Beware of the brush fire during the dry season! If you own property in Costa Rica, you should pay attention to the windy months of December, January, and part of February. Brush fires are easily started and might be a danger to your property as well as to you and your family. If you are…
Not allowed to flush the paper down the toilet? How is that? Once in a while, people who visit me in my office, ask if they can use the restroom. Some, who have been staying in an older hotel or Bed & Breakfast or live in a rural location, open the door of my restroom,…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes A water certification is needed for building permits and our building lot is serviced by the local Asada. My wife, Katya, and I speak some Spanish (though probably not enough). Still, we thought we knew the word “asada.” It meant “roasted” and frequently modified “carne” or, in a masculine form,…
I published the first 3 tips on how to turn your Costa Rica house into a successful vacation rental last week. My wife and I purchased a house in Costa Rica before we were ready to retire. Now we are trying to cover the cost of the maintenance of the property by renting the property…
Did you know that water can be an issue when you request a building permit in an agricultural subdivision? Do you have a building lot in an agricultural subdivision in Costa Rica? Or maybe you are planning to buy one? If so, you better read this blog, so you can save yourself a lot of…
In this blog, and another one next week, I will provide some tips to turn your house into a successful vacation rental. These tips may assist you to increase your success rate if your intent is to purchase a property to rent out part or all of the time. This is based on my own…
Do you like my hairdo and tattoos? I try not to discriminate, quite the opposite. My parents have educated me very liberally, like good and open-minded Dutch. In other blogs, I have been quite outspoken about gay issues and racism. How important is it for a real estate agent in Costa Rica to dress well,…
Will the new visa fines stop or control perpetual tourism? In 2011, a new article of the immigration law was approved. The law came in effect on August 1st, 2014. This article fines tourists $100 per month after their tourist visa expires. Those who cannot pay or are unwilling to do so, will not be…
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,…