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Diesels12 in what area are you building homes? I am interested in talking to you about a project. Please send me your email or phone number for contact and let me know where you are working.
I have also heard Mario Garita is a great dentist. Also higher priced than some of the other dentists in the area. Depending on what you need done it may be worth it to pay a little more and get top quality work. Marios credentials are very good. Studied at Univ of Miami and was associate professor there. My wife has a appointment to see him next week. I cant vouch for his work at this time but he has a great reputation.
Thanks for the info Scott. There are more and more expats moving in on Puriscal unfortunately. I have a couple of recommendations but want to survey all of the options available. The gringo builders in the San Jose area want way too much money to get the job done. I am looking for local architects or high quality Tico builders. I would like to know what builders George is using.
Thanks for the info everyone. I would hate to have to pay US insurance premiums to keep coverage on pre existing conditions but do US health insurance policies cover care in CR? Does anyone have any information on whether any temporary policies will cover pre existing conditions? I only need coverage until my residency goes through and I can get Caja coverage.
The risks of investing can be avoided by doing your homework. A great start is Scott Olivers How to Buy Real Estate without losing your camisa. A very valuable tool to making sure things are done right. Also make sure to hire a independant atty. Do not just deal with a realtor and have the realtor advise you on who you should hire for the legal work. Make sure a complete check is done at the Registro by a reliable source. I dont think you have anything to worry about losing money on a investment. If you look around and find a good deal on property there should be no problem.Just make sure you have a good legal rep to check things out for you. The best advise is dont just deal with one realtor. Keep your eyes open and look at everything there is out there. Work with several realtors, ask the locals, and just pick the property that you feel is right for you. Central Valley property is going up on a average of 30 percent per year. Sure the prices are not going down anytime soon but there are still good deals to be found. Just dont believe that the prices are as bad as advertised on websites and newspapers. Better deals are not advertised and can be found by talking to the locals. Hope this helps.
Run fast. Things are getting ugly in the states. As of Jan 17 you will need permission to come or go. What happened to the land of the free? Very sad situation.
Dont know anything about Guy but did inquire about some of his properties online with no response either by phone or email. I recommend checking all the realtors in town. Also ask around to find out what the locals have to offer. Check with Michael Dodson (puriscal online) and Miguel Castro (Green Mangos). Those two were the most helpful to me when looking for property in the area. One of the earlier people stated that they had used the atty recommended by the realtor. I would be sceptical about that since it could be a conflict of interest. I would use my own atty in any dealing in CR. I highly recommend Garland Baker with costa rica expertise to check any property you are interested in purchasing and recommend Allan Garro from Cartago as a excellent real estate atty. I would check out what Guy has to offer as well as everyone else. I think it is not so much who sells you the property it is who you have research it and make sure things are done correctly. This is vital in CR. Tread lightly with anyone.
As far as Puriscal being prone to earthquakes that is true but many people have lived there for many years with no significant problems. The land slide situation is mainly a result of deforestation. If this is a concern. You can contact Manuel Viquez with El Mundo Forestal who can do a environmental evaluation on your property. Extremely professional and knowledgable. He did a complete evaluation of my property including recomendations of trees, plants ect, identified problem areas ect. Put everything on CD ROM. Very good guy to work with.
I love Puriscal. It still has a very traditional costa rica feel. Good luck in your search.
Lot prices vary greatly according to area and who you are selling to. There are many people selling very high priced properties to gringos that dont know any better. Often they find Ticos selling property for cheap and buy the property and jack the price up and advertise to gringos. There are still deals to be had in CR contrary to what is advertised on websites and newspapers. Ask around the town where you are interested in getting land. Look at everything from everyone and then make your decision. 90 dollars a sq foot sounds extremely expensive. I recommend paying by the job and purchase your own materials. Get receipts for everything and always be on site. Do not attempt to construct anything that you can not supervise. For 90 dollars a sq foot you should be able to build the Taj Majal. Ask around town about builders also. Word of mouth is your best bet. Find the people who are satisfied with their construction. Good Luck
To me it seems like a trade off. Walmart may bring more jobs but also causes many folks to lose their jobs. Just like in the states Walmart moves in with rock bottom prices because they can buy in bulk. The result is many independant businesses cant compete. For the locals this is not good. It creates more dependancy on imported goods and large corporations. Not a good proposition. If CAFTA does pass then this will be the norm. More dependancy on overseas corportations, reduction in the ability of independant business to survive, and reduced independance as a nation. The result in the long run is what we see in the states. High prices for insurance, health care, ect because of the power that those corporations have over the people and influence they have on the government. What other option do you have other than to fork out the money for your insurance, health care, electric ect. You can either pay or do without. Part of what makes CR a peaceful place is the fact that the government has made alot of the basic needs of the people affordable to most of its people. Take that away and you are going to have alot of very unhappy people. Solamente mi dos centavos.
I agree totally with Jenny, You must do your homework. Dont set off to find a piece of property without checking out many different areas. If Grecia or Atenas are not exactly what you are looking for, keep looking. One of the nice things abour CR is that it has something for almost anyone. If you look long enough and travel around you will find your paradise. It all depends on what you are looking for. The best piece of advise I can give you is dont just deal with one realtor. Check out properties that all realtors have to offer. Ask around town and everyone has a uncle with property for sale that is not listed. Word of mouth is your best bet on getting a good deal on property. Many properties are overpriced targeting the gringo population. Get to know the locals and if you can have a local ask around for you
As far ss Puntarenas. I would not stay there. I would keep going south to Esterillos, Manuel Antonio, Dominical or my favorite coastal area Uvita.
Pura Vida
I agree with Maravilla. You have much more to worry about with the political climate in the states. As far as crime I dont think you have anything to worry about since there is no way the crime is any worse than in NYC or Vegas. CR has significantly lower violent crime than in the states. I guess a violent government breeds violent citizens and a peaceful government breeds peace in its citizens. I would not worry about Ortega or Chavez. Be more worried about influence from the states. CR managed to do alright when things were pretty damn bad in Nicaragua and Panama. As far as crime, like you said if you are aware of your surroundings and know not to leave your 500000 dollar gringo house unattended you should not have a problem. Most of the people that fall victim to crime in CR are people that were not aware of the basic rules when in any city or unfamiliar place around the world. Many go about their lives as they would where they came from, failing to realize that they must adapt to the way of life in a different country.
As for a recomendation on hotel in San Jose that all depends on price you want to spend, what kind of accomodations you want, whether you want to be in the city or in the suberbs ect. I like Pico Blanco which is on the south side of Escazu (san antonio de escazu). It is a little drive from the airport(maybe 20 or 25 min). Their rates are good and the air is much fresher than staying in the city. I used to stay alot at Buena Vista on the road to Poas from Alejuela. That is closer to the airport and puts you closer to the main highway to drive to Puntarenas. The prices have gone up since they opened several years ago. Nice place though and very nice people there. Montezuma is a short 15-20 min drive from Tambor. The roads were not good the last time I went. Malpais is also not very far away but a little more drive than Montezuma.Good luck and have fun.
John
