Guys In The Zone: Costa Rica Real Estate

July 26, 2010

Education In Rural Costa Rica, Part 2

Filed under: Relocation — Tags: , , , , , , , — Tigre @ 6:16 pm

[This article is a continuation of Education In Rural Costa Rica, Part 1]

Bilingual teacher offers a hands-on lesson.

Private School

Simply put, the reason most tico families do not send their children to private school is the cost.  The best private elementary school in San Isidro runs around $275/month.  Even by gringo standards this can be viewed as a lot of money; however, most parents understand the benefits are significant, like— bilingual studies, text books, well-equipped teachers and classrooms… to name a few.  “After school” extra-curricular activities often include— art, dance, and sports.  These creative activities teach kids so much more than memorizing dates in history.  They prepare them for life beyond the farm, should they choose to pursue it.

To give you an idea of how “private schooling” has become synonymous with success, there are currently 6 public and 60 private universities in Costa Rica.  The southern Pacific region is fortunate to have the Int. University San Isidro Labrador, only 45 minutes drive time from Dominical.[1] According to StateUniversity.com, “…higher education is free for nearly 50 percent of the enrolled students.” My guess is that scholarships are a significant part of the aforementioned $2 million (6.3%) of budgetary spending on education[2].

The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.
– C. S. Lewis

Escuela Verde

The increase in private universities is a good sign for the future of the Costa Rica, but what about options for the parents of younger kids?  Let me share a quick story about Escuela Verde, a new private grade school that opened in 2009 in Uvita.  The school was founded by a couple of parents who were unimpressed by the public school options in the area, and their mission statement is clear,

“Escuela Verde prepares children to be resourceful and independent while inspiring them to give back to their multi-cultural community and the natural environment.”

After securing a building in Uvita Centro, they quickly rallied support from the parents and community.  The teachers follow guidelines for Costa Rica and U.S. grade level guidelines, and many subjects are taught in both English and Spanish.  Unlike many of the public schools, the kids are even responsible for completing regular homework assignments.   They even have scholarships for tico families that want to expose their children to the best educational option available in the area.  It is my understanding that they already have a long waiting list.  For more information, you can go to Escuela Verde’s website.

A Melting Pot Of Ideas

Compared to crime and politics, education does not receive a lot of publicity in the media.  However, it is a hot topic for parents who want to make Costa Rica their new home.  Perhaps the best news I can offer our readers and potential clients is that the Southern Pacific Zone of Costa Rica is a melting pot, ala the United States of the 19th and 20th centuries.  A blend of ideas, talents and energy has created a lively, international community… one that is keenly focused on sustainability, preservation, and education.

[1] http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/300/Costa-Rica-HIGHER-EDUCATION.html#ixzz0ix0kJIPU

[2] http://www.ticotimes.net/dailyarchive/2008_09/090208.htm#story1

Talk Show Episode 8

Filed under: Talk Show — Tags: , — Ben @ 1:52 pm


Guys In The Zone Talk Show – Episode 8
Uploaded by GuysInTheZone. – Discover new destinations and travel videos.

Episode 8 was a bit delayed by Ben’s well-publicized mishap. Rod goes it alone (and does a darn fine job of things I might add.) Rod gets us up to speed on Ben’s recovery, the current state of the real estate market in Costa Rica’s southern pacific zone, and some hot listings.

Thanks for watching and following us on Dailymotion, Facebook, Twitter, and our websites– www.GuysInTheZone.com, www.hotcostaricarealestate.com,

May 8, 2010

Rainy Season In Southern Costa Rica

Filed under: Info & How To's, Relocation — Tags: , , , , , — Tigre @ 4:34 pm

With the rain comes the color...

If you’ve listened to our recent Talk Show #7, you have heard us convey how much we enjoy the rainy season down here in Costa Rica.  As Ben mentioned in that video, “Four out of five people who live here would probably say they prefer the rainy season.”  (Disclaimer- this estimate is not based on scientific data.)  However, there are those visitors to our blog and websites who see the rain as a deterrent for buying here, a sentiment that serves as my motivation to write this article.

First, the rain here is different than in most areas of North America and Europe.  It doesn’t bring a shiver to the bones; it’s refreshing and a welcomed break from the heat.  Warmth is just one of many characteristics that make this tropical precipitation so vital and so magical.

Six Months Of Rain?

Climate is a significant factor for most buyers when determining where to buy their piece of Costa Rica real estate.  In fact, one of the most popular questions Ben and I field is “How many months per year does it rain?”  The quick answer is around seven; however, that number doesn’t tell an accurate story.  The rainy season starts in mid-April and usually runs through mid-November.  Most days start out cool, clear and sunny with some rain in the afternoon and evening.  Rainfall in September and especially October can be heavy.  These September-October downpours, aguaceros in Spanish, lead some residents to make plans to be elsewhere during that time.  That being said, even in October the sun will come out at some point during the day.  We do experience the occasional tropical storm, but hurricanes on the Pacific side of Costa Rica are a rarity.

One of my favorite benefits of the rainy season is there aren’t as many people.  It’s not that I have anything against tourists; we were all tourists at one point in the Costa Rican journey.  However, if you live here full time or part time, the small town, pura vida is easier to absorb without the extra traffic, both automotive and human.  Tourism, and the vacation rental market, is still strong between June and August as most kids are out of school.

I spent most of my life in the relatively dry Bay Area of California, my love of the rain comes as a surprise to friends and family back home.  I try to explain how the rain cools things down, how it takes the dust out of the air, how it replenishes the fresh water tables, and how it summarily brings this place to life.  The southern Pacific zone is SO GREEN that at times it seems like someone has adjusted the color balance.  The tropical flowers and budding fruit pop against an ever-changing jungle backdrop.  Simply put, rain helps everything grow, and that includes the wildlife and the humans walking around.

Like buying real estate in Costa Rica, living here is relatively easy with the right contacts.  It can also be a very enriching experience with some understanding of Spanish.  If you want to be on the Pacific Coast, you have to enjoy the heat to some degree (pardon the pun).  Thanks to the heat, I am now a morning person.  Thanks to the rain in Costa Rica, I am now living a dream.

May 5, 2010

Guys In The Zone Talk Show – Episode 7

Filed under: How to Sell, How to buy, Land For Sale, Processes, State of the Market, Talk Show — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Tigre @ 1:00 pm

Talk Show – Episode 7

Talk Show – Episode 7

Pura vida, compadres! With a focus on Costa Rica real estate, Episode 7 features our impressions on topics like–

The Rainy Season
Property Prices
Seller Financing
The NEW Forum

Thanks for watching and following us on Dailymotion, Facebook, Twitter, and our websites– www.GuysInTheZone.com, www.hotcostaricarealestate.com, www.Dominical.biz, and www.Uvita.biz.

April 28, 2010

The Memo

Filed under: How to Sell, News, State of the Market — Tags: , , — Ben @ 5:36 am

Disclaimer: the following is not necessarily what some sellers of Costa Rica real estate want to hear.

It was sometime in 2008 when the world changed.  Our globalized economy demonstrated, for the first time, the extent to which we (all us humans) are interconnected.  When one falls, we all lose our balance.

Some of the bigger economic minds in the US got going with an illusionary slight of hand called “derivatives” and in so doing, yanked the rug out from under the U.S.’s, and then the world’s economies.

Costa Rica land sales stopped.  Here in the southern pacific zone many of the agencies have closed up shop, and the surviving agencies went 9 months with no business.

Why “no” business instead of “low” business?

2 reasons:

  1. High prices
  2. No credit

The fall of the world economies was rather sudden.  The prices on our real estate here in The Zone were high.  All of a sudden our prospective buyers were standing flat footed with not much money, no real way to get money, and even if they could get money, land was expensive.

The above 2 reasons that explain our 9 month freeze on the real estate business here in The Zone have both seen some activity and change.   Prices have come down by 30% – 50% across the board, and this has stimulated the market. If this isn’t obvious to you, dear reader, it may be that you have been cruising websites and listings by sellers that don’t want to lower their price, but instead wish to wait for the market to come back up.  (or you may have seen one of the numerous and un-maintained sites from now defunct Costa Rica real estate agencies)

About the “Hold Out” or  “Old World” Sellers:

Their listings in the various real estate agency’s web site databases likely pre-date the fall of the world markets.  Sellers who insist on pre-fall pricing are finding it harder and harder to find an agency to list their property.  (One of my peers at a competing agency told me recently that they had rejected 9 listings in 3 days.) (more…)

April 21, 2010

Costa Rica Real Estate Chit Chat

Filed under: Info & How To's, MLS, News — Tags: , , , — Ben @ 5:30 pm
Training for Costa Rica real estate certification.

Rod being attentive at the Camara de Bienes Raices course in San Jose Costa Rica.

The Guys just got themselves certified!  Rod & I are now card carrying Costa Rica real estate agents.  Imagine that.

I know – you’re saying: “I didn’t know that there was such a thing”. Well, in fact there isn’t, yet, but there is about to be, and so we have joined a number of our peers in anticipating the coming change to the U. S. (and elsewhere) model of licensing for real estate agents.

The organization is called CBR or “Camara de Bienes Raices” (Chamber of Real Estate).  Perhaps you’ve seen the CBR logo around on various websites. You’ll be seeing it on ours as well now.  It is a 4 day course of 8 hours a day.  We did it, enjoyed it (for the most part – butts are a little sore.), met & networked with lots of people and now feel just that much more entrenched with our chosen industry in Costa Rica.

CBR has proposed a law that they feel will become adopted this year of required licensing of Costa Rica real estate agents.  Our position is that this will be (more…)

April 9, 2010

New Theory Explains Why We Find Costa Rica So Darn Pleasant

Filed under: Just for Fun, Relocation — Tags: , — Ben @ 7:52 am

or – How Media Saturation Robs Us Of Our Joy

or – an Original Thought is a good thing

(This article can be discussed in the Guys In The Zone Forum by clicking here)

We humans find ourselves intriguing, in fact – fascinating. Theories explaining the experience of being human abound .

One theory that I heard as a young man has stuck with me through the years. This theory now finds a rather interesting application in my life of living as an expat here in Costa Rica. I see the possible truth to this theory as I observe what I have come to know as “4th Day Original Thought Syndrome” or “4DOTS” in Costa Rica. Based on this thing that happens on day #4, many decide that they would like to either make Costa Rica Home, or to at least make it a big part of their life.

Observation:

Thinking Man Fires Off a Brain Circuit


4DOTS is simple – it’s really nothing more than relaxation. But I need to do a footnote definition here of what I mean by relaxation. It’s more than just having our neck muscles relax and our shoulders lower down by a couple inches, (which they do on day 4). 4 DOTS relaxation has to do with the mind.

The Theory:

It is thought that when we first have an experience as a baby, we fire off a unique circuit in our brain. The experience is profound and frequently pleasurable. We are drawn to the subject experience again and again to get better acquainted. We call this learning.

Let’s say that at the age of 1 year our Mother puts us on the warm, sunny lawn in our back yard to crawl around. A new circuit is fired through our brain and we are fascinated by the greenness of the experience and the warmth of the green. The texture is slightly prickly but not unpleasantly so. There is a humid component and a wonderful smell that we will later on associate with the word “earthy”.

From this point on in our lives this same circuit fires every time we experience warm green grass, causing a familiarity with the experience, and this we call memory. So the theory goes.

(As an aside, i t is thought that the psychoactive drug LSD causes variations in our established and familiar brain circuitry. This can be profoundly pleasurable (or disturbing) and cause fascination with what we adults would consider to be mundane things. This would explain why people on LSD can be seen studying their hand, or marveling at the grass they are standing on. ) (more…)

April 3, 2010

Education In Rural Costa Rica, Part 1

Filed under: Culture, Info & How To's, Relocation, Stories — Tags: , , , , , , — Tigre @ 2:34 pm

Education… it elicits warm images of smiling children, colorful classrooms and fundamental ideas like opportunity and a brighter future.  I am happy to say I see all of those elements unfolding here in Costa Rica, albeit sloooowly.

Did you know that the Costa Rican government is constitutionally required to budget at least 6% of the country’s GDP on educational programs?  In fact, the only countries that spend more on education (as a percentage of GDP) are Saudi Arabia and Norway at 9.5% and 6.8%, respectively.[1] Costa Rica also sports the highest literacy rate in Central America at 95.8%[2].  That said, there are a couple of gaps this learning curve, and I’m specifically referring to the parents and educators in this rural region, not the kids.

Elementary school classroom.

Ben and I often receive school-related questions from potential clients.  So, here’s a quick synopsis of public and private education in our region of Costa Rica.  Public school is free and for children between the ages of 6 and 13 (e.g., 1st through 6th grade).  Unlike most of the public schools in the United States, Canada and Europe, students are required to wear a uniform, typically dark blue pants with a white or light blue shirt.  The curriculum includes the usual core subjects of Spanish, Math, History, and Science.  Since 1998, English and Computer Sciences are also standard.  After kids pass their final elementary school testing, they have the option of a five-year stretch in colegio (i.e., high school in North America and Europe).

Judging from the local tico parents I have spoken with, their public school system offers a decent education for their children.  Judging from the growing number of expats living in the area, the school system is far from acceptable.  Leveraging my sources, namely my girlfriend (who has an 11 year old son) and a variety of local parents with school-age children, I embarked to uncover the real education story.

Frustration In An Emerging Country

“They don’t have school today… again!”  My girlfriend was beside herself.  Apparently, the parents of her son’s public school (he was in 5th grade) chained the front doors of the school demanding the removal of an (allegedly) drunk principal.  This comical Latin American story quickly turned ridiculous, as the protest went on for almost a week?!   Then, there was the teacher’s constant infirmity with no substitute.  Then, there was the partial flooding of the campus for a few days during the rainy season causing… yep, no school.  In reality, her son probably only attended half the number of days scheduled.

On top of that… the school didn’t have any books.  The teacher cited the importance of learning dictation and penmanship, but at what expense?  Early in the first parent-faculty meeting of the year, my girlfriend asked for an explanation?  The answer was they didn’t have any money.  Then, education in rural Costa Rica came into focus when each of the parents decided to budget money ($2.75/month for 10 months) for a “Christmas Party” for the kids.  The party turned out to be a success; the kids sang a few songs, played a few games, and ate what amounted to $20 worth of candy and cake.

This year, her son is attending a new “better” public school in Uvita.  The only problem is they don’t have any text books either.  But, hold on… before prospective mothers and fathers cross Costa Rica off the list, please allow me to share another option available.

Multi-Cultural, Global Citizens

“By learning you will teach, by teaching you will learn.” – Latin Proverb

I remember when I first met Ben, and he told me the main reason he moved his family of five from Colorado to Costa Rica was because he wanted his kids to be bilingual and have an enriching life experience.  In fact, those are two of the main reasons most families move down here.  The third being… it’s a tropical paradise.  They lived in San Isidro, and they homeschooled their children who turned out happy, healthy, and yes… fluent in Spanish.

All that being said, we understand home schooling is not a viable option for some parents.  In Part 2 of this article, I will share arguably the best educational option in Costa Rica— private school.  It will also include continuing education for adults specifically, learning Spanish!  Until then, please feel free to share your questions and comments in the space below.  Saludos.

[1] http://www.oclc.org/reports/escan/images/edpercent.swf

[2] United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008 (Unfortunately, in some countries literacy is defined as being able write your name.)

March 27, 2010

Guys In The Zone Talk Show – Episode 6

Filed under: Talk Show — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Tigre @ 3:37 pm

Talk Show – Episode 6

Talk Show – Episode 6

Welcome to our full video Talk Show format!  In addition to this new look, we share new information on Costa Rica real estate including, a recap of 2009, recent activity in the southern Pacific zone of Costa Rica, and new issues for buyers and sellers.  This post comes in advance of the new www.GuysInTheZone.com website, where you can find all of the best resources for the area in one place.  The most notable addition to our new site is the forum.  It’s there to give us all a place where we can discuss the various topics that are going on around The Zone.  To all our readers, watchers, and listeners, thank you for your questions and comments, and please feel free to get involved over at our new forum.

Click here for the Forum.

Uploaded by GuysInTheZone. – Explore lifestyle, fashion, and DIY videos.

March 23, 2010

Water In Costa Rica, Part Two

Filed under: Construction, How to buy, Info & How To's, Processes — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Tigre @ 3:37 pm

Water is a necessity.

If you ask the World Bank or one of the mega-water corporations (e.g., Coke, Nestle, Vivendi), fresh drinking water is a commodity.  If you ask virtually everyone else in the world (including the United Nations), fresh drinking water is a basic human right.  Whether it is the encroachment of privatization or Nicaragua’s plan to divert the San Juan River[1], water in Costa Rica is an increasingly lively topic.

One of the most popular questions for potential property owners is, “What is the water situation for this property?” Most of these new investors come from North America and Europe, areas that have hundreds of years of infrastructure development.  However, this southern Pacific region of Costa Rica is still early in the cycle of development.  We continue to see rapid growth in communications (cell phones and high speed internet), power (high tension power lines), and roads (the newly paved Costanera between Quepos and Dominical).  That being said, cell phones are a luxury, but water… is a necessity.

Property In A Development

Most quality developments have a water system that has been installed by the developer.  The most common sources for these systems are high flowing springs, and in some cases surface water (e.g., creeks and rivers).  Some developments, like Osa Estates in Uvita, even have back-up systems and extensive water storage capabilities.  The interesting thing is very few developments actually have a concession (permission to extract water from the ground).  The good news is the majority of them are “in process”.  Either way, the developer usually provides the property owner a prevista (water right document) which guarantees use of water into the future (assuming the property owner is in compliance with established CC&Rs and other laws).  Proof of a water document, like a prevista, is also required by the local Municipality before they will approve any construction project on a property. (more…)

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