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Thanks for that advice,Chromebuilder. I also worried about thieves and vandals and , while I currently employ a reliable local man to care for the property, adding a house would entail further expense for upkeep. And I am not crazy about building a house just so someone else can live there to keep it safe.

Starting infrastructure is a great idea. I have an extensive servidumbre to gravel and a lot of plantings to do as well. I hadn’t thought of installing a septic system yet but that make absolute perfect sense. What about bringing the electricity and water closer to the site from the road at this time. I don’t know yet if I will need a transformer. (about 70 meters away). I wonder if electricity would be stolen?

As a local professional. do you have a sense of how much construction costs MIGHT increase over the next several years?

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I get the image of a large group of very wealthy people of all nationalities coming together with a common interest which overrides nationalism; that of protecting their wealth and power and increasing it. This would be done at the expense of the workers And it will be done with their assistance as well because North Americans will do almost anything to increase their wealth since materialism and consumerism is the only value system they have been brainwashed to appreciate. Like the frog in the pot of warm water, people won;t realize their peril until the water boils and it is too late. This is why I see it as a done deal. Best thing to do is recognize it and position yourself for the poop storm before it hits.

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I am in a similar situation regards building my house now or later. I posed the same question; build now to avoid increasing costs or invest the money in stocks till I am ready to move to CR? It all boils down to taking action on a whole lot of unknowns.

Will the real estate melt down be bad enough really damage the U.S. economy and so drag the stock market down as we all fall into a major recession? If so, building costs, even in CR, might not rise so very much since demand would decrease substantially. It’s a wash in that scenario.

Or, if the recession is a mild one or maybe doesn’t even happen, stocks may do well but will they keep up with a quickly rising building cost?

When we talk about money and investment, we are really talking about how much personal risk we can tolerate. At a high level of risk, you might grow the investment rapidly. At the low end, you may just want to protect what you have. And then you have to consider your life situation as well, immediate needs, future needs…a lot to think about and most of us are in the dark as to what will happen next. Ain’t life grand?

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Alfred, I am not running from a possible currency change. As I said, this is a done deal and Costa Rica, along with the rest of this hemisphere and the world, is going to be subject to all the ramifications. Like climate change, this is an evolution, for better or worse, and there is little you or I or millions of others will do about it now which will have much effect.

We will all have to get acclimated to some pretty draconian changes coming soon and I am betting that being in Costa Rica will be easier than trying to get by in the States. The States are going to see the most dramatic changes. I just don’t have that youthful enthusiasm for civic volunteerism I used to and it is depressingly clear to me that we each have to take care of ourselves now. Good luck, though,in your efforts.

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We have already gone quietly into the night, Alfred. It has taken a few decades of the gradual and inevitable effects of outsourcing production and labor and loosening of immigrant restrictions, legal and otherwise. It’s a done deal. We are just awaiting the official trappings of an all encompassing currency to match the soon-to-be realized all encompassing low worker bee salaries.

Either our rich, masters have played their hand well, or the american people have become quite stupid or blinded by greed or the american dream recently. In either case, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer…this is the REAL end game of captitalism. You did not see this coming and that is why you still believe the american people have a say in this and will create a revolution. Too late. The rich have already had a revolution and they won.

Edited on Nov 28, 2007 10:59

Edited on Nov 28, 2007 11:01

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Seems this is a popular and frequent topic here, whether justified or not. All anyone might hope to get from these inquiries are anecdotal data. Highly personal experiences are not a good base on which to come up with an accurate assessment of crime for the country in general. Crime happens anywhere and anytime on the planet where people congregate.

My take on crime in CR is simple; if you are anywhere in an area where foreign money is present in a notable amount and you look and act like a crime victim, your odds of becoming one will increase a lot. Period. An acquaintance of mine walked the streets of Limon at two in the morning and nothing happened to him because he is a confident, tall and tough looking guy. I never feel threatened because I walk with a certain level of confidence. And I can do that because I rarely walk around with valuables on my person and I do not frequent bars, tourist places or big cities and I retire shortly after dark. :-}

Edited on Nov 28, 2007 11:03

Edited on Nov 28, 2007 11:04

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So is there an appreciable difference regarding investor safety between the U.S. and Costa Rica? I know the rules of the game are always in favor of the big money and that seems to be the case everywhere. That is how big money gets bigger and stays bigger, isn’t it?

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Cycles are pretty easy to read in the stock market as well. I think most would agree we are about to slip into a steep downturn soon. CR real estate may well still be in the ramp up mode right now…but for how long? The market for CR real estate is world wide and is subject to all the macro economic pressures that the market reacts to as well.

Money migrates, following these cycles. If you are not quick enough to be at the head of the pack, you will miss out and even lose out. Being at the lead of the pack requires courage to be able to withstand the inherent risk, vision enough to see where the money WILL be going and knowledge enough to manipulate the mechanisms of whichever arena in which you will participate. That last bit is the tricky one for me. I wish I knew more about Costa Rican real estate but I believe that take years to acquire. Money form the stock market is going to be looking for a place to park very soon. That may help in CR. I am just not sure that real estate still has a long run up down there.

Edited on Nov 19, 2007 08:37

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You’re right, there is no good reason to expect SS just because I paid into it and it is my money. That money was confiscated from me and other taxpayers by the U.S. government, used for decades to pay for wars, tax breaks for the rich, corporate welfare, etc..

But hey, why not just let Uncle Sam keep it along with my passport. I would then have the right to travel to Cuba or anyplace else without having to worry about the US government putting me in jail for doing so.

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Timing is everything. This is as true in real estate as it is in the market. If you get your valuations correct and buy and sell in a timely fashion, it shouldn’t matter whether your assets are physical or paper. You make a valid point, though, about the market. I think it is heavily rigged. I suspect there are equally large hurdles to overcome in the Costa Rican real estate market as well, though. I guess it just depend which arena is in a good cycle.

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I can’t collect my social security in Cuba. Costa Rica doesn’t grant citizenship to foreigners except under special circumstances and there is no other country I want to move to besides Costa Rica.

One needs travel documents. If you know a way to get a Costa Rican passport short of marrying a Costa Rican, let me know. Also, think of the relief of not having to file all those pesky US tax forms. :-}

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Well, I don;t see any reason to keep a U.S. passport if one is of the opinion that the U.S. is hopelessly lost and unlikely to change in my lifetime. On the other hand, how does one go about giving up a passport and are there any advantages to doing so besides bolstering your moral position?

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I would not object to surrendering my passport. Who wants it? I would love to get the U.S. government out of my life entirely.

Armies are a destructive force. They are designed to be that. Keeping armies for defense is just plain BS. The Indians proved that by managing to oust the British colonials without using an army.

Soldiers are the responsible parties for all the miseries of war. Go ahead and blame the politicians if you want, but if there were NO SOLDIERS, there would be no armies to burn and kill everything in sight. The bottom line responsibility falls squarely in the laps of every individual. If you pick up a gun to defend or promote your way of life, you are
joining an omnipresent evil force at play in he world.

Is it unrealistic to believe a country can exist without an armed force? Apparently not. Costa Rica is managing so far. And if I were a Costa Rican, I would resent being told that I am being protected by the United States. I would resent it because it implies two lies; 1) Costa Rica NEEDS protection. 2) Costa Ricans are not capable of self defense by diplomacy and reason.

Regards U.S. assistance with equipment for the intervention of drugs, that is done for the interests of the U.S., not for Costa Rica.

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Thanks much, Jeff. An associate of mine in CR who sells real estate tells me money grows faster in CR real estate than in the NY stock exchange. I have no reason to doubt him but I know nothing about real estate in Costa Rica other than basic procedures for purchasing my property. I do have a smidgen of knowledge about stocks, though, and so I keep my money there.

However, like most people, I am expecting a turn down in the stock market. It will very likely go flat for a while. Money should not sit still ever and among some of the choices as to where to park some of it is in the construction of my home in CR. I have also noted quoted increases in estimates per square footage for construction in the Central Valley. It seems like it is about just under 20% since last year. If the trend were to continue, and I don;t see why it wouldn’t, the same house I contemplate building today will cost twice as much to build in 5 years.

Even if I believed the stock market were to remain on an upward trend, I could hedge the bet by getting a loan to build now and leave all money in stocks. Interest on a loan in CR is around 8%, far below the probable construction material cost increases. The only hesitation I have is that my investments would be a little on the heavy side in Costa Rica. Never good to put all, or even too many eggs in one basket. Much to think about and where Costa Rica is concerned, it is hard for me to keep emotion out of the equation.

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There should be a tax benefit to go along with land investment as well. The costs of any trips made to CR should be deductible.

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