| Speculating
If you are interested in purchasing
real estate for investment purposes, you will be pleased
to know that the government welcomes your investment. If
you choose to speculate in real estate, there are some prime
areas to choose from in the Central
Valley. This area offers a lot more potential because
of its proximity to San José, the large number of
services available and excellent infrastructure. The towns
of Escazu, San Rafael de Heredia, Santa Ana, Ciudad Colon,
Alajuela (Costa Rica's second city) and San Jose's suburbs of Rohrmoser,
Los Yoses and San Pedro are all hot spots.
Homes range from about $30,000 in some tico neighborhoods
to a couple of hundred thousand dollars in high-scale areas
such as Rohrmoser and Escazú. It is best to speculate
in middle and lower-end properties since they are more affordable
for the average Costa Rican and financing is available. A
standard rule of thumb is the farther from town you go, the
lower the price.
The current housing shortage, the popularity of the Costa
Rica and the Central Valley's weather assure excellent
investment opportunities. Whether you are buying a home
or an investment property, you are bound to make money if you hang on to
your property. Real estate values are expected to double over
the next decade or two. During the last 10 years some property
values have risen 10 times. There is limited land in some
urban areas, so the resale value goes up as population grows.
Beach property is a good investment because of the demand.
Presently there is a building and investment boom in Costa
Rica's Central
Pacific and Guanacaste beach areas. Infrastructure continues
to improve in these once inaccessible areas. The Central Pacific
area is like Hawaii or California, but only a fraction of
the price. If you cannot afford to live in a prime coastal
area in the United States, you may be able to find the property
of your dreams in Costa Rica in a much more spectacular setting.
Remember this when thinking of investing
in Costa Rica property. Real estate will not become more
plentiful in Costa Rica and the demand will increase based
on the number of retirees world-wide. Furthermore, the exodus
from the United States due to government policies will increase
the world wide demand created by North Americans looking for
a simpler lifestyle.
Another excellent investment is Costa Rica's nascent Real
Estate Investment Trust Market. Briefly, a Real Estate Investment
Trust (fondo inmobiliario) or REIT is a type of public
investment fund that buys and rents out real estate and distributes
the profits among investors. Depending on the fund, dividends
are paid on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. Revenues
for these types of funds depend mainly on the price at which
the property was bought and the price at which it rents. For
more information, contact
Costa Rica real estate and retirement properties
at E-mail: robert@ costaricaretirementvacationproperties.com,
christas@racsa.co.cr or call toll free 1-888-581-1786.
Banks offer properties that were collateral for a mortgage
loan and were legally repossessed by the bank after the client
defaulted on the loan. Properties are awarded to the highest
bidder. Most banks require a five percent security deposit
when making a bid. Some good deals may be found by checking
with a local bank.
Property management companies are available to take the hassles
out of home ownership. Most property management companies
charge a monthly fee to cover general maintenance, security
and upkeep costs. The fee ranges from $50 to $150 monthly.
If you have a rental in the Central Pacific or Guanacaste
beach areas, one of these companies is essential. A list of
property management companies can be found in the local Yellow
Pages under Administración de Condominios. In
addition, many real estate companies have partnerships with
property management companies. We have friends who own a rental
property in an exclusive gated community in the Central Pacific
area who use a local realtor to manage their condo. They are
very pleased with this service.
Helpful Real Estate Publications
Before buying a home or making any other real estate investment,
we suggest you educate yourself by studying the Costa Rica
real estate market. Fortunately, there are excellent
guidebooks available to assist you and answer most of your
questions.
Christopher Howard's Official Guide to Costa Rican Real
Estate, promises to be the definitive work on the subject.
Costa Rica's top real estate minds collaborated to write this
one-of-a-kind guidebook. It leaves no stone unturned. To order
contact Costa Rica Books tollfree at 1-800-365-2342, liveincostarica@cox.net,
visit Amazon.com or obtain it through your local bookstore.
It will be available in April of 2007.
Another good source of information is the The Tico Times
biannual Real Estate and Investment Supplement.
It is packed with useful articles and advice. Reading this
guide will keep you up on the local real estate scene. It
is also filled with ads from local real estate brokers.
Costa Rica Real Estate Magazine is an informative
publication that lists numerous properties for sale as well
as brokers. To subscribe, see http://www.thecostaricaguide.com.
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