Loan to value ratio or LTV is a ratio that reflects the relationship between how much you borrow and the appraised value of your property. For example, Joan wants to purchase a home for $100,000. She plans to make a down payment of 10 percent ($10,000) and finance the rest. This means her loan is…
Watch the new legal requirements on Anonymous corporations in Costa Rica. In the past, property in Costa Rica was almost customarily purchased into anonymous corporations by foreign buyers. One of the most important reasons was to protect the property for the personal liability of the owner. Another good reason was that several owners could possess a…
I’ve asked the coffee experts to write an awesome article about the secrets to drinking Costa Rican Coffee the right way. And they did! Let me tell you something, Costa Rican coffee is nothing short of excellent. And that should come as no surprise, as there are literally tens of thousands of small-scale coffee farmers…
Are you amongst the more than 250,000 corporate owners whose corporation was dissolved by the Public Registry for non-payment of the Corporate Tax? If your corporation was dissolved by the Public Registry, what happened to your property? During the real estate boom of 2007-2008, real estate developers set up corporations so that their clients, could…
With news coming earlier this year that Discovery Communications Inc. plans to build a $1 billion adventure park in Liberia in 2018, it is sure to shake things up in the Liberia property market. The ambitious adventure park project is reportedly being built on an 880-hectare plot of land. It is located just a few…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Owning a beachfront vacation home can be sublime; the fresh air and lapping waves are a luxurious treat, to be sure. Despite all of the perks of ocean living, however, there is a challenge: salty, coastal air can be harsh on your belongings. If you lament over how to repair the…
Have you seen the ad where someone posts on a wall the age a person should start saving for retirement and then the age when he or she actually started putting money away? Recently I learned that if a person starts preparing for retirement at the age of 18 and only saves money until age…
Do you have corporation owned real estate in Costa Rica? Now you need the approval of your board of directors to sell or get a mortgage on it. On August 24th, 2016 a new law was issued and duly published at La Gaceta on October 4th, 2016. This new law # 9392 is called Protection for the…
If you are thinking to move to Costa Rica? Then you owe it to yourself to make sure that you are picking the right location for you and your loved ones. Is living in Jaco Beach right for you? Before you buy a house in Costa Rica I would highly recommend taking a good vacation…
Estimated Reading Time: 9 Minutes Did you know that the standards in Costa Rican construction are probably different from the ones you are used to? The successful construction of housing in Costa Rica depends on the efforts of hundreds of tradesmen and thousands of building materials all assembled at the right time in the right…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes Will you be in trouble paying for expensive public and private healthcare as soon as you retire? Ivo Henfling of the American-European Real Estate Group gets loads of daily emails. Clients always ask for more information on healthcare in Costa Rica, so he asked me to help with this. Good…
Ever heard of Playa Hermosa Villas in Uvita? Of course not, but it is my job to tell you why the Playa Hermosa Luxury Villas are so interesting that I decided to write a blog about it.
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Costa Rica has earned a worldwide reputation for being environmentally conscious, so it was time to show you some green updates. If you own an older house in Costa Rica, you can start investing in green updates now that will live up to that reputation and pay off when you…
“Living Costa Rica IS Expensive – So What “. This is what I hear all the time, “we thought it would be much cheaper in Costa Rica compared to where we live…” My response always is “Really? What gave you that impression?” The first clue should be when you book your flights and see that tickets…
Did you know that the sleepy surf town of Nosara is now a most desirable spot? Recently the Costa Rican grapevine has been awash with stories regarding renewable energy. The country has been powered solely by renewable energy for the past 75 days. This represents yet another victory in a long line of accolades bestowed…
Is it easy to get comps in Costa Rica? Visitors to our website often ask, “What is the price per acre on property in Costa Rica?” Or, better yet, “Will you send me some comps on that house so I can see what similar homes are going for in the South Pacific?” Yea, right. The…