Let the buyer beware or “caveat emptor” when building or buying a house in Costa Rica. It’s incredible how so many buyers do not hire an expert to make what could be the most significant investment of their life.
Would you hire a cardiologist to see if your teeth need repair? Would you hire a cardiologist to build your house?
Many who decide to build a house hire a “maestro de obras” to lead the construction. You might think that means master builder, but he is no more than a foreman in our country.
Even though licensing is not mandatory to intermediate in Costa Rica real estate, that doesn’t mean that real estate agents are not experts in assisting you in your property search and intermediation and cannot assist professionally in the whole process because that’s what real estate agents do if they are experienced and knowledgeable. Doing the homework on finding a good agent is much easier than going on your face by buying from a cardiologist, a builder, a real estate developer, or someone who sells his/her home.
Why am I saying this?
Building a House
A caveat emptor is necessary even before you buy a property to build your own house. Hiring an architect and a civil engineer, who will probably also sub-contract with a structural engineer, an electrical engineer, and other construction professionals, will save you many headaches. Do you think that hiring a maestro de obras is cheaper? Of course, it is in labor costs. But who knows what will happen to incredibly important details that your foreman won’t have a clue about:
Design
What direction do the wind and rain come from? Which part of the house will be in the sun most of the time?
The soil
Earth movement and fill – is the property stable enough? Where will the water run-offs be installed? What about retainer walls?
Soil replacement – I’ve seen very few foremen order soil tests. Are you going to build on clay? Or or rock? Does the soil drain well during the rainy season? Is there a need for soil replacement?
Roof and rain gutters
Is the incline of the roof the correct one? Can the rain gutters and drainpipes support the water during the rainy season? Where is all that rainwater going to? Maybe it will flood your neighbor’s house?
Floor slab
Are you sure that the floor slab is poured all in one batch? Because if it isn’t, it will crack with the first earthquake.
More details
I could go on much more about details not being handled when hiring the wrong people, but I’m sure you understand. Besides hiring professionals to build your house, I recommend hiring a home inspector to inspect every stage of construction.
Buying a New House
Buying a new house from a real estate developer or a construction company also involves a lot of details. I did a blog about buying a new house a while ago, so caveat emptor is needed to do your homework before signing an offer.
Understand the Market
You should hire a real estate agent to understand the market and get the best deal or the one you like best. Now, I mean a knowledgeable and expert agent, not just one you met on Facebook. Or a “this is the kitchen and this is the bathroom kind of realtor.”
Here are just a few advantages you can enjoy when hiring a good agent:
- You will be able to understand different locations and compare properties you’re looking at better
- It’s possible to compare each property’s purchase process, especially when looking at new residential developments.
- Comps are not available, but an agent who specializes in a particular area, such as our affiliates, knows what sells and for how much.
- With so many new rules and regulations, such as money laundering rules, escrow, and closing documents needed, keeping track of everything is almost impossible.
Caveat Emptor of “Experts”
Do not get caught in the “expert advice” on Facebook. Ask one question and receive 52,674 answers from experts who know everything. Of course, their post is always their own experience. That doesn’t mean that your situation is going to be the same.
Others advertise themselves as experts on moving to Costa Rica; some even started a Facebook group to attack new suckers. One team member asks the questions so their “expert team members” can ask. Others moved here themselves just a few years ago and are now experts in everything. Please do your homework, but do it with experts who can prove they’re up to date, are legal residents of Costa Rica, and show how long they have been here. Do they speak the local language?
Would you like to do it right? Then register for the monthly ARCR seminar right now. There, you’ll receive all the expert advice you need.
It looks beautiful, and it sounds even better
Many marketers sell a development on paper and are nothing more than a call center. And many developers have just some empty land, beautiful words, and pictures that generally don´t represent what they sell. You are offered impossible bargain prices to hook you and then give promises you can sell for ten times that in the future. As soon as most of the project is sold out, they disappear, only to reappear under a new name or product in a new area without finishing what was promised.
Most of the products offered are cheap, or they make it sound cheap by offering owner financing with $150/month payments and other excellent-sounding promotions. They make it sound like you can buy a luxury home for very little but don’t tell you that you must also buy the land (of course!).
Buyer beware
Today, in the Costa Rica property market, thousands of owners are trying to sell the property they bought in some unfinished community. They are mainly in beach areas with an ocean view through binoculars. Nonetheless, they were promised a retirement in a beautiful gated community. And most of all, with infrastructure and amenities and most people in them.
Now they realize they have been had. The developer is not to be found to finish the promised community, its infrastructure, and its amenities. Check online for properties in paradise like Paragon Properties and Columbus Heights.
Caveat emptor, buyer beware! DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
