Greetings from sunny Costa Rica, and with lots of great news this month
Costa Rica: a beautiful democratic system
Just this weekend, we have had Election Day. We are very proud to be one of the few real democratic Latin American countries, and Election Day here is like one big "fiesta". For the first time, as a trial, and who knows how many years, the government allowed liquor to be served on Election Day, and it looks like the locals have behaved well and never again will tourists have to suffer through a non-alcohol vacation during Costa Rican elections.
As a 30-year resident (who doesn't vote) of Costa Rica, I welcome Laura Chinchilla as Costa Rica's first female president, who will for sure continue the good government that Oscar Arias, our Nobel Peace Prize winner, has provided from 2006 to 2010. Oscar Arias has finally pulled Costa Rica out of a string of presidents that had done nothing for the infrastructure of the country and we all hope that doña Laura's government will continue and finish all these unfinished projects that are impossible to fulfill in only four years of office.
Laura Chinchilla won by a landslide of 46.77% of the total vote while Otton Solis of PAC received only 25.15% and Otto Guevara of ML 20.82%. Unfortunately Liberación Nacional (Laura Chinchilla) won only 23 seats in Parliament because now the votes are very divided up between small parties. But this will show if doña Laura has the personality to negotiate those projects she wants really to succeed. Congratulations Laura Chinchilla and Costa Rica for having such a beautiful democratic system and for making election day such an example for the rest of the world.
Opening of the new toll-road from San Jose to Caldera
President Oscar Arias opened officially the much advertised toll-road from San Jose to Caldera in the Central Pacific area. After 40 years of talking about it and saving up the funds to build it, this toll-road (less than $4 each way) finally opened up, and Costa Ricans crowded the highway the first weekend with more than 26,000 cars that backed-up the traffic for hours. But once normalized, this new toll-road will reduce the one-hour drive to Atenas to 20 minutes, and the 2 ½ hour drive to Jaco to 40-50 minutes. That makes Atenas and surrounding areas an even more interesting location for those who plan to retire and would like a home in a warmer climate where they can have a swimming pool and incredible views, where our real estate group, of course, has a partner. Click here to see those properties.
This new toll-road will, of course, also open up the whole area from Orotina to the Jaco beach area. The American-European Real Estate Group has an affiliate partner in the Jaco beach area, and for some of their listings you can click here.
Late payments are going down
The Costa Rican economy is up and rolling, and, even though Costa Rican banks seem not to be interested in mortgages to the foreign market yet, the banks say late payments are going down for the second month in a row. So property owners with a mortgage seem to be able to make their payments. On top of that, because we have low property taxes here, sellers seem not to be in a hurry to sell, as prices remain stable. We've had many bargain hunters here in the past year but there are hardly any bargains to be found. We don't see many bank foreclosures either. This is great news for the property owners, as property values remain stable throughout a world crisis. Very few countries in the world can say the same.
Costa Rica: political stability and quality of the labor of its people
On the other hand, many international corporations are installing their offices in the Central Valley. Amway is opening a new office in April 2010 in Forum Santa Ana. Amway says Santa Ana was chosen over 28 other cities in the world because of the help given by the Costa Rican government, the country's political stability, the quality of the labor of its people, and the experience of other companies already installed in the country, says Craig V. Witcher, VP and corporate auditor for Amway. Some other Internationals corporations installing in Costa Rica in 2010 are WNS, Teleperformance, Paysource, McKinsey, Sensient and Emerson. Also, Cisco Systems Inc. will establish the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute in Costa Rica this year. In 2009, 95 service companies installed in Costa Rica, employing 28,000 locals.
Coming up...
As a last one for this month, I wanted to give you the great news that as of the 1st of March 2010, Costa Rica will have a real and VERY professional Multiple Listing Service (MLS): Tierra-Max ® MLS. We sincerely hope that every serious realtor in Costa Rica will join and we wish Tierra-Max ® MLS lots of luck. In the next AE Newsletter, we’ll have more news about it for you.
All the above shows that Costa Rica is indeed a "happy" country, and those looking for a new country to start a new life or those who are looking to retire should definitely put Costa Rica on their "must see" list.
Enjoy reading.
Ivo Henfling
President
American European Real Estate Group
In this Issue:
Valuable information
You have spent countless hours searching the internet trying to find that ideal location for retirement, second home and/or investment.
You've narrowed your list and have decided Costa Rica is the country for you based upon its democracy, lack of military, lower taxes and a whole variety of reasons. It is now time to choose a specific town in Costa Rica that would suit your lifestyle.
Why select Atenas as your new setting? (read more...)
Do you see the smile on my face?
That smile is because Costa Rica took top honors in the latest Happy Planet Index, which reports Costa Rica as having the highest life satisfaction in the world, the second-highest average life expectancy of the Americas (just behind Canada), and a respectably low ecological footprint.
It's interesting to note that the report states, "The three largest countries in the world, China, India and the USA (all aggressively pursuing growth-based development models), have all seen their [Happy Planet Index] scores drop…."
The United States ranked 114th in the index. (read more...)
More real stories...
"Twice my wife and I have found Larry Albright to be the correct realtor for our property searches in Costa Rica.
In 2001, and again in 2009, Larry presented to us what he considered to be the best valued properties that matched our search criteria. Both times he was right and both times we were extremely happy with properties we purchased.
Larry Albright has become a wonderful friend and has always listened to our real estate needs. He advised us well during this recession, knowing which properties would have the best future gain".
Phil & Karen Manuel, Tucson, AZ
"GoDutch Realty and Ivo played a key role in developing within me a "comfort zone" for purchasing property in another country.
I signed the contract and paid the deposit on my condo on the 6th day of my first visit to Costa Rica. A leap of faith? Some people say so, but Go Dutch did not steer me wrong and I've been in my new home for a year and a half.
My GoDutch Realty agent was knowledgeable of the geographical areas, demographic profile and cultural differences unique to a given area or neighborhood. Furthermore, the agent was able to point out climate differences in various areas of Costa Rica.
The agent's knowledge of these points helped him determine the Costa Rican area to be the "best fit" for the potential buyer, based on the buyer's (my) preferences. Having purchased and sold several homes in IL over the span of almost 30 years, there were many steps in the process for the Costa Rican purchase that were unfamiliar to me. My GoDutch agent made the process understandable and seamless.
Almost incredible considering all elements of the process were handled via email with me in the USA (only 3 visits by me to Costa Rica as my condo was being built from the ground up) from contract to closing. My Go Dutch agent went well beyond the expected level of service by USA standards throughout the process. I have been thrilled and amazed with the GoDutch service........ GoDutch has spoiled me!
If my GoDutch agent would have done any more to make my purchase any easier he would have paid for it himself. Top notch service from beginning to end!!
You've not seen much until you've seen GoDutch!! ".
Kathy D. Peterson, Chicago, Illinois
Re-Discover Costa Rica
Find Real Estate across Costa Rica: Each region has agents and properties but also you can learn about the location culture and ticos life.
San Jose
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Heredia
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Alajuela
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Puntarenas
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Cartago
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Limon
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Guanacaste
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SYNDICATION
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