Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
First time license you need to obtain in San Jose. Your current country license, passport and a medical across the street from the issuing office in San Jose, is all you need, along with some cash of course. I think it was $40 bucks, but don’t hold me to that. Don’t worry about the medical, if you’re breathing you’re good to go:)
If you have a motorcycle endorsement on your drivers license, tell them at the drivers license office, if you want to keep the MC license current in CR. They will issue a drivers license and a MC license, separately. My license was from BC and there was no issue at all.
The process is easy if you pay someone to walk you through it. Go on your own, it could be a struggle. It took 10 minutes for the medical and about 20 for the license.
Once you have a license you can renew it in Liberia. Hope this helps.
tracymartin: Al the beach areas run just about together in this area from Playa Samara to the Papagyo. You really need to just pick a spot to stay at, then start your hunt. Good luck.
tracymartin: Sugar Beach is fairly far from Playa Grande. If you want to be near Playa Grande you should stay in Playa Grande or Tamarindo. This is a great place in PG. http://www.hotelbulabula.com/
Sugar beach is closer to Potrero. About 45 minutes or so from Playa Grande.
Centaur5: I have lived here permanently for fours years and agree with Scott. All the Ticos I have ever met are definitely non-confrontational. I have let workers go from my job site for one reason or another and the next time is see them, it’s pura vida.
I’m told they like Canadians the most though:)
Retired Couple – Playa Grande, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Electricity – $220. with the pool pump running 8 hours a day
Add: $100. per A/C unit if you run them. We have them, but don’t use them. We like it hot…but our visitors use the A/C in the cabina. Yep $80-$100 is accurate.Water – Just went up 500%. We pay $25. per month. We recycle our water to use on the plants. My neighbours pay around $80. per month for water.
Property Taxes – $300. per year (will go to about $2500-3000 with new tax system)
Internet – $72. per month thru ICE (high speed)- lame service (slower packages are less)
Cable – $20 per month (Amnet)
Gas for Cooking – $10. per month
Telephones – Cell $10. per month
Regular line $6. per month
Fuel for the car – $60. per week (live in the booneys, you gotta drive)
Food – $400. per month
Private Medical $110. per month for two
Vehicle Insurance/permits – $180. per month
House Insurance $90. per month
This would be for April 2008. Hope this helps
Guru: The tax man is here… right now CR is revamping the tax regulations to mirror that of the USA. The CR government has hired a USA firm working on both income and property tax. Lucky for us here, they ran out of money to continue…so far.
terrycook: I do not require anyone at my property, I was replying to another post made by Sprite. I was suggesting a house sitter.
ticobell: Sorry I do not know anyone that could inspect your project in that area. Yes, building sooner than later will put you ahead of the game. The cost of building in CR isn’t going down, only up. I predict that once the current over stocked condo market in Guanacaste anyway, is sold out, our building costs, in this area, will be more than the USA or Canada in the next four years. Good luck with your project.
Sprite: Most of the foreigners building in our area are part-timers. They hire property managers and pay lots of $$$ to maintain the property. Taking care of property, even a small property in CR is just about a full time job. If you have the money now and can build with cash, I say build now and have a person or family house sit. Build your house so it is just about damage proof.
A few of the older rental houses around here are built like that. No upper cabinets, concrete furniture, well that’s a whole different topic. Any way the idea is to build it so that the least amount of damage will be done to it.
There are many families that you could work out an agreement with to house sit for you. This way you will get in when prices are still reasonable and your property will continue to increase in value.
Like I mentioned, this is if you have cash.
Remember 1981 when interest went to 18%+. Prices dropped drastically and people bailed. The USA is having a rough time now, but you can bet it will turn around as it did in the late 80s. Even though not much is selling right now, all across CR they are continuing to build, because investors know CR is going to boom. This early stage is just a sign of what is about to come.
I am no investment or real estate guru, but from my real estate experiences, I have learned that the market goes up and down and since 1981 anyway, the up and down fluctuation hasn’t missed a beat.
Folks such as yourself, that want to live away from the crowds are now buying in areas such as San Ramon, Naranjo and so on. A few years back, gringos weren’t looking at the types of properties they are looking at now. Foreigners are buying where property is cheaper, away form the beaches. They are moving in!
The Flamingo Marina $91 million, hotels in the millions are being built. Huge houses, some mansions are being built, shacks are being built, foreigners are even sticking shipping containers on lots to live in, in Costa Rica. They’re building a McDonalds in Naranjo. CIMA is building a hospital in Liberia. A huge complex across from the Liberia airport is just being finished, huge! All kinds of big money projects are taking place right now, even though the USA has slowed in some markets.
All this is going on because investors and developers are making CR very attractive for foreigners and the government of CR is going right along with them. For these reasons and many more reasons, I see the value of both land and constructed properties going out of sight and out of reach for many folks who dream of living in paradise.
The Gringos are coming, Sprite and lots of them. As sad as it is, this beautiful little country is being flatten by development, which will continue for decades. Prices won’t be going down, material and labour won’t be going down. The new property valuation in CR will be here soon, the new income tax system is coming, your property taxes will increase dramatically, water is going up, electricity costs increasing, roads are being paved, Ticos are learning english, lots of them, all preparing for the influx of foreigners.
Mark my words Sprite. When the USA turns around the gringos are going to hit Costa Rica like a title wave.
Hope this helps and don’t worry about the 30%. Use the right people, build the right way and you will save far more than the 30%, which I am sure only applies to some products, not the overall costs.
Tip: Buy when no is buying, sell when no one is selling!
GringoTico: I live permanently in CR as a legal permanent resident. I have lived here for four years, traveled throughout CR and know many Costa Ricans, Nicaraguans, Gringos and other folks from different countries. I cannot add anything to your statements, they are 100% correct in my experience here in CR.
Last Saturday at 4 AM we had a home invasion three doors down from me. Two days ago two Ticos, were robbed on the beach. These are normal activities around this area.
I have a Tica friend who lives near me in a totally Tico community, not a Gringo in sight. Her neighbour was robbed at gun point. Her son is in jail for trying to defend himself against an attacker.
I could go on forever about the incidents in Guanacaste, in the San Ramon area and in other areas where there are or are not gringos, all having the same story and all having the same out come. If people want to know about crime in CR, simply read the papers.
I think Sprite and others on this forum hit the nail on the head when they said “be aware”. No matter which country or community you live in, you have to be aware of your environment.
One thing is for sure, crime will never, no matter where you are, go away. There is no such thing as good crime. Now I am a flag waving, patriot, that is true and I am a black and white thinker, that is true, but I am also a person that believes in solutions.
A better thread than a story telling thread on which nationality is committing the most crime in Costa Rica, could be one where each person on here could mention a “be aware” solution or solutions, so that other members could learn how to prepare their own plan of action, to either prevent crime or to take the appropriate action if necessary, while they are visiting or living in Costa Rica.
I bet Scott could add another excellent article to this site from the ideas and solutions gathered from that thread.
He could call it WeLoveCostaRica.com – “Be Aware Program 2008”
Buy the way, nothing has changed since you were here last.
Sprite: I can’t believe you stooped to driving a car. What’s up with that?
Once again you missed the point…
“Apparently by coincidence, President Oscar Arias also called top security officials at the national level to meet the following day to discuss Costa Rica’s nationwide crime problems, saying he believed crime is the number one concern for Costa Ricans.
Mr Arias’ brother and Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias, who called the issue “a national emergency,” said the government was going to “scrape the pot” to find extra funding for the nation’s police forces and the judicial system. “
Who cares what crime is like in Miami, we’re talking about Costa Rica.
Try to grasp the concept in these two statements Sprite:
1. crime is the number one concern for Costa Ricans
2. a national emergencyPS. I heard a pedestrian found a sock on the back road to Naranjo, what colour was the sock you lost?
Here is a story that might interest you. http://www.thebeachtimes.com/article.php?id=2&at=1952
Video Lady:
Don’t build without all the proper permits and approvals, ever! I have been through the permit situation you describe many times also involving environmental approvals through SETENA, forestry permits through the MINAE office in Santa Cruise and MINAC authorization in the Las Baulas Park, here in Playa Grande.
All the institutions are hard to deal with in Costa Rica, as they are in British Columbia, Canada. First, what ever you do, do not build without all the proper permits. Without knowing the details of your project, I suspect that all the required documents have not been submitted properly.
Permits are time consuming and in CR every “T” has to be crossed and every “I” dotted. Authorities are sticky about this for a reason. If they do something incorrectly you can be assured it will come back to bite them.
I have dealt with the Municipality of Santa Cruz on many occasions and find them easy to deal with, if you have everything in order. My guess is that something is missing or not correct with your application.
Tell me more about your situation and I can probably steer you in the right direction.
Does your project require and environmental study? Are you cutting trees on the property? Do you have health approval? Water approval? Are you registered with SEGURO? Do you have INS insurance? Do you have all the documents submitted properly as requested by each institution?
Speedo5:
This is where you will start to save money. Before I get into laying the block though, I want you to know that if you shop for all the materials you are going to use in your construction, you will save far more money than if you just order a pre-fab. Pre-fabs still require all the items that are going to make up the price of your home or cabina. Shopping for and getting the best price for such items as wood, ceramic, fixtures, toilets, sinks and other items, can save you a bundle.
On with laying the block. From the construction I see in Guanacaste, the block is laid very rough in comparison to the way we lay block in Canada. You need to have the block layers, lay the block with your electrician and person doing the plumbing on site, as the block is laid. As each row goes up, they need to determine where the electrical and plumbing rough-in goes and they need to install the rough-in pieces, as the block wall is raised. Normally in Guanacaste, they install the rough-in both electrical and plumbing, after the block is laid. I won’t dare get into the problems this causes, but I can tell you it’s expensive and in Canada, would not meet the building code requirements.
The advantages of doing it the way I just explained are, you save time and the job is neat. Best of all, it’s done. No going back. The block needs to be laid level and plumb. The mortar at the joints need to be what I call finished. The block layer takes a hand broom and as he lays the block he knocks of the excessive mortar. This leaves both the interior wall side and exterior wall side smooth, the mortar isn’t sticking out.
You want to do this because you will save lots of material and time when finishing the walls. There are other tips at this stage that can save you money.
At this point, it is my guess that you will have saved enough money, to be at the stage where the money you would save on a pre-fab, makes building the way I have described, equal.
I’ll leave this thread alone now, but one thing my building in Costa Rica experience has taught me – Hire the right people… even if it costs a little more!
Hope this helped.
Fred:
This is the person that can find out any ICE realted information in Costa Rica. She is the communications manager for ICE throughout CR. She communicates in Spanish and English.
Aurora Monge Torres
Subgerencia Sector TelecomunicacionesAlso, if you are in Nicoya, you can go to the ICE office and meet with the manager in charge of what ICE calls “Planification”. This is the department that does the planning to install the internet and phone lines in your area.
Hope this helps.
Edited on May 25, 2008 17:45
