www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Hi, does any1 know what are the least developed areas of land near the beaches to buy property? near tamarindo? or manuel antonio? thanks

Neither of those, that's for sure - especially near Manuel Antonio, which is the most over-developed part of the country. I'd say that on the south Pacific coast, anywhere between Dominical and Puerto Jimenez would qualify. On the north coast, maybe between Samara and Nosara.

Ever think of checking out Nicaragua? I have heard it is like Costa Rica was 20 years ago.

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Tunaman

While buying property in almost any country can be risky I personally believe the risks in Nicaragua outweigh any possible gain.

The political situation is very unstable. A few months ago the President was talking of requesting the OAS to send in troops to support his regime.

The Sandinistas are making a very strong comeback and it is a very real possibility that Ortega will be President again after the next election.

I would be very cautious about Nicaragua.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

MrMike.

Ask Tman about Parrita. I've heard is it going to be the next paradise, it is located between Jaco and Manuel Antonio.

Now be careful also I have also heard there are many scams around.

Tman should be able to help even more since he is familiar.

Mente

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Tico and Panama, let me know if you need any help down here.
Panamaexplorers.com

I myself am looking for a place within an hour of San Jose.The best I have found so far is Grecia. It is one of the nicest towns I have found around and property still sounds fairly reasonable though there are a fair number of gringos around.rbc100

I don't know if Grecia qualifies as being 'near the beaches.' I suggest the far southern part of CR, Golfito, Puerto Jiminez, etc. Also the Carribean side, north of Limon seems quite underdeveloped.

Just realized that the word 'developed' isn't all bad. If you have no electricity or road, land is cheap but it's hard to do much with it.

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

I myself was impressed with the landscape in Atenas while driving from San Jose to Jaco. Beautiful valleys and the climate/temperature seemed absolutely perfect. It would seem that if you don't HAVE to live right at the beach that Atenas might be a nice place to own a home. Matter of fact, I'm returning to S.J. in July and one of my plans is to take a closer look at property there. If anybody has any specific comments or ideas regarding Atenas then please let me know.

If you interested in Atenas one word of advice....

HURRY... HURRY... HURRY

The prices increase daily. Latest hot spot for gringo's

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

MRMIKE,
Aren't you reading the other threads that you started. Myself and others have already suggested to you the while Tamarindo and MA have some of the finest swimming beaches in CR, the quiet places you indicated you were looking for would more likely be found near Nosara/Samara and south to Dominical.

Atenas is an area that I've been long interested in as well. The reason piroca mentioned it is because it is on the way from SJ to the Pacific coast hence it is at a lower altitude than SJ, which can sometimes get a little cool but not down at sea level which can get unbelievably hot even by Orlando standards. It is also about 45 minutes closer to the beach than downtown SJ, so while it is not really super near the beach it is close enough for an easy day trip. And they're close to completing a new road from Atenas to Orotina that will cut the travel time to the coast significantly more, hence all the recent increase in property values.

Ding Dong is right, prices are climbing very rapidly, but not in the sense of there being overdevelopment there, at least not yet. BTW, if you go through there, I highly recommend you stop and try one of the "corn restaurants" that the town is famous for such as Fiesta Del Maiz which is only a couple of kms off the Pan-American highway on the left.

Are they REALLY close to finishing that road? I can't seem to get any definitive answer. I hope it's true. Then maybe they can work on the stretch between Quepos and Domincal... maybe?

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

DD, appreciate your opinion on Nicaragua, I've wondered as I see more chatter lately about deals there, as with anything the risks should be evaluated.

Like this- "Own property for half the cost of Honduras...one-quarter the cost of Belize...one-fifth the cost of Costa Rica."
And this-
"Nicaragua has some of the best deals in the world right now, similar to Belize and Costa Rica in the late 80's when values increased by 500% in a short time"

And there is big money being invested there,
"Foreign investors who were fleeing the country a decade ago put $280 million into Nicaragua last year." (The Wall Street Jounal)

Another interesting recommendation I've seen is to to buy apartments in Buenos Aires for .50 on the dollar while the market is distorted...

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Living well is the best revenge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwUtj_YnNoY

I would be careful in Nicaragua!! I have friends that have been living their for some years & what a bunch of problems they have had. They steal things that even the Ticos would leave behind! For me I agree 100% with DD. Cheap dosen't look so good if you can't keep it.

Zippy

Hey....I've heard that they're supposed to be building some kind of big and fancy Marina in Quepos that's supposed to be done in several years. It will accomodate world class yachts etc (sounded like something for the rich and famous). Anybody know whether that's true or not. If that's true then even given the recent run-up in prices in the Manuel Antonio area I wonder whether that Marina will be such a boom for the area that prices could rocket even further.

Piroca...are you sure you're not thinking of the Los Suenos project just north of Jaco? The Marriott is there, as well as a marina, golf course, and lots of condos. They were advertising that heavily about five years ago.
The condos were way overpriced. I think they were asking between
$300,000 and $400,000 for them. I mean, sure they're nice condos with nice furnishings, but this is CR we're talking about. The several times that I've been to Los Suenos, the place was like a ghost town. Very few people.

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"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)