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It appears there are differences in banks, we had problems with Banco de Costa Rica, no problem with Banco Nacional. You will need to supply a physical address in CR. We did not have a corporation formed at the time, we were able to use our real estate agents as references, they are long time residents and well known in the community. Usually a smaller branch in a small town is more likely to be helpful than in San Jose or larger towns.
You do not need to involve a lawyer to open an account but you will need at least one (read the threads on this forum) to form a corporation.
Hope this helps.
Ruth
Rich,
Try to get in touch with Minor (cannot remember his last name) through Jim & Rene Aoki at Tico Realty, have seen some of the work that Minor does and he is good and reliable. We have hired him to do our bodega/house at Aguacate and feel confident in leaving him to get on with the job while we are here in CA. If Minor can’t do it for you we stayed in Kase & Wileke’s Cabinas in Tronadora and they speak highly of their contractor and certainly the cabins were very well built.
All the best,
Ruth
David,
You always come to my rescue, thanks.
Cemaco stores are a new one to me but I am sure I can find them. We will actually be in the Tilaran area but plan various shopping trip to San Jose to outfit the house. We are still used enough to driving California distances that a trip to San Jose isn’t bad (as long as we park on the outskirts of the city and use the taxis for transport!)Thanks again and HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Ruth
Just finshed doing this process – went to local sheriff department had them run a criminal check, received notarized letter. Fingerprinting was done in San Jose, none locally.
Hope this helps –
Ruth
bogus1,
apologies for the delay in answering, had a houseful of guests over Christmas and my computer was lost behind a blow up bed!
The major activities on the lake are wind and kite surfing, there does not appear to be much boating at all except for a bit of sightseeing from Fortuna. We plan to build or buy a smallish sail boat and use it for exploring. Since we are not yet living there (our bodega/house is being build now) we haven’t gone into why there is not more boating, but it is probably just because there are not enough interested boaters.
Good Luck with the property hunting – apart from San Jose, it does not really matter where you go – it is all beautiful.
Happy New Year.
RuthBefore you make any decisions you might want to check out the Lake Arenal area, more rural and has quite a large expat population and is absolutely beautiful.
Ruth
Marti –
There is a book available on this site which I have found extremely useful and it has given us concise information about what is required for residency, it is certainly worth what we paid for it – check out “The Legal Guide to Costa Rica” by Roger A. Petersen.
opa
Spent 2 days with Guy, didn’t actually purchase from him as we decided the Arenal area more to our liking. Our feeling was that Guy was one of the good ones, he showed us numerous properties but never tried to pressure us into anything. At the time that we were looking he was extremely busy, there must be others out there who can give you more information.
Good Luck.
Thanks Scott,
We are moving to Arenal area but realize that shopping trips to San Jose will be an ocassional requirement. I don’t need anything special, as long as I can get canvas and paints, the paintable scenery is everywhere so I’m good to go! Might ship what I allready have and plan to add what I need to there. Thanks!
Ruth
Thanks Bill,
In the original post I was thinking Hooka, never heard of smoker with water pan before, look forward to trying one out once we finally get down there on a permanent basis.
Regards,
Ruth
Koty,
If you receive (am presuming you are still in US) Spanish stations on your tv and radio, have them on all of the time you will be suprized how listening to the language used (even if you don’t understand a word) will help. Before too long you will begin pick out single words and not long after groups of words. Read anything you can get your hands on, don’t try to understand what you are reading that will come in time.
Good Luck
Kimyoa
I had to learn Spanish when we moved to ranches in the outback of Paraguay and I found the best learning tools were 1) post-it-notes on EVERYTHING from doors and windows to household supplies etc. 2) Listen to the radio or watch tv in spanish even when you don’t understand a word; it will help to tune your ears to the language and before long you will begin to recognise a word here and there and then whole sentences. 3) Read in Spanish use a dictionary, like the listening, you will begin to recognise words, don’t even try to understand the jist of the article to start. 4) Talk to people, be willing to be wrong, ask them to correct you, don’t be embarrassed most people will appreciate your attempts and be willing to help. The most important phrases you need to know are “Como se dice?” (How do you say?) and “Que es eso?” (What is this?).
Approximately 2 years ago when we started house/land hunting in the Arenal area there was a strawbale house called Casa Salamander for sale on Intertica. I haven’t seen it listed for some time but you might get in touch with Terry Moran or Jim & Rene of Rico Realty and see if they know where it is and who built it.
We had planned a stawbale house here in the Desert of Southern California but local building regulations made it too difficult to deal with within the time constraints we had. If you are interested I can give you a list of websites that cover the subject within the US – also have a number of books which I could bring down when we come later this month. You could “store” them for us until we get moved down.
email me at rfatacg@yahoo.com if you would like more infol.
Ruth
People,
get real – last time we visited Cr I was impressed with the fact that a small pueblo in the hills on the outskirts of Atenas had street lighting – we don’t.Wonder if you have been in business in the States?? Once you have dealt with IRS, SS, EEOC, EDD, State Franchise Tax Board,State Board of Equalization and all of the other State & Federal offices that you have contact with running a business here if you would have the same feeling about doing business in CR. We have spent the last 20 months and $50,000 to divide a 40 acre parcel into 4 – 10 (which according to zoining we should have no problem with as it is zoned for 5 acre parcels) acre parcels and it still isn’t done. Don’t look at only the bad side and think it is eaiser here – it ISN’T.
EXAMPLE – We live 10 miles from Palm Springs, CA and cannot get cable TV nor high speed internet –
If you are going to live in CR , stop making comparisons, deal with what is there.We just can’t wait to deal with the problems you deal with daily –
Tony –
Can only give you the areas I know but – San Jose to Arenal we have driven highway 1, the route that takes you through Sarchi, Zarcero & Quesada (west of Volcano Poas) and the 120 to the east of Poas up through Quesada. The 1 is quickest IF there are no accidents or IF they are not working on the potholes. Watch out for potholes on the 1, there are some big ones! When we were there 6 months ago there were doing quite a lot of work on the stretch between Canas & Liberia, they might have improved things a lot by now. The other two routes are much more scenic but it is easy to get lost so give yourselves time.If you are going around the lake toward Tilaran, after La Fortuna and before Nuevo Arenal there is an unsurfaced 10 or so miles that can be pretty rough but it does get better.
The road from the lake to Monte Verde is a stone base and a real bone shaker, you will have to go slowly.
Find GringoTicos post on this forum about driving in Costa Rica, keep it in mind as you travel, don’t get frustrated, just GIVE YOURSELVES EXTRA TIME, even if you are lucky enouch not to get lost, there are always beautiful vistas and spots you are going to want to stop and have a look at.
That is as much as I can help with – have fun.
Ruth
