Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Also, I would like to add that there are probably many reasons why people move to Costa Rica, but it seems that a lot of people are flocking here because of all the hype about cheap beachfront property and making a killing in real estate. I cringe when I hear the words “my investment”! I’m not into losing money, but making a killing wasn’t my prime motivation — living mortgage free and having less stress were my primary motivators. The idea of living in a glitzy, high-priced gated gringo community really turns me off — it only serves to separate one from the people whose country you invaded! By Tico standards, my house might seem grand, but it’s really humble compared to where I live now where the average home is 8 – 10,000 sq feet. Yes, our CR community has a night guard, but we are not fenced in. I happen to love mingling with the Ticos and don’t want them to view me as a rich gringo who moved here to take advantage of the human resources available, or to snatch up their land just to make money. I want to be PART of the community and not cordon myself off in a little gringo enclave. I’ve seen some of those developments down on the Pacific Coast — I wouldn’t live there if they GAVE me the house. Your biggest worry living like that is how to protect yourself and your goodies from all the have-nots who believe you have too much!!
HAHAHA — that’s great! For me, the fun part is KNOWING you can build an American-standard luxury home for not a lot of money. Then actually DOING IT!
My land costs were just a wee bit more, so when I added in everything — house, land, lawyers (my lawyer’s fees were only a few hundred bucks), architect, excavation, 6 trips to Costa Rica, upgrades on sinks, etc. and a bunch of other piddling expenses here and there, my total cost — for EVERYTHING — is about $51.00 per square foot — where I live in Colorado the cost is $270 per sq foot. So when people start throwing around building costs of $250,000 in Costa Rica, I have to chuckle — just the house I built in Costa Rica would cost $470,000 where I live and the land would be ten times as much! Everyone who has seen my house — especially in the last stages of construction — literally drop their mouths and go WOW! And the bestest thing about all of this is that the house is totally paid for — NO MORE MORTGAGE! And that’s what makes Costa Rica an ideal place to live in my opinion — you can be mortgage free, which immediately eliminates a LOT of stress in our uncertain financial times.
There may be some technicalities to the answer to this question, but the recent rumblings that I’ve heard (because other people I know considered doing the same thing) is that “they” will track you down wherever you are, and if the US gov’t does what it was saying it might do, which is link your financial records to your passport records, then you ain’t getting out of the US if they think you are running away from your debts. Pretty scary, eh? And I believe that if you want to mortgage a house in CR, they use the same credit reporting agencies we do, so really it comes down to you can’t run and you can’t hide because with modern technology, they can find you.
I’m building outside San Ramon. I have no idea of the costs on the coast, but I’m sure it’s a lot more than where I’m building because it’s assumed that if you’re down on the beach, you really ARE a rich gringo and therefore have lots of dinero! My builder has done several houses in my area and I like what he did for his other customers.
HAHAHA — no, I have a house with 6′ ceilings and no plugs!!! Actually my ceilings are 15′ in the living room, kitchen and dining room (all tongue and groove laurel), and 8 feet everywhere else except the long hallway leading to the bedrooms, which is about 12 feet. My walk-in closet is the size of my bedroom in the States. I may use it as a fourth bedroom instead of a closet! LOL I have more electrical outlets than I have things to plug in them. And unlike the stick houses they build in the States, my house will last a lifetime as it is all cement with ribar in every block! My architect charged $1300 for plans, permits, etc. It was another $700 to level my lot for a plantel. Haven’t done any landscaping yet, but I’ve allocated a thousand or so to plant trees.
I would’ve brought it in at $34 and still had a completely finished house if I hadn’t gone high-end on all the fixtures and finishes which added to the basic price. I’ve been told I over-built, and I guess I did get a little extravagant when I bought a $600 travertine sink for my bathroom and then had a glass-tile mosaic of Monet’s Water Lillies done in the master shower, but hey, if I only build this one house then I want it to be a masterpiece. I’m thinking of putting in a lap pool so I can have Van Gogh’s Irises done in mosaic tile on the bottom!
The answer is “no” to the ground clearing, phone, architects fees, appliances, and landscaping. The figure I quoted was just for the house. The water and electricity were already nearby and were hooked up for the price I quoted. What do you mean “american standards”? I have 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, a laundry room, a walk-in closet, living room, dining room, kitchen, fireplace, 540 sq ft terrace, custom wood ceilings, granite countertops, mosaic murals in the bathrooms, travertine sinks, Kohler sinks and faucets, but of course, all those goodies are add-ons because that is what I wanted, so that increased the cost to $38 including all the custom finishes, including handcarved cedar interior doors and kitchen cabinets.
I paid $34 per square foot — don’t know how that translates to a square meter. If you can do the math, let me know what it is.
$400 is CHEAP!!! My first trip to SJO in February 2005 was $286, and the four flights during the year steadily climbed so that the last ticket was $521 from Denver. Check the airlines websites. Check frequently and late at night. I found that going directly to the airlines website saved me about $30 a ticket, plus I got bonus miles for booking directly through them.
I agree with you about towels and sheets — I’m stocking up because I didn’t see any pure cotton sheets with high thread count, but then I also didn’t check any high-end places in Escazu. I’m bringing enough of both towels and sheets that I will never have to buy any as long as I live! LOL
Any reputable furniture maker in CR can duplicate an American sofa. I found sofas in Sarchi that were every bit as stylish and comfortable as the one I have here. You just need to tell them what you want — show them a picture and they will duplicate anything. That’s what I’m going to do for my living room furniture. And tell them MUY SUAVE!!! lol
I found cast iron cookware in a Ferreteria in San Ramon — I only needed a grill pan so that was what I bought. As Scott said, TIPS has every other thing you need — as a former chef, you can imagine how many gadgets and do-dads I have, most of which I will bring with me beause some belonged to my mom and grandmother. I went to every home store in San Ramon looking at what they had to see what I could jettison and then replace in CR — and basically they had everything. Yes, a blender was a little more expensive, but how much does it cost to ship the one I have?
And as for furniture — you can get very beautiful and SOFT couches and chair if you ask them to make them SUAVE!!! MUY SUAVE! Some of the most comfortable sofas I’ve ever put my behind on were in Costa Rica. As for cookware, I found German-made stainless steel cookware in San Ramon — yes it was a little more expensive, but shipping isn’t cheap either. I am bringing my Pai-Pai pottery with me because that can’t be replaced, but everything else can be gotten here.
when I found out what was involved in going to Golfito I decided I’d rather put my face in hot oil. Instead I went right to Monge and bought a stove and fridge for less than $800, which is way less I’d pay for these things in the states. Shop around. Most stores will give you a discount if you pay in cold hard cash as I did — in fact they discounted 17% when I took a Tico with me! When I went in alone the week before, they were only offering me 10%!
