People are always looking for bargains. But as the old saying goes, “You get what you pay for.” This is especially true when it comes to selecting a country to live or retire in overseas. I have been in the relocation and retirement business for over 30 years and have personally helped thousands of people relocate to Costa Rica through my guidebooks, tours and seminars. I have seen and heard it all.

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.

Absolutely! It can be almost like buying property in your home country if you use common sense. However, If you read the alarmist websites that preach that you can “lose your shirt ”or those that claim the have the “real scoop” on Costa Rica you will be too scared to purchase anything. Actually some of these alarmist sites have tones of racism because they imply that you have to be careful when dealing with Costa Ricans.

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.

When people move to Costa Rica to live or retire, they have to either rent or buy a home. Recently, I was interviewed by a reporter from the Tico Times newspaper about the country’s current real estate market. As most of you probably know the downturn in the global economy affected real estate markets around the world. Costa Rica is no exception.

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

Real Estate is an important part of retiring or moving to Costa Rica. Everyone has to have a place to live whether you rent or buy property. When I originally started my relocation/retirement tours in the 1990s I took my clients to traditional tourist destinations like the volcanoes, Tortuga Island and the Britt Coffee Tour. However, more and more of my clients asked me to show them homes to get an idea of what housing was like here. At their request I decided to include a sampling of properties in the best areas to live.

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.

It is with great please that I announce the release of the long-awaited and overdue “Christopher Howard’s Guide to Real Estate in Costa Rica.”

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