There are several ways to go about creating the house of your dreams in Costa Rica. Here is the one I took – a path less traveled.

I was one who didn’t follow any of the sage advice about buying a place in Costa Rica. Now don’t get me wrong. I believe in Sage Advice! I’ve even given it! But at this time, in this place the events superceded the advice and I simply followed through.

The experts say:

• Rent first. Rent a place in Costa Rica before you buy in order to get a feel for the neighborhood, the country, the culture.
• Avoid making quick decisions about a place until you’ve researched thoroughly.
• Don’t let your emotions get ahead of your logic in making a decision.
• Use western trained builders and architects for designing and building.

I didn’t.

I bought the 35+ year old vacant, termite ridden Tico house for $50,000 on a quarter acre of wooded land overlooking San Isidro de El General in March, 2008.

I thought about it for 10 minutes. I won’t get into it here, but a Morpho butterfly had something to do with my snap decision.

The house amenities included a working toilet, a telephone land line, a cold shower and two electrical plugs. The only more or less horizontal surfaces in the house were the floor and toilet seat.

My son Tim, who helped me buy it marveled that it was “Mom’s hovel with a million dollar view”. Having arrived with little cash after my New Mexico home foreclosure, I figured I would earn the money to make the place livable over time.

At least I would have a completely paid for leaky metal roof over my head while I did it. I moved in Christmas Eve, 2008.

For the next two years I taught watercolor workshops in Costa Rica and in the States to make the money to do the projects I decided I needed before I could tackle the big one — the house!

By Christmas, 2010 my little lot with a broken down house contained two cabinas with private bathrooms for students and guests, a beautiful covered rancho/studio with a full kitchen, vegetable and flower gardens, concrete walkways and an infinity deck looking out over the city.

My tired but anticipatory eyes turned toward the Tico House.

Builders and others who saw the house suggested that I tear it down and start over. “It’s not square!” they said. “It’s too close to the road” and “You can build what you want for just a little more.”

“But it has character and history and is part of this community” I replied. I felt it important to preserve the house’s size, style and sense of place. After all, I was relocating into a Costa Rican neighborhood; not an American suburb.

Before starting I heard the warnings and horror stories about Tico house builders and their inability to build to western standards or follow architectural plans.

My decision to hire local expertise was based first on my limited resources, secondly on my desire to work with my neighbors and thirdly on the fact that I would be right here every day as part of the ‘team’ and overseer.

I also have to admit that I loved the challenging idea of rebuilding a Tico house to fit my lifestyle and needs — practically as well as aesthetically.

The Project.

Because I trusted my Costa Rican neighbor and builder Oscar and loved the outdoor kitchen he had created in the studio, I approached him and explained what I envisioned in my rudimentary Spanish and elaborate hand gestures.

Basically I wanted a new house built on the old foundation. The floors and concrete knee walls would remain. The kitchen and bathroom remodeling with new fixtures, tile and cabinets would come later. I asked him for the estimate for the work to include:

• All the termite ridden wood removed and replaced.
• New grounded (what a concept) electrical wiring throughout.
• New plumbing in the kitchen and bathroom.
• New wall structure of metal, clad in wood or dry wall upon the existing concrete knee walls with glass block added in the bathroom.
• New, higher roof (5 ft. higher in the center) with attic space over the bedroom,office and bath and a finished, insulated (for noise redux and heat transfer) ceiling over the rest.
• Some wall changes inside — one wall removed for a larger studio area and one moved to enlarge a bedroom and make the adjacent office smaller.
• Extended,guttered overhangs and a manageable water run off plan that works. (The frequent house flooding was getting very old) This included a new water culvert beneath the concrete carport floor.
• New windows in the kitchen and bathroom area to replace the existing slatted wood openings.

Oscar disappeared down the road to his house to call around, check prices and come up with a figure for the house rebuilding. I had no idea what to expect….but was hoping.

Please make sure you come back next week to read Part II when Jan will write about the contract and the 4 month building process during the dry months of 2011.

You can enjoy the following articles in this series written Jan Hart:

1. Rebuilding a Tico House in Costa Rica – Part I. A path less traveled.
2. Rebuilding a Tico House in Costa Rica – Part II. The contract.
3. Rebuilding a Tico House in Costa Rica – Part III. The bottom line and some thoughts.

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Jan’s workshops are open to all levels of experience and include opportunities to see and experience the life she lives. Her book, The Watercolor Artist’s Guide to Exceptional Color is a widespread favorite among watercolor painters and published in 5 languages.

If you have ever dreamed of living in a place that’s as close to a tropical paradise as you can find … Please contact our Recommended Costa Rica Realtors James Drews, Daveed Hollander and John Wieland by using the simple form below:

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.