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How about a great Zen saying, “If not now, when”. I guess you wont find this saying posted in many businesses..lol. My practice of mindfullness and not resisting what is does come in handy in C.R., but then again vacationing is one thing working/living is another.
I am currently showing one customer 3-4000sqft townhouses in Brooklyn Heights and they start at approx. $4,000,000 and that is “gross” square footage, usable is approx.20% less. As a quick rule of thumb in a co-op your monthly “maintenance” charges are approx. $1.00 to $1.75 per square foot, $1.00 dollar being just about as low as it will get. Usually about 40% to %50 of the maintenance is tax deductable as a portion of it is paying off the underlying mortgage on the building. In a co-op you do not own real property, but shares in the corporation, and you have a proprietary lease that conveys your right to occupy the the apartment. And lets not forget about co-op boards, but thats another story. Your real estate taxes are also included in this monthly charge. In a condo you do get a tax bill every month and the monthly “common charges” are approx. 30-50 percent less than a co op. In the new developments you will usually have taxes abated for the first 10 years after the building closes. Thes monthlys are also adjusted for oil prices, major building repairs etc..
We are at about 1300 persqft.96th street and South for new Condos. Of course that can vary up or down a few hundred dollars depending on location and amenities. Co-ops trade from approx. 1000-1200 persqft also depending on other factors. No matter how you slice it it ain’t cheap!!
Daisy, Take it from someone who bought in a controversial project you will not find any sympathy here. As long as you have done your research and are comfortable with the “purchase” that is just going to have to be good enough…Scott is never going give you the thumbs up and tell you what a great deal you made. As He has stated many times here He recomends builders with a proven track record. And it certainly isn’t just because He receives some compensation from the companies on this site, as i’m sure Costa Developers would gladly ‘pay’ him for a favorable review. So don’t get your panties all in a twist, in this case I thought Scott was quite restrained after your remarks..lol! I knew I was taking a risk when I purchased and I heard it all..and kind of felt stupid argueing with people on a forum about things I thought would happen and they thought would not and luckily for me did. Roads got built, water lines brought in and finaly closed on my lot. Yes it took 1 year longer than they originaly told me, but I knew C.R. and expected it. I have seen Costas work as of December and my humble “opinion” is eventually you will close on your lot, this property is very valuble and the market in your area is on FIRE! But don’t expect this moderator to back you up just becasue you have had a “good” experience, just cross your fingers and hope that these guys are going to do what they said! Daisy this is the best site for information on Costa Rica you are only hurting yourselfby signing off. Scott: There are so many of these property developments happening with one or more “questionable” principles behind them, perhaps there is someway to rate them as they progress? I mean hundreds of people are buying these lots, over 200 in Columbus Hts.Or even a follow up on some of them would be very interesting this would be a great service to your members…just something to think about.
I’m sorry in your post here you said you were there a month ago thats why I was surprised you felt little work was done. I was last there in December and quite a bit was happening with a large number of trucks etc on the property.And even with the Christmas holiday they were still working. I was curious about the last few weeks as I was told so much more has happened. I agree with you that most of these projects get underway with there sales and marketing etc..before they even own the land. That is why Columbus heights seems to have taken so so long. I did my due diligence before buying and new there were lots of hurdles that had to be jumped before anything could happen, in this case all they had was an option to buy and also had to join the property, all this was in the contract of sale. If you had your own attorney he/she would have alerted you to these special risks involved. Because of all this I knew we would not see infrastructure for two years. I also knew my deposit was with Stewart Title and according to my contract I could get it back with out having to go to Wellington and verified this with a manager at Stewart Title. Of course there was a time frame on this, as work was done Stewart began releasing funds to Wellington. I must say they did keep us all updated quite well, Fasio would send out the occasional letter DHL delivered to let us know what was going on. Of course the Wellington sales team was “optimistic” about completion dates, but as I said I knew better from speaking with local developers and the permiting process involved is lenghthy with thre field inspectors for SETENA. So do your homework folks when buying land, even at the Costa Rica ltd project in Bejuco people have moved in and homes are complete but still no one has a title yet after two years…problems abound in Costa Rica, here in NYC no title no occupancy. There you can get around things such as this…
Yes it has taken a much longer time than we were originaly told. I added 6-10 months to the time frame they originaly gave as I was familiar with the buracracy in C.R.. The main problem was getting the final permit from SETENA. Considering they started construction on infrastructure in late october I thought they had quite a bit done by December. I did see pictures since and all the roads are cut and about 1/2 paved with paver bricks and water is at each lot. I’m in no rush and paid $30k for 5200M2, of cousre I knew I was rolling the dice when I bought. I am surprised your report is not a little more favorable considering how much equiptment is on site and all the roads that were cut a month ago? Certainly a lot more happening than at the Costa developers sites in the area although I believe Costa will build out all there projects. However it may take longer than there original proposal. I think what these developers of land underestimate is the amount of time it takes to get the environmental study done and final permits from SETENA, the municipal permits come rather quickly but roads and such can not start without the SETENA permit.What happens also is they are “selling” and marketing lots in some cases before the e.i. study has even started, and this alone is min. 6 months to complete and thats if there are no problems. There is an article on the Hermosa tower in the Tico times that explains all this and even though this tower is basicaly just a proposal they have begun to take deposits. My guess would be that if you put down money now you may not see construction for two years. But those taking the risk will be greatly rewarded if it all goes through. Whats yor risk tolerance is the question to ask. Or like you said buy from someone with a proven track record in Costa Rica.
I was actualy told by one of Wellingtons attorneys that they did underestimate the hurdles of getting a project like this finished, that said it will all be done by May. Yes if I had the cash I would have bought a finished lot in a gated community but as you know 5000M2 would cost Minimum of $150,000 and today I would guess closer to $250K?Dkt2u Lots of talk about that big tower proposed for Playa Hermosa that will really change the landscape of the area. Whats up with some pics/updates on C heights etc..
I guess after being in NYC for over 20 years you get kind of accustomed to that “tone”. But you must admit it sounds as though she got royaly scr**** by this contractor, lets not lose site of that. So there is a lesson in here for all of us planning to build here, do your homework, check what else they have built and get references for your references. If something does not add up move on, it’s easy to let common sense fall by the wayside when your in the land of pura vida. As witnessed weekly on this site with people wireing large sums of money for land they have not even seen! Let the buyer beware!
Butch you have had some real bad luck since you started this move to C.R.. I think the lesson here is you need to seek out qualified profesionals to assist you from a to z. Don’t just read this site, use the pros Scott can put you in touch with.
Lol…I agree Scott she does sound a bit bitter..I really read this and just had to laugh at it all. I guess one gets back what they put out there, what an experience with the builder though.
I think you may have this wrong on Paragon, they are selling lots, and then it is up to the lot owners to build a house. Paragons obligation is to build out the infrastructure etc…they are not selling homes, although apparently they will build for you if you choose. I think this is the case, maybe i’m wrong. I’m niether supporting them or against them, just think we should be fair. I understand why some people dislike these big gringo run companies, but lets not get personal.
