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We sincerely hope you'll enjoy our May 2011 Newsletter
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Easter week, usually one of the nicest weeks of the years. Business slows down and most people have time to go to the beach for the who week. I am taking the time to write some articles for my blog and this newsletter. Its very quiet in San Jose and Escazu now and traffic is gone. I wish it was forever.
Unfortunately, when Easter week is over, we get the terrible news that Alvaro Duran, our webmaster and long time surfer, went missing while surfing. Friends, family, the Red Cross, the Ministry of Public Security, everyone helped searching. His surfboard was found, Alvaro was not. In the name of our real estate group, I would like to express our sympathy to Alvaro's wife, children, mother and father and his business partner Victor.
I'd like to introduce y'all to the two new faces we have this month in our group. Nikita Mohammed in the Jaco Beach area and Daniel Langlois as our rental specialist for Escazu and Santa Ana. Below, I will introduce them to you properly and tell you a bit about them.
On the other hand, an artcle from the Tico Times this month, got my attention because a future retiree sent me the link in an email and said
That gave me the idea of asking our affiliate realtors to write a short answer to this, to see what they think.
Enjoy this month's newsletter,
Ivo Henfling
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The Role of the Closing Attorney during the Real Estate Purchase Process.
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| Law Office of Attorney Roger Petersen |
Most buyers are used to have their realtor take care of everything when they purchase a property because in many countries the title company takes care of a long process of many legal documents that are needed. Some closing attorneys don't like the involvement of the realtor or buyers' agent for several reasons. Bi-lingual closing attorney Roger A. Petersen, a well known and experienced real estate attorney does like to work closely with the realtors involved in the transaction as there are more issues involved than just a transfer of the title. Last month, Roger told us all about the role of the realtor involved and this month he tells us about the role of the closing attorney in the purchase/sale process of real estate in Costa Rica.Read more...
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Absolute happiness expressed by Costa Rica realtors about Blue Flag reward of their communities.
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| Blue Flag Award |
Our affiliate partners in the areas rewarded a Blue Flag, express happiness regarding this important award. Last month, the Costarican water company together with the Costa Rica Board of Tourism, awarded some of the Costarican beaches and towns in the Central Valley for cleaning up their towns and keeping them clean and sanitize potable water, sewage garbage and industrial waste. This means that the beaches and the ocean can be used to swim without getting sick and the rivers in the Central Valley start to become clean again. Nikita Mohammed and Xinia Salazar, our affiliate partners for the Jaco Beach area and the Heredia area, offer their opinions for the Easy Times. Read more...
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Two new faces in the American European real estate group.
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Let me introduce you to two new members of our real estate group, so you can get familiar with them and their listings.
First, I'd like to welcome Nikita Mohammed, who is taking over from Lisle Head as the representative for our affiliate office in Jaco Beach. Of course, Lisle will still be there for us, but in the background. Thanx for all your hard work Lisle and welcome Nikita.
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| Jaco Beach Realtor Nikita Mohammed |
Nikita Mohammed is originally from Trinidad and Tobago, and I can personally say that you will love working with her as she is very knowledgeable and personable. Nikita speaks fluent English (with a British Caribbean accent) and Spanish. She knows the area of Jaco beach very well as she has been working in real estate in the area for 6 years now and can show you properties in Jaco like no one else. Nikita offers a wide range of properties for sale in the Central Pacific and specializes in real estate in Jaco beach, Punta Leona, Hermosa Beach, Herradura Beach as well as Esterillos and Bejuco on the Central Pacific coast.
The second new face is someone I also have a lot of pleasure to introduce you to as I have known him for a very long time. Welcome Daniel Langlois, our new rental specialist for the Escazu and Santa Ana area.
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| Escazu Rental Agent Daniel Langois |
Daniel Langlois lives, drinks and breathes Escazu. He has lived in Escazu most of his life and knows everybody. Therefore he is the best rental agent on the west side of San Jose. And that's the reason we invited him to become an affiliate member of the American European Real Estate Group. Daniel is fluent in Spanish and English. Besides having a wife and 4 children and being a busy realtor, he is now also an Alderman of the Municipality of Escazu for the next four years. Daniel specializes in rentals of homes, condos and apartments in the Escazu, Sabana, Ciudad Colon and Santa Ana area.
Daniel specializes in rentals of homes, condos and apartments in the Escazu, Santa Ana, Sabana, Ciudad Colon areas.
Daniel also writes Escazu News, a great source of Information, is free, an informative newsletter in Spanish and in English of the western area of San José, Costa Rica With information of services as of plumbers, electricians, restaurants, general services, schools, tutors, from a personal view of its edito. With 14 years of publication via e mail and read world wide
To get a free subscription send Daniel an email.
Welcome to both of you and I hope you'll have a long and happy time forming part of our group of realtors.
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Are real estate websites addictive or not?
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The other day, talking on Skype to my mom in Holland, she was saying that she enjoyed looking at our newest listings just for the fun of it. My mom has lived in Costa Rica back in the 80's and lives in Holland again, but loves to dream about buying a house in Escazu or somewhere at the beach in beautiful Costa Rica.
Talking about how much she enjoys browsing our website, my mom remembered an article about Funda, an MLS website in Holland, and the writer of this article who calls herself a "Funda junky". Read more...
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Pablo Arias, a very responsible, knowledgeable, bi-lingual real estate attorney in Atenas.
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| Atenas Realtor Isabelle Jones |
Isabelle Jones got involved in real estate in Atenas during 2004 and soon found out that an important part of the real estate business is having a good, bi-lingual and very knowledgeable real estate attorney. In 2004, there wasn't that much real estate business in Atenas, and the attorneys in Atenas, though very good, were not bi-lingual. Now is translating always an option, but nothing better than a bi-lingual one who can speak directly with the buyer which will make the buyer feel comfortable with a real estate closing in a foreign country, with a deed in Spanish, which on itself is quite an adventure. Therefore Isabelle and her clients ended up in other cities, which always meant a lot of driving. But then, Pablo Arias installed himself in an office in Atenas and that was the end of all the traveling. Isabelle tells you a bit more about Pablo Arias and his excellent services in Atenas. Read More...
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A "Grand Slam" for the East Side of San Jose.
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| San Jose Realtor Patrick Mulheren |
Patrick Mulheren, our affiliate realtor on the East side of San Jose is proud to announce the birth of the new Momentum Mall in Curridabat. Many of you don't realize that the East side of San Jose has as much to offer as the West side nowadays. Throughout history, the West side of San Jose was always know as the "gringo" side but that is now changing. The East side has as much to offer shopping wise and "other"wise as the West side. The Marian Baker school, several other bi-lingual schools and the University of Costa Rica give the east side their educational amenities and the same University gives the area an interesting night life and cultural activities. Read more...
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Flamingo Beach declared a peaceful place by Larry Albright.
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| Flamingo Beach Realtor Larry Albright |
Larry Albright, Affiliate member of the American European Real estate Group for Flamingo and Potrero Beach, told the Easy Times this week that he considers Flamingo beach definitely a beach town worth buying a condo or beach home, because after having lived in Flamingo Beach, it is still a beautiful, peaceful and safe place to live in Costa Rica. Larry specializes in the Northern Pacific Coast of the Guanacaste region known for its pristine Beaches and ideal climate. In his article Larry shows us that Flamingo is not one of those boring beachtowns that some of us think it is, but that there is enough to do in and around Flamingo for a lifetime. Read more...
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Real Estate Tip of the Month - May 2011
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Condominium or secured access community? Real Part I
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| Escazu Realtor Ivo Henfling |
Last month, I made the mistake of linking the wrong article, so part I of this article never got published and apologize for this. Therefore, I stand corrected and this time you can read Part I of this series. Part 1 will tell you how to check if the community you're buying into is a condominium or a subdivision, with or without bylaws or CC&R's. More and more people, when they retire, like to travel a lot. For that reason, many are looking to buy real estate in Costa Rica in a secure community, a controlled access community or a gated community.
When you buy a condominium - apartment - townhouse in a gated community in Costa Rica, you need to think of many issues before you buy or before you close and make sure you receive all the documents and read up on them. This is our second article of a series of three that will explain to you about the issues you should be aware of. Read More...
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Another great testimonial from a satisfied client
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| Daveed Hollander, Dominical Realtor |
-- Christine & Rupert Downing in Dominical
We live on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, and while touring around Costa Rica several years ago we stopped in Dominical and fell in love with the area, and decided to check out some realtors. We'd met with at least 3 realtors before we encountered Daveed Hollander and needless to say we decide to work with him. We are more than happy to be a reference for Daveed and add that he made our journey of purchasing property in CR seamlessly smooth. Apart from advising and showing us many, many properties, he's provided up-to-date information regarding the legal requirements of purchasing property in CR, a list of reputable lawyers & architects for us to work with, facilitated and supported road, electricity and water development/improvements on our behalf, all of which would been very challenging without his knowledge and assistance. In addition to that we find him to be a very friendly and honest person and would not hesitate in recommending him to others.
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In case you have missed our newsletters, with lots of information about real estate in Costa Rica, properties in Costa Rica and other interesting information about living in Costa Rica, see below our last newsletter:
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Real estate the right way, from coast to coast
Each American-European (Easy Properties de Costa Rica) broker is an independent operator with their own unique style, personality and way of doing business. As a full-time professional, the American-European broker is able to guide, advise and support each client throughout the entire process of purchasing properties in Costa Rica, preventing and eliminating potential problems before, during, and after the sale.
The American-European Real Estate Group was established in 1998 and is the oldest and largest network of independent brokers in Costa Rica. Our brokers and their associates come from many countries and have served literally thousands of Costa Rica developers and clients from all over the world as they invest in or relocate to Costa Rica.
Our network covers Costa Rica from coast to coast and was formed in response to the informality that exists in the Costa Rica real estate market.
Sincerely,
Ivo Henfling
American European Real Estate Group
ivo@american-european.net
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 Hot Properties
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City Residential -
Gated & Secure
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Escazu
Hot Property
US$ 199,900
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Tres Ríos
Hot Property
US$ 139,000
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Cariari
Hot Property
US$ 195,000
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Escazu
Hot Property
US$ 389,000
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Santa Ana Hot Property US$ 525,000
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City Residential -
Single Family
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Atenas
Hot Property
US$ 180,000
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East San Jose
Hot Property US$250,000
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Santa Ana
Hot Property
US$ 360,000
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Rural Properties and Farms
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Los Santos
Hot Property
US$ 375,000
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Beach Residential - Gated & Secure
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Tamarindo Beach
Hot Property US$319,000
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Flamingo - La Penca Beach Hot Property US$ 499,000
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Los Sueños
Hot Property
US$ 1,700,000
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Beach Residential -
single family
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Hermosa Gte
Hot Property
US$ 399,000
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Jaco Beach
Hot Property
US$ 149,000
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City & Beach - Land
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Dominical Hot Property US$ 259,000
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| Grecia Hot Property US$ 32,000 |
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Business - commercial
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Grecia Hot Business US$ 49,999
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San Jose
Hot Business
US$ 900,000
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Puerto Viejo
Hot Business
US$ 185,000
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Uvita
Hot Business
US$ 900,000
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Long Term Rentals
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Santa Ana
Hot Rental
US$ 1,300
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Escazu
Hot Rental
$ 2,300
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