I am thinking of buying property in CR to build a retirement home. Anybody have experience down there? Also would like to find info on medical clinics or doctors in the central pacific area (Jaco to Manuel Antonio)

We bought property in the Perez Zeledon area. We are leaving in two weeks to go down and talk to a builder that we have been in touch with. We have designed a small house that he is working on putting into format for the actual building of it which will probably get started in Dec. or Jan due to the rainy season coming up.

We chose to build up a little higher where the temps run about 77-81 degrees year round. We are in the foothills of the Talamanca mountains just below Chirripo. We will be within about an hour of Dominical, maybe a little more. Good health care was also a big consideration on where we bought. There are good doctors down there and there is a brand new hospital being built right now down in Palmar Sur. There will also be an international airport going in by 2010, hopefully. You could consider someplace between Uvita and Dominical. Tons of places being built(unfortunately) down there.

We had been looking for many years and learned a lot along the way so the purchase went very smoothly. We were actually able to close via computer while on vacation in Guatemala. Not the type of place we would have bought 10 years ago but time and circumstances have led us to make some changes in our idea of where and what we would buy. The lawyers we use are located in Escazu and specialize in real estate and property management. They will help with the paperwork for a cell phone when we are ready, they will let us know when the taxes need paying and we can wire the money to them to take care of it as well as other things. We don't plan on being full time residents for a couple of years at least because of my husbands aging parents.

The best thing you can do is just go down and start talking to people. I would think buying a place down there in the area you are talking about would be pretty straight forward if you are careful about details like titles etc. Our lawyers were able to determine whether or not the titles were okay within minutes of us walking into the office. I believe it is all public record.

The best recommendation is GET A LAWYER!! seat with them and ask all the questions you may have!!

The most comun way to get ripp off in Costa Rica is from people from your same country!! In Costa Rica today we have tons of foreign crooks...

Your local lawyer will make the title search ...if your land is not register or have any problems..he will tell you...a lot of properties are in the middle of family fews!! They can offer you fantastic deals...do not go for that...some times you will end years in court!!

Doctors not a problem...they are everywhere...I visit my Dentist in Escazu...he is just great...try them DENTAVAC...

Is not hard if you have a good lawyer...

El Registro Nacional...is the national institution that holds all the property transactions...and record any thing in that regard!! Most lawyers have direct computer access with all the records...is a Public Inforamtion!!

R.A Luis

Just buckle up and enjoy the ride in paradise!!

I love good honest people I love to read that some hard working couple is moving to San Isidro del General!!

Thanks to both Suzie? and Roadadvisor. Suzie?, we are traveling to CR 6/19 thru 7/4. Maybe we will meet? Sounds like you did your homework. In all 6 books we have read on CR the main recommendation is an attorney. Thanks again, Tony

We arrive in the country on the 9th of June and will hang out in San Isidro for a week talking with the builder and planting some stuff on the property. We will have a week to do some traveling before disappearing into the woods for two weeks taking a tree identification course. We will possibly go to San Gerardo de Dota for a day or two or just head over to Dominical and make our way down the coast and then all the way to Puerto Jimenez. There are supposed to be some gooood cooks in Ojochal. After the course I will be meeting up with my niece and her daughter and traveling around a little.

Here is the link to the properties where we bought. http://www.vistasdechirripo.com/properties.aspx

We are number 13. We just had to pick that number . It is also the oddest shaped lot but it does have some great views which is why we chose it. We will be meeting some fellow Ohioans sometime before we go down who also bought there.

We have been from one end of the country to the other and from one coast to the other in our travels. Maybe we will meet up someday.

Good luck with your property hunting. Just remember that titles are a good thing to have. A lawyer we talked to about buying on the Osa many years ago told us that the Osa would be at least twice the size it is if everyone that said they had title really did. A lot of properties are bought without title but down the road it could be a problem so we just took the easy road.

A lawyer is very good advice. There is also the problem that with it being unoccupied for possibly long periods. It could continuously get broken into and basically everything stolen each time. If there are other westerners in the area that you can trust (you have to use care here as some can be worse than criminals), they can check on your place regularly.

You will also have to set up a method of paying your bills, direct debits or possibly they could even send them to your home address? (they did this for me from France, sending them to England).

Just becarefull with the foreigners that may try to talk you into buying ...where they are buying...most of the time they just looking for a fat commission...the good old greed...if you can find and deal direct with a costarican owner ...do it...any way...that is exactly what some foreign developers did...they bought cheap and sell VERY expensive!!

I will stay away from outsiders that is clear that they just want to pay their investment with you investment!!

Drive around see what you may like ...and ask your lawyer to do the title search,etc..

R.A Luis

Have been thinking of buying property and planning on flying down in December to check them out. Are any of you familiar with the Turrialba area or Siquirres (ms??).

The Pacific side appears to be wayyy out of my price range. Any suggestions on where to look online at homes??

Please help...
Leigh

The Turrialba area is where we first thought of buying. As much as we love the Osa we knew from the first time we saw the Talamancas that we would probably end up somewhere in them-much more comfortable temps year round. It is a good sized town but not huge. Big enough to have pretty much what you need on a day to day basis. It isn't a terribly long ride to San Jose so you can get there to shop or see doctors easily enough. We had a great bird guide show us around the area including some of the little towns just around Turrialba. He has since been in a terrible accident and can't guide anymore. We also looked at some properties with the people who own Rancho Naturalista. It could help having a Costa Rican with experience help you buy property. We tried a few places with the help of our friend Orlando but they found out he was helping Norte Americanos and jacked up the price. A neighbor had seen us looking around and told the owner. Another one was a beautiful place that was about 200 acres. We, through our friend, offered him the asking price which he immediately countered with a much higher price. We found out after that it was just as well we didn't buy from him. He was a Costa Rican version of a Mexican coyote who was getting peoples land titles by giving them the money to get out of the country and go to the U.S. They were always told they could get their property back if they repaid him but most of them couldn't and he knew they probably wouldn't be able to. It isn't just North Americans that are gouging each other.

It is true that you should consider having a person live on the property or at least pay someone to be a caretaker. Particularly after you have a home and personal items in it. This will open another can of worms because there are laws for employees. You will need someone to keep any possible squatters off the property even if you don't have a house. This was the primary reason we ended up where we did. We will have a live in caretaker watching over all the properties. We are also putting in a climate controlled bodega to keep things from getting covered with mildew. It won't have any windows and we should be able to lock it up pretty securely.

I would like to suggest a book by John Howell. He is a well respected author of books for people who are considering buying/living in CR. He used to have a web site like this one for people who live in CR or are considering it but recently shut it down so he could have more free time. It was a tremendous help to me when we started to really seriously consider it about 10 years ago. Christopher Howard also has some great books with tons of info.

Suzie2...please forgive me for not replying to your detailed post but I just now read it for the first time!! I don't knowhow I missed that bt I do appreciate the information you shared with me.

Two years away from retirement myself and seriously considering moving to CR despite the scary posts I have read recently about theft and slashed tires, etc.

Going now to visit the website you posted on where ya'll bought property.

I will be flying to CR for the first time in 3 weeks!!! YIKES!

Regards,
Leigh

Do be careful and do due diligence. I was just reading the bad stories on this website
http://www.ventanasdelpacifico.biz/
over on lonely planet board. . . .
All about a single development near Ojochal. . ..

CRcurious,
I have just started reading a highly recommended book called
"How to Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa", by Scott Oliver. I'd suggest you order it--it would be a big help to you and I think is a very reliable resource that will answer most, if not all, of your questions.

Seaturtlelady,
ARCR is a great group of people. They have lawyers and all kinds of help they can give you. Regular meetings are held so you can keep up with things. There are even tours just for people who are interested in learning about moving down there. They have been a great help to me over the years just by their postings on boards for people like us who are planning on living there someday.

Our friend Orlando just spent some time with someone from this board who is interested in buying down there as well. She was looking more at the Caribbean side.

As Glover has mentioned, bad things can happen. We did a lot of research and talked to several lawyers over the years. We were discouraged from buying a couple of places after they did a little research for us. The developer of our little community has actually picked a lot for himself and will be living there with us.

The Costa Rica we see today is very different than the CR we first saw over 15 years ago now. We bought in an area that is not touristy so hopefully we won't have to deal with the problems that seem to be tourist related anyway. Our goal is not to make the big bucks like so many are but rather to just enjoy the country. We have a good support system in that area with some wonderful Tico friends. They are so excited that we finally have a place near them and have been working on our property planting flowers for us. We already have hummingbirds coming to them. I can't wait to see it in Jan. They have even made a nice path to our waterfall.

I am so excited for you to be seeing the country for the first time. It truly is amazing how much natural beauty is packed into that little place and how varied it can be. Everything will still be so green when you get there. Take a little time to get to know it before jumping into buying and pick the place that is right for you. It is very easy to get caught up in the buy in Costa Rica fever that seems to have taken hold down there.

Have a wonderful trip. My husband and I are off tomorrow to spend 8 days with our son in the Sequoia Nat'l Park where he works. I love hiking around in those mountains.