We decided to use our home as a Costa Rica vacation rental property. It has been some time since I reported on my experience with buying property in Costa Rica and living there. I thought it would be useful to give you an update. My wife and I are not yet at the point of…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes I’d like to tell you about the decision making process before we purchased an Atenas property. Walt Disney said that “dreams really do come true.” Now we believe it – or at least we are starting to. Ten years ago, Katya and I first visited Costa Rica. We stayed on…
Estimated Driving Time: 7 Minutes I’d like to introduce you to a couple of Orosi Valley real estate agents: Carol and BF Wilkinson of Land and Homes in Costa Rica. Not that I want you to purchase real estate from them! It’s quite the contrary to that. If you are not careful when you buy…
Now, let’s talk about being a homeowner first. When comparing with homeownership in North America, it is, perhaps, the largest single savings experienced. The cost of being a homeowner by comparison to the States is much cheaper in Costa Rica. It depends on what you buy and where you buy. Remember, the real estate saying,…
When buying a condo, you might not realize it, but the condominium might have an underfunded HOA, or it’s almost broke. The problem is that you won’t find out until the HOA sends out a notice about an upcoming extraordinary assessment. With 30 years of selling properties in Costa Rica under my belt, I’ve hardly…
IVO HENFLING | APRIL 17, 2014 This week, because its Easter week, I had a real hard time coming up with a topic for a blog. But I was saved by the bell. Thank God for emails, what would I do without them? I received a request on a property for sale in Tamarindo that…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes When I started selling properties in Costa Rica, nobody believed in getting home inspections done. Back then, real estate agents were afraid of recommending home inspections because they could lose the sale if the inspection would turn up a serious problem. I am talking about 25 years ago! This morning,…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes So, we’ve completed 98% of our home improvement project. Friends say that this is the Tico way of finishing things. Honestly, I think it happens everywhere. But allow me to tell you all about it, so you can learn from my mistakes. We have finished the business with my contractor…
Those used to the North American real estate market, always want to know if we can produce a CMA. For those who don’t know what that is, this is a Comparative Market Analysis. In Costa Rica real estate, it is impossible to produce a CMA for various reasons. At least for now, it is not…
Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes I’m sure you now want to learn more about the remodeled result of our home. We went through a long and detailed process, but we’re all happy with the remodeled result. We bought our new property in Costa Rica at a price that allowed us to afford all of the…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes For some reason, new expats who don’t know where to rent, often ask an agent to give them a tour. I never understood why some assume that real estate agents want to drive them around for days, all over the Central Valley. So they can make a commission. I have…
There are many surprising ways a seller can lose the sale of a property in Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, we do not have lockboxes. So, we need to organize a day of showing ahead of time and adjust our agenda (and our buyer’s agenda) to the availability of the sellers. In Costa Rica real…
After the remodeling contract was signed between us and the contractor and House Hunters International Renovations in the rear-view mirror, it was time to get started. We had many plans and remodeling projects that we were intent that would eventually yield to us our dream home. I made that 30-plus minute commute from our rental…
We have to pick the best contractor estimate. Selecting the contractor with the best quotation is never an easy task. But for us, it was a very simple process of selection by default. I was always dubious regarding Builder #1’s enthusiasm to quote for a second time despite his agreement to do so. So, I…
Yes, we have mosquitoes in Costa Rica, lots of them! And also plenty of rodents, like cockroaches, ants and even fleas! Brooke Bishop, our Grecia expert real estate agent, went the extra mile as usual. She took care of the pest control or fumigation as we call it in Costa Rica, for an absentee buyer.…
Before closing, we had invited 3 contractors for the new home renovation. Two things happened at about the same time. Actually, it’s more accurate to say, our escrow closing HAPPENED. But having an acceptable contractor ready for the repairs and home improvements HADN’T HAPPENED…yet Brooke Bishop, one of the GoDutch “Realtors Extraordinaire” had made contact…