jesselongworth

Glad to hear everything went almost smoothly.

Be prepared for security to check out the kennel throughly. This probably will involve having to bring the dog out. So it could be stressful putting her back in.

Great post. Honest agents and lawyers do exist in this country. There are safeguards in place, if they are used. But....in my opinion, rent first to make sure both of you like it 110%. Selling, while doable, is not as easy as buying.

And if you continued to read my previous post I addressed that.

David that is what I mean about reputations, they spread fast. CRF this is where taking time to purchase a property is beneficial. Get to know your expat community during this intro phase. Ask questions to everyone. People will tell you who to use and who to avoid.

Actually Paul there is a national realtor association. Any honest hearted agent is and should be a member of this association. Its the Camara Costarricense de Corredores de Bienes Raices. www.camara.cr As for Tom, Dick and Harriet, one bad deal and the gig is up. Expat communities talk and reputations spread fast. Like I said in an earlier post, negative experiences are more discussed. No CRF I don't think real estate is in my future. I have some good friends who are agents here in CR and have had long discussions with them and have learned quite a bit. Marketing for real estate interests me more than being an agent.

Good post Annelise. There are some really good realtors in this country. There is also very bad ones who scam and lie at any moment available for a quick buck. It's unfortunate that most of the time the negative experiences are discussed. That's the way life is. We keep the good experiences to ourselves, yet tell the world about the negatives. A good realtor can be very valuable.

I would support pinning a postive topic. I do not support pinning a topic that is negatively slanted bordering fear mongering.

Yes we had minor issues, and I set blame on us being too naive and a terrible 'realtor' (was a longtime friend of the family that was not a realtor in Canada and acted in our behalf in CR for a quick buck). This former friend signed off on several items during due diligence without our knowledge; items that we would have flat out rejected and killed the deal. Our situation could have happened anywhere in the world and is not limited to CR.

What I take exception to is you have the ability to pin a thread you personally agree with whereas the regular member does not. A good forum moderator should be unbiased.

I disagree. Soil studies are common during due diligence and can rule out current drainage and septic field problems. It can't rule out future problems, as no one can predict the futurw. Water problems can be diagnosed with a water sample examination and well experts can give their 2 cents on how to treat well problems. Any property in any part of the world is going to have potential and real problems. There is a degree of risk buying any product. Maybe we should change the title of this subforum to Don't Buy Real Estate because....

Paul, I'm surprised you are eating up this guys opinion. It shouldn't be pinned. What we are not hearing from him is more details as to why he feels the need to be soooo paranoid of losing his property. 100% of the time, people like that have a back story as to why they are being targeted. Like Annalise said, there are procedures before purchasing a property to ensure that the property does not have existing problems. This is called the due diligence period and a good real estate agent and lawyer can be very valuable during this process. And yes there are good agents and lawyers in this country. In my opinion Paul, I don't think it's wise to endorse another member's opinion as truth.

Marsrox, your post is so full of holes I don't even know where to begin.

Paul, I also read that environmental impact to the lago will be catastrophic, spill or no spill. The lake is home to species that only exist there. I imagine no thought or planning will go into this and if built, it will require constant repairs.

From what I have read, they are planning to create the canal north of the San Juan so CR cannot make a claim to the canal.

They need to increase revenues by collecting from the elite Ticos who avoid taxes and caja payments. Oh wait, that's who makes the laws.

I also live in the Southern Zone and I can verify the contacts from Savannahjo, if you would like a second opinion.

I have never heard Toronto being called TO. Must be a Maritime thing. In the west we call it 'The Centre of the Universe'

Actually it's something aboot Tron-o eh if you want to sound Canadian.

Probably. Go Canada eh.

Gayle, I found the whole conversation with the official very amusing. Seems like he was blaming you for the delays in obtaining residency, when you have zero control over it. That's soooo CR. Thanks for the update.

Better head for those caves newman.

So is the US team going to complain about the torrential rain? And Go Stamps Go.

Here we go again

Since you have made this discussion public, what is 'the situation'?