[tracymartin]

Mara, that’s a tad judgemental and after a year on this forum I would not build anything in CR. That would be a purchase price near the beach. And who would complain about me starting a small business and hiring a few locals?
Maybe I was in the wrong restaurants, but I didnt see many “flashy” people on my visit, maybe they didnt wear their Jimmy Choo’s because of the rain and mud, but what I saw was smiling faces at the gringos and anger towards the Nicos.
But it doesnt matter, I am making no plans until the final word comes down

[tracymartin]

Even the talk of pending changes has me re-thinking my plans. Yes plunking 300k in a bank account is crazy and with the mess in the US financial world, even well-off folk would think twice about that. I was planning on a home in the 3-4 hundred thousand range and a small, seasonal business, buying a truck, dinning out and having friends come visit. The ultra rich won’t come to open small businesses and might only be around a few weeks a year to employ staff.
Whatever the outcome of the final law is, just the talk is scaring people away. For the kind of money the CR gov is talking about I can get a very nice beach house in Tortola or Virgin Islands (300K for a house, 300K in bank and 150k for biz), about an hour and half flight from where I live. Maybe CR can replace Pura Vida with Pura Greeda.

[tracymartin]

Depending on the value, I’d take a private jet, you can flatly arrange them(if sealed) in a carry-on. I have already given this some thought, you can check some of the services like jetflex or put the word out at the jetports that you’d help pay to catch a lift to SJ or Liberia anytime if your schedual is flexible. Put an ad in the paper, jet travel can be pricey even for rich folk, so picking up a few extra bucks for gas is a good thing.
My ex took the jet down, he had to stop in Cancun, but said they didnt do any kind of big search.
My only other thought is even if all currencies collapse, I dont think Costa Ricans care too much about gold as a trading tool, like it might be used here and getting gold back out of the country could be even more difficult

[tracymartin]

Can someone explain the “duty free zone” to me please. On a different note, I was surprised at the high costs’ of living outlined by many members here and what I observed on my trip, everything from cars, to gas, to food, I imagine the impact it will have on the local population if things stagnate over the next year or two. What did the CR people do before the influx of outsiders (construction, hotels, service, etc)

[tracymartin]

This is my experience, if you have a real estate related business or LLC in the states, any trip that you can document time spent with real estate personel can be a business deduction-not sure if it’s a percentage or what exactly the amount, including flight and food and lodging.
My accountant says this can be a red flag (obviously or everyone would write off vacations) so careful documentation is needed. You can set up an LLC for around 500$, so if you need to take multiple trips looking for property it can pay off. It would need to be income, business or rental in some form (wink wink) and it would only matter if you do buy something and have a tax bill. But it could take two or three trips to find something. Now my ex-husband went to CR a few years ago looking at teak plantations, not houses but still wrote-off the entire trip as a business expense.

[tracymartin]

The trend is also for commodities to come down in prices, but I do think some of the coastal tourist regions will see an impact, including some of the big projects that are in the works. I think some of the growth with the big hotel and condo/resort projects will see a slow down, simply because the US banks are no longer handing out money for anything speculative.
I dont know what portion of CR’s economy is tourism, but the train wreck in progress here will to some extent impact travel and vacation, even rich folk are reigning in, my retirement account lost 15grand in September, October will be just as bad!

[tracymartin]

You will not find that in the Flamingo, Potrero, Tamarindo area. I just returned from that area and the beach part was the highest on my priority list, but the prices are much higher and there arent alot of big tracts available, but you can find: homes with enough space for a garden, a social life, surfing (Tamarindo)and plenty of stores, restaurants, etc. in walking distance. Anyone familiar with the Jaco area-I see the home prices there are more reasonable?

[tracymartin]

Arent there HSBC branches in the US? and could you put dollars into a US branch and move it to CR-without the wire transfer process?

[tracymartin]

A Samurais?Probably would not have been my first pick, but what you say makes sense! I wish I could just find a way to get my horse down to CR! How about a modified 4 wheeler, adapt an enclosed cover for when it rains, I saw a herd of horses, backhoes, a herd of cows, ATV’s all traveling around on the main roads, no one seemed to be concerned!

[tracymartin]

So how much would one of these cost in CR. I can tell you here the big SUV’s are selling for peanuts-with the gas prices and again how do you best car shop in CR? thanks

[tracymartin]

Do you mean in the states? My mortgage banker says they still have home loan money, as do some of the other small, local banks, I’m here in Asheville NC, where there is a Wachovia on every corner, no $ from them!
Where I see the upcoming problem is everywhere you look in my area there are commercial projects, either completed and mostly empty or in some phase of construction (strip malls etc). Those projects have been using our small, local banks and I suspect they will be in serious trouble in a few months. No one is starting small business and I can predict a ton of others going out. This area also saw very rapid residential development, the Florida developers bought up acreage and slapped in neighborhoods, again in various stages of completion, I think the small banks will be holding onto their cash and the bigger guys dont have any.

[tracymartin]

I will be around Flamingo and Potrero, the main road to Liberia was fine, but some of the side roads would suck up a volkswagen. I would probably get a 4-wheeler too, for romps around to the markets and beach-since anything is street-legal!

[tracymartin]

thanks, I have never had a diesel before. hyundai’s and mitsubishi’s arent very popular in my neck of the woods, so I dont know anything about them-I would probably lean toward a truck, are the prices the same as here in the states?(although, lately you can get a brand new truck for practically nothing because of the gas shortages and no loans) Do any of the dealerships have listings on-line or how do you shop for a vehicle or do you make sure there’s a repairman for a particular make near your location first!

[tracymartin]

Can retirement be at any age, if I am no longer paying into SS? So, theoretically, I move my 200k monopoly dollars into a self-directed IRA and with that money and some more cash (my “income” property is more than 200k) I purchase a “rental” property and proceed to rent it out until I retire? Sorry if I’m being slow.
I seem to recall my neighbor who spoke about this mechanism said that not all investment folk did this sort of thing and it had to be a special agent who specialized in the fine points of the tax codes-his special agent is in Ft.Lauderdale-Is this your same understanding? Thanks so much

[tracymartin]

It almost smells like a conspiracy….the ultra rich stay rich and the laborers keep them in cheesy-poofs. Why did the slaves build the pyramids? The roads in Rome? In retrospect, it’s hard to imagine, revolt-rebel there are more of us-we didnt then and we arent now….

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