ebjr

So I'm in exploring the possibility of buying a house here and have been looking at options. I'm still not clear on the mortgage options and for that I have a couple appointments starting tomorrow with various banks. I have no clue of what my budget is or how to estimate my monthly payment. But, that's a topic for another day. As I've browsed through several websites I've seen some homes that state "owner financing" available. I've contacted a could sellers and have received different info as well some very odd explanations from "realtors". Has anyone here ventured in to this for purchasing a home? One seller said that his home is in a SA which supposedly makes it easier to do this. No idea what that's supposed to mean. Any insight from experience would be appreciated.

That's an interesting question. I've been here 18mo and fished several places, mostly offshore/nearshore, never considered whether or not a fishing license is needed here. Look forward to seeing replies from those who have purchased a license and how much it cost.

Quite a bit of truth in that. I was there as well just before the turn over in 97 when bases such as Amador were turned over early, you could see a huge difference 30days post turn over. However a lot of the bases like Holbrook an Clayton have been restored and look great. There's a heavy Asia-PAC influence now so it definitely got a different feel. I haven't been back in several years but am planning a trip for early next year. We'll take a look for ourselves.

Can't help there as I was there with the military and didnt have to endure any residency process. I will however state that many of the people I know that went civilian and have made panama there home have stated that the process was not terribly complicated. I don't know if there's special consideration given to retired military personnel that helped ease the process.

I lived in Panama for 4yrs in the canal zone area. I really enjoyed it. I wouldn't say that the crime is less in Panama. I'm my personal opinion with no data to back it up, I would say violent crime rate in Panama is higher than CR. The things I liked more about Panama over CR is the dollarized economy and the fishing is much better. Aside from that I'd take CR over panama. But that could change a couple years from now if CR government doesn't get a handle in the rising crime and ridiculous exchange rate bands. HTH. Ed

Has anyone in authority offered any explanations as to why this is happening (dollar continuing to fall against the colon in spite of the central banks efforts to prop it up)? The floor can be moved however that would require a lot of explanation/justification from the central bank. On paper they are supposed to implement some sort of action when the floor is reached ro very close however as of yesterday they have remained silent. No statement issued as to what the plan is or if they do not plan on doing anything, why not. From looking at historical data, this has happened before. back in 2008 and early 2000-2002 shortly before teh central bank moved to this new banded exchange rate. my understanding is that this structure was implemented to avoid large fluctuations again in the future. Hopefully Monday will come with some news/announcement from the central bank.

The Central Bank will have to intervene soon. This decline is very hurtful to the many multinational companies here as well as to the tourist industry already reporting losses. What's even mire sad is that it used to be a benefit to pay in US$$. Now the majority if multinationals have switched their payroll to Colones.

When we first moved here a year ago, we sent our deposit using moneygram. We did meet the owner during one of our trips and felt comfortable doing so. We didn't have any issues at all. Regarding the remarks about renting a place you haven't seen in person, i will say this, based on my experience in looking for a new home (our lease is up and we'd like a bigger place)...pics can be very deceiving, especially if you can't see the surrounding area. There have been some houses that look great...and they do, but the area they are in look like something out of an Antonio Banderas movie...you expect to see a shoot out in the streets. I don't know what you're situation is so you may not have a choice. I'm just adding my 2 cents based on current and past experience. HTH and Good Luck.

That seems contrary to everything i've read so far on credit in CR. From what I understand its not nearly as easy as in the US to buy on credit, especially when it comes to buying real estate. A simple explanation as to why so many average Ticos have a car and home is that they save and buy the car they can afford and have homes passed down from family members or are simply renters.

"In Costa Rica, it is not uncommon to give coffee to babies (in their bottle, with milk) and to young children. I found this astonishing! Having had the "pleasure" of a two year old a few times in my life, I simply could not imagine a two year old on espresso!" Thats funny. I don't think I ever got coffee with milk in a bottle but I know I was dunking cheese sandwiches in coffee when I was 5yo. I thought it was just a PR thing...must be all latinos...