) and are on the stretches south of Liberia and west of Limon. And you wonder why you see a Ferari dealership in Escazu!! Where could they possibly drive that type of car the way it was meant to be driven and not kill themselves or some other animate object?
Some of the CR banks also penalize the Euro with a 10% exchange fee, thus many Europeans exchange into dollars in Europe before landing in CR. When will they free float the colon??
I would agree dm that the best SUV’s down there are the Terracan and the Prado, but I prefer the HiLux 3.0.
From the research we have done and all the hassles involved with importing, we found it better to purchase a dependable, used vehicle in CR that has already gone through their “tax” system. I suggest you stick with a common brand found in CR like the Toyotas with Helix diesel engines or Hyundai’s which are fairly easily repaired in towns with sizeable populations. Diesel fuel is currently about the saem price as in the US. The US is one of the few countries in the world where diesel is more exepensive than regular gas, probably due to the fact we have a disproportionate amount of long haul truckers, diesel electric locomotives and a giant military machine that consumes the majority of the diesel.
Based on our last trip to the Montezuma area 2 weeks ago, in which we visited over 30 properties with various realtors, owners and land administrators, we did not notice any price drops whatsoever. However, we did note that prices have stabilized somewhat, so instead of 80-100% increases per year it may be only 40-50% until the US economy stabilizes, if it ever does.
The wife and I are devout animal lovers and killing is avoided at all cost unless it were an imminent threat to your life, such as a cow moose with calf or grizzly bear with cubs, but most people with outdoors experience would not ever put themselves into this situation. Apex predators are the top of the chain and when they die off, the impact is a double whammy. There are so many examples of man introducing non-indegenous speices only to create an ultimate imbalnce…i.e the mongoose in Hawaii to control cane rats, but they prefer Nene’s and fowl instead.
Apparently, ICE is supposed to buy 1.4 million G3 technology cells so that SIM chips with our US phones will be interchangeable to plug into the CR system. Anyone else heard anything of substance along these lines?
What part of the country were you in? I was told by local Ticos in Montezuma that they are fairly rare on the “northern” zone, but plentiful in Corcovadp. The only venemous snake we have seen in 4 years is one Bushmaster.
Buy land and sit on it, there not making it anymore. This is not as simple as you think. The 1st steps would be to set up a corp. or a Sociedad Anonima (S.A.) in most latin countries. This will allow you to open a bank account. Find a good lawyer and stick with him for all your business needs; Scott has mentioned the best one on this site and he is the author of the legal book that is advertised. A must read by the way. 2 or 3 times even. Buena Suerte.
