www.CostaRicaTicas.com

My wife and I are seriously thinking about selling out here and movign down to CR permenantly and I was wondering about what to do with our equity. We firgure we will have about $250 - $300k and have thought about investing it in rental properties around the San Jose area and hiring a property manager. How practical is that and what could you realistically expect for monthly rent if you purchased homes in the 50 - 60k range? We have another home that is paid for in the USA and eventually we could either sell it or rent it as well, but for now our income would be derived from the rents generated by these properties. Would $300 a month per house be realistic? If it is, I would think we could do quite well in Sierpe on $1200 a month....am I close or out of touch with reality?

buy two basic 3-4 bedroom / 2plus bath houses, in the states, pay cash, in your area, reant out those 2 homes plus your own, and have your property manager send you the money, you could live off that rent forever.

what could you make off renting all 3? $3000 to $4000?

there ya go.

_________________
check yourself before you wreck yourself

Keep your cash in the bank or better yet a CD though keep a little out for spending, rent a home in CR, take time to take a hard look at CR and what business you and your wife could start to serve a need in CR and then after your CD expires, use a little of your cash to fund a business in CR.

If you don't know espanol, while you are taking a hard look at Costa Rica, both you and your wife should spend one hell of a lot of time learning espanol (get it done, get it over with, you'll need it).

Besides the CDs, keep your cash liquid but with so much liquid cash, be careful man! Don't buy into any crazy schemes. Hopefully you have a smart wife who will keep you in check as well you keep her in check (money wise).

Considering you are coming as a team to CR, you shouldn't have a difficult time generating some cash through whatever business you decide to create.... if you decide to create a business.

Well I am lucky that my wife is Colombian and speaks Spanish fluently and we already have property paid for in Sierpe. I have a mortgage on my house and a ton of equity that I nee to use......I guess I could buy rentals here in the US and have the money wired every month........the other property I own, my dad has a life estate on it so I couldn't derrive any income on it for a while. Probably with 300K I oculd buy a 6 plex somewhere and probably make about $3,000 a month..........maybe thats a better play.

Beatledawg,
IMHO, I wouldn't jump to anything. Take your time. CR is not for everyone. At the very least, try to spend at least 6 months in CR before you make any firm decisions. You might decide that you hate it. Or vice-versa. Travel around to different parts of the country, and experience the diversity of the different towns and provinces. Also, the climate is totally different from one area to another.

You've got time, so I'd use it to your advantage. Travel about, and learn the country. Make plenty of contacts. This can be a big advantage to you down the road.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
Mucho Gusto

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

We have already purchased property in Sierpe and really like the area and the people..........I don't have the luxury of taking 6 months off and checking out various parts of the country......we are really committed to Sierpe and the Osa Peninsula. I have been there enough to know that I love the country and the lifestyle.......But I think the thing that makes most sense is what Solamente suggested and that was to invest up here, have the property or properties managed and the rents deposited into our bank in the States and just use a cash card. we couldn't spend $3,000 a month down there and then I could just kick back and sell a little real estate and rent out some cabinas on my property to touristas. Does anyone see any flaw in that logic?

[quote="Mucho Gusto"]Beatledawg,
IMHO, I wouldn't jump to anything. Take your time. CR is not for everyone. At the very least, try to spend at least 6 months in CR before you make any firm decisions. You might decide that you hate it. Or vice-versa. Travel around to different parts of the country, and experience the diversity of the different towns and provinces. Also, the climate is totally different from one area to another.

You've got time, so I'd use it to your advantage. Travel about, and learn the country. Make plenty of contacts. This can be a big advantage to you down the road.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
Mucho Gusto [/quote]

good luck.

imho just the thought of investing in r.e. now makes me wonder. interest rates are rising. number of listings are rising. time on market to sell is rising. selling prices are falling. building costs have been rising resulting in contractors being unable to complete projects at agreed prices resulting in inferior work, products and materials. defaults, cancelations, bankruptcies, all rising. and the fed is telling banks to tighten their lending standards. loan origination vs appraiser relationships are coming under increased scrutiny with accusations of fraud increasing litagation. everything is cyclic, including r.e. people hate bad news and the sad truth is they hear what they want to hear. park your dineros in short term treasuries for a while untill the dust settles.sometimes preserving capital is more important than earning it. bro