www.CostaRicaTicas.com

You had me going right up to this point...

Why sell you money-maker?

How were you able to sell when many, many others are not so lucky, with stories of properties on the market for years without a nibble?

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"Mongo only pawn in game of life"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3K6UmgJIOw

Thanks for the compliments, but that's what I've been saying from the first post. It's not for all and not for most. It could be for most however as I and the people who have profited from C.R. just used some common sense and avoided certain obvious (when you research them) pitfalls. It's really not that difficult or complicated.

I sold because I was heavily invested in Panama and living there and wanted to consolidate. In addition to that the offer that came in was higher than I expected so I took it.

My property was on the market for years as well, but I had bought with some pre-thought as to what would happen if I couldn't sell, as a result my overhead was extremely low and I was able to get rental income while I waited for a sale.

I too thought at one time that CR Real Estate might be a good investment, but after reading warnings from the embassy about 4 issues, the posts by the guy who started this thread and the stories of the various real estate scams that proliferate that the legal system there cannot address and the hundred other headaches, the trouble selling, there is no way I would ever buy. Good luck to those that do. I have a townhouse in Seminole FL that I basically paid half price for when the market tumbled here. My beleif is that the market will come back and I will make a good profit on it, because the legal, regulatory and real estate market here are better able to protect all parties to the sale. Not so in CR. Good luck to those that want to take the risk; hey people win the lottery every day and that is what I would liken buying in CR to; a gamble.

ID Just posted on another thread about how CR rates low for the ease of doing business

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=35642&start=30

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“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” And we are the guys that keep them in Eggs & Grits

Tim,
I have thought about doing a fractional with a group. Perhaps 5 or 6 members buying a secure townhouse or condo outright. Furnish it nicely and have a car. It might work if you picked one up in a reasonable price and were not too concerned about selling it. I have owned a lot of real estate in my life. If you had a good group it might work out well. Ongoing costs would be negligible.

Talk to JSymthe, he might be interested.

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“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” And we are the guys that keep them in Eggs & Grits

37) Consider it with extreme caution and thought before you buy in an area that takes YEARS to sell ! Again. Don't rush.

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

See, anyone that is content to sit with their property on the market for years should jump right in, but fortunately or not, I don't know anyone who would be so deposed.

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“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” And we are the guys that keep them in Eggs & Grits

No thanks Ronnie, I prefer to stay semi-liquid and have my assets working for me all the time... Seeing how I can get 10% ROI annually without getting out of bed on other equity classes, I think I'll leave my $$$ where they are and rent a place in paradise... When I get tired of one locale, I can simply pick up and move somewhere else with no muss, no fuss, no worrying about selling a piece of property...

George Carlin did a piece a long, long time ago about "Stuff"... Most of us spend a great deal of time accumulating "stuff' in our life, to which we become a prisoner in the long run... I have been liquidating assets for the last few years and it truly sets you free... No more BS in your life to worry about, take care of, pay taxes on, constantly in a state of dis-repair, etc...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac

_________________
"Mongo only pawn in game of life"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3K6UmgJIOw

38) Ticos are some of the most hard headed people on the planet. They will say, "Yes" and do the opposite in a passive aggressive way. They hit a learning wall where once they think they 'got it', they wont refine that to do it the correct way.

39) Once you own here and get absolutely sick of all the tico crap and remember that you are here for pu*sy and for no other reason, you may not want to invest/burn one more colon here. It's hard to Stop spending when you own.

40) DUST and DIRT ! Yeah, you may not need central HVAC,but without it, you will need to leave the windows open. This means a constant breeze of dust and dirt blowing in. I can visit my home in Atlanta once a year and have ZERO dust. Here it is constantly piling up on everything. That is why you always see the maids wiping down everything. I'd love to install A/C but I don't want to seal off my condo as the sewer gas that seeps through the building needs to be vented.

41) Costa Rica landed at the bottom (167th place) in a recent report by the World Bank as far as protecting investors. The USA at the top in 4th place. http://www.doingbusiness.org/

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

You have an interesting concept as long as 5 different personalities can get along. Is it possible for a non resident to get a mortgage with a small down payment and make payments on the property? The mortgage payments would replace the rent that you would normally pay on a hotel.

Devo

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The most dangerous adversaries are the ones that come with a smile instead of a sword

I have several members of my family and extended family interested. We are all pretty laid back and easy to get along with. I figure with six we could each take two months a year. I am thinking a two bed/two bath with garage either in San Jose or somewhere within easy striking distance of San Jose.

Yeah JSymthe might think this is a silly thread, but I think that this collection of information is probably some of the best information about the hazards of purchasing CR real estate. It is hard for me to see the advantage that owning here could possibly having over renting.

One other thing Icantstayaway, you failed to mention the scumbag Realtors some that are expats who will try and ripoff newbie foriegners wanting to buy houses and condos.

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“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” And we are the guys that keep them in Eggs & Grits

I never said the thread was silly Tim, I said the request to list "36 reasons to buy" was silly. As I stated, if you can buy and sell and make a profit, then that is the only reason you need- if you make money each month on rental, don't have a hotel bill, are able to pay for 7 or 8 trips a year from your rental income, if you are able to write off travel expenses etc. those are each reasons that do good by themselves without needing another 35.
The advantage over renting are pretty obvious- as already stated

1. If you buy in the right area you can not only not have to pay any rent at all, but can rent it out and pay your entire monthly nut with 2 nights rental.
2. You can pay for 7-10 trips a year with earning from the rental- I'm talking about airfare, meals, taxi's, chicas, drinks and casino action. 3. You can join websites that let you offer your place for rental and allow you to stay anywhere in the world for credits you've earned or pay 10% on the dollar if you have no credits.
4. Not a factor now but in the past, if you owned the property in a corp. you could get a cell phone, which non-owners wouldn't be able to.
5. If you bought the property with a mortgage you could have a small amount of your money involved, be staying for free and have all the benefits listed above and have the tenants paying your mortg. while you pick up additional equity each month.
6. You can write off your travel expenses when going to C.R.

and the big one:
7. If you've been going to Costa Rica on multiple trips per year for a number of years, with what you've paid for hotels and not made in rental income you may have been able to buy a place in cash.

As mentioned, I'm already involved with a fractional and yes, you can get a non-resident mortgage, the problem is that only one person can get it in their name- so that would give additional exposure to that person- if you do it that way it's best to figure a way to compensate that person. You will most likely form a corporation to own the property and make the division of ownership the most efficient and binding. It's tricky but if you can get the corporation to have a track record and acquire some assets, you may be able to get a mortgage with the corporation, which is the fairest option available. Also, a really well thought out Shareholder Agreement with most problem situations addressed and the recourse spelled out can take away virtually any problems you may experience by having multiple partners involved.

The great thing with the fractional ownership divided up into shares is that if anyone disagrees with the policies or wants out for any reason, they just sell the their share. In our contract anyone can sell their share at anytime for any price, the only restriction is they must give first right of refusal to the other owners.