Las Olas Beach Community, Costa Rica
Source: Las Olas Beach Community, Costa Rica
I chose this article because it discusses some very key benefits of buying land in Costa Rica. Some of the points only apply to beach front lots that the Las Olas Beach Community is selling, they start at $49k, if interested please contact them here: Las Olas Beach Front Lots $49K
Happy Reading, Sophia
COSTA RICA 2010 OVERVIEW
1. NEW ROAD: After 30 years in the planning and two years in Construction, the New Highway to the coast is set to open in a few months. This will cut driving time in half from San Jose to the Central Pacific Coast and both demand and prices for good beach front property and is sure to increase. Already, price of land near the exits in La Garita and Atenas has double and tripled in price.
2. NO CAPITAL GAINS TAX OR BAD LENDING PRACTICES IN COSTA RICA: Costa Rica has no capital gains taxes on sales of property, stocks, bonds or interest income. There are no shady lending practices at the banks in Costa Rica like the ones that were responsible for the present problems in the US housing markets. The banks in Costa Rica do business like the banks in the US did years ago when they made homes loans and actually serviced those loans. There are no Freddie Macs or Fannies Mae’s making government backed loans.
3. LONG TERM DEMOCRACY: Costa Rica has one of the longest stable democratic governments in both Central and South America that was established in 1948. Also in that same year the government disbanded their military because the leaders at the time understood that militaries often times provide the means to keep dictators in power. You have a real sense of Freedom in Costa Rica. You don’t feel like big brother is looking over your shoulder because he is not. If they police stop you they come up with a smile and say Buenos Dias Senior and shake your hand. They don’t have tasers or pepper spray and if you get a ticket it’s about $10.00 and not $200.00.
4. AN IDEAL PLACE TO RETIRE: Costa Rica has always been a favorite place to retire for people in the US, Canada and Europe. However, with the advent of the economic crisis and the increased cost of living in the above countries, Costa Rica is becoming more and more popular as a place to relocate. Cost of living here is about one fourth the price in the US. Taxes are a fraction of what they are in the US, health care costs is about one tenth, fresh fruits and vegetables are one fifth the cost, there are no hurricanes, tornadoes, raging fires, blizzards, no draught conditions. With an average temperature of 76 degrees year round, many people do not need either air conditions or heating and you can grow organic fruits an vegetables all year long. More importantly the people are warm and friendly and love the Americans. Many have called Costa Rica the last paradise on earth.
5. DOLLAR STILL A VALUE: Although the US dollar has been highly devalued against the EURO, the dollar still goes a long way in Costa Rica compared to the high prices in Europe. On a recent trip to Europe I was shocked at the prices. Oranges that cost $1.00 per dozen in Costa Rica, cost $3.50 in Europe, three bananas that cost $.20 in Costa Rica, Cost $2.20 in Europe, a bunch of parsley that cost $.15 in Costa Rica cast $2.00 in Europe. Everything was just way more expensive. People are feeling the pressure over there; I never saw so many people chain smoking and just looking all stressed out. It is exactly the opposite of the Pura Vida life style that we have in Costa Rica.
6. A SAFE PLACE CLOSE TO THE US: Compared to other places in the world, Costa Rica is a safe place that is close to the US. The people are gentle and love Americans and there is none of the violence that plagues many other parts of the world. There are no hurricanes, tornadoes, raging fire storms or water shortage in Costa Rica. With an average temperature of 76 degrees per
7. WHERE TO BUY PROPERTY: As we all know location is the most important consideration when buying property anywhere. It is also well known that property on a nice beach in a resort area is the one of the sought after properties and therefore one of the best investments you can make. Why? Because that is where people want to be. Only 1/5 of once percent of the all the land in Costa Rica is on a blue flagged pristine beach.
8. BEACH FRONT LOTS: Most of the property being sold right now in Costa Rica is up in the hills with distant views of the ocean. Why? Because there is just not a lot of good beach front property that is available for development in Costa Rica. People want to be on the beach, they are not making any more of it, so rental demand is strong.
9. HIGH RENTAL DEMAND: Beach from homes have a high rental demand with beach front rentals ranging anywhere from $1000 to $2000 per week during high season. This provides an excellent opportunity to have your investment paid off with rental income and in a number of years have a paid off asset worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
10. LAS OLAS BEACH COMMUNITY HAS ALL OF THE ABOUE. Las Olas Beach Community is one of the very few locations that is on a blue flagged pristine beach and has all the permits and ready to build and all the utilities are already in place. It is one of the few places with hills right next to the beach. In fact from Playa Hermosa to Quepos, Las Olas Beach Community is one of the few beach front locations along the entire 40 miles stretch that has hills next to the beach.
11. THINK ABOUT SELLING: There is an old saying in real estate that we all should keep in mind, “Before you buy a property you should think about selling it”. If some time in the future you want to sell your property will the property have a low, medium or high buying demand? How sellable will your property be? It’s just a well know fact that properties located in a beach side community has the highest buyer demand because that is where people really want to be.
12. COSTA RICA’S THE REAL ESTATE MARKET, BANKS AND THE ECONOMY ARE VERY STABLE: Costa Rica banks and investment firms are very sound and stable. They never got into the toxic investment vehicles like sub-prime mortgages, derivatives, swap defaults and all the other toxic investments vehicles that were created by Wall Street and the big banks to make them big money. They weren’t satisfied with slow steady growth; they wanted warp speed growth and profits. They got their warp speed profits and the US economy and investor got a warp speed financial disaster when the bubble burst. This cost the US investors trillions of dollars and wrecked the US economy and it will take years to recover.
Since Costa Rica banks and investment firms never got into this kind of financial madness they did not suffer the huge economic collapse and loses that the US investor has suffered when the bubble burst. Therefore, the Costa Rican investors and the economy are in relatively good shape. Consequently, the Real estate market here, as well as the economy, is very stable as well as the cost of living. There are no huge tax increases here like in the US and there is no push here to establish new government bureaucracies that will cost more money and debt. Therefore, Costa Rica is becoming the place of choice for people to relocate out of the US, Canada and other places in the world that are becoming more and more expensive to live.
The banks in Costa Rica are very conservative. The two large National banks guarantee both personal and business deposits 100 percent. They are very careful in their lending practices and monitor accounts very carefully as well. Often times, if you write a large check or have a large transaction on your credit card, they will call you to verify the transaction. If you want a mortgage you will have to put up 20 percent, have proof of income and good credit. Like the banks use to do in the US in the 50’s.
13. CONCLUSION Doesn’t it just make good sense to invest in a country that has good fiscal policies in place coupled with good management policies? A country has no capital gains taxes that will not tax your savings, dividends, or profits on the sale of stocks, bonds and real estate. A country that has banks that have good lending practices and where you can keep you money in either Dollars or Euros? Costa Rica and Las Olas Beach Community is not only a place you really want to be, but it’s also a place your money wants to be. Act now and secure your investment in a Las Olas Beach Community property while they last. There are only a limited number of lots being sold and when they are gone the resales will only be more expensive. With and increase in demand in property in Costa Rica in general and the New Highway opening soon, these lots won’t last long.
