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At this point please stop dreaming and try and get your money back…although unlikely. I am currently in Costa Rica and nothing but a small unfinished building with a family camping out in it is all that exists on the project site. Also Trevor posted an ad in the paper looking for buyers of the entire project. No way it takes so long to get permits even in Costa Rica! This guy went well out of his way to criticize his competition, brag how competant he and his partner are and fill up a web site with a ton of pure BS. This dream is dead and I truly feel sorry for the good folks who sent this group there hard earned money.
Good feedback and I think I will wait a year, we have lived in the country months at a time. The lot is in a gated community, but we will eventually build even brfore moving permanently.
I think you also have to take your personal financial situation into account before making one of these moves. What I mean is if buying is going to really stretch your finances, if things don’t work out you will need to sell to be able to move back. Then you may want to spend some time renting this way if you find this is not right for you, you simply pack and move on. As hot as this market appears to be there is a lot on the market and it is hard to gage just how long it could take to sell. If you are flush with cash and could carry the property without any big problem if things don’t quite work out, then buying and rolling the dice is obviously not such a big deal. Worst case you are “stuck” with a nice home in a beautiful country that may or may not also prove to be a sound investment.
Now I know you’re just playing political games as in devils advocate. This is what Bill O’reilly and the lot does so well. Gets everyone riled up, good for ratings I guess, the so called liberal against the so called conservative. That’s why I stopped listening to the majority of radio and watching TV, just a lot of nonsense.
If we don’t want to fight the enemy here, we should have invaded Saudi Arabia considering the number of Saudis involved with 9/11? We have killed, murdered or any other word for ending life hundreds of thousands of civilians. How many tons of bombs have we dropped on Iraq? The enemy has cleverly drawn us into war and now is killing more Americans than he ever had a chance to, more than he killed on 9/11. My sentiments are not anti-American, they are simply against a war that was started based on at best very, very poor intelligence and at worst pure lies. And my heart truly goes out to our brave soldiers who have in my opinion become pawns in a war being waged for all the wrong reasons. A lot of the soldiers I have talked to and a few are friends are at best very confused about our role there and not to optimistic about Iraq becoming a functioning democracy. You can not role back 5000 years of cultural history not even with the best military in the world.
Perhaps I have found my country, cause I don’t have much “stuff”. I don’t quite fit in here in NYC,maybe I will be more at home in Costa Rica.
Let’s keep this in perspective regarding the “casitas” I am just tossing out an idea, I really don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. lol. The property as you know is not sub dividable into 10 lots. I was wondering if there was a way to build out a condominium plan with individual little cabana’s(300-400sqft.). Basically the same idea as a condo “building” but as I said separate little homes but the same idea of ownership as a condo. Just was throwing that out there, as this is just the vague idea of someone sitting/musing at there keyboard perhaps dreaming a bit to much…If this were possible the next question would be is there a market for a small “cabana” that one could live in while on vacation here in CR or on an extended stay here. Lets say you could sell such a product for under $90k, have a nice common pool, rancho gardens etc..I have always been interested in small/alternative home design Ala DWELL magazine and the like, and CR is a great place for it because who want’s to be indoors for to long? We have comfortably lived in a 400 sqft apt in Hermosa, most of the time we are laying in the hammock on the little covered patio. I think xandari is a good basic model regarding home size(although they are more like 600sqft), villa spacing, gardens etc…just take it down a few notches so to speak. Regarding the $15k Tico style place, that was for a 45M2 prefab from one of the companies I think you listed once. Yeah they are butt ugly but easy to build, the plans are already done and approved and with my flare for decorating I could make that little concrete bunker shine a bit? CR does that price sound in line with what you know about prefabs and the cost to build such a structure, it would all be open. I honestly don’t know? I really believe where there is a will there’s a way. I bought 10 acres up in the northern Catskills in the mid 80’s, I was 24 or something, handy but never did more than put up a tree fort. Although told I was crazy, I got plans approved(drawn on graph paper) for a seasonal home(loop hole=less bureaucracy) and built a cozy 400 sqft one room cabin with a nice deck. I did everything except bring the electric to the house and the wiring, and it’s still there!! The hardest part was sinking the holes with a single person gas powered auger, no one told me about “rocks”. Also the first time I framed all the walls I left feeling job well done..not! I did not brace them and the high winds of late fall blew them mothers all down, scattering them like toothpicks on the mountain! I have a few other funny stories as well, I would have hated to see you show up to inspect it!lol..But hey it worked was cheap to build and provided many cozy seasons. I guess the point of this rant is when it comes to a shelter, one size does not fit all, I must add I have been called “eccentric” regarding my housing choices as I also considered living in a tee-pee and have built a yurt. I considered both for Costa Rica but based on the theft issue they literally could steal the whole house! Not really funny. The hardest part of all this to accept is security issue, that you can not have a second home there unless you have someone living in it or next to it full time. What ever I do wind up building It will have just the bare minimum regarding furnishings etc..I also enjoy all your posts Tom as they are extremely thorough and I have learned quite a bit, I respect all your ideas and am paying attention.
This would be to sell each little cabana, not run a hotel. Wonder if there is a market for this product?
Crdreambreaker,Lol! I guess you answered my question very directly when you say “eyesore”. I don’t want to build something that will decrease the value of the property. Yes I have thought of getting some of the infrastructure done from landscaping the general lot to septic. This is in a gated community and I am hoping that helps with the security. I just don’t want to believe it is as bad as you say though. We have a number of friends with second homes in the Playa Hermosa area and although there is theft from time to time, it’s not the horror stories of disassembling the house brick by brick so to speak. CR, how about building a little casita village on the property, small “cabana” like spaces around lush tropical gardens and a nice pool? Sell them off at $85k each maybe build 10? CR or Scott…partner?
My question is more geared toward is this small type “casita” a worth while build from an added value to the land point. Those are the opinions I’m looking for from the pro’s on the ground there.
There is a company advertising GPS service in the most recent issue of the Tico times. Go to http://www.ticotimes.net The post’s I have read here were not very positive about the use of GPS in CR. I did recently read a blog by a couple that drove down from Canada and they stated that the GPS worked and proved invaluable in helping them navigate.
Edited on Nov 24, 2007 07:30
