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My parents went on a very enjoyable trip to Costa Rica with Caravan last December. They said the accomodations were great, the guide and bus driver were fun and they felt they got their money worth. They are in their late 60’s and early 70’s. Unfortunately, their bus got in an accident by Arenal. Several people got hurt, not seriously. The whole tour was given a free voucher for a free trip, which they also took and loved. I think this shows that the company has integrity. They said they would use the company again. Hope this helps.
How did you create income for your move? We would move in a second if we could figure out how to finance it. How much are you spending on a monthly basis, if you don’t mind me asking.
The instance I know of it was two Ticos that did the squatting. However, my lawyer just said that you can not squat on concession property because the country always owns title to that land and you can only squat to get title. any one else know the law about this. Maybe I have nothing to worry about or maybe if they squat on concession then they can gain rights to the concession? Sorry, I do not know the terminology for squatters. As an aside, squatters are squatting but can they squat? Just struck me as funny.
Thanks for the information in the article. When we first bought some land there we heard that squatters are nothing to worry about, it just happens in the rural areas. Well an acquaintence of ours who happens to own property just had organized squatters try to claim rights to his land. Apparently, they bought one lot from him and during this process found out his schedule of visiting etc. While he was gone (he lives on the other side of the country and was very busy with a business he is starting/developing there) the wife of the buyer of his other property built a very small tico house on his property. When he found out about it, it was beyond the 3 months time (or what he could prove)and he submitted the paperwork to the municipality to evict the squatters. Well, the municipality “did not get to” (read into that as you will) his paperwork and never processed it, allowing more time to pass. As time goes on the squatters get more and more rights until now he has to go to court to try to get his rights back. He still has not resolved the issue and the squatters actually filed for concession on his land! Any one else heard of similar stories? I read the article but any more practical advice for property owners who are absentee? We are now planning to put up a gate and get someone to mow our lot that we bought and everytime we go down there we plant a tree or something. I guess I’m freaking out a little!
From what I have heard, Palo Seco suffered a “small Tsunami” in late June this year. It knocked down a lot of trees on the beach etc. Heard the beach looks horrible. We own concession property there and are waiting to see when we visit.
What do you suggest? we are trying to buy property between Jaco and Quepos. We have done the internet search and then meet with the agents thing 2 times. One productive and one not so much. We would love to meet with someone who can give us a sampling of what is available and have a source for multiple listings.
Koty
Oh, I forgot to add one more question. I know I can not be employed in a job that could be filled by a Costa Rican but could we get income from rentals? What if we dont plan on getting residency right away. Can we leave the country every 3 months and keep our “Tourist status”?
So, if our plan is to liquidate our assets we would need to show 150,00 in an account. Then we could live on the interest from the money we have in the other accounts? As long as we kept a balance of $150,00? I understand this money must be in a Costa Rica bank, right? Oh, Gosh, I may have to give up my chickens and expensive face goop. Oh, and I guess I will sell my Prada flip flops. Sorry, just a little tongue in cheek humor. Again, thanks.
Hey, everyone I am reading the responses with a smile on my face. What a difference of opinion! I just like chickens because they remind me of how I grew up and they are kind of funny to watch. What are the income requirements anyway? Just thought I would throw out some dream suggestions. I certainly don’t have a nanny here and until recently always drove a little truck. I never did like Tommy Hilfiger and am more of a tye-dye and flip flop sort of gal. I’ve lived out in the country now for some time and have learned to cook and do all of my own landscaping. My vegetable gardening skill is not so great but I do try. We only get to Costa Rica every 6 months or so for 2 weeks and are trying out each area of the country. Keep up the comments, good and bad! Much appreciated!
Ok, I guess I went a little overboard on the last post… sometimes I get to dreaming and it happens. My husband is much more realistic. Let me turn this around. If we sold everything here, we would have about 3,000 a month after buying a house and a car. This would not dip into our retirement and actually we may have a little more for the first year or two if my husband gets the severance he is hoping for. So what do you think? Could we do it?
Here is the address he sent me. http://land4u.freefronthost.com/panama/ If I did something wrong the house appears to be in Potrerillos Arriba 20 miles to Boquete for 79,500. 3/4 acre lot with 3 br/2ba hot water and tile. Mountain view. Hard wood, recently re-done.
Koty
Thank you for all of your input. How do I explain the type of lifestyle I would like, I want a big enough house so that my parents and family could come to visit us in the Winter instead of going to Florida, that I dont have to wash my dishes by hand and that I don’t have to do my laundry every day and can dry it to get the humidity out. I want a pool so my son learns to be safe around water and someone to look after my son on occassion so that his dad and I can have our alone time. I want a car so that we can explore the country we choose to live in. On the other hand, I want chickens to raise my own eggs, want to make homemade granola bars, want to live on more veggies and fish, want to donate to the local school system, and want my son to grow up next to people who are different than he is. I don’t want to forget other places in the world and would like to continue to travel there on occassion. I want to be able to Scuba dive and keep a garden where I can exchange produce with my neighbors. I want to live somewhere where my son can bike without geting hit by trucks and traffic and somewhere that is beautiful enough to help him appreciate how beautiful the world is. I dont need designer clothes but may want to splurge on great skin care products. Does all of this make sense? If and when we move to CR we are really looking forward to establishing another lifestyle and trying to instill in our son those kind of values. We realize that a total “re-set” needs to take place. Who raises those children that live their dream? What were Amelia Earhart’s, Ansel Adams’, and Jane Goodall’s etc….. parents like that made them feel they could do what they loved? I want enough time to learn how to enjoy life more, enjoy my son, have family time, decrease stress, and live more healthily. We want him to to grow up with a view of the world that is much more expanded than the one we are currently living and how we have grown up. We want him to live next to people that are happy but have no money. We want him to learn another language. We have learned that working to live and living to work are two sepparate ideas. We have lived a rather exceptional lifestyle here in the states (worked hard but realize that life can be and should be much simpler)and our important question becomes “why do we want to leave what many Americans would consider to be the “perfect life”. Well the answer is, we have come to realize that life is too short, we have nothing to prove and we are not getting any younger. We don’t want our son to become his parents. Because of some hard work and lucky real estate investments we would only have to work to make some extra spending money and are thinking that some simple rental properties or a little B&B would provide us with the income that we need. It is a very difficult thing for us to give up a “sure thing” and a life that is what many would consider to be what they strive to attain, but we have never bought into the materialistic, suburban, American lifestyle and have found Costa Rica to be the place we want to live. It is the only place I have visited when traveling that I do not want to leave. All of this information and criticism that everyone has given us is very important to us when making this important decision. We appreciate the real life scenarios and detailed financial information.
Thanks!
Koty
