» Costa Rican Investment

Jaco Beachfront Condo Deals

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Jaco Beach, Costa Rica, offers many oceanfront oceanview condo options and now is the time to take advantage of the slower market and motivated sellers. 

Here are just a few examples of some affordable one and two bedroom Jaco condos for sale.  These are also great vacation rentals due to the amenities Jaco has to offer the constant flow of tourism including nightlife, restaurants, tours and much more. 

 
Project Name Beds Baths Price Sq.Ft.
Bahia Azul 2 2 Starting at $249,000.00 1062-1292
Jaco Beach Condo Bahia AzulView This Condo Project Description: Top deal: ” Bahia Azul 10C 2 bedroom, 3rd floor with private roof-top terrace, ocean view, listed at $275,000 and motivated.Located on the preferred and private south end of Jaco Beach, Bahia Azul is a secluded community of 30 units featuring two bedrooms and two baths suites with approximately 1200 sq. ft. including a balcony terrace with oceanfront and courtyard views of the Pacific Ocean and Jaco Beach. Relax on the beach, take a cool dip in the oversized pool, or enjoy fiery sunsets from your terrace–paradise!!

Request Info from : Hannah Fletcher with RE/MAX Connection
Listing ID: C2
 
 

 

 
Project Name Beds Baths Price Sq.Ft.
La Paloma Blanca 2 to 3 2 to 3 Starting at $254,000.00 1162-1660 w/balcony to 2120 w/balcony
Jaco Beachfront Condo La Paloma
 View This Condo
Project Description: Top Deal: “La Paloma Blanca F4  2 bedroom 4th floor with ocean view listed at $254,000 with 70% financing.(36 units) La Paloma Blanca (The White Dove) is located on the peaceful South end of Jaco boasting ocean front views with the private feeling of home. This gated residential community offers seclusion, security and the best of beachfront living among both two and three bedroom suits with two or three baths, plus a balcony terrace with private ocean front and courtyard views. Construction was completed in 2007.

Request Info from : Hannah Fletcher with RE/MAX Connection
Listing ID: C13
 
 

 

 
Project Name Beds Baths Price Sq.Ft.
Mar Arena 1  1 Starting at $165,000.00 600ft2
Jaco Beachfront Cheap CondoView This Condo Project Description: Quiet Beachfront Condo with 32 units, located on the south end of Jacó Bay. Spectacular ocean views over a large lap pool and relaxing beach setting. Great rental property.

Request Info from : Hannah Fletcher with RE/MAX Connection
Listing ID: C16
 
 

Foreigner Rights in a Costa Rica Market

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

Costa Rica’s plan for economic expansion of the country along with the continued development of mid- to high-end residences, accommodations, services and amenities will continue to enhance the overall economic stability of the area. In addition to financial security, many ex-patriots, Europeans and Canadians are moving to Costa Rica due to the lower cost of living, which includes health care, dentistry and up-to-date technology in comparison to the U.S., but costing an average of 50-70 percent less.IMGP3891

The Costa Rican Constitution fully protects foreign ownership of property making it a safe emerging market for international real estate investors.  Purchasers of property can also obtain a title guarantee from internationally recognized title insurance companies.

Nonetheless, those who purchase in Costa Rica should receive professional advice from both a licensed Realtor and a qualified real estate attorney to assurance the transaction is handled correctly and your investment is safe.

Hot deals to consider:

Jaco House, Walk to the beach:

Casa Palmas2 bedroom, half a block to Jaco Beach, 562 meters (6050 square feet) of landlisted at $175,000. view more

Beachfront Condos:

Diamante Del Sol (4)La Paloma Blanca F42 bedroom, 4th floor with ocean view listed at $254,500 with 70% financing. view more

Bahia Azul 10C – 2 bedroom, 3rd floor with private roof-top terrace, ocean view, listed at $275,000 and motivated. view more

The Palms 502 – 2 bedroom absolute ocean front on the 5th floor listed at $350,000 and motivated. just reduced view more

Bahia Encantada J1 – 3 bedroom 1st floor with ocean view listed at $359,000. just reduced view more

Diamante Del Sol 2, 302 – 2 bedroom absolute ocean front on the 3rd floor listed at $410,000 and motivated. Financing available. view more

A Sunny Forecast for Tourism in Costa Rica

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

See RE/MAX Real estate listings

Enjoying Punta Leona White Sand Beach

     Tourism numbers are up and that is evident by the number of patrons on the beach and strolling through Jaco Beach.  Costa Rica’s tourism industry has experienced cloudy skies since 2008 which was the best year to date.  After suffering through a rough 2009 the industry is now encouraged by the figures released by Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT), Costa Rica’s tourism board.      

     January through May already brought 90,000 more tourist arrivals than the same period last year which saw 866,488 tourists.  The forecast is promisingly brighter for the months to come.     

CostaRicaTourismStatistics

Costa Rica Tourism Arrivals

     Costa Rica has always drawn visitors searching for tropical beaches, adventure, and the friendly culture but we did not escape from the hardship of the global market.  Sales and rentals have been on the upturn since October 2009 and now people are more confident and willing to invest in their quality of life including vacations and destination properties.    

See RE/MAX Real estate listings

Costa Rica Cost of Living

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

IMG_1005Costa Rica is a great relocation option whether you are an American looking for an international retirement alternative and a slower pace of life, Canadian looking for warmer year-round weather,  or an adventurous spirit.

Almost once a week I have the “Cost of Living” conversation with someone considering the possibility so I have been inspired to share my experience.  Naturally your cost of living will depend a lot on your lifestyle so let me give you a little background on mine with the associated cost:

Food & Dining: The Farmers’ Market (Ferria) is a wonderful place to find inexpensive and fresh produce, plants, meat, and a variety of other items. If you are looking for a Tico (Costa Rican) meal with the traditional rice and beans with meat or fish, take in one of the many sodas around for about $4.

San Francisco 060My husband and I don’t cook! Well maybe once or twice a month, which means that I am your go to girl on restaurant recommendation and that my food bill is my chosen area to splurge. (We spend approx. $1000/month)

Health Care: Costa Rica’s public health care system (CCSS, or Caja) is inexpensive and offers medical care from highly trained physicians. Monthly rates are calculated on a sliding scale depending on income. Paying for medical services out-of-pocket is another alternative, as services are a fraction of what they are in the United States. Private insurance is also an affordable option.

We have private international insurance. (We spend approx. $290/month)

Utilities: The costs of services such as water, phone, and cable are also considerably lower than those in the United States, although electricity is considerably higher if you run the A/C all the time and have a dryer in our house.

(We spend approx. $180/month Electric, $35/month for 2 Cell phones, $55/month for home phone and DLS- high speed internet, $24/month on Cable TV)

Transportation: Purchasing a car is one of the more costly investments you will make in Costa Rica. Tax on new cars are especially high. The local transportation is not a bad option. For example: Bus tickets from Jaco to the airport only cost $3 and a taxi ride across town will cost $2-5.

My husband and I both work in Real Estate so we invested in new cars which would not be necessary if it was not for our jobs, especially since we live within walking distance to everything in town. . (We spend approx. $310/month for general car maintenance, Car tax and gas for two cars)

charcoProperty: Low property tax rates are one significant benefit when living in Costa Rica. Property tax rates can be as low as 1/25th of the rates of some areas in the U.S. Various regions in Costa Rica have different tax rates for each. \

We don’t live in a luxury condo on the beach. Instead, my husband and I found a small condo within walking distance to town with reasonable monthly fees and low maintenance cost. (We spend approx. $21/month on property taxes and $204/month on HOA fees)

Services: Labor is relatively inexpensive in Costa Rica. You can hire a housekeeper for an average of $25 per cleaning, gardeners, nannies and other skilled laborers are a great way to pour into the local economy and spoil yourself at the same time.

Four Seasons (19)We have a maid come in to deep clean once or twice a month and I firmly believe that a monthly trip to the spa is one of the finer things in life. (We spend approx. $15/month on maid service, $100/month of other services including: Tolls, international P.O. Box, Vonage international phone in our house, dentist, spa treatments, haircuts, entertainment, etc. and $72 on legal and accountant services)

There will be a variance from region to region. We live in Jaco which is known for being one of the most developed and attractive tourist town on the coast of Costa Rica. This means more imported goods, higher property values, higher rent cost, a higher concentration of amenities and more convinces then you would find in comparison to a smaller town in the middle of Costa Rica somewhere.

Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you find your little piece of paradise.

Hannah Rico Fletcher

hannah@jacobeachinfo.com

714-369-8133 from the US/ Canada

2643-6010 CR office

Sellers Handling a Lowball Offer

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

In today’s market, sellers commonly have to deal with the infamous Lowball offer.  The best strategy is to keep emotions out of the mix and “consider it” as a starting point for negotiations.  Regardless of what kind of offers you receive, you can’t take it personally. 

Your motivation is to sell your property and the highest amount the current market will allow for!  Start by asking how the offer compares with recent sales.  This will assure you are negotiating with realist expectations.  Many times a low offer is not an indication of what your property is worth, but rather what the buyer can afford.

Price is not the only way to turn such a situation around in your favor to achieve a successful sale.  Try to find wiggle room by negotiating the terms, here are a few questions to ask:

Is the buyer making a cash offer?  Cash offers are very rare in this market.  If not, try to negotiate as much down as possible.photo_28128_20110126

Is the buyer willing to close quickly?   The average closing time is 30 to 45 days but it only takes the lawyers an average of 15 business days to finish the due diligence process.  A quicker closing can help offset the extra holding cost you would otherwise be paying.

Is the buyer willing to paying closing cost?  Normally closing cost are split equally between the buyer and seller and can add up to a total of 5.2% of the finial.  This may be a good way to negotiate 2.1% extra.

Is the buyer willing to take the property AS IS?  Normally buyers will want to do a walk through and may request repairs or a punch list?  Adding a “AS IS” clause to the offer can save you both money and time.

You have nothing to lose if you property has been on the market longer then 6 months and you are not getting a lot of showings.  Do whatever you can to keep the negotiations open and the terms in your favor. 

With a little teamwork, a conclusion that everyone’s happy with can be obtained.

Contact us if you would like us to help you negotiate the sell of your property.

Gated Communities in Costa Rica

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Gated Communities can be a very important thing to consider when purchasing a vacation or second home. When you don’t plan on being at your house year round, you want to know that your things will be safe and your house will be undisturbed. These are some of the benefits that come along with living in a Gated Community. Luckily, they have become very popular in Costa Rica and we have a few really great Lot Developments on the Central Pacific Coast.

Costa Esterillos, Costa Montana and Costa Reserva

Whether or not you are aware, a ready to build lot with out a history of legal issues and infrastructure in and complete is harder to find then advertised in The Central Pacific of Costa Rica. These Costa Developer’s lots are all re-sales, all infrastructure is complete, they are located in a fantastic accessible area and ready to build! Costa Developers also overcomes the obstacle and daunting process of building by providing all of the resources for you.

 

Ready to build lots starting at $29,500 Click here for more details

The New Highway from San Jose to Jaco is open again!

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Now it is just a quick hour trip from Jaco Beach to San Jose! 11 kilometers of Ruta 27 are now repaired and opened back up for travel. The road had been closed since June 12th due to multiple landslides and rock falls. And with the rainy season beginning they wanted to fix the exposed rocks and steep angles before they get worse. In order to fix the damaged parts of the road they had to erect steel mesh and fix the construction of the gutters in an attempt to stop the debris and materials from falling all over the road. From now on there will not be any machinery on the highway, however there will be workers maintaining and fixing the road as time goes on. Of course there was plenty of congestion this weekend due to the re-opening, but it should return to easy sailing soon.