Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties

A real boom for Costa Rica development projects

High speed INTERNET and VOIP have long been a shortcoming for a large number of Costa Rica development projects. This new arrangement with Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. will clearly change the profile of our clients seeking Costa Rica retirement. It also opens up the market to people whose business is done parley by INTERNET such as traders, researchers etc.

How long this will take to get into place is not certain. Please read on for details.

Costa Rica’s National Telco Selects Gilat’s SkyEdge Broadband Satellite Network
?? VSAT Platform Will Bring Reliable Telephony and Wireless Internet Access to Rural Citizens

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq:GILT) today announced that it has been selected by Costa Rica’s national telecommunications operator Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), to provide a Gilat SkyEdge broadband satellite communications network that will serve end users throughout Costa Rica.

ICE will use the new VSAT network to expand its programs to provide toll-quality telephony to rural citizens, meeting its Universal Service Obligations. The network will also provide satellite backhaul for wireless Internet access to those citizens. Using this mix enables the service provider to benefit from the advantages of each technology - satellite’s nationwide reach and wireless’ cost-effective, “last mile” access.

ICE is a long-standing Gilat customer, having deployed Gilat VSAT networks nationwide since 2005.

“After evaluating competing VSAT offerings, we determined that Gilat’s SkyEdge has the high performance and compelling economics that make it ideally suited to expand telephony and Internet access to all our rural communities,” said ICE Ing. Edgar Hernandez. “In the past, Gilat has demonstrated a very high level of commitment to customer support and a solid track record for providing superior telecommunications services. These attributes will help us serve the needs of our citizens in an efficient manner.”

Russell Ribeiro, Gilat Network Systems’ Regional Vice President, Latin America, said, “Continuing our relationship with ICE helps us bring the most efficient, dependable communications systems to the citizens of Costa Rica. We are proud to once again demonstrate our ability to meet the critical voice and data connectivity requirements of the world’s rural communities.”

Gilat’s SkyEdge is a satellite communications system that delivers high-quality voice, broadband data and video services over a powerful unified system. SkyEdge represents Gilat’s extensive knowledge base and field-proven product offering, acquired through two decades of experience. SkyEdge’s flexible architecture and efficient space segment utilization make it an ideal platform for operators and service providers.

About Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE):

Costa Rica’s national telecommunications operator, Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, (ICE), offers fixed and mobile telephony as well as data/Internet communications. ICE is a government entity that has distinguished itself in Central America as a leader in the development and implementation of new technologies. It offers a wide variety of services in Costa Rica and has several technological platforms that allow it to diversify the service options for its customers, both residential and corporate. For more information visit www.grupoice.com.

About Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd.

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq:GILT) is a leading provider of products and services for satellite-based communications networks. The Company operates under three business units: (i) Gilat Network Systems (”GNS”), which is a provider of network systems and associated professional services to service providers and operators worldwide; (ii) Spacenet Inc., which provides managed services in North America for businesses and governments through its Connexstar service brand and for consumers through its StarBand service brand; (iii) Spacenet Rural Communications, which offers rural telephony and Internet access solutions to remote areas primarily in Latin America.

Gilat was founded in 1987 and has shipped over 670,000 Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs) to more than 85 countries across six continents. Gilat’s headquarters is located in Petah Tikva, Israel. The Company has 16 sales and service offices worldwide. Gilat markets the SkyEdge (TM) and SkyEdge II Product Family which includes the SkyEdge Pro, SkyEdge IP, SkyEdge Call, SkyEdge DVB-RCS and SkyEdge Gateway. In addition, the Company markets numerous other legacy products.

No shortcuts in Costa Rica land development today.  If you think doing permitting the right way is onerous, wait and see what happens when you do it the wrong way.

The Costa Rica government is rapidly improving enforcement, significantly increasing the chance that un-permitted construction will get shut down long before the developer has a chance to ask forgiveness. In the year 2008 we saw a series of high-profile crackdowns on construction sites all over the country that should the developer community. The penalties can include everything from fines to even jail time. Also, the government is also making a few key changes in the permitting process – particularly in the environmental review – that promise to make permitting move faster, meaning that bribes, in addition to being a crime, are no longer worth the risk.   Without the meticulous attention to detail that the permitting process requires, you could end up unnecessarily delaying your product an extra year or two – a catastrophic development if your financing is time sensitive. Horror stories abound.

The main problem that developers face is the great variety of permits that must be obtained prior to building. To develop a property larger than 5000 square meters (1.2acres approximately),  you need the OK from at least half a dozen separate entities,and probably more. Developing a subdivision or a condominium adds another layer of oversight from another regulatory body.

In the end  you’ll probably need to have hired at least seven state-certified professionals, including an architect, a civil engineer, a topographer, an environmental engineer, an archaeologist, an anthropologist, and a biologist. All that, and you haven’t even started construction yet.

At Costa Rica Development properties our Land development division, we have arrived at a very carefully planned methodology to both find properties for our clients as well as get them off on the right foot in the development process.

We identify development objectives clearly and seek properties that match up in the areas best suited for this particular type of development whether it be major Hotel and Golf course project or simply project of building lots for sale.

Once we get close to a decision, we take the choices we have narrowed down to and do a very inexpensive Ambiente study by satellite. This gives us a pretty good indication of the land use. When it is decided to go forward with an offer, the due diligence is planned very carefully to give us the best time frame to complete it properly and receive the full information we need to be sure we can do what we want to accomplish on the land.

Our company has personally been involved in a fine project called “Vistas Manuel Antonio”.

In the upcoming posts, I will walk you through the process the we used to get to through all the approvals to date and successfully so, while others were being shut down all around us.

Please feel free to comment or ask questions regarding your devlopment

Guanacaste’s golden coast is a haven for development; foreign investors flock to the beautiful sand beaches and bright blue skies, banking on their own slice of paradise. Yet not all is perfect in paradise, as twelve home and business owners recently found out, when they were notified that their buildings and additions would be torn down.

By law, all Costa Rica beaches are public, and 50 meters back from the water line are inalienable public lands - under no circumstance whatsoever may anyone build on these first 50 meters. An additional 150 meters are given to the municipality, to be sold at its discretion. Per law, the municipality may place rules and regulations on this land ownership.

The Municipality of Carillo began demolition on several homes and properties yesterday, all of which were illegal resting on public lands, or the first 50 meters from the shoreline. “We hope that by the beginning of next year, the 49 kilometers of Carillo beachfront will be free and clear for the 50 meters of public space,” the mayor of Carrillo, Carlos Cantillo, explained.

In total, about twenty buildings encroach on public land in the municipality of Carrillo. Regardless of the law, several Costa Rica property owners sought protection from the Sala Cuatro, asking that they disallow the demolition of their properties. Five homeowners were granted a stay of execution, and will not yet be demolished. Their future is unknown.

This is the second round of demolitions in Carrillo; the first occurred last November. Like its predecessor, yesterday’s events were conducted peacefully. “The municipality plans to build a boulevard, dock, and recreational [parks] for national and international tourists; thank God there no conflicts arose from the demolitions, because all those affected were notified by the Carrillo’s municipality,” the vice mayor, Kattia Quirós, confirmed. Only one injury was reported, when a senior couple, who had been renting the same home for 15 years, didn’t know where else to go. The municipality quickly obtained a pickup truck to help transport the couple and their belongings to a new home.

In addition to the twelve buildings knocked down yesterday, the Carrillo municipality sent 72 total demolition notices to property owners whose constructions are in violation of the 50-meter free zone. Only eight cases are currently held up in court proceedings, so more demolition is soon planned. “Next week two home’s [cases] are on the docket; if the matter is resolved in favor of the Municipality, we will demolish then,” Cantillo explained.

Playa Hermosa and Ocotal will soon be investigated. All properties constructed on public beach in those areas will also be notified of the problem, and demolition will soon follow. “We’re ready to obey orders when and whenever they are legal,” director of the Natura Cultura Foundation, Edgar Castrillo, said.

The moral of today’s story is simple: before you build or buy on beachfront property in Costa Rica, make sure you are within your legal rights to do so. As evidenced by yesterday’s demolished houses, not every promise of beachfront rights is backed by law.

Sustainability in Costa Rica: Not Just Talk              by Andrew Cohan

In January, 2008 a team comprised of Yale and Columbia University researchers released the first comprehensive country rankings of “green-ness” based on an Environmental Performance Index, or EPI.  The EPI incorporates 25 categories of statistics and indicators to arrive at a composite score between zero and 100, with 100 representing a “perfect” EPI score. Five countries of the 149 analyzed scored an EPI of 90 or higher.  Of the five, Costa Rica was the only country representing the Americas (Switzerland and three Scandinavian nations round out the top 5).  This accomplishment is even more compelling when one considers that Costa Rica has a per capita GDP that is less than one third that of any of the other “top five” countries.

Examples of how Costa Rica has institutionalized sustainability in the tourism sector are several.  First, its Blue Flag program, designating quality standards for the nation’s beaches, has become a symbol of local pride.  When a popular tourist beach lost the Blue Flag designation in 2007, residents and local government quickly mobilized to remedy the situation and have the status restored.

Another program administered by the ICT, Costa Rica’s official tourism organization, has established sustainability rankings for hotels, ranging from one to five “Leaves”.  The levels awarded are based on an analysis of the hotel’s commitment to the local community, to nature, and to minimizing environmental impact.  For example, the Best Western Jaco Beach Hotel was recently awarded a 4-Leaves recognition, representing 80% compliance with the program’s principles.

Incorporating Sustainability in Feasibility and Valuation Practice

The United Nations convened the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1983 to address growing concern about the global nature of environmental policy.  The commission became known by the name of its Chairperson, Gro Harlem Brundtland.  In 1987 the Brundtland Commission released its findings in a document entitled “Our Common Future”.  In this document, sustainable development was defined as that “which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Sustainability principles have since been incorporated, in varying degrees, by several real estate industry professional organizations. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a UK-based independent professional body analogous to the Appraisal Institute, adopted a sustainability policy in 2005.  In June of 2007, RICS further clarified the policy by publishing a Sustainability Guide for Property Professionals.  The policy states that RICS expects its members to “promote sustainable development through their professional activities and advice.” The sustainability guide emphasizes the consideration by the appraisal profession of a “Triple Bottom Line” of environmental, economic, and social components.  These three perspectives are further detailed in the sustainability guide by property lifecycle stage