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And if he IS making a commission, it isn’t very much. George told me he doesn’t make one though, so who knows? Bottomline is that you can’t force someone to buy property they don’t like.
BOTH! I’m not a fashionista but there are some things that just should NOT be worn by either sex and you know what I’m talking about. a part of me that thinks we should respect the culture in the country we’re in and dress appropriately. At the beach where people wear all kinds of garb it’s not such a big deal, but in the cities I think beachwear is inappropriate. Kind of like American tourists wearing shorts into Notre Dame in Paris. I now think in some places shorts are forbidden in cathedrals — they had to actually make a ruling on that because people didn’t use common sense. But then again, I’ve seen some Ticas wearing skimpy clothing I wouldnn’t be caught dead in and they were close to my age!
The questions you did ask are almost impossible to answer as there are pockets of people just like yourselves everywhere, it depends on what you are looking for. The highlands of the Central Valley are obviously cooler than the coastal areas. In the nicer suburbs of San Jose there are good bi-lingual schools for your children. Costa Rica is a varied country; nobody could possibly tell you where to live. That is a decision you must make depending on your family’s needs. The area around San Ramon has good hospitals, doctors, etc. and I’ve heard there is a really good bi-lingual school there too. It’s also cooler in San Ramon than other places farther down valley. Beyond that, I have no other information to give you except to suggest that you come on a fact-finding mission and see for yourself. If you have your financial needs met, have you also looked into the requirements for residency, which will be essential if you are moving there with children.
Two years ago my house was appraised at 45 grand more than I’m asking now, so the inflated housing bubble in my area has burst, although Johnny Depp just bought a big piece of property across the road from me, so I guess it still has allure for the Hollywood crowd. I would expect that a similar thing will happen in Costa Rica when a lot of the people who bought on an adrenaline high realize they don’t really want to live there. they will try and sell then there’ll be a glut of homes in the beach areas and eventually the prices will drop and a whole new bucket of chum will be thrown for the sharks . Did I read a stat somewhere that said 40% of the people who move to Costa Rica leave within two years? I won’t be one of them, but I predict there will be a lot of exiters in all areas when they discover the real ins and outs of living in a third world country — you know, all those bugs, the rain, and those stubborn Spanish speaking folks who won’t learn English!
The developers created a feeding frenzy by telling everyone to buy buy buy and pay later playing on the fear that if you didn’t get in now you would never get in and using places such as Malibu in the 50’s as an example. Even here in Colorado we are dead in the water with real estate, especially up here in the mountains. I’ve had to get a Bunny Rabbit With Fangs real estate agent to try and sell this house so I can move into the one I built in Costa Rica. Two years ago the market was hot like a poker but now there is a glut of homes and with the gas prices soaring it would cost someone an extra $50 – $75 a week in gas to get to work so who wants to live in a remote area? I’m sure the market in CR will level out eventually, when the sharks are finished preying on those they lured into the shallow waters.
It was all an accident, I swear. He brought his tour group to Angel Valley Farm and took them up to see Jose’s house. The next thing I knew they were touring my house and I was giving a spiel about how to build for little money! Then he asked if he could just put the house on his tour so I said yes. You’re welcome anytime when I get down there, which I hope is soon.
Those outfits should be outlawed everywhere, even here in Gringolandia. You can’t possibly blend into a culture when you stick out like a sore thumb — it’s like wearing a neon sign that blinks TOURIST and TARGET!!!
My house is on George’s tour! It’s another perfect example of what you can do for a lot less than $100,000!
I wear shorts in Costa Rica, but they usually are very baggy and end just above the knees. IMHO nothing will make you look like a tourist more than wearing shorts, especially in the city, and especially if you are too old to be wearing them! LOL
If there is a chance that this new law will be enacted at a later date, then perhaps you should start the rentista thing NOW while it’s still at the lower rate. You will not be able to live in Costa Rica without some sort of residency and if you are too young for a retirement pension then your only choice is rentista status, otherwise you will have to leave the country every 90 days and that can get to be a bother after a while. I understand your reasons for moving out of the US — the ones you cited are the same ones I have and in the 18 months since I made the decision to move to CR and get legal residency and build a house, I have never had one second of regret. Now if ONLY I could sell our house here in the States and get out once and for all. LOL
I have two friends who doing the rentista thing with Javier at Residency in Costa Rica, and all documentation had to be in way before the August 12 deadline. I also used Javier to do our pensionado residency and I am really pleased with how everything was handled and the speed at which it was all done.
You have to have a bona fide pension — either from a legal pension fund or the US government in the way of social security.
I’m going to ditch Part B when I get enrolled in Caja or INS. I definitely would not go back to the States for treatment regardless of what happened to me as I believe the medical care in CR is as good if not better than the US. For both me and my husband that is almost $170 a month — for what? Besides we are also Italian citizens, so worse case scenario is that we could go to Italy for treatment for free if we didn’t feel that the care in CR was adequate.
WOW! That was a pretty vituperative rant Trevor went on. I know him, and I have to say I’m a bit shocked at how venomous his attacks were. I do think that the Concasa project looks a bit like a prison, or a project in the Bronx, but 27 pages of spittle????? Whew. It wore me out to read it!
Most people who are going through the residency process DO know where they will be living so they will have an address for immigration. I think you have to apply while you are still in the States, but most people have made multiple trips to Costa Rica, secured living space, and then gone back to their home state and applied for residency before making the final move. In my case, I was building a house, so I had an address even though the house wasn’t yet completed. I am now a resident of Costa Rica, but I’m still in the States pending the sale of my house here.
