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…
A common question from Canadians is if Canadian home buyers can purchase property in Costa Rica or not? Our friendly partner in Vancouver Canada strawhomes.com often mentions property in Costa Rica is on the tips of their buyers’ tongues. Extended winters have led to an increase in Canadians affected with SAD. But the north’s frosty…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Life in the suburbs is changing, tremendously, with new condo towers everywhere. I remember like yesterday, that we had cows and horses in the street a while ago. Jeez, time flies. And the world has changed so much. And Costa Rica is now a whole different world than the one…
GoDutch Realty’s real estate agents all check property title before listing a Costa Rica property for sale. But, we still like to share our knowledge with buyers and sellers, so you understand better what we do for you. Many of you do not speak or read Spanish and it is not too easy to know where…
A property seller asked what the sales commission and fees are to list and sell a property. The seller’s second question was: what happens if an outside source provides a buyer. So I’m taking advantage of these questions and put it all in one blog. All GoDutch Realty agents charge 5% sales commission at closing.…
If you live in Seattle, WA and you have a mold problem, you can just call a specialist to eradicate this household mold problem. If you live in Costa Rica, and you have a household mold problem, you’re in trouble. The reason is that there are no household mold specialists in Costa Rica. Does that…
Should you place a real estate for sale sign on your property when selling, or not? When selling your property, you want people to know it’s for sale, right! In most countries, you’d list your property with only one agent. Then, that agent will place a real estate for sale sign in your yard or on the…
Having property in another country and being an absent property owner is not so easy. Worse, it can easily turn into a disaster. Just yesterday, someone called me to tell me his story about having to pay an attorney a “ridiculous amount of money” to recover lost property. Of course, this absent property owner didn’t…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes How far are you willing to go to buy a second home? Some people drive for days to get to their second home and don’t realize that it is quicker to fly to Costa Rica. How would it be to own a vacation house or a condo in Costa Rica?…
Every day, we receive emails from buyers asking for the property location. Coming from a foreign buyer, this is a pretty normal question. But in Costa Rica, real estate agents refuse to divulge the property location. They won’t until they have a chance to show you the property and register you as their client with…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Homes in Costa Rica do not sell in 72 hours, and you can count on not even getting showings during the first couple of days. I’ve written about the reasons a property doesn’t sell quite often. If nobody even shows your property, it will never sell. You’d like buyers to…
Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes Quite a large real estate vocabulary does not exist in Costa Rica. Ask a real estate agent in Costa Rica about A HUD loan, a Fannie Mae, a dual agency, or a spring cleaning and they won’t know what you’re talking about. As you probably know, real estate is not…
Sellers sometimes think I own a crystal ball. When listing a home for sale, sellers always ask me to predict a sales price. When I give them a number, they don’t like it. Why do you think I get that reaction? If I’d own a crystal ball, I would be filthy rich and we would…
Do you want to know if you can afford to buy a home with a pool in Atenas? You really don’t need a lot more money to buy a home with a pool in Atenas than one without a pool, did you know? Before I started this article, I was researching online about why people…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes I call myself a 24-7 real estate agent. But am I really? It’s 9:30 pm and my phone rings. The phone number is from Miami, Fl., so I answer. The caller asks if it’s too late to call. Pretty nice of him. Almost nobody who calls after business hours asks…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes When you get older, the knees cooperate much less, as do some other joints. That’s probably when it’s time you need to buy a Cariari single story home. Why in Cariari might you ask? Well, there are quite some good reasons and even more benefits to buying a Cariari single…