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SYNDICATIONA day in the field to the Los Santos area and we had a blast
By Ivo Henfling, Escazu and Santa Ana Specialist for the Easy Times.
On Tuesday, October the 20th, some of the Godutch agents went on a visit to the not very well known (yet) Los Santos area to do a tour organized by our Los Santos area specialist Tony Warren.
The plan was to tour some of the listings that Tony has to offer to our clients and finish at Tony's home to have a late lunch.
We couldn't fit too many people in my car, so Rudy Matthews, Mike Newhouse, Andres Henfling and the undersigned had agreed to meet up in the GoDutch Realty office in Escazu at 8:15 so we wouldn't get stuck in traffic too much.
All three came in late as traffic was heavy that day, so we didn't leave the office until like 9:45 am and traffic was still heavy, so I called Tony to tell him we were running late, so not to leave home yet. I told him I would call him just before we'd get to Cartago.
Getting across San Jose but the circumvalación wasn't actually that bad at all. This is the road that goes around San Jose, so going from Escazu to Cartago took us about 45 minutes.
From the entrance to Cartago, we had to drive another 30 minutes to the turnoff to "La Lucha" where we had agreed to meet Tony. La Lucha means "the fight" or "the struggle" and is a farm that is very famous here as it is the farm that belongs to the Figueres family.
Daddy Jose María Figueres (don Pepe) was the one that started the Costa Rican civil war in 1948 and La Lucha was Don Pepe's headquarter. Don Pepe was President of Costa Rica More about the history of don Pepe and the civil war here.
The son, Jose María Figueres Olsen was President of Costa Rica from 1994 – 1998, more about him here.
When we got to the turnoff to La Lucha, I called Tony and he said he'd run into a ditch but was on his way in another car. Tony gave me directions to get to the first property we were going to visit. The weather was just totally awesome for a day in the field, we had full sunshine, a perfect temperature of about 70 ºF and incredible views. This first property we visited was one of the nicest rural properties I have seen in all my years in real estate.
Incredible good access as it is only 500 yards from the Panamerican Highway but the noise of cars and trucks is blocked off by a large mountain which is part of the 25 acres property.
Listed to sell at a price of $375,000, this beautifully built country home with rancho and guesthouse, is a must see if you are looking to live in the Los Santos area or just want to have a nice weekend home away from the noise of the city without having to drive for hours to get there.
The views are absolutely to die for and privacy is total. The 25 acres of trails and the fruit orchard and vegetable garden will give you that weekend getaway you might have been looking for. This country home offers all the comforts of modern life and these unforgettable views made me definitely enjoy the property a lot. Read more about this property for sale in Los Santos here.
After visiting this awesome property, we went into the Los Santos Valley and visited some overpriced properties of those owners who probably haven't found out about the crisis going on all over the world. We sincerely hope that our visit (you don't get 5 real estate agents to visit your property very often) helps those sellers to understand that the market has changed and they will soon price their property accordingly so they can go on with their lives.
But going from property to property, even I, who know the area pretty well, got to see places I have never been to so it was a journey we enjoyed very much. Of course we were lucky with the weather because in some of these areas, in the rainy season, fog up in no time on you.
The black soil in this area makes it possible to grow about anything, so we really enjoyed all those fields full of crop, surrounded by untouched mountains with lots of forest areas. We saw lots of blackberry fields, strawberry fields and avocado orchards all over. On the way, everyone we passed said hi, like in the old days (30 years ago) in the Escazu area.
Another property definitely worthwhile mentioning was this incredibly nice log cabin at the end of a long winding country road. The unpaved road was a bit bumpy, which made the drive even in my SUV a bit rough. We're in the middle of the rainy season, so I'm sure this road got rained on a lot, but once we got to the property I fully understood why the owner bought this building lot. The 180 º views of the Los Santos valley are absolutely awesome. The log home and the surroundings are like those documentaries you see only on TV, these picture perfect places that you think you never see in person.
If you are a writer, a poet, an artist, this is that perfect hideaway where you can shut yourself off from the rest of the world for a couple of weeks. As a realtor, I would fly off the walls after some days because realtors need someone to talk to. But if you like the quiet, nature, views and a good book or paint, write, rhyme or sing, call our Los Santos expert Tony to go see this property.
This property is offered at only $179,000 and even it that is a bit over your budget, go find the extra money needed to buy this beautiful property in Los Santos, you'll thank me for it in some years.
We saw some other properties with small rivers, tree lined slopes, strawberry fields and some small cattle. Some very well prices, some just a bit too expensive but Tony said he is sure those local property owners are willing to listen to reasonable offers.
After all this hard work (yeah right) we went to Tony's home in La Cima de Los Santos, smack in the middle of this beautiful valley where Priscilla, his beautiful Tica wife was waiting for us with cold beers, hot bbq ribs, potatoes in aluminum foil with locally made sour cream, golden corn on the cob and incredible beans.
This was the best treat I've had in years. I'm sure Priscilla and Tony spent quite some time in the kitchen to fix this incredible late lunch and show us what real farmers do for a couple of city boys on a day in the field. Thanx again Priscilla and Tony for a great day and showing us what rural hospitality is all about.
And Tony, you did a great job at showing us all these different properties and farms and give us an idea what Los Santos is really all about.
Now we can all feel really good about sending all those people who are looking to move to Costa Rica and like to live in a rural area, to the Los Santos area and check out all these beautiful properties that Tony has to show.
Click here to see a list of Tony's property listings in the Los Santos area.