Guys In The Zone: Costa Rica Real Estate

The big question of the day seems to be, is Costa Rica real estate being affected by the topsy turvy current global economy? In a word: yes.

In a previous article dated December of 2007, (click here to read) I had simplified the possible affect of the economic downturn in the States. I wrote that the affect can be negative, neutral, or positive. My conclusion at that time was that the affect had been positive. I’m modifying (please note my choice of word there) my position now that we’ve been in “the change” for some time. Please note that I’m not changing from my position, but as you will see, I am detailing out the affect of the global changes. I am still of the mind that, overall, the change is in the “positive” column.

(Read the rest of this entry.)

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Study links half of bankruptcies to illness: “‘Unless you’re Bill Gates, you’re just one serious illness away from bankruptcy,’ said Dr. David Himmelstein, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of medicine.

I get asked by nearly everyone that I talk to in our office, ‘who is buying land in Costa Rica?’ Everytime that I am asked, I pause a minute and think over the last sales that we have made here and I consistently come up with the same list. Investors, people nearing retirement age, young bucks that have some money… somehow and want to buy land. But no matter what category they fall into, nearly all want to, at some point, live in Costa Rica. Granted, the place is nice, really nice. Its like living in a big garden, with extremely nice people all around… but under the hood ain’t too bad either.

The article that I have reference above details one of the several major factors behind why United States-ians, in particular, are looking to get the heck out: the cost of medical insurance. Now, I’m no great source for health insurance information in Costa Rica, but I can tell you that it is a whole lot less here than in the states. (for information regarding insurance and the ability to dialogue with others that live here, I use the CostaRicaLiving newsgroup at Yahoo.)



The significantly lower cost of living here is a big draw. United States-ians have enormouse monthly overhead. Before you even buy anything, a family of 4 or 5 must make thousands of dollars a month. Even for those that are living well in the States, it is a constant pressure. I suspect that one of the reasons that we are doing so well here in Costa Rica real estate is when people visit here, and see all the expats living here, and they take a look around, they consider what that would be like. “Could we really get by on $2,000 a month?”

A lot depends on the “car” issue here (fodder for another post), but we can definitely live here for a whole lot less plata (money) than we could up there. Take a minute and read the enlightening article that is linked to above.

About All Those Signs

There are two approaches to Dominical, well three actually if you count the approach from the south as though your trip originated in Panama. But most come in from the north, from San Jose. Coming down the coast is a lovely drive until you get just past Quepos where the road turns into what we like to call, “The Road From Hell”. It is still lovely mind you, but it is a car-breaking rough ride.

The other approach comes in from the PanAmerican highway. This is the main artery that connects Nicaragua to the north with Panama to the south. You take it south out of San Jose until you get to Costa Rica’s southern zone commercial center of San Isidro de Perez Zeledon, or San Isidro de el General. Don’t ask me why places here have more than one name, they just do. Anyway, you turn right at San Isidro and drive on down to Dominical. As one passes through the breathtakingly gorgeous mountains that ultimately drop down to the sea, one starts to notice the prevalence of real estate signs, and one starts to think, “is everything for sale here”? In a sense the answer to that question is “yes” but then not. It has well been said that everything has a price. Everything is for sale in that sense. Little by little the real estate in Costa Rica is getting owners that are reluctant to sell at almost any price. So then the question is, what is the deal with all those signs?



In the USA, a realtor’s sign on a property means that realtor is the listing agent for the property. Here it does not mean that, except in very rare cases. What it does mean is that realtor asked that property owner for permission to put a sign on his property as advertisement. That is why some properties may actually have more than one sign. Real estate in Costa Rica is sold in a very different way than what one has grown accustomed to in the US. Since there is no MLS (Multiple Listing Service) in Costa Rica, it is essentially, every realtor for himself. Everybody has the same inventory, provided they have gone out and beat the bushes, so to speak, to get the listings, and then all of the commission flows to the selling office, since there is no listing agent.

So what does this mean to prospectors coming to the Dominical area to purchase properties? If you see a property that you like, and it has a sign on it, you can call or visit that realtor. Or, you can visit any realtor you like and inquire about that property since it really doesn’t matter who you talk to about the property. Everybody is equal in their ability to sell a given property in Costa Rica. I suggest that the important thing for the prospective buyer is that they find a real estate agent that they feel comfortable with, and that indicates a clear adherence to good honest business practices.

So, as one approaches Dominical, there is abundant evidence of a “land rush” going on, real estate signs are everywhere. Granted, there are numerous signs announcing car rentals, lodgings, banks and more, the area is booming. Nonetheless, the realtors win the prize for being the most zealous of sign posters. If indeed this were to indicate anything other than advertising, one would conclude when they finally arrive from their long journey, that Dominical itself belongs to a real estate company. As one drives into town, past the “Welcome To Dominical” sign that features an oh-so-discreet realtor’s logo along it’s bottom edge.

Costa Rica Real Estate is cheap… well at least when compared to this:

MSNBC - $128 million spent for London house: “LONDON - An Indian steel tycoon reportedly paid $128 million for a mansion in the British capital, breaking the world record for the most expensive house purchase.”

“Research the Property Information
Request your attorney to conduct a title search at the Registro Publico (Public Registry) about the property you want to buy.
By law all properties must be registered in Registro Publico. Most properties have a title registration number called the ‘Folio Real.’ Once you have this number you can search the database. The Registro Publico’s Report, called the ‘Informe Registral,’ contains information such as the name of the title holder, boundary lines, tax appraisal, liens, mortgages, recorded easements, and other records that could affect the title.
Costa Rica follows ‘first in time, first in right’ rule. Additions to a property title are prioritized according to the date they were recorded. So make sure your attorney searches your title back to the beginning. You’re laying out a lot of hard earned money for this house, God forbid you should wake one morning to find some smiling fool standing on your porch, waving a long-lost mortgage-from-hell under your chin, announcing that you have until four o’clock to pack your traps and be on the train back to Anaheim.”

Moving to Costa Rica in 1999 with my wife and my 3 kids, one of whom was married and was accompanied by her husband, we set up shop in an area of the country where there were very few North Americans, or “Gringos” as we are called here. We bought in San Isidro de Perez Zeledon after living here for about a year. We had felt that we should purchase something down on the coast, but were taken with a little finca, or farm, in San Isidro, and so with the acquisition went our funds for buying on the coast. How are we about the decision so many years later? Well… As real estate investments go, we have done well, but there is always that feeling of “would’a should’a could’a”. I find myself consoling a lot of people that visited here some years ago. They say “would’a, should’a, could’a,”, and I say (having lived through this myself), “if you had it to do all over again, you would make the same decisions. 10 years ago, Dominical was pure jungle, there was not a paved road in sight, electricity was episodic, phones non-existent, mud was ever-present”. I say ‘power to those guys’ that took what I feel was a huge risk.

We are in the process of looking into a coastal investment, but the huge profit deals are harder to find now than they were when we arrived. We are not complaining too much. We are happy here, have learned the language, and the culture.

I have been motivated to start this blog since I am a web developer. This has given me a unique perspective on the market in that, in the last year and a half I have seen a veritable explosion of real estate activity. Between my search engine optimization services, and my Dominical web site Dominical.Biz the topic of real estate in Costa Rica has come to occupy a rather sizeable place in my family’s life.