With this new system another layer of protection will be added for retirees and investors to ensure the safe purchase of property in Costa Rica.

Once place I am really excited about is Orchid Point Estates in San Antonio de Puriscal. This unique project is right in the path of growth and offers a whole slew of amenities. The owners had the foresight to know that the Puriscal was the next logical place in the line of western development and spent months searching the area for the ideal spot to do a project. What they have now is truly unique to the area and Central Valley — spectacular drop-dead panoramic views at reasonable prices smack in the middle of the wave of progress and only short drive from the bustling Lindora and Escazú areas and the U.S.-affiliated Cima Hospital.

Orchid Point has over 30 view-lots that will only appreciate as the area grows. Costa Rica is a brand name because of its great weather, enduring democracy, friendly people, state-of-the-art affordable health care, housing options and most of all great lifestyle. The country also offers excellent real estate opportunities for savvy investors. Costa Rica is a warm-weather destination like Hawaii and will always attract tourists, celebrities and retirees who will in turn fuel the foreign real estate market.

This is a no-brainer and the perfect opportunity to get in before the crowd.

See www.orchid-point-estates.com for more inforamtion

If you are planning to live or retire near San José there is an exciting new alternative in the housing scene. Part of this phenomenon is due to an effort to lure people from the suburbs back into the downtown San José area. Lighting is being placed underground, many of the city’s main streets are being repaved, bus stops are eventually going to be moved from the center of the city, traffic is being restricted and rerouted on certain weekdays, there is more police presence to keep away more undesirable elements and in general the city is being made more user friendly.

If you walk around the San José’s Sabana Park you can’t help but notice the changing skyline. Besides the country’s new state-of-the-art soccer stadium, high-rise condos are beginning to spring-up all over. This tendency has now spread to Paseo Colón, the main western entrance to San José.

The most exciting new development is a huge 28-story twin tower condominium complex which will be built soon. It will feature, space for business on the lower floors, 70 offices and 106 apartments, many of which will feature spectacular views. The complex will also feature, a swimming pool, a running track, a spa, a movie theater, a playground for children and parking space for 500 vehicles. The development will also have good security, a sprinkler system in each units for fires, will meet all seismic codes and offer its own private transportation system to major shopping centers. It will be perfect for retirees who want to live in an urban area.

Condos will range in price from $120,000 to $270,000 depending on their location. I am thinking of purchasing one for an investment.

The boom on Costa Rica real estate, and the good life help to make the country like one of the best places for retirees

Last year I released the first edition of my book about real estate in Costa Rica —”Christopher Howard’s Guide to Costa Rica Real Estate.” Prior to writing and publishing this new guide I had only authored books about retirement in different countries in the region and Spanish language guides.

The other day I received a call from a realtor friend and we got talking about the modus operandi of some of the less than scrupulous real estate developers who prey on naïve foreigners. After talking we decided that there are major warning signs and red flags to look out for. If you pay attention to most of them you will run less of a risk of being manipulated into buying property here.

Beware of :
(1) Seminars that hype one development. The ARCR seminar is the only seminar to attend because it is impartial.
(2) Companies that pick you up at the airport and basically kidnap you and then take you to their development without seeing anything else.
(3) Boiler room operations who try to sell you property at rock bottom prices site unseen.
(4) Companies recommend by global retirement magazines who slant their information about countries where they sell real estate.
(5) Fast-talking guru-like salesman a la Tony Robbins style. Most don’t even live in Costa Rica and only have enough knowledge to pressure people into buying. Don’t be bullied by them!
(6) Most of these properties are found in the Central and South Pacific where everything is sold from denuded slopes that have been illegally cleared to worthless former cow pastures that have been turned into over-hyped and over-priced developments.
(7) Don’t assume that just because the agent or developer speak English they are trustworthy. English speakers have been involved a lot of shady land deals over the years.

I probably forgot a couple warning signs, but the ones above should help you.

Further advise:
(1) Ask the developers to let you contact at least 10 people who have bought in their project to get feedback. You should be allowed to choose them randomly.
(2) Talk to people who live in the area to get their opinion of the development. One project below Uvita is an ecological disaster. By talking to the people in the area you will get the real scoop and not what the developer tells you.
(3) Check the Costa Rican registry of Properties call El Registro Nacional to see if the development has any legal issues and if the people who are selling it are really the owners.
(4) Tell the people you want to see other properties in the area to make a comparison.

Hopefully as many people as possible read this blog. I really can’t stand the developers and their henchman who basically kidnap perspective buyer by funneling them into their overpriced properties without giving buyers whole picture. You don’t want your retirement dreams spoiled by making an unintelligent purchase.

The other day while waiting in my doctor’s office I picked up a well-known publication about living overseas. I hadn’t seen a copy of this magazine for many years. After leafing through it and looking at all of the ads for living in different countries, I realized what they were advertising was for the most part crap. The quality of life in the countries in Latin America they are hawking leaves a lot to be desires. Political stability in countries like Nicaragua one concern. Safety in places like Mexico is another problem. Mexico is now famous for kidnappings and drug wars.

None of these problems exist in Costa Rica. Yes, we do have some crime but not to the extent of Mexico. Furthermore, Costa Rica is the most stable country in Latin America and has the longest democracy. Costa Rica just elected its first female president. Our outgoing president, Oscar Arias, is a former noble Peace prize winner.

Uruguay is another country which is highly publicized in the magazine. I admit the country is beautiful but that is it. Unlike Costa Rica, Uruguay is about an 8 hour flight from the States. The winters are also cold and the country is not tropical like Costa Rica. They have also had some political issues in the past including right-wing death squads in the 1970s.

How can this publication recommend these places to their readers?

The bottom line is that one has to read between the lines of the so-called retirement magazines. The places they recommend do not have the quality of life like Costa Rica and said magazines are hyping low-end, less that desirable real estate in these places. They even go so far as to slant a lot of information in their direction by inventing charts raking places to retire. Of course the countries where they vested interests are ranked highly.

All you have to do is follow the advice below and you should be able to purchase property and minimize the chances of something bad happening.

1. Have a good time-tested reliable attorney
2. Make your attorney is 100% bilingual so that you can understand every step of the process of purchasing property.
3. Have your attorney do the proper “due diligence.” Attorneys who handle real estate transactions can do this to ensure you are making a safe purchase.
4. Don’t be an impulsive buyer. Also take your time and DO your homework.
5. DO NOT trust people just because they are from the States, Canada, England or any other English-speaking country. Over the years I have come across many English-speaking scoundrels. So be careful!
6. Read all of the guidebooks about purchasing real estate in Costa Rica. There are three at the present time. They will give you a basic understanding of the how the local real estate scene works. Be wary of any real estate guidebook that continuously hypes the services of its author. Finally, remember no book should take the place of a good broker and lawyer.

I always give the guests on my monthly relocation/retirement tours a lecture about the above to help them distinguish betweens myths and reality when purchasing property in Costa Rica.

People interested in buying property here became more cautious than they’d ever had to be before because of recent events. A lot of people from the U.S. and Canada lost some of the funds or equity they’d saved in hopes of buying property. The crisis changed their plans and left a lot of people holding off on buying a second home or a vacation home in a foreign country.

Nevertheless they are some encouraging signs. The Costa Rican real estate market appears to be reviving after taking a hit during the recent worldwide recession. Now there a lot of good values because some prices have been slashed and a lot of people are anxious to move their properties. Costa Rica continues to be a popular warm-weather destination and tourism is one of the motors which drives the real estate market. This coupled with the country’s stellar international reputation as a nature lover’s paradise and a stable peace-loving country will continue to make Costa Rica a good investment. How often does one hear bad things about Costa Rica on nightly newscasts? Never!!! What you hear is negative news about drug wars in Mexico, Venezuela’s President Chavez and other problems in Latin America. On the other hand Costa Rica is associated with programs on the Discovery Channel, National Geographic and retirement.

In addition, 70 million Baby Boomers, many of whom have their sights set on retiring abroad, will continue to fuel the country’s real estate market. Add to this the scores of people of all ages who are disgusted with the direction the U.S. is going and who will want to jump ship and move to a country like Costa Rica as a solution.

Due to all of the reasons above, Costa Rica will continue to be an excellent place to invest in real estate.

Photo Courtesy of Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties

The most recent book from Christopher Howard, an complete guide to real estate in Costa Rica

Although I have been very successful with my own real estate investments in Costa Rica and recently authored a book on the subject (Christopher Howard’s Guide to Real Estate in Costa Rica) I don’t sell property. Consequently, to avoid a conflict of interest I found a real estate company to select homes we view on the property portion of my tours. I also wanted to connect my clients with a reputable company that would look out 100% for their interests and not pressure them into purchasing property until and if they were ready.

This process was not easy since the real estate scene here is akin to the wild west. My primary interest has always to been to protect my clients at all costs before they fall into the hands of an incompetent or dishonest agent or lose money through a bad investment. I would not be doing my job correctly if I did not provide this service for my clients. If they are successful, I am too. Eventually I found Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties who have done a fantastic job for my clients and helped scores of people find their dream homes in paradise.

Don’t get me wrong! The emphasis on my retirement tours is on lifestyle and providing my clients with the best possible unbiased information and contacts and information so that they will be successful if they decide to move here. By the end of my tours people will know whether they want to move here or not.

Why was this book written?

Guide to Real Estate in Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s natural beauty has been attracting tourists for years. Now retirees and investors are flocking to the country. It seems that almost everyone who moves here becomes enamored with Costa Rica and wants to own a piece of paradise. Because of this Costa Rica was voted one of the top five real estate markets in the world in 2006. However, in order to invest profitably and safely in Costa Rican real estate everyone needs to have the correct information about the process and proceed cautiously every step of the way.

Purchasing real estate in Costa Rica is not for the feint of heart. Many have made money while others have lost their shirt. Realtors don’t need a license to operate here, so potential buyers have to be very careful with whom they deal. It is sort of like the wild west at times because of a lack of regulation and frontier mentality. However, with the correct information and guidance you can make a good purchase and find the home or property of your dreams.

The purpose of this carefully researched book is to provide investors with everything they need to be successful in Costa Rica’s real estate market. This one-of-a-kind guide contains over 500 carefully researched pages and took over three years to write. Virtually everything is covered from A to Z and it will answer all of your questions. The book covers: how and where to find property, how to find out what it is worth, due diligence, how to make an offer, how to finalize the sale, getting permits, financing including using your IRA, legal ramifications, building a home, doing a small development, where to get the best help from professionals in all fields, selling a home, how to do business in Costa Rica, a list of resources and contacts and everything else needed to purchase property the right way.

Those who worked on and wrote the book aimed to provide an objective guide to buying real estate in Costa Rica. One writer is a professional journalist with years of experience at the top financial media company Bloomberg. The other writer has been a newspaper reporter and independent journalist. Neither of the writers are involved in selling real estate in Costa Rica. This guide is based on more than 100 interviews with experts in real estate across the country and from many different countries.

The book was published and written under the watchful eye of renowned author Christopher Howard who has lived in Costa Rica for 30 years and is a Costa Rican citizen. He is the most read authority on the country, has appeared on the NBC Today Show and CNBC World News and has published two perennial bestsellers: “The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica” (16 editions) and the one-of-a-kind “The Guide to Costa Rican Spanish”.

To order the book go to amazon.com or see www.officialguidetocostaricanrealestate.com

These properties are found in the new growth areas of Costa Rica that allowing people to buy large lots and build affordable homes.

I just found out about a great retirement option for people who have been affected by recent events in the States. The people at Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties have come up with something that is the answer. I am usually quite stingy when it comes to endorsing other companies, but in this case I feel it is my duty as a relocation retirement expert to share this information with you.

Their unique program will show you how to live comfortably here on a monthly budget as low as $1500. You can do this without sacrificing your current lifestyle. Once you have your home and transportation needs taken came of, living for a lot less than you did at home is indeed possible.

They offer several property tours that really cover the whole gamut of what’s available for potential retirees taking all budgets and lifestyles into consideration. All this is showcased through their unique approach to using a new Lifestyle Property Tour format. This encompasses a 6 pack project tour that shows you all you could ever want to see.

I have been asked to personally endorse these projects included in the Lifestyle Tours by way of a stiff questionnaire and disclosure. To meet the criteria established, the properties will all have to show:

1    financial capability (disclosure)
2    Engineering infrastructure quality handled by capable firms
3    Area and amenities relative to cost
4    Location relative to needs
5    Property management capability when finished
6    control of what will be built

What I really like is the personalized attention they provide. They even offer a very thorough orientation and seminar option for all of their clients and are 100% customer oriented. I feel perfectly comfortable placing anyone who contacts me in their hands. This service really compliments my own business. I don’t know of any other company which provides this level of support to the client. They provide these services every day and their experience can make the difference between your success and failure here.

Over the last 25 years I have personally helped 1000s of people move here successfully. I have had the chance to see what works here and what doesn’t and know how much money it takes to live live here. Best of all you don’t have to sacrifice your quality of life or dignity by moving to other “so-called retirement destinations” like Nicaragua, Panama, the Philippines or Thailand where you really get what you pay for.

Costa Rica is and will continue to be the buzz word and Latin America’s retirement haven due to all of the amenities it offers. Recently, I had a woman on one of my monthly retirement tours who had been living in Panama. I asked her why she decided to take my tour if she was a Panamanian resident. She stated, “Costa Rica offers far more options and the quality of life is better here.” This is straight from the horses mouth.”