|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
» costa Rica central pacific
Real Estate Ownership and Corporations
Thursday, August 4th, 2011RE/MAX Jaco Connection
Jaco Beach, Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s beaches and central valleys along with the country’s attractions have an irresistible charm bringing tourists, the adventurous young, retirees and investors from all over the world. Most come for the sun and surf, climate, beautiful valleys, volcanoes, jungles, excellent security, good infrastructure, and low living costs. All of which makes Costa Rica, especially the Central Pacific, a great location to call home.
RE/MAX Jaco Connection is here to help you realize your real estate dream. Here in Costa Rica we are proud to be a part of the RE/MAX international network and to offer the quality of service associated with its name. RE/MAX is the largest, most well known real estate name in the world with over 13,000 associates and 7000 offices in over 65 countries. Nobody sells more real estate than RE/MAX.
As a buyer this important to you because there is no Multiple Listing System (Costa Rican MLS) service in Costa Rica. It is important to take advantage of websites like www.jacobeachinfo.com which functions as the de facto MLS of the Central Pacific coast. The listings include: range from new condos and homes on the beachfront in Jaco, raw land and inexpensive farms, oceanview lots in Hermosa Beach and income producing commercial property on the Central Pacific coast. Additionally, your RE/MAX agent will have the inside knowledge that will give you an edge on the market and help you to get plugged into the local community. Here is some resourceful information on the purchasing process.
In Costa Rica, foreigners enjoy the same ownership rights as citizens and are fully protected by the constitution. For legal and economical reasons, it is recommended that the purchase of real estate be performed through a Costa Rican Anonymous Corporation. This provides the anonymity which many foreign investors desire, making it difficult for outside parties to obtain information about who owns the shares of the Corporation and thus the property. Also, registering assets under individual Costa Rican corporations protects against any personal liability.
A common practice has been to transfer the shares of an existing company that owns the land to be purchased, instead of transferring the actual property to a third party. This is a faster and cheaper way to achieve the goal of transferring control of the property to the buyer, since it is the shares of the corporation that change hands. Also, no capital gain tax is paid in Costa Rica when a corporation that owns property is sold, due to the sale being a private transaction.
When you acquire the shares of a corporation in Costa Rica along with the company’s assets, the property also becomes its’ liabilities. For this reason, it is essential to perform a corporate search, in addition to performing a title search. This step will verify that the entity being transferred with the property is in appropriate legal standing.
Those who purchase in Costa Rica should receive professional advice from both a licensed Realtor and a qualified real estate attorney. Contact us if you have any questions.
Costa Rican Vacation Overview
Friday, June 24th, 2011
If you are thinking about vacationing, relocating or buying in Costa Rica but you are not sure where this might help. Pictures and web research only tells part of the story so your best bet is to actually visit the different sites you are considering. If nothing else you end us having an action packed vacation that give you a taste of all the different climate types Costa Rica has to offer.
Hopping from place to place: The Central pacific of Costa Rica is a great base and just a little over one hour to the SJO International airport. Jaco is the main tourist town and is full of life all year around. Contact Suncoast Rentals to set up your hotel or condo. Make sure you:
- Hit the top restaurants: Pili Pili, Graffitti, Lemon Zest, Wishbone and Tsunami.
- Enjoy the nightlife, cultural and nature activities. The area offer everything including: culture and art shows, night clubs, nature tours and much more.
- Challenge yourself to a little adventure: ATV Tours, Surf lessons, Bungee Jump, Horseback ridding or one of the many other tours
If you want a little romance or want to enjoy a sunset cocktail Villa Caletas is a MUST! This hotel has ridiculous views… and it’s only 15 minutes from Jaco Beach. Villa Caletas is away from town but it is worth staying here 1-night and driving into Jaco if you need anything. Make sure that you are there in time for the sunset which is around 5:45 all year down here.
From Jaco you can take a day trip south to Manuel Antonio (1 hr) or go a little further to Dominical and the Osa Peninsula. Manuel Antonio has a beautiful national park on the ocean with monkeys and sloths chilling alongside you. Keep in mind that the park is closed on Mondays. Make sure that you plan in your schedule to go to the park early in the morning as that is when you will see all the monkeys and wildlife. Other suggestions: Barba Rojas for sunset, Café Maligro for breakfast and La Hacienda for dinner. I also really like Hotel Si Como No for dinner and a movie.
Then I would head to Monteverde (about 3.5 hrs from the ocean). Here you can do all the jungle adventure stuff like canopy tours (zip lines through the forest), hikes on suspension bridges, butterfly and hummingbirds gardens, etc. You can spend a full day at this adventure park http://www.selvatura.com/. Then the next morning I would recommend visiting the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Be sure to get a guide or you won’t get the full experience in the forest. Johnny’s pizzeria has excellent Italian food and the Rainforest Café in town has great atmosphere. My husband and I liked a hotel in Monteverde called El Establo http://www.elestablo.com/.
Continue on to the town of La Fortuna which is around 1 hour form Monteverde. This is where you will find the Arenal Volcano and a bunch of places with hot springs. Ask your hotel to recommend some great hot springs that are less commercialized and very cheap. To see the La Fortuna waterfall and have dinner at this nearby hotel http://www.hotelarenalkioro.com/ that has good views of the volcano. Other Hotel Recommendation: http://www.hotelsilenciodelcampo.com/.
I would plan staying 2 nights in either of these places depending on how much you want to do. If you want to spend a full day at the hot springs, check out the volcano and do the waterfall then I would stay 2 nights in La Fortuna. However, I would probably do the 2 nights in Monteverde so you can explore the cloud forest and spend a lot of time at the adventure park. You only need about half a day to explore the park at Manuel Antonio.
It is relatively safe to drive here but I would recommend that you try to do all of your traveling during the daylight. This way you will be able to enjoy the country side as you travel.
This is a LOT to cram into a few nights so if you are up for the adventure then I think this will give you a great overview of the country. Since I am limited on time when I travel that is the way I do things. If you come in rainy season (July- Mid December) then be prepared to deal with some rain but it is truly beautiful in Costa Rica all year around and you should still have a great time.
Above all, ENJOY!
Embrace Life,
8814-5073 CR Cell
2643-6010 CR Office
714-369-8133 From US/ Canada
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle -