Thoughts on buying a house in Costa Rica

haha, who knew? It came up on my feed, so I just went with it, didn't even notice the date...you think they ended up moving to CR in the end?

I speak the truth.total disrespect for others,but that's the way of Costa Ricans.you want to move here ,get the true experience. Buy this home and be like them lol

there are NO no registered  or iLICENSED  REALTORS HEREEven if they try to convince you that is not true..a clever group of con men/women get together and formed a phony group calling themselves licensed realtors
Take it  from me,  fully licensed EX REALTOR IN  BEVERLY HILLS CA.  It annoyed the hell out of me MANY  years ago when I moved here
.Because I had NO idea that Anyone can print up a  business card statng Professional realtor...NO SUCH THING ..there are NO Schools as we attended in CA NO VERY Strict tests inLAW <Appraisal.And 3 other pertenant subjects , Most of us fail the test first time round FAR FROM EASY..and I thought Having a Scholarship to Notre Dame in England meant I was a little more Intelligent than most ...I Failed 1st time 2nd time passed..And had a very successful  12 year career in RE  There...ANYWAY I AM NOT SElliIng anything.  .UNLESS  afer turning my 3 acre Piece of heaven from a Coffee Plantation..into a main 2 story house PLUS 4 rentals..IF someone could  FIND ME A SIMILARPLACE BUT SMALLER I MAY BE TEMPTED . IT WOULD EPEND ON MY 4RESCUED DOGS WHO LOVE THIS HOBBY FARM/BNB FOR MANY YEARS..NOW RETIRED AND MAY RENT THE FUNISHED APARTMENTS BY THE NONTH OR YEAR ONLY TO QUIET PEPLE..IT IS CALLED El tranquilo so i would hate noise.yet i am 100 mfrom  stores 1 km from   huge modern mkts and food delivery or dine out upscale or simple..perfect climate Springlike year round unlike our unbearably hot beaches ugh the A/C bill and humidity i would hate..Anyway this is a warning to watch out for phony realtors..look up my email addy or why we cannot put it here God knows..as for old posts i have done hat myself DUH ,,but this site is badly in need of an update.
anyway you can come see our lovely area if we email a bit..try replaceing the AT with the usual squiggle
so ill try it as i rarely make time to drop by here antmore,,forgive ant typos i an waiting for my cateract surgery aghhhh
good lluck come on down dont buy without seeing what yu are getting into ok my nickname is
pebbs or pebs or pebbalita ..so long ago i forget..but try me at extrapetsATgmail.om//remember to replace the At with the usual icon..cheers

pS they have a wrong email addy above should only be one s....extrapetsATgmail.com

haha just saw he 2012 when will they ever get a simple sotware to elininate after 1 month or whenever but for goodness sake UPDATE THIS SITE..

Mr know every answer for every problem. Expats beware of know it all and dippty do dos. Look at the amount a busy body makes. Some of his knowledge lol is nit.beware

I'm speaking of the amounts samramon makes and his nonsense.  Just my opinion

@extrapetsss

My advice is: do not buy until you have seen it. Stay in the area for a while. Costa Rica has vastly diverse places. I was in Guanacaste and it was HOT. I am in Escazu and it is perfect right now.  Arenal is cooler: not freezing but less hot than the rest.

People and cultures are different. There are actually 2 Hermosa beaches. Make sure you get the right one:-)

I you want to live in Costa Rica I strongly suggest becoming a resident. It requires time but reuirements are reasonable. You get a LOT for it including a pretty high class healthcare. They literally saved the lives of 3 of my friends. Well 2 friends and my Costa Rican wive {we were friends at the time}.

Full Disclosure: Whether in North America or Costa Rica, I am a firm believer in building your own house.

That said, permit me to advise you to go very slowly buying any existing house. Costa Rican building codes primarily pertain to earthquake resistance. It's said that a properly built Costa Rican home may roll into the river, but the walls won't crack. Not nearly as much attention is given to wiring, plumbing and other essential components.

The problem is that deficiencies in the various components of any house are easy to cover up with paint and plaster. Once the blocks are laid, there's no way to know what, if any, reinforcing rod was included or if the mortar was mixed and applied correctly.

The problem is compounded by the fact that, while engineer-approved blueprints are required in order to get a building permit, there is virtually no inspection during construction. So you have no idea if the builder saved money, for instance, by reinforcing the walls with the specified rebar or coat hanger wire. And there's no way to tell.

My bias favors building the house you want to live in. Build the design and the features in the place you want to live and skip the extras that run up the costs while providing little in liveability or enjoyability.

And if you think you'll be swamped by visits from friends and family, think again (and scout out a local B&B). It'll be much cheaper and you won't have to clean up. We built a fully contained one-bedroom guest house (a mistake). My wife is one of six and in eighteen years a grand total of two of her sisters have each visited us for a week. That put us into the rental business which we did not aspire to in our declining years.