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I’m new to this Costa Rica buying stuff. We’ve only been looking for a few months and got solicited by Paragon Properties. I Googled the company and got some disturbing info. Anybody know anything specific.
We were told that we could buy a 2+ acre tract and subdivide it. We would need to put down 25K. When the tract was completely “built out” the are supposed to gate it to protect from squatters. My question is what about the people who build first and what if it is never completely “built out”. Sorry, I just don’t believe them. It is expensive to Gate a community and If all the property is sold and they don’t have to why should they?Vivian, you’ve answered your own questions. I believe there is a thread farther down on this forum that addresses some of the issues people have had with this company. Ask yourself this: If a similar company were soliciting you in the States, and asked for a large deposit to first look at property, and made lots of promises that you can’t be sure they will honor, and you had the same information about them, would you do it?
Vivian, There is alot of info regarding Paragon. Do a search in the discussion panel, and you will bring up alot of info. There you also do a search in the articles I beleive there is alot of info there as well. Maravilla is correct, you answered your own questions.
not that I’m a fan of Paragon, but to be fair most of the discussions in this forum(regarding paragon) are based on hearsay. Or just a general dislike for the way they do business, but at the end of the day what matters is are the roads and utilities being put in. As we have seen in some cases it appears this is happening.That said I for one would not send anyone I did not personally know $25k just to have the privilege to view a property in a country I may have never been to. You can’t really blame paragon completely, perhaps some responsibility rests with the folks who are foolish enough to do business this way. So far though we have no conclusive proof that people are being scammed out of there money as evidenced by some of the posts on this site. Proceed with caution and don’t forget there still is quite a bit of land in this country, although central pacific property is getting quite expensive!!!
Turn the tables on them.
Tell them you want to see the property without a down payment. Are they going to say no. I think not.
Ask them to pay your airfare if you don’t like what you see cpmpared to what they have developed.
It is true that they have a boiler room in Florida, mass e-mailings and about 6 to 8 websites that push their properties.
I would not like doing business in their manner as a potential buyer.
I told Paragon that I would not send money and did not need them to send me back $500 of my own money to see their project. I was coming anyway. They said that no one would be there to show it and that they would not send someone without money up front. Wow. No sale. I did drive by the gables and see that they started the gate, 2 houses and some grading. After 400 lot sales that seems pretty minimal. Has anyone received a title?
Back in February, I noticed Scott asked a question that nobody has answered. The question was:
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“Can any of you that have purchased land in any of the Paragon projects prove in writing to us that you are indeed the legal owner of that land? That you have full legal title to it?
Because if you can’t find it in the Registro Nacional – as far as Costa Rican law is concerned – you ain’t the owner!”
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Has anyone done this Scott?
After reading all these posts I did my due diligence and bought property from Paragon. I went to Costa Rica I saw it I loved it. I met their entire staff of tour guides, builders, construction people, attorneys and accountants. I am impressed with the professionalism. I am happy with my decision.
I can’t imagine why everyone is being so malicious and looking for flaws. I reserved a lot and sent my $35K to highly respected attorney to be held in escrow until I saw my lot. When I got to Costa Rica I visited their Home Building Center and was driven to Parrita where I saw incredible amounts of roads, a 66 thousand gallon water tank, gatehouses going up everywhere and 2 model homes being bulit that are absolutlely magnificent. I proceeded to pay the balance of the money due and their attorney transferred title was I was in Costa Rica. I double checked to make sure Paragon owned the property; at their request, and discovered all the developments (which is about 3 thousand acres) are not only owned by Paragon but SETENA and INVU have both given permission for building unlike some of the “other developers.”
So why all the maliciousness? What are you trying to do? You haven’t done your due diligence! You haven’t been to the property and you haven’t checked the National Registry. By the way my next door neighbor loved the property but didn’t like Costa Rica so the escrow agent gave him back his $35k and before he left the states he recieved a check for $500 travel expenses.
Why don’t you call Paragon so they can explain to you the enormous costs involved in having several tour guides, surveyors, luncheons, automobiles and ATV’s to make sure that they only show qualified people their properties.
I think is a smart way to business! If seeing is believing then they made me a believer.
Ah! Here is the first one… Out of all the different discussion forums I have read about Paragon Properties, ravis is teh first person to confirm in writing that he has legal title to the land he bougfht from Paragon properties.
Although you sound like a Paragon employee to me… You should know that there is no maliciousness about us wanting to know if we can legally own the land we are paying for but you have answered that for us because you are telling us here in this forum that you do have the title. That you are the legal owner of the land which is great.
Still not sure why anyone with a brain cell would want to pay someone they do not know $35,000 to buy land in a foreign country without even seeing it first? Duh! Maybe that’s how they pay for their tour guides and luncheons huh?
And as you say seeing is believeing so why not follow up with Scott and send him the details of your legal title and I’m sure he’ll do soemthing with it…
I would be happy to examine this with anyone willing to email me their details.
All I need is the real name of ravis, the name of the entity that owns the land and the folio real number of the property and we’ll take it from there…
Best wishes
Scott Oliver
WeLoveCostaRica.comWhile this Paragon procedure does seem excessive, the fact remains that there are so many tirekickers in North America (and elsewhere)who would and do waste a developer’s resources in the “education” process, that something has to be done to separate the proverbial men from the boys. If that weren’t so, the marketing costs would be so high that no one could afford the property. While putting down a $25K refundable deposit seems a bit much, some variation of that isn’t that far fetched.
In this case, the “tirekickers” and the “developers,” both “men” and “boys” are from the USA.
Do we know what percentage of real estate developers in Costa Rica have adopted this “pay-before-you-see-it” policy?
How many real estate developers in the USA insist on being paid before they will allow someone to view the property they have paid for?
Just as a matter of interest…
Scott
I have been involved in the real estate business for about 14 years and tire kickers are just part of the game. Your idea of marketing costs being driven excessively up does not really make sense. I would assume the agents are being payed on commission and simply may have to work a bit harder, but if organized properly can also be efficient. I think they would do better with more conventional marketing ideas, I was looking for property for about 6 months and every time there ads popped up I just closed them out and at the time had never even heard of Paragon. There is no real information in them and they just seem like a get rich quick scheme with the “with $25,000” etc….I am amazed they have even sold 10 lots this way, maybe I could sell the Brooklyn bridge?lol.
Edited on Apr 17, 2006 18:03
Not only am I not an employee I own several parcels of property with Paragon. I am a resident of New Jersey and a retired insurance executive. For the purpose of my anonymity I am not going to say who I am to a bunch of strangers on this forum.
If this will satisfy you please post your email address (Vivian, Lotus, Maravilla, Valentina & FionaBBB) so I can show you my title transfers and the homes I am building in Presidential Estates.
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