Ivo’s Blog by Godutch Realty

a Costa Rica real estate blog

How important are nearby amenities in your home purchase?Artboard 2

How important are nearby amenities in your home purchase?

Estimated Reading Time: 13 Minutes Often homebuyers in Costa Rica forget to check on nearby amenities before they fall in love with a house. Are nearby amenities important to you? Or is lots of sunshine enough for you when you move to Costa Rica? Are you unsure whether you’d like to live in the Central Valley…

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10 Important Lease Agreement Data Tenants Need to Pay Attention To

The rules for a lease agreement in Costa Rica are not as simple as you might think. I’ve seen 3-page and 10-page lease agreements. But if at one point during the lease there is a problem between the parties, there is no simple solution. Costa Rica courts are not known for being speedy. A lawyer…

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Have a good look at affordable Grecia home rentals

Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes The word is out! Grecia home rentals are among the most affordable in the Central Valley. It seems like lots of US citizens are running from something. YES, you can find Grecia home rentals for around $500 – $600/month already. Our agents don’t make much money on it, but you…

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40 Smart Steps to Take before Renting a Home in Costa Rica

Estimated Reading Time: 11 Minutes Now you probably say “40 smart steps to take before renting a home”? Why so many? You would think that renting a home in Costa Rica is easy. It is when you already live in the country, and if you speak Spanish, it’s a piece of cake. But when you’re…

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The 10 things I hate most about bad landlords

Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes A reader suggested I should do a blog about bad landlords. Recently, I did a blog on the 9 things I hate most about tenants in Costa Rica. Thanks, Molly for your suggestion. The fact is that no matter if you rent in Costa Rica or elsewhere, you’ll find bad…

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8 Common condominium bylaw restrictions in Costa Rica

Thinking of buying or renting a condominium in Costa Rica? Then you should know about some of the condominium bylaw restrictions first. Maybe there are restrictions that won’t allow you the living comfort as expected. Bylaws are very important when you live in a condominium. Actually, they can give you a lot more living comfort…

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The mangoes at my Atenas rental home are keeping me awake

Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes I read the complaint “the mangoes are keeping me awake”. This complaint was from a client who had signed an agreement on an Atenas rental home. Strange, I thought, I never have any heartburn when I eat mangoes. I get it from pineapple but not from mango. When I read…

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10 Important Tenant Requirements and Frequently Asked Questions

Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes I always try to keep track of important tenant requirements, so we can include them in the listings. For years, we didn’t pay attention to the fact that people who moved to Costa Rica wanted to bring their pets. Now we included “pets allowed” in our listings. We learn as…

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Are vacation rental restrictions common on condos in Costa Rica?

Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes Before buying a condo in Costa Rica, you first want to know if there are any vacation rental restrictions in the condominium. There are already some condo owners in Costa Rica who have had their problems with the condo administration about their short-term rental clients in their condo. Some do…

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