[don42]

Hi I am looking to find a few realistic price wise sites with good listings, I know most of the ones I have been looking at have had the same listings for a year

[newman]

don42, on Aug 28 2008, 03:28 AM, said:

Hi I am looking to find a few realistic price wise sites with good listings, I know most of the ones I have been looking at have had the same listings for a year

Be aware- it's extremely easy to buy in Cposta Rica, extremely difficult to sell!!

[vipal]

i think you have to do the math yourself. dont expect a site to be realistic. tico´s like to put objects overpriced for for sale in the internet, maybe someone buys. a bit like its a lottery for free. if someone is living in a house thats for sale, i would be very carefull on starting a negotiation.

[TicoVille]

Listing prices are always skyhigh and I would recommend local real estate companies over the main ones anyday. They usually have someone local working with them getting better deals. The bigger companies are there for those who have enough money to pay an extra 100k for convenience so to speak.

~ Mike

[sammi]

don42, on Aug 28 2008, 03:28 AM, said:

Hi I am looking to find a few realistic price wise sites with good listings, I know most of the ones I have been looking at have had the same listings for a year

Hello, I bought a tico house in Quepos, up in the hills, 15 min. from the beach. My realestate was a local firm. Not Remax, or Century 21. Costa Rica Property Sales, Jorge Montero was very personal and still is. We are trying to sell our house in Las Vegas, and Jorge is looking out for our house in Quepos for us. Quepos is a nice area and up the hills are small towns. Nice people. GOOD people. E-Mail Jorge@brcrps.com

[Tingos]

looking at the same listings for a year? It's called "bait & switch." If you can decide on which area you are interested in, then you can look for a knowledgeable, honest agent in that area. You might want to take a look here; Costa Rican Chamber of RE brokers; http://www.mls-cr.com/

[SellingCR]

don42, on Aug 28 2008, 03:28 AM, said:

Hi I am looking to find a few realistic price wise sites with good listings, I know most of the ones I have been looking at have had the same listings for a year

It's been awhile since I have seen an email from Shaw thats for sure. I moved here a few years back from Victoria, BC. I currently have a 'realistic' site on Costa Rica real estate. We tend to list quite frequently, fire sales or foreclosures. In this moment we have many amazing *need money now* deals that reach as great as 40-50% discounted prices. I also have a site on Costa Rica news and information. Both of which are listed in my signature.

[Sam Ramon]

SellingCR, on Dec 16 2008, 07:04 PM, said:

It's been awhile since I have seen an email from Shaw thats for sure. I moved here a few years back from Victoria, BC. I currently have a 'realistic' site on Costa Rica real estate. We tend to list quite frequently, fire sales or foreclosures. In this moment we have many amazing *need money now* deals that reach as great as 40-50% discounted prices. I also have a site on Costa Rica news and information. Both of which are listed in my signature.

It always kills me when people say "Don't look for real estate on the internet".
I admit that you won't find the best deals there, and it is true that visiting for a month or living in CR for awhile, you will find better deals.

BUT - and this is a big butt! - most people who are looking to buy real estate in CR simply cannot afford to move to Costa Rica or live there for a month or more to look for a better real estate deal. Also, most of the "better" real estate deals are only findable if you speak Spanish, drive around and talk to people, and even then it takes awhile and a lot of leg work. Most people simply cannot afford or are not able to go this route!

One CAN find good deals on the internet. I did it. It took me 2 years and about 5 trips back and forth but I did it. And yes I did get a good deal, even Ticos are amazed at the deal I got. And yes I bought from a gringo and yes he charged a big commission.

Here is my suggestion for those who want to buy on the net:
(I assume you have already spent at least a month living in some part of Costa Rica so you know you can stand living in a "developing" country and that you have some affinity for living there. People who just decide to move there based on books and internet are dumb. You MUST find a way to spend at least a month living there, not in a hotel but in a home or apartment and see what it's really like before you make the big step of deciding to buy property there and move there permanently!)

1) spend many many hours doing searches and looking at EVERY real estate site you can find. Compare prices in areas you like, take notes, bookmark sites, write them emails and ask about listings that are not listed on their site yet. Many realtors do their own webmastering and don't find a lot of time for frequent updates so they often have a listing or two sitting around that has not made it to the web yet. Of course these same realtors also don't find time to answer emails promptly... So be patient and write back if you don't hear from them in a few days.

I spent at least an hour or two every single day for weeks just gathering info and bookmarking sites that I would then go back and check at least every few days for new listings. Also periodically check for new real estate sites - they pop up pretty frequently.

2) Once you find some sites that seem to have reasonable prices, begin to make a list of properties you want to look at. Write and get as much info about them as you can, maybe even call and talk to the realtors by phone. Figure out what is most important to you and then ask questions to try to qualify and disqualify properties. No point in making a trip out to look at a property that a few pointed questions can disqualify.

For me, this meant asking questions like "How near is the nearest neighbor?" I did not want close neighbors so someone might have a great property but if it had neighbors within a few hundred meters, I was not interested in it. You may have different details that will disqualify a place. You may need to be near a bus line. You may need to be near a school or hospital. You may not want to be on a 4wheel drive only road. You may require a property with internet access available. Etc. etc.. Ask as many questions as you can to disqualify properties before going to look at them.

3) After spending many months (probably) on the above 2, line up at least 7-8 properties that really seem like they are ideal for you. Then set up appointments with the realtors. Call them on the phone (Skype is cheap or use onesuite.com for cheap long distance phone calls to Costa Rica) and let them know you are very serious about one or more of their properties and that you plan to come down on THIS DAY (about 2-6 weeks in advance) and so tell them when you will be there and how many properties of their's you want to see.

In my case, what I did was line up 1-4 properties with 3-4 realtors about a month in advance. I set exact dates and times to meet them. Remember that if you are looking at properties "out in the sticks" you may only be able to see 2-3 in a day. By the time you drive or bus to the realtor's office and he drives you around to look at them, it is difficult to see more than 2-4 in a day unless they are all very close to each other and easy to get to. Rain may also be a factor.

So I made appointments to see 3 properties with Realtor A on Wednesday, 3 properties with Realtor B on Thur, 4 properties with Realtor C on Fri and 5 properties with realtor C on Saturday about a month in advance. Looked at all of them, took notes on each one and my first trip was a bust. None of the properties were quite what I was looking for.

Back to the states. Back to the search.

4-6 months later I found 6-10 other new properties to look at. Did the same procedure, sheduled 3 more days of looking.
Put money down on a place on that trip. The title fell through. I was out money on the trip and more time lost.

4-6 months later I found more places, made plans for another trip. This time I found the perfect place at a great price and bought it.

Actually I am shortening the process. I actually made more trips and altogether it took me 2 years and 2 false starts (properties with title problems) before I bought my property.

The person I ended up buying from was not really a realtor but a developer who just happened to know a Tico with a piece of land for sale. It was never listed on the net, it was one they showed me after the ones I looked at from the net were rejected.

So, if you can afford to make 2-3 trips per year for 3-5 days per trip, you can probably find something at a fair price using the net. I did and I know others who have.

Read the post here in this forum about dealing with realtors and how to make doubly sure your real estate has a clear title, getting YOUR OWN attorney (not the seller's attorney) to check the title and make the deal for you, etc. etc...

Unfortunately not everyone can just up and move to Costa Rica for months at a time to find a better deal, so the internet is their only choice. Google is your friend! And don't forget to check all the forums and yahoo groups etc. for real estate offered, or make a post there "I am looking for a [piece of land or home] near [area] in the price range of [$] with [your requirements: internet, no close neighbors, good all year road, or whatever]. Anyone know of such a property for sale?"

Patience and diligence are the keys!

This post has been edited by Sam Ramon: 19 December 2008 - 03:15 PM

[CdnMorganGal]

We were extremely lucky. I researched on the net for a couple of months, finding every little site with places for sale. We didn't know if to buy land, a fixer-upper, something new, etc. We finally decided we wanted to just be able to move in. I found one property I was very interested in, but wondered what wasn't stated in the ad. We went down to look at it, looked at two others and bought the first. We didn't live in CR prior to buying, we'd only visited 20yrs previously. But we both have travelled extensively, hubby has lived around the world, and we knew the lifestyle we wanted. As time goes by we are just falling more and more in love with it. Emerald Forest Properties has a wide variety of realty for sale, we purchased thru them. http://www.EmeraldForestProperties.com Good luck.

[costaricafinca]

A quick question on this company: Did they take you to visit the property or did they only provide directions to go yourself ?

[Kahuna]

don42, on Aug 28 2008, 03:28 AM, said:

Hi I am looking to find a few realistic price wise sites with good listings, I know most of the ones I have been looking at have had the same listings for a year

I will sell you some property. Never mind that I have no experience and I don't know what I am doing. No one else here does either, so you might as well buy from me. How much money do you have to spend?

[builderlongtime]

Kahuna, on May 16 2009, 01:14 PM, said:

I will sell you some property. Never mind that I have no experience and I don't know what I am doing. No one else here does either, so you might as well buy from me. How much money do you have to spend?

Good answer Kahuna.......I was down last year, made inqueery of many real estate companys, emailed many more lreccomended and listed. After a couple of emails of inqueery and it became evident i was not coming right down and plunking down the money on the half million dollar listing......the emails ended. Real estate in C/R is overpriced in relation to the real world. I am asking a million dollars for my property here in s.e. arizona. A similar property sold for 170,000 recently so Is my property worth a million dollars? Until the sellers in C/R and their brokers realize and become motivated to sell property for what is offered it will remain......OVERPRICED and UNSOLD! Granted sometimes MIRACLES HAPPEN?

[eskasue]

builderlongtime, on May 17 2009, 02:10 AM, said:

Good answer Kahuna.......I was down last year, made inqueery of many real estate companys, emailed many more lreccomended and listed. After a couple of emails of inqueery and it became evident i was not coming right down and plunking down the money on the half million dollar listing......the emails ended. Real estate in C/R is overpriced in relation to the real world. I am asking a million dollars for my property here in s.e. arizona. A similar property sold for 170,000 recently so Is my property worth a million dollars? Until the sellers in C/R and their brokers realize and become motivated to sell property for what is offered it will remain......OVERPRICED and UNSOLD! Granted sometimes MIRACLES HAPPEN?

Kahuna....I have lived (on and off) in CR since 1980. I am a Gringo (fluent Spanish) married to a Tica (and she has fluent English). We are on our 5th house in CR (mostly Escazu or Santa Ana area). We have bought new most of the time, rented, and even built a home with a Canadian builder (sort of) and I must say I your 3 sentence reply has fully identified the Real Estate industry in Costa Rica !...Tks

[builderlongtime]

eskasue, on May 22 2009, 09:37 PM, said:

Kahuna....I have lived (on and off) in CR since 1980. I am a Gringo (fluent Spanish) married to a Tica (and she has fluent English). We are on our 5th house in CR (mostly Escazu or Santa Ana area). We have bought new most of the time, rented, and even built a home with a Canadian builder (sort of) and I must say I your 3 sentence reply has fully identified the Real Estate industry in Costa Rica !...Tks

Well we all need to back Kahuna in his new real estate venture. Why.....because he has convinced us (me) that he is a truthful person when he says he knows nothing and no one else does either. An old quote "the Truth shall set you free".
I think I had line 3 (I can find none in Kahunas replys) so to elaborate I will only say that the majority of the replys I received or did not recieve on my inqueerys to real estate companys were less than helpful. Some were and i will be happy to advise those interested who they were (pomerenejohn@hotmail.com) and will try and be happy to pass on my observations about moving to C/R. I am interested in building an alternate style home for myself in C/R and will share my ideas with anyone interested. I am also interested in the real C/R, not the C/R hyped by those who are interested only in me as a mark.

[CdnMorganGal]

Their rep met us at our hotel and took us to see the properties.

costaricafinca, on Mar 9 2009, 11:53 AM, said:

A quick question on this company (Emerald Forest Properties): Did they take you to visit the property or did they only provide directions to go yourself ?