Costa Rica Real Estate: 5 Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Costa Rica Real Estate: 5 Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Costa Rica Real Estate: 5 Common Pitfalls to Avoid
There’s a reason pools have shallow ends. Not everybody is the cannonball-sort. For sure Costa Rica has plenty of deep ends to explore, but you like to take your time, move wisely. There’s a smart way, and there is a not-so-smart way to approach luxury investment in the world of Costa Rica real estate. Today we are talking to the toe-dippers, but perhaps you cannon-ballers should tune in too. We think this is good advice.

Costa Rica is much more than other second-home beach locations, in so many ways: bigger waterfalls, more beaches, and many micro-climates to choose from. Pound for pound, your investment in Costa Rica is so much more valuable, and we're not just talking about the high resale rates.

 

You didn't become a luxury vacation home buyer by being foolish about spending. Whether we're talking about time or money, this experience should be no exception to that rule. Take your time. Check things out the right way.

 

Here is our shortlist of five pitfalls to avoid when shopping for a luxury vacation home in Costa Rica, don't forget to read our freshly updated and comprehensive Guide to Buying a Property in Costa Rica:

 

    1. Buy too soon
      Slow down, because Costa Rica is diverse, you'll want to shop around and look at different areas. Stay near the cloud forest, near a volcano, and near the beach. Try staying anyplace that sounds interesting. There are 15-microclimates from which to choose.No matter what, take your time deciding where to make your purchase. [Pro tip: let your Coldwell Banker agent help organize this for you.]

       

    1. Visit only one time of year
      The off-season for Costa Rica, depending on where you visit, is anywhere from Easter to the middle of December. Every season has something to offer, to someone, depending on the area, and personal tastes. Once you figure out where you think you want to buy, you'll want to visit different times of the year to really know the area.

       

    1. Ship a Car
      Travel light. This isn’t packing advice, but sure, that too. Those of us from more developed countries have strong relationships with our vehicles. Shipping a car to Costa Rica can be a pain! For the cost and headache, you can simply purchase a vehicle here. Or go really simple: buy an electric vehicle. If in the long run, if you decide you need more than a golf-cart, buy a car at that time.

       

    1. Buying from "a guy who knows a guy"
      Save yourself what buyers before you have learned the hard way. Buy from a trusted, known, real estate company. You may talk to someone who knows a "good deal" and winds up with lost time, and more importantly, lost money. Skip this mistake.

       

    1. Listen to the advice of others
       Careful. It's good to talk to others, get to know the sort of people where you want to buy, and gather advice, but (and this is a big BUT) take advice with a grain of salt. People bring their own biases to the table. Meeting experts on the run from themselves is not uncommon. Don't be surprised to meet others who blame the problems of their lives on everything but themselves.


 

Of course, an agent solves most of these. A name like Coldwell Banker brands history and trust, and of course we want you to go with us, but your first metric should be trusted. An agent you trust is one with whom you’ll build a better relationship. Your agent should not only be connected with the right professionals to get the job done, the right way, he should feel like your friend.

Keep these rules in your pocket for reference. This is such an exciting time for you and it should be fun. We hope it’s fun, no matter what. We hope we can share in that fun along with you. (In case you didn't know, we’re toe-dippers too.)

 

Your perfect Costa Rica real estate investment likely has a pool. It’s probably an infinity pool. (People like those around here.) Whatever it offers, make sure it has a shallow end. Make sure you've got a someone looking out for you who knows what you want because you told him, and he listened.

 

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We are- UNHAPPILY- home safe. Would much rather be back in Tamarindo. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING you did to make our stay a joy ! We look very much forward to seeing you on our next trip to Costa Rica. PURA VIDA !

Steve Perry, Costa Rica

While my computer is still running here, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for your help during our stay.
When we first came to your office, we were in dire straights and in desperate need of assistance. Andrea was extremely compassionate, spoke with candor, and had a "can do attitude" that was of immense help.
In addition, Andrea has put us in contact with Steve, with whom we are working, preparing to view a little property that might be just what we are looking for at this particular time.
In addition, having gotten to know Andrea personally as well as professionally has been our great pleasure. I wanted to let you know what a tremendous asset she is to your company. She is a great treasure -- a one in a million.

Tina Parker, Costa Rica

We had so much fun at Buena Vista. Thanks for arranging that with Memo.
I also want to say many thanks for all that you have done. We have enjoyed Costa Rica and I have found you so helpful with everything and a pleasure to deal with that it was a very stress free vacation. When I do come back here hopefully you will still be doing what what you do.
Our last couple of days will be spent enjoying the sunshine and eating at great restaurants. Sincerely,

Tara, Kevin and Roy., Costa Rica

Laurel and Tony,
The both of you were fantastic with us throughout the property search and purchase process. As we had mentioned, two other attempts to find thorough, attentive, responsive agents to work with in Tamarindo were failures. I expect that we are more work to deal with than many others as we asked a lot of thorough and analytical questions and expected responses to all of them. You two never failed to deliver. The organization and execution of our condo shopping trip in January was excellent and the fact that you two devoted 2 full days to us, around our schedule, to get this deal done was key to our success. The selection of properties that Laurel planned out, including a few places above and below our target zone helped us to refine our interests. We truly appreciated your interest in our success. This could easily have been very stressful for us, and yet, it wasn’t. Thank you very much.
As a side note, when we walked into the Coldwell Banker office randomly with no appointment in November had we not found your office staff patient and accommodating from the start we would have simply walked on to the next agency. Your staff deserves special mention for getting us interested in the agency to begin with.
We will give you some advance notice before we make our first trip down so that we can plan to get together for lunch or dinner. We are tentatively planning on somewhere in the last 2 weeks of May, as soon as our son gets out of school for the summer.

Dan Batliner, Costa Rica
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