[Cancertomnpdx]

I agree with David that it would be great to have a database containing the directories he describes. Currently I put anyone recommended on this site into either Outlook contacts (I just did the Maid Broker message), or in a Word document that I call “notes from welovecostarica.doc.” Sometimes you guys come forth with tidbits or experiences that I think I should hold onto for future reference.

Thanks for those tidbits everyone!

Tom in Portland

[Cancertomnpdx]

Thanks for the reminder Scott! Actually I am moving to Costa Rica to live a Tico lifestyle as much as I can, so a grated community is something that doesn’t fit with my view of my life. Personally, I don’t need a 1,000, 2,0000 or 3,000 square foot house for the way I like to live. I tend to live a more concise life then most Americans is my impression. I only need a corner for my shrine, a few bookcases, a bed, small kitchen and an area to play ball with my dog and I am happy. Since I a baby boomer almost to late to the saving game, I hope to spend my last dime about 20 minutes before I enter the “bardo.” So you can see that I am clear that I would not necessarily fit into a gated community. A small gated Tico house, well that is a different story.

Tom

[Cancertomnpdx]

When I first joined this site, I was a bit concerned about the real estate prices I was seeing here. All of them seemed to be way beyond my budget that I will have when I retire in three years. So I sent an email to Scott asking if he thought in four or five years I really could find a small nice house for under $60,000 with a banana tree. He wrote back to me very clear and said “absolutely!” He did recommend I start with his books which I eventually did order from him. After they arrived I spent many hours pouring over their contents to see what new things I could learn from his approach to living in Costa Rica.

So this is what I learned from all of this, you must do your own homework! For example, I have over forty websites in my favorites that I go through once or twice every two months checking for houses in my price range. Also, I have about four or five that I check every week because I have made contact with their owners. These are people who I will meet up with when I am in Costa Rica in May. Based on Scott’s advice, I have offered two things for meeting these people: first, I am clear that I am not able to buy at this time; and second, if they are willing to let me buy them lunch while we discuss some of my favorite properties on their website, then I would like the opportunity to contact them when I arrived for my visit. Now one has turned me down so I plan to buy them their lunch in order to learn from them what is going on in the area where they sell real estate. Part of that discussion will be why some of the sites have very nice houses for very reasonable prices that don’t sell. I think I know the answer but I want to hear what they have to say about their market, the houses they represent and why some of the homes haven’t sold for a very long time.

My point is simply this, you need to do your own homework and develop your own leads. When Scott told me I could find a home for under $60,000 with a banana tree, I understood that this is my job to find this goal for myself. Also, in all the cruising around I have done on Costa Rica real estate sites, I have marked a few that have very interesting rentals for follow up in three years when I move. Also, I have made it a habit to cut and paste interesting information or stories I have seen on this welovecostarica.com for future reference. When someone recommends a Tico professional, I make a note of who that person is and try to glean as much information I can so at a later date, I could contact them directly.

Finally, I think Scott can only show us the mountain; it is our responsibility to walk the twist and turns of the path to our goal.

Tom in Portland

[Cancertomnpdx]

Interesting, I thought I read on the SSA website that they wouldn’t pay into a foreign bank account. Of course, so much of the information I am finding on their website turns out to be outdated or whatever!

I guess I need to go to a SSA office and see a real person!

Tom
Portland

[Cancertomnpdx]

My god is Canadian immigration under the control of the US State Department? Sounds like the new American newly found hate for the brown people of the world moved north to Canada settlement in Immigration. Now the US has a crisis getting passports issued by State in a timely manner. This week in Portland had lots of press that families trying to go to Mexico for spring break and applied for the new US passport in January, were told “TS” by State that the four week turn around was off and now they could be taking at least ten weeks to get you the passport. Thank goodness that I realized in November that the promises of a four week turn around for the new passports was bogus in light of efficiency of the current administration, so I applied immediately receiving mine about the third week of January.

Thanks,
Tom Portland

[Cancertomnpdx]

Could you please provide the business address for Lic. Romulo Pacheco so I could add him to my address book?

Thanks,
Tom
Portland, Oregon

[Cancertomnpdx]

No, I am still in Portland, Oregon. I know that straw bale construction is going on in western Nicaragua while Guanacaste is a source of straw bales. Check this link on preparing a straw bale house against rain and earthquakes:

Moisture in straw bale buildings:

http://www.skillful-means.com/strawbale/papers/moisture.htm

“Seismic Resistance:

Research also has shown that straw bale houses perform well in earthquakes. It appears that straw bale buildings will be of special value in areas where earthquakes are common, as straw bales have a good width to height ratio and can be easily and effectively reinforced. Bale walls may actually absorb much of the shock of an earthquake, with the plaster adds to the strength of these buildings. The material properties of straw bales, their flexibility and strength, make them ideal for seismic-resistant structural design, as long as the connections between the bale wall system and the roof and foundation are adequate.”
See this link for complete discussion: http://www.strawbaleconstruction.co.nz/straw-bale-benefits.html

Thanks,
Tom
Portland Oregon

[Cancertomnpdx]

Dear Scott:

Nice job! Your new effort is as exciting as the DVD I bought from you recently which I often play on rainy Saturday afternoons when it is dark and cloudy in Portland!

Tom
Portland, Oregon

[Cancertomnpdx]

This is my 90-day check to see if I can find any new information on builders doing straw bale construction in Costa Rica. In the meantime, you can check out the following link for an article that appeared in The Tico Times, March 21, 2003, at: http://www.pangeapartnership.org/?page=TicoTimes_21_03_03

Thanks,
Tom

[Cancertomnpdx]

Certainly, remember I was a contract player with Warner Brother’s in the 1940’s. So I have actually seen it all in my long performance life! Anything in particular I should brush in case I run into an opportunity to be impromptu while I am abroad? I wouldn’t want to disappoint my fans!

Thanks AJPIII for the links and information on practice groups!

Later,
Tom

[Cancertomnpdx]

David,
This is excellent advice, I have copied it and will turn into my own checklist for real estate buying in Costa Rica. From this paralegal’s point of view, you got it correct and worth saving for future reference.

Thanks,
Tom

[Cancertomnpdx]

You might want to check out this link,

http://www.stewarttitlelatinamerica.com/

Steward Title is a Seattle company that is now nation wide or least the thirty years I lived in Seattle, they were one of the leaders.

Recently I took a class at our local community college on retiring to Central America and they were mentioned.

They has some arrangement with Banex. I am not sure your really need a title company from what I have been reading but others on this site could offer advice if the title company/Banex connection makes good business sense or not.

Thanks,
Tom in Portland

[Cancertomnpdx]

I am glad to hear the reviews of George’s tour. I just put a deposit for May and very excited about taking his tour. I have been checking his website for over two years now and realized that he is a man with much knowledge. But what really shook up the other day was that I saw his interview here on this site and it started thinking me that maybe I wouldn’t working 3-1/2 years more from the great things George had to say in the interview. I am so excited about coming to Costa Rica in May and I think I am making a good choice starting off my stay with George’s tour. Next year, I plan to work the two-day seminar at Casa Canada into my schedule.

Later,
Tom in Portland

[Cancertomnpdx]

Magnum1865

Please have your wife post here when she sets up her practice in Costa Rica. I would be interested in dealing with a Tico lawyer who is also a member of a stateside bar. Would you be willing to tell which bar she currently has membership in please?

Thanks,
Tom in Portland, OR
Paralegal

[Cancertomnpdx]

Anyway to give a bit of cash through our individual credit cards here in the US? Also, could someone buy a unit online with Dell and have it arrive in CR without much of a problem with either shipping and/or import duty?

Thanks,
Tom in Portland, Oregon

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