As the saying goes, whenever new roads, bridges or improvements occur, a good Real Estate market is just around the corner.

Costa Rica Developers with vision are the key to this and we are excited about the Lake Arenal area especially the northwest.

We have just decided to include this on Lake Arenal in our Lifestyle & Real Estate Tours as it fits so perfectly for the Retirement or Vacation home buyer.  Not to leave out the person 3 to 5 years from retirement that want to find a low cost piece of gorgeous land and lock in the price.  This is self directed IRA opportunity as well.

Here is why the southwest is the best area of beautiful Lake Arenal.

• It is 22 miles from the Volcano but still see the majestic symmetrical shape in the distance
• It has 50% less rainfall and is green all year round
• It is 5 minutes from the beautiful small town Tilaran with 4 super markets and all services
• It only 20 minutes from the new Hospital in Canas with all it’s services as well
• It is only 1 hour and 15 minutes from Liberia, the hub of the north and the international Airport
• It is only 1 hour and 30 minutes from the famous Guanacaste beaches
• It is only 2.5 hours from San Jose, the Capital with it’s multitude of shops, restaurants, Hospitals and more
• For one of the most famous Restaurants in all of Costa Rica 30 minutes at Nuevo Arenal (the Gingerbread house)
• Only 1 hour from all the hot springs and famous Arenal Volcano in the town of Fortuna.
• Pricing is very comfortable. Example nice lake view home on 1000 sq meter lot for $155,000
• This is an unbelievably good area for  Retirement or Vacation Home Investment or just plain long term investment.

See it in all it’s beauty and splendor here. ( This is the Real Estate portion of our Arenal Tours)
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To find out more about this great area of Costa Rica contact us toll free at:

1 888 581 1786 or locally 506 2293 2446 – ask for Steve, Robert or Albert

Is Costa Rica right for your retirement or investment?
Go here and find out very fast.

part 4  - the permitting
Developers and home-builders face is the enormous variety of permits that must be obtained before building.  To develop a property larger than 500 m2, you need the OK from at least half a dozen separate entities, probably more.

Developing a subdivision or a condominium in Costa Rica adds another layer of oversight from another regulatory body, and when all is said and done 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.
All told , the permitting process for a small Costa Rica development can take anywhere from a six months to several years and cost the developer some percent of the total value of the project. Construction of individual homes on properties covering less than a half a hectare must pass through a similar process, but with substantially less regulation.

The regulations are constantly changing, they vary in each of the Costa
Rica’s 81 municipalities, and no matter how sure something seems, exceptions pile upon exceptions.

This outline seeks to be only a detailed overview of construction permitting in Costa Rica, and is meant to compliment the expertise of a highly-recommended team of professionals that you should hire to handle the permitting process for you.

If all this sounds too complicated and expensive, and is tempting you to cut corners on permitting and environmental compliance of your development, you wouldn’t be the first.

Government regulators have simply not kept pace with developers during the last decade, causing severe backlogs. That encouraged many developers – especially in Guanacaste and the Central Pacific to throw up their hands and begin construction without all the necessary permits, muttering the mantra that it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Other developers have turned to corruption, dolling out bribes to government officials to get things moving.

A lot has changed here and I wouldn’t recommend this approach today
Costa Rica is very environmentally conscious and to that end has really clamped down on shortcuts that quite often lead to destruction of our natural resources.

Today, cutting corners on permitting costs more than it saves, both in time and money. This is mainly because the government is finally improving enforcement, significantly increasing the chance that un-permitted construction will get shut down long before the developer has a chance to ask forgiveness. Indeed, the year 2008 saw a series of high-profile crackdowns on construction sites all over the country that got the developer community’s attention. Legally, the penalties can include everything from fines to even jail time. Along with the crackdowns, the government is also making a few key changes in the permitting process – particularly in the environmental review – that promises to make permitting move faster, meaning that bribes, in addition to being a crime, are no longer worth the risk.

If you think doing permitting the right way is onerous, wait and see what happens when you do it the wrong way. Without the meticulous attention to detail that the permitting process requires, you could end up unnecessarily delaying your product an extra year or two.

Finally, cutting corners on permitting hurts everyone in the long run. Improper waste water management, the illegal clearing of forest, and the interruption of biological corridors by private roads destroy the very reasons people want to live in Costa Rica in the first place – namely, jungle, wildlife, beautiful landscapes, and friendly local communities. Permitting in Costa Rica is complicated and frustrating, but it is intended to protect the goose laying the golden eggs. Even better, think of it as keeping your neighbor from building a monstrosity that would lower the value of your property.

More to come on Permitting……   For more information or a conference call with our Engineering team, arrange it with
Robert at 1 888 581 1786 toll free or locally 506 2293 2446

“Identify with what  people seek  in these times, then make it for them”
and…… sell it all year long

What do they want? 
Comfortable pricing,  to be a part of something, lifestyle choices, lower cost living and most of all,  something real.

There still exists today,  a large number of people seeking retirement, relocation and investment in Costa Rica.  There is a lot of uneasiness among them.  They are much different breed from what we new in the 2008 era.  This is reflected in their caution, unsureness, afraid to get in now because they feel there is a deeper bottom coming,  and fear of losing more of there nest egg and yes, trust.

An Eco development including a  sustainable farm unit
Imagine a lifestyle where you can build your home in a beautiful part of the world, live in a community that is dedicated to sustainability, have your own food grown organically, use horses or golf cart for transportation,  be self sufficient for electricity and water.  When you want to go out for a change, it is only 15 to 20 minutes away from  some the best beaches in Costa Rica, famous Manuel Antonio that sports 1,000,000 million visitors each year.  good infrastructure that takes you through to the OSA Peninsula and more.  The other way toes to the famous Hermosa beach where the Billabong Surf tournament was held.. It has it all, the Lakes, River, Valleys, flat land, high Mountain, access and character.  It can be one of the finest in the world.

Attention Costa Rica Developers…
Here is perfect development property  and it affords a huge preservation area and very adequate build out to be very profitable.  It can comprise anything from condos, homes, hotel condo, high rise with ocean views and more.

This is an example of a large tract of land for sale and is priced to sell and can house a multitude of venues that would include a sustainable farming unit, medical tourism (very popular in Costa Rica), condo hotel and various levels of retirement and resort products. 

This is a new horizon and Costa Rica Development is about reflect the new clients interest very soon.   One Company exists now and are beginning to take form in the south Pacific.  It is a pure community effort, like all these projects should be  should be with emphasis on sustainability and the project’s people interacting to achieve the sustainability aspects.

To be updated or arrange conference call with Engineers that did pre studies for this great piece of developmental land, call us and we will arrange everything.
toll free is 1 888 581 1786 and local is (506) 2293 2446.  Ask for Robert Shannon.

Part 2   –  ”Discounting of today’s Costa Rica Real Estate makes it worth taking a look” 
You can find deeply discounted properties offered with as much as 40% off in prime locations and a variety of different sizes and types such as prime Beachfront,  large Eco project land for a combination of homes, condos which can be developed as a self sustaining Eco project supplying all food stuffs, energy and water.  This is becoming a very popular approach to the current market and creates a most interesting appeal to today’s offshore home buyers.  This is especially true when the destination is Costa Rica with it’s reputation as  one of the leading Eco sustainable countries in the world.

 Example of Developer opportunities in Costa Rica today….

Approach to market …. is very important given the world economy and the buyer’s current nervousness. 
If product is designed to the market of today and you proceed accordingly, it sells.  It is very important to have scope in pricing with good choices and options. If your starting price point is good and matches up to the amenities offered, it will be a success even today.
If your project is properly funded and you can show it, then you remove the stigma that is harbored by many buyers in projects today which is a major obstacle in completing sales.

Clients  have learned what to look for in projects that have failed in the past.  These failures for the most part are not the fault of the developer as they were designing to the current market needs and excesses.  When Bank  financing was halted by our Central Bank, they got caught and many with all of their own money in the projects.

Example of a NOW opportunity..
Here  is one example of a project that was stopped. Right now is the perfect timing for someone to pick it up cheaply and redesign within the approved  footprint to the pricing and needs of today.

The project  – Located in the central Pacific, Oceanfront, 120 unit, can become 170 for new pricing utilizing all permissions that exist today.  A of the 21  buyers will remain in,  all proceeds went to land improvement, have one building almost completed and second one started. The project can be picked up as a complete buyout for $2,000000 million.  It will take another 5 mil to build to a comfortable cash flow and show good product.   The price points will be as low as $135,000  and is an Oceanfront project in a very desirable area.  The owners prefer to stay in and joint venture. That says a lot in itself.

Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties marketed this one and we saw first hand how it was received. We sold 4 units there of the 20 that were sold.

There is no secret among the more aggressive Real Estate companies that there are buyers still coming.  One of the biggest problems is finding product that matches up to the new buyer.  Ask Carol Odonnell, who manages our marketing of the central Pacific.  She will  update you on how that is a fact.

Watch for our next sampling of a great opportunity for developers that features
Almost 1000 acres of beautifully versatile Costa Rica Development land near to Quepos/Manuel Antonio with all the area draw and this one is only $4,500,000 and was in contract for $7,000 just 14 months ago.  It has a build out net of  $90,000,000.   We will talk about how this can be one of the best areas, what makes this such a special area and property.

If you share in any part of this  thinking, it will be worth your while as a developer or investor to start looking seriously NOW.    This is a point in time. 

We are very  familiar with projects we feature as examples and are authorized to send complete business plans to qualified inquiries.

 Watch for  our next one very soon.

Farming today can be very profitable if you have the right land.  Usually farm land is committed to Agriculture, cattle or timber.  If you find one directly in the path of growth that has a lot for features, you can add Development to the mix and now you have a whole new perspective.

Here is an an example of an amazing property featuring 178 acres plus a tropical year round lagoon, a 300 square meter (3,100 square feet) house, a 1,000 square meters barn, a 30 square meters worker’s house, and another 100 square meter house. Recent valuation of more than $1.5 million.  It is now on the market for $897,000

Location plays large role in determining if you can add the extra dimension of Development.  This property is located in between Tamarindo and Santa Cruz, on the main road on the way to Avellanas Beach and the Hacienda Pinilla Resort.  This is a prime area of development for the Gold Coast of Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

A real plus is that it has all public services including water, power, Internet, phone, satellite T.V and a water well with a modern electric pump, a 2,500 liters (660 gallon) holding tank and plenty of water.

Developing
The land boundaries touch public road on two sides of the property which adding value because it has good access on two different roads, making it legal to be subdivided in the future, and legally zoned for any kind of agricultural, commercial or residential development in the future.

If  a person is interested in a very solid, secure investment with future and a  method of hedging against falling currency, this can solve it all as this farm is very diversified in nature and can be used for may things.

It is not often a quality Costa Rica farms become available at this kind of price.  See details of this Costa Rica Farm for Sale.  For more on this, call Heinz at 1 888 581 1786.

If you happens to be a person that has been scouring the listings for a good low priced Farm, I can assure you, you won’t do better than this one.

If you live in Costa Rica there is a good chance the country’s lifestyle will rub of on you. Almost everyone has heard about the country’s “Blue Zones” where many centenarians reside.  Major television networks in the United States have done numerous stories about these “longevity hotspots.”

What most people don’t know is that if you are a Costa Rican and reach eighty years of age you have the longest longevity rate in the world thereafter.  In a recent article la Nación, Costa Rica’s largest Spanish newspaper, said Costa Ricans also have the least chance of dying before 60 years of age than people who live in other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

The study attributes this to the country’s excellent “cradle to grave” health care system, the absence of internal and external conflicts (wars), pura vida lifestyle and the fact that the Costa Ricans just may be the happiest people on the face of the earth.

The study appeared in the publication The Lancet which is financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It covered 187 countries and Costa Rica was first in Latin America and 32 in the entire world. Chile was in second place in this report. This study came to the same conclusions as previous work by the World Bank.

So, if you are interested in living or retiring in a country with a great climate and healthy people, then Costa Rica Retirement is the obvious choice. Who know? If you adopt the healthy Costa Rican lifestyle you can probably “add years to your life.” I can guarantee you that you will add “life to your years” because of the fantastic lifestyle.

Green Developments are one of the most popular Tourist Vacation destinations.

Green development is a very practical approach for devlopers these days.  Buying undeveloped Ocean view view land is a bargain today in Costa Rica.

Finding the right project can be a lengthy process.   Costa Rica Real Estate that is suited to Green development can be found in many areas of the country.  Costa Rica is 1% of the world landmass and 4% of the Biodiversity which says a lot for choosing this Country for  Green Development.

Even though Green suggests a remote location, it is wise to have some amenities nearby so location is a prime consideration.  

A checklist to consider in making a prime Costa Rica Green Development

Buy large  acreage that can yield low density
Use no more than one third of the land for development
Land should include a River, Waterfalls, Valleys, Mountains, varied terrain and a variety of Animals
Access to a center with health care within 1 hour.
Soil suitable for organic farming
It should be undeveloped land with good options available (ideally a piece of land with no plan regulador in place)

A meeting with Certification of Sustainable Tourism a division of ITC (Costa Rica Tourism Board) to identify the various grades and decide what level you wish for your  project.

There are many locations as mentioned above and also many different prices for Costa Rica Development land that is suited to Green Development.  A good example of one with all the ingredients is here. 

 It is priced so that low density still makes it very profitable, The density is only 33%. It has all the features for a fine Green Development, located perfectly, loaded with Animals, Rivers, Waterfalls, Lakes and varied but beautiful terrain.

This model is very profitable and one of the best priced in Costa Rica. It is almost 1000 acres for less than $6,000,000.  See all details of Reserva Guacalillo here.