www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Does working in the real estate sales/ mortgage loans business have any different requirements there than any other line of work. i.e. because it's commission based, do you need to be legally able to work there?

Don't need a license for either one, although one from the states helps with negotiaitons.

You can become a realtor here by calling yourself one. Making any money at it is a totally different story. The topic has been covered (real estate) many times but just a few things to know:

There is no MLS here
There is no price disclosure here, finding 'comps' is virtually impossible
Title insurance is virtually worthless, even with the 'respected' Stewart Title
Corruption is widespread and clear title is as elusive as the Easter Bunny
There are already too many 'agents' here
'Buyers' are often totally full of shit, they come down and pretend to be interested just to get free rides around or to play big shot.

That's just part of the negatives. Your US experience won't do you much good except insofar as it can impress the ever-illusive 'serious' buyer.

I am not a realtor/agent here, but my roommate is. I have heard enough horror stories to keep me as far away from the biz as possible.

_________________
"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

A smart realtor can screen well.And probably make a decent buck.I was a realtor in Vegas for 5 years.We probably had triple the "full of shit" crew that CR has ever seen.Problem is that 98% of the realtors in CR probably failed in thier stateside career, and are trying to make a second go in CR.
I would not be suprised if many of them could not even get licenses in thier home states.Most are probably not in good standing with NAR.

Lol, many are not in good standing with agencies much more serios than the NAR.


BKTUNA
I am never going home

I believe that too, bilko.NAR is non governmental, so they can discredit faster.That is the only reason I mentioned it.But I am sure the Real Estate division in many states have revoked licenses for quite a few CR realtors.

The agents here are full of shit just as much. When i moved down here, I was looking for a place to rent. I couldn't get ANYONE to return my calls. The websites had nice places for decent prices, but for some reason (hint hint) they were never available and they wanted to show me something else nowhere near as nice for more money.

I had much better luck with the Tico real estate people. They actually seemed to want their first month commission.

I don't know if you are thinking about moving down there to be a real estate agent but the CR market is way overpriced and dead as a doornail right now.
They are charging more there in CR than prices here in the US. Mortgages? No one is writing any for CR real estate. In addition, Americans(north) don't have the extra capital, or the equity line money, they once had to purchase CR real estate, and tourism is down.

Unless you have a specialty marketing niche, and a proven group of buyers/investors, and dirt cheap property to offer(and I mean Tico prces not gringo markups), than you can do fine. Otherwise CR real estate in the current economy is an uphill battle.

Mi dos centavos!


PURA VIDA!

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Livin' & Lovin' in Key Largo....oh....And the one in The Keys, too!

The real estate people here are mostly full of shit.... Only roping in dumb people who don't know the market. There is money to be made, but realtors in general, are not gonna give you the best option. The conversation I'm overhearing now is about $300-400k condos. You can definitely get more of a bang for your buck at these prices. The numbers of agents are dwindling by the month.. They are trying to keep up appearances so it doesn't look like the bottom has fallen out here. Ok, gotta get back to the conversation and see if I get some tidbits for my blog.

What is your weblog url?

hahahahahahaha!

good one

_________________
The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

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