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Money doesn’t care about national borders so much, huh? How much increase in foreign investment has there been in Costa Rica in the last 7 years?
Unless you still naively believe that as a U.S. citizen, you have a say in the direction your country is headed, this latest turn has no significance at all.I know nothing of Mr. Chilton or the development but you didn’t mention anything regarding the contractual obligations. How much due diligence did you do prior to doing business? Is Mr.Chilton breaking any of the contractual obligations?
These situations pop up from time to time here and I read them with some interest. Even though I have secured property in CR, I will have future business relationships down there and the Costa Rican system of law seems peculiar to me.
Scott,
I have an acquaintance in the central valley who sells real estate. (He has met you a few times) I bought from him and keep in touch and visit when I am down there. He tells me things are heating up in the area. When last I visited him, he was in the process of deals well into multiples of millions of dollars. It is so tempting to dip a toe into the water right now…….There is a plausible argument being made that South Florida is still playing catch up with other high value real estate markets. Property started out from a very undervalued position in 2000. When the boom hit, it accelerated the rise here to a more fair value in relation to homes in Southern California and the north east where, even with the continuing correction, are still valued at twice as much as South Florida homes.
I’ll bet something similar happens in Costa Rica after the coastal properties top off. The Central Valley will catch up a bit with those high values eventually.
Poppel,
I too am a South Florida resident (Miami) and have a similar insurance and tax situation. My Costa Rican property was reported at a much lower value by the attorney than I paid for it. But even at the full value, it is still peanuts compared to here. I may rectify the reported amount next time I am in CR.I am always encouraged to hear anyone forecasting future home price increases for South Florida. I have read this in a few other places. We have high employment here and better weather than just about anywhere else in the U.S. and foreigners as well as northern Boomers continue to look here for investment as well as retirement.
How much increase will homes experience here and when is the bigger question. My own window is 4 to 5 years. In the meantime, prices here should continue to fall drastically. Most predict an upturn well after next year and perhaps even as late as 2010. Watching this U.S. economy and how it relates to the Costa Rican economy and specifically the real estate markets is turning out to be a real show.
Very insightful, David. I have been thinking along those lines myself for several months now. My designs are shrinking as they evolve. The idea of building a 1000 sq ft dwelling and designing it such that later additions could be added without architectural compromise is also an appealing challenge, although living in a house while it undergoes additions is very uncomfortable, I am told.
Scott posted a Thoreau writing recently which encapsulates a life view which I see as coming back into vogue again soon due to economic realities. The North American penchant for living in large houses of over 3000 sq ft is a ridiculous waste of energy and resources.
I am taking to heart this minimalist life style view in as many ways as I can. Live large in the important ways, and let the material stuff fall by the wayside is difficult, though, after a lifetime of living in a consumer driven culture here.
Thanks again for the wonderful advice.
i used to work with a Paraguayan years ago. He owned some country property there and his plan was to retire early and return to build a home. I haven’t followed Paraguay since that time but there were serious issues for me regarding Paraguay’s political history and cultural attitudes.
Nobody escapes the past and I am so much more comfortable with Costa Rica’s past and present attitudes, politically and culturally. I wish you well in Paraguay, but I prefer the potholes here in Costa Rica because there are so many more important positives here.Chromebuilder,
I value the information I get here, believe me. How much house I can afford to build is dependent upon many factors, not the least of which is construction costs and how well the stock market performs over the next few years since that is the financing. These are two big unknown quantities for me to deal with when designing my home and deciding when to build. The other concerns about moving to and retiring in Costa Rica that americans might have are for me not a problem at all. I am fluent in Spanish, am very familiar with latin culture and I have the land on which to build. The biggest question mark left for me is what kind of dwelling I will be able to provide for myself. And I continue to read horror stories from others who have run into serious cost over runs. I want to be as informed as I can when I start this project.
I always wondered why americans would chose a place like Mexico over Costa Rica. Generally speaking, any of the negatives an american might find in Costa Rican culture or in Costa Rica itself have to be multiplied by a factor of ten when talking about Mexico. Corruption, crime, over population, poverty, bad health care and poor education and even bad weather make me wonder what advantage Mexico could possibly have over CR.
On the other hand, I am thankful all those expats are NOT coming to CR. It’s getting crowded enough as it is down there.
I flushed the U.S media down tho toilet years and years ago. I still read some of the tripe they put out as a source of amusement.
Oh yes, I definitely will be building on my property. I have been spending quite a bit of computer time using professional architectural design software and having a lot of fun creating my own home designs, adapting the size and position of the house to perfectly suit the build site. I do this with a certain amount of frustration since I cannot begin the project for a few more years. I know building costs will rise to the point where the project will cost significantly more by the time I am ready to start.
Square footage cost for my Miami home is $232. Right now, in the Central Valley, it should be between $70 and $90….about a third as much.
One contributing reason may be additonal architect/engineering and administrative costs in Costa Rica. Most people in the States buy homes within large developments where these costs, along with others, are prorated throughout the development. Although, contrary to the above point, I also read that it is more cost effective to build your own home than to buy one already built.
I also bought on my first trip to CR a year and a half ago. I cannot retire for several more years so I am waiting to build. I visited three areas of the country briefly and decided on where I felt comfortable.
But I already was very familiar with the rural latin lifestyle after 25 years of visits to Cuba and Puerto Rico (where I took a wife). I am very fluent in spanish and for me, Costa Rica does not represent a major culture change. I feel very much at home each visit..no surprises so far and I don’t anticipate many, although I feel I am pretty adaptable anyway.
Renting first can be pretty important, though, if you are unsure about moving to CR. I am still amazed that only 40% of expats end up leaving after a few years. It is my impression that most expats do not speak spanish well, if at all, when they move there.
How the other 60% manage to stay and even enjoy it is encouraging.Good point, Scott. I do have more exciting things to do than speculate on the fluctuations
of a minor currency only recently liberated from being tied to the dollar. And I am not really interested in currency speculation. I have my hands full just watching my stock portfolio and the recent 4% change in favor of the Colon is not really a big concern since I have very little money in my CR account.However little that amount is, though, if it is an easy matter of converting my account to Colones, why not? If this is a trend, the 4% could well swell into a 2 digit difference and anyone who is holding a few hundred thousand dollars in a CR account for Residency purposes have already their value shrink by as much as $8,000. I don;t think the dollar is going to rebound significantly over the next several years, if ever. Do you see any large holders of dollars betting that it will?
