The  Costa Rica Real Estate  industry is patiently awaiting the signs of the USA economic recovery while our own is quietly showing very positive signs. 

All the major infrastructure work that was underway never ceased and now most of it is complete adding a lot of fuel to the fire of recovery.  Commercial occupancy rates are still very high and flights are still packed coming into Costa Rica.  Real Estate is picking up as well but mainly on discounted property. 

Please read the following reprint from Inside Costa Rica.
IMF: “Economic Recovery In Costa Rica Is Firmly Underway”

A staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Costa Rica during April 7–13, 2010 to conduct the third and final review of the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) approved in April 2009. The mission met with Finance Minister Jenny Phillips, Central Bank Governor Francisco de Paula Gutiérrez, other senior officials, and representatives of the financial sector.

After the conclusion of the discussions, Mr. Marco Piñón, the IMF mission chief for Costa Rica, made the following statement:

“The economic recovery in Costa Rica is firmly underway. Economic growth rose in the second half of 2009 and remained strong in the first quarter of 2010. Consumer and business sentiment have firmed up and financial conditions have continued to improve. Adjustments in administered prices have pushed inflation to 5.8 percent in March, compared to 4 percent at end-2009, but underlying inflation has remained stable close to 4 percent. Overall, the rebound in activity has been stronger than originally anticipated.

“The economic outlook has also improved since the previous review in December 2009. The projection for output growth in 2010 has been revised to 3.8 percent (1.5 percentage points higher than before). Inflation is expected to be close to the upper end of the central bank’s target band of 4–6 percent in 2010.

“Performance under the precautionary SBA with the Fund has continued to be very strong, as the authorities met all quantitative performance criteria for end-December 2009 and preliminary data suggest that the end-March targets were also met.

“Overall, the authorities’ policy response to the crisis, supported by Fund’s SBA, has proved effective. The government’s strategy to shield the economy from external shocks with external resources, which in the event were not used, helped preserve confidence, maintain stability, and protect the most vulnerable groups. A supportive fiscal policy has provided a boost to the recovery and a cautious monetary policy has allowed inflation to move to low levels.

“The mission expects that the IMF Executive Board will consider the third and final review of the SBA in late-May 2010. The authorities have indicated that they will continue to treat the SBA as precautionary.”

We at Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties have been had a strong focus on finding good properties that are favorably discounted to  accommodate the current market.  So far results have been favorable as we have had quite a few sales as a result.  That too indicates that the market is there and you can’t blame clients for seeking deals in this market.

Here is an example of a timely opportunity and taking advantage of the market.

This is the first Costa Rica Golf course in the beautiful southern zone of Costa Rica.  The developer here is truly committed to doing things right.  His debt free approach and concept of populating the area  quickly with good incentives through deeply discounted pricing and waiving the initiation fees is certainly a formula for success.

People could only dream about a south Pacific Golf course, now it is real with 9 holes already  finished.  The locals will eat up this opportunity not only as a place to play but as a social area as well.

For more on this great place to live and invest, contact Robert or Annie at 1 888 581 1786.

A very refreshing approach to finding your dream property or investment in Costa Rica
People who have heard about the great opportunities and Lifestyle benefits of retiring and investing in Costa Rica often don’t know where to start.  They have serious concerns about where and with whom to begin their search.  This is a natural reaction when one is considering a brand new country and has no previous experience .  Our approach to helping our clients is very refreshing for newcomers seeking retirement or investment property.  After we put you through the paces to carefully identify your lifestyle and personal needs, we incorporate things into our tours that you would never know about until you have been here for months.

Patricia Urgate is part of our central Valley area  marketing team.  She has the background experience and talent that matches up nicely with our client care policies.  She is an attorney and has a Masters Degree in Business Administration with emphasis in Management and Human Resources.  She graduated from the University of Costa Rica and from the Interamericana University.

Her experience includes working in a number of major multinational corporations located in Costa Rica in areas such as Real Estate and Human Resources.  She is perfectly bilingual.  She will be working closely with our clients in the central valley that are looking to relocate or invest in Costa Rica.  Her people skills, which are so important to working with newcomers seeking retirement or investment in Costa Rica are a very big assets and will serve our clients in a very special way.

Patricia will use our Lifestyle Real Estate Tours to consult and identify the best match up of Lifestyle,personal and budgets needs of our clients seeking retirement or investment in Costa Rica.

Lifestyle Real Estate Tour  – Our Company has pioneered and developed a very simple and easy method for our clients that takes away all the stress associated with trying to make a good decision about value and where to locate. We have been doing this for years and we do it very well. If you are seriously ready to check out Costa Rica with a Company that maintains the highest standards of client care and functions as your agent, then you should inquire about our individual Lifestyle Real Estate Tours.

Who are you dealing with?
With  Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties you are dealing with a pure Real Estate Company that has coverage in all viable Retirement and Investment markets in Costa Rica.  We use only the most qualified attorneys for the area of interest,  we don’t put you in the wrong places, we guide you through all aspects of the buying and decision making process,  we tell you what you need to know about adjusting to this Countries differences and most important, we don’t confuse you with fear about living in central America.  You need to know what it is like here and the differences, and there are differences.  You can be assured the trade offs more than offset anything negative.  With us, you will quickly learn know if this country is for you.

We are Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties.  We have been doing this for years and we do it very well.  When you work with us you are in excellent hands and we will serve you well.
We have been chosen year after year to manage the property sampling on his very famous Retirement Relocation Tours.  This alone is a great endorsement as Christopher works to the highest standards of Customer care as well.

To find out more on our Lifestyle Real Estate Tours, contact Patricia  at 1 888 581 1786.

SIMPLEST – LEAST MAINTENANCE – MOST SECURE  TYPE OF INVESTMENT

“Land banking” is the process of buying and holding land for future sale or development. Parcels of land desirable for land banking are those that lie directly in the path of growth and development.

Historically, many fortunes have been made in land banking by individuals who understood the concept of buying and holding pre-developed land destined to increase in value because it lies in the path of growth. To reap the gains of this investment, they do little more than select the land, then wait. Imagine buying land on the outskirts of London, New York, or Tokyo 50 years ago and what it would be worth today!

The average investor thinks of Land banking being as reserved for the wealthy and for large corporations. However, there are models that open up land banking to everyone from a real estate investor who is just beginning to a sophisticated investor with many years of experience.

WHY BANK LAND IN COSTA RICA  -  Costa Rica is a large Brand world wide and will benefit greatly from the onslaught of 77,000,000 Baby Boomers in the USA alone. It already has more Americans per capita residing outside of the USA living here now.  It is the number one choice of Americans desiring offshore retirement.  It is cheaper by far to live here, offers world class health care, is a very peaceful democracy and most important the Government is now directing a large effort at enticing retirees with some attractive incentives.. Because it is so appealing, in the next five years we will see a tremendous growth in the Real Estate market here.

Before the crisis in the USA, investors eyeing Costa Rica were saying “I wish I had bought 5 years ago”.  Costa Rica has seen the first reversal of prices in Real Estate in 20 years. Land prices have dropped significantly.

This is a point in time where the astute investor can identify this opportunity. 
Warning:   This is not for the impulsive.  One has to be cautious and patient.  All land is not in the path of growth and development as it sometimes appears on the surface. Further, you must understand what can be done with it as well.

In this model, raw-land investors basically buys a piece of undeveloped land that is located strategically, has a potential good build out, will not be hampered by restrictions such as environmental issues, height etc that will preclude the profit plan.

When land becomes more accessible through new roads, bridges etc, it improves in value immediately. When a development suddenly appears, land around also becomes more valuable.  It is hard to predict when these things are going to occur for the average investor so it is important that you have yourself in good hands.  That will apply to the person buying a Vacation home, retirement property for the future or in fact any Real Estate for growth.

Here is an example of a classic opportunity 
 This property is located 30 minutes from the fastest growing town in Costa Rica. It has electric and water and very close to the main road to the Pacific and to San Jose.  Today, it may not look like much of an opportunity as it is remote. Imagine 5 years from now. It probably has potential of high rise, mid rise, townhouses and single family. Once the area opens up and a developer comes to look at this one, his approach will go something like this:
If one was to assume that you could build a combination of 40 units and set a profit at an average $50K net each, he would have after all costs including land at $350K a profit of $2,000,000.  The investor turned his 75K into $350K conservatively.
Worst case scenario: Build an estate home on the land for yourself or sell it as an estate hideaway which it is perfect for even today.

37 acres of beautiful terrain

So when is the best time to invest? 
When a market has crashed is an obvious good opportunity
Where there’s room for growth, and
where the potential for profit is greatest.

How to buy land and hold in Costa Rica  -  There is a process that we use and is very timely now. Learn how to do it without touching your capital. For more information on land banking or about investing in Costa Rica,  Please call 1-888 581 1786  ask for Robert.

Our Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties Alliance is growing and rounding out nicely.  The ever popular northern zone of Costa Rica  has a lot to offer both retiree and Vacation home buyer. 

Another  area that is ofter not handled properly by Real  Estate Companies is the large Teak market.  It is a highly specialized commodity with many ramifications to consider when purchasing raw Teak or a large farm.  Our newest addition to our Alliance is Heinz Otto Pflug.  He is very experienced and qualified Teak expert and has access to many good Teak plantations that are offering the wood or Teak Farms for sale. 

Heinz Otto Pflug,  a native Costa Rican with German descendants,who hold on to good values and ethics in every part of  lives, especially in our professions. Heinz has been working in real estate and property rentals for over 12 years in Costa Rica.Committed to providing you with the best customer service whether you are investing or selling property in Costa Rica.

Hand in hand with the best attorney’s, and escrow companies in the area to insure that you are protected and advised in every aspect of a real estate transaction. Honest, straight forward and hard working for you and no games with the pricing of properties. We earn our money at the successful closing of each transaction by helping buyers and sellers come together.

As a side, Heinz is also a specialist in Costa Rica  Teak farms.  He is very talented and knowledgeable in every facet of finding the right Teak farm for our clients. We have a large inventory of  1000’s of acres of varying ages of good Teak that he has put together for our market. 

Heinz will be covering  the areas, Playas Del Coco,Ocotal, Potrero, Flamingo, Brasilito, Playa Grande, Tamarindo, Langosta, Avellanas, Marvella Samara,Carrillo y Camaronal All of these wonderful Beaches. 

For help with Teak, Vacation Homes or Retirement homes, call our toll free number and ask for Heinz or Robert.

During the craze when everyone was buying with equity loans and hoping to flip for a good profit, Developers would promote their wares as if anyone buying will see a nice gain every year (we were on board as well) .  Further, when asked if they would handle their re sale, the answer was, definitively, yes.

One such case our Company experienced was in the Pacific where we applauded the quality location and promise of Golf and flag Hotel.  We confidently sold our good client in good faith, a luxury unit strictly as an investment.  When it finally finished and was ready for sale, no attempt was made to sell it for our client.  We tried as one Real Estate Company to move it for him with no success. Finally the client got caught in the recession. His business was hit hard and he dropped the price incrementally and finally arrived at $ 120,000 off what they were selling for at the time and they still didn’t let anyone know about it even though they sold a number of the new units of an asking price of $495,000.  Imagine if one of these clients heard about this one, how fast they would have went for it.  It was a better location also.

I personally wrote the Company principal reminding them about this very unfair treatment and of course, got no answer at all.

Here is the flip side We have been selling Real Estate in Atenas for a number of years and worked a lot with Roca Verde, a Developer partnership of two men that had carefully selected the property and plotted it to get good sized lots with great views.  It is basically all sold out but for about 5 lots and the new phase will open soon.

What prompted me to write this was the contrast in attitudes of these two projects.  We just added a new person to our sales staff, Patricia Ugarte and our Listing Manager, Kathia took her to see all of our Atenas properties that we market.  When they got to Roca Verde they received  a good presentation of what the owners Norman and Jon had left for sale. They had 2 homes under construction and a few lots left. Later,they very graciously asked Kathia and Patricia for business cards so they may pass them out to people who wish to sell their homes in their project.

That speaks volumes to me even though I personally would have expected that from these gentlemen,  I have been around many deals with them and never recall a problem with repair, delivery or quality.  They are hard workers, business men of the first order and gentlemen.  I wish them well.

Market today in Costa Rica

A big welcome to the newest members of Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties Costa Rica Alliance.  Brian and Brenda Bombard area very special addition to our group.

Originally from Santa Catalina Island, California Brian moved to Costa Rican to join  the family business and to enjoy the beautiful environment of Costa Rica, Nosara and Guanacaste.   As a Surfer and Diver he has been not only enjoyed so many of the amazing surf spots and dive locations around Nosara, he now knows them all intimately..  Brian worked in the family Property Management business for a number of years. He completed his studies and became a Licensed Real Estate Broker in 2008.

He now specializes in Property Management, Project Management and Real Estate Sales.  You are in good hands with Brian as you will see from your very first contact.

Brenda, Brian’s mother,  relocated from California in 1998 with her family, She made Nosara their permanent home.  She has more than 12 years of experience and active participation in native-animal protection, resort management, Real Estate and property management in the Nosara are.  She founded Refugio Animalesde Nosara which is Nosara’s leading Local wildlife protection and rehabilitation facility helping protect the local Howler population.  She also assists in the rehabilitation of all kinds of animals here in Nosara.  Brenda began working in Real Estate & Property Management here in Costa Rica in order to create funding to assist in financing the local Refuge and wildlife preservation.  Brenda’s warm and helpful personality will help you relax and feel right at home as you work together to find the perfect property for you.

Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties couldn’t be more pleased with the  addition of this team  to our growing Alliance across all of Costa Rica.  For Nosara and surrounding areas, please feel free to call us toll free at 1 888 581 1786.