Estimated Reading Time: 3 Minutes Who’d guess Costa Rica offers you a lot if you want active retirement? Rudy Johnston is a very active person, and one of his reasons for moving here was that he could stay active until he got really old. You guessed it right: Rudy is still in great shape. He…
Did you know that your due diligence when buying from a developer completely differs from buying a house or apartment already built? Have you ever put money down on a real estate project that did not happen? I did, and I’m a seasoned real estate broker in Costa Rica and have lived here since 1980.…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Our Heredia affiliate, Xinia Salazar, wrote this handy property checklist a few years ago. It needed updating, and I would like to share it with you. When you buy a property, there are details you won’t find out until you hit on a problem or when it’s too late. For…
Have you fallen in love with a house in Costa Rica, and you can’t sell your house? Some want to make an offer on the house here before they have even put their own house back home on the market. Others have tried to sell their house for a while, but nobody bites. If you’re…
Estimated Reading Time: 9 Minutes Probably you have decided that buying a car in Costa Rica is much easier than bringing your old one. Bringing your own car only makes sense when you ship your household anyway or if your car has low mileage. But the hassle of bringing your own vehicle is often not…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes The Costa Rica closing costs when purchasing or selling a property is just under 4% of the purchase price. When you research, you will find blogs that say 3.5% and others even less. Learn in this article about closing costs, how to calculate them, and who pays for them. It…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes Do you think it’s possible that your dream of moving to Costa Rica can turn into a nightmare? So you see yourself sitting on the covered terrace of your incredible new residence, sharing delicious piña coladas and boquitas (snacks) with your friends while enjoying nature or an incredible ocean view?…
Estimated Reading Time: 3 MInutes The other day, a client was looking for a recreational farm. All our agents are bi-lingual; some of us are even polyglots. But sometimes, they miss the nuances of a language. The agent asked: “I would like to know what you mean by a recreational farm so I know what to…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Let’s explain a bit about cremation in Costa Rica. I know it’s not a fun topic to discuss, but before we know, it’s our turn to find last-minute solutions. When a family member, or a friend, passes away, and you consider cremation in Costa Rica, taking the remains with you…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Without a proper vacation rental management solution, it is almost impossible to maximize the return on investment. A vacation rental property can be very lucrative, but it’s not a given. Our agents sell a lot of vacation rental beach condos to investors who live abroad or in another city. Managing…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Did you know you cannot build on a property without the water company approving water availability? Wikipedia makes a very important statement about the water resources in Costa Rica: Urban development continues to increase the pressure on water resources, and the use of water and groundwater, in particular, is becoming increasingly…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Often, future expats search online for guidelines on moving to Costa Rica. There are many reasons why we feel like moving to a new country, but our country is one especially interesting destination for many. Therefore we have published a ton of articles to assist you in finding out if…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Before you move to Costa Rica, a million things need attention. But no worries, that’s why we offer a ton of information on our blogs on this topic, and they’ll help you in your due diligence. All this info is easy to grab and all for free! Of course, we’d…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Buying a home is always overwhelming, especially in another country, and an interior design consultant can be your solution. For many, the issue that is the most challenging is a lack of design vision – the inability as a buyer to see past an ugly wall color or cluttered rooms…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Looking to retire yet? I know it really gets cold out there, especially in certain parts of the north. Are you fed up with the snow and other weather conditions? Then it’s time now to start working on that list of countries that are interesting to retire to. Of course,…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Future expats ask me questions about the famous perfect microclimate of Costa Rica all the time. Isn’t it strange that the temperatures and rainfall can vary by just moving a couple of miles in another direction? The great climate is one of the main reasons people move to our beautiful…