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I have heard/read;
You can own a business and perform certain functions to maintain the business as long as you employ a Costa Rican(s) for the operations. If the real estate people are in business with a Costa Rican, wouldn’t that mean they were working legally?Thank you, David. I have read quite a bit on this topic already and your experience is right in line with what I have seen so far. A larger consideration for me is whether or not to begin construction earlier than planned in order to avoid rising material costs. The down side to that is not being able to be present during the construction which I consider of utmost importance. Lots to consider for me here.
Maravilla,
This is what I have been told…that the “under roof” space is what is quoted and it is not an arguable point with contractors. I have also read that a north american style home with granite counter tops and quality ceramic and stone tile throughout will cost between $50 and $75 a square FOOT. I am not sure if this means a steel roof with no ceilings or if this is for tiled roof and lowered ceilings. I am interested in steel roof and no lowered ceiling with a laurel wood covering on the roof interior.
I am still debating myself over whether to have a garage or simply a covered parking space perhaps under a 2nd story deck. If, however, the cost difference is minor, why not just spend the extra $5 or $6 thousand for the walls? This also enters into the security questions. A garage conceals whether or not someone is home. Perhaps for no other reason, a garage may be a good investment.sounds great! But unless one lives in one of the larger communities, I believe personal transport is still important for maintaining a semblance of the north american life style..Mind you, I am not for living just as I do now in Miami. In fact, I am longing to escape this madness as soon as I can and cars are a big part of the nightmare here. In the small farm community where my land is located, I could easily walk or bike the kilometer to the pueblo where I can access a health clinic and a small mom and pop store where I might find some items I need but certainly not all. I will still need to get to San Ramon or at least to Palmares for many many items. That is not a trip I would do by bus or taxi.Also, there is still a lot of CR I want to explore and a car is the best way for me to do that.
I appreciate the huge advantage fewer cars represent and I anticipate changing many of my current consumption habits, some by necessity, others by choice. But it is no small trick to change a life time of habits, especially one so ingrained into americans as the personal automobile. I would be interested to hear if anyone has made a great change in this area after living in CR.I also grew up in Ohio, (Columbus-Westerville) and what I remember most about THAT place was the intense cold and gray skies. We would have a few months of summer heat but that was it. Florida’s climate, even with the heat and humidity is superior to that of Ohio. I would choose Costa Rica coastal heat over Ohio’s frigid weather any day. But after being exposed to the perfect climate of the Central Valley, I was duly impressed. Eternal spring
is good especially when it is just a short drive to the coast and eternal summer.The short walk to the ocean would be the biggest plus of course. I am an avid sea kayaker and enjoy the benefit of being within a 20 minute drive from my Miami home to the ocean. From my Central Valley home site, however, I estimate an hour and a half to a suitable spot for ocean kayaking. That is a time consumer and I envy you your ability to take the heat and humidity in stride as well as the additional energy costs to air condition your home. The rewards to living so close the the sea are tremendous, I am sure.
So many real estate sites tout the joys of living near the sea and it seems that most of the real estate boom has happened or is still happening along the coast. Prices reflect that. I suspect most north americans who have lived in frigid climates look at the heat as a welcome change. I also suspect most of them would be unable to stand it all the time. Staying indoors with the air conditioner running is not what they may have dreamed about.It is located between Palmares and Naranjo, (Canton Naranjo) to the east of San Ramon with a boundry on the Rio Grande. It takes me about 35 minutes to get to Juan Santamaria airport and another 30 minutes on top of that to San Jose.
I originally contemplated buying on the Pacific coast. I currently live in Miami so am familair with heat and humidity. But after visiting Quepos, I decided that I much preferred the cooler mountains of the Central Valley. I wonder how many north americans really consider the negatives of living at sea level in the tropics. It is OK for the occasional vacation at the beach, but living with heat, humidity and bugs 24/7 for years is another matter.Edited on Sep 03, 2007 14:28
A recent article at this site pointed out that is better to spend more of a budget on the land than on the house when looking at beach properties. That has to be because the ocean view and ocean frontage lots are pretty highly priced to begin with. I am wondering, though, if this principal of CR real estate investment applies to land in the Central Valley well outside of the San Jose area, The land there is so much cheaper that a good piece of property can be had for well under the cost of a North American style house. I paid under $5 a sq mt over a year ago for 12000 sq mtrs with a large flat area for building, a river and a stream and three waterfalls, electricity and city water within 70 meters of the build site. I intend to build a house there for quite a bit more than the land cost but I did not go into this with a flip in mind, It is not an investment.
Darwinism will modify the crazy motorcyclist population in short order. I don’t care how much gas costs, I am getting a Toyota FJ Cruiser so I can watch the mopeds and motorcyles bounce off of my SUV and into the culverts where they can no longer threaten other lives.
Ticos are lovely people but are also a bit immature relative to other cultures. It appears many of them drive like drunk teenagers with tempers.LO JACK available there? Incredible! I wonder what the recovery rate is?
Which anti theft devices, if any, have you installed? Do you know any stories about LO JACK effectiveness in retrieving stolen cars there?Thanks again, David, for some good info.
I need to do some research into just how advanced car thieves are in CR. I use a steering wheel club here in Miami. That device can be cut but it does require a special blade or else a tow truck to cart the car away so would only be useful against a casual thief. We have had one car stolen in Miami recently but it was recovered in a matter of hours due to the hidden anti theft device (LO JACK) which when activated, transmits a signal to police. (Obviously this would be useless in CR)Bureaucratic nightmares in recovering a portion of a loss almost makes the insurance a waste of time especially if that insurance is costly. Better care in guarding a car from theft is of course the best measure one can take. I am considering the possibility that it may be the ONLY measure worth taking.
It says that service is only spotty OUTSIDE the Central Valley. So far in my limited visits, I have had access to high speed internet everyplace I have stayed in the Central Valley. In fact, so far, I have not come across any major service or product shortage in the Central Valley. Personally, I cannot find any reasons compelling enough to make living so far away from basic conveniences worthwhile. Some people do. For them, the lack of high speed internet is probably the least consequential of the disadvantages. Lack of quick response emergency services and good health care facilities would be very high on their list of negatives.
I live now in Miami. My property is near Palmitos, a sweet little pueblo if ever there was one. My 12,000 sq meters is about 3 kilometers off the Intramericana almost directly east of San Ramon at about 3200 feet above sea level.
No grand towering mountains or ocean views, rather it has a more intimate and very pretty view across the gulch over the Rio Grande. About a kilometer from my land is a cement place of some sort. It may well be the pre-cast site you speak of.
I come down and stay in San Ramon about every 6 months for a week. I try to talk to as many locals and people in the construction business as I can make time for while I am there. I won’t be building my main house for some time but am seriously considering a small guest house about 750 sq ft.
