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I have read about people coming from the US and working illegally. I was thinking that this is in the Real Estate market. Are these people paid a higher salary than a Tico doing the same? What i have read is that should a person work in CR then expect to receive wages at about 10% of what they would be making in the USA. As a permanent resident would i be able to work for a Real Estate company and receive a a wage like those doing real estate illegally?
There’s a pretty simple answer to your question. If you’re planning on being able to support yourself here working for someone (illegally) at Tico wages… don’t bother… you’ll fail. If you’re planning on supporting yourself selling real estate right now… ditto!
At this moment in time neither is a viable option. Don’t plan on working here to support yourself in any way shape or form. If you’re able to provide for yourself with some type of remote work (via the internet) or have a business you might make it.
Don’t plan a future in paradise that includes bending or breaking the laws from the start… it a bad way to get your adventure started!
You have totally misunderstood what i was asking about. The header of my thread says”Working as a Permanent Resident”. I absolutely have no intention of breaking any laws at. Most likely i will never work in CR. I might eventually work in CR as a Permanent Resident in 5 years or so. As i have mentioned in a previous thread. Sorry i upset you so badly!
Maybe like this man:Victor R. Guerrero has lived in Playa Dominical for nearly 16 years, is legally entitled to work in Costa Rica and has been a Realtor for over ten years.
Edited on Jul 09, 2009 07:56
Sorry… your post didn’t upset me. Just tried to be upfront with the answer based on the sentence at the end of your post.
“As a permanent resident would i be able to work for a Real Estate company and receive a a wage like those doing real estate illegally?”
I’m not sure what you’re asking… Perhaps you could direct that question to Victor since he has some experience with the issue. Residency is an issue as is what type and how you obtain it. Have you researched that yet? Are you planning on applying for a status or getting married to a Tico… I guess that’s going to be important.
But once again, my original answer still applies. I wouldn’t plan on being able to support yourself working in CR at the moment. If your long term plans are several years off it will give you some time to develop a plan or perhaps a business.
Doing things the legal way is best… Scott always tells you that. When the economy was flying here and elsewhere there weren’t many issues being made with people flying under the radar, with a tighter economy that’s not the case now.
Take the time to work on your dream, Real Estate has always been a boom and bust… money to be made when things are good… and some VERY lean times when it’s bad. If you have experience and are willing to work ANY field can be be fun and profitable.
Good luck with your dream!
In order to qualify for permanent residency (you must apply), one must first be a temporary resident (typically a pensionado or rentista) for five years.
Once you have been granted permanent residency, you may work in the Costa Rican economy and compete with citizens for employment.
Wage scales in Costa Rica are set by occupation. That is, store clerks earn a different minimum wage from what secretaries earn, and carpenters earn a still different wage. A large percentage of the workers in any occupation work for the minimum wage. The wage scale, by U.S. standards, is shockingly low.
Should you work, legally or illegally, selling real estate, you can expect to make commissions on your sales at rates similar to what you would expect in North America. That is, the sale of a property for (say) $100,000US would likely net a commission of about seven percent or $7,000. That’s a very high rate of pay here.
Does any of that help?
Out of curiosity, I have worked with a few real estate agents there in different areas in the last four years. I know for sure that three of them did not have Residency status. Is this common? They had been agents there for some time. I even met one agent who was working directly for one of the big condo projects in Jaco and was not a resident. It was apparent that a couple of them were making a nice living. Are you all saying that they are in danger of being “turned in” by fellow Costa Rican real estate agents because the economy is bad?
No doubt your experience is common. There’s folks working illegally in Costa Rica in Real Estate and other areas. We’ve had this conversation before. It’s a dirty little secret that folks don’t like to touch on. And since RE sales for the most part are unregulated (everyone is a real estate agent here) and can generate some nice incomes it’s rather an attractive pursuit. And as David pointed out the profits can be rather sizable, or were before the collapse in the economy! And you have to remember this is ALL cash, off shore money, NO 1099’s/W-2’s and for US citizens… money that in many cases one can guess didn’t show up on their US tax returns!
Business is Business… and when business is slow and the competition is tight… there will be those that look to gain an advantage, and having a competitor that’s not operating legally makes that simple! It happens in every business here. Someone drops a dime and next thing you know… you’re getting a not-so-friendly visit from the government. Just ask anyone in business.
I am the user of this site and i like the news and article side of this forum.
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