I spent last week in Tamarindo Costa Rica at a Real Estate Conference on International Real Estate. While there we visited several real estate developments in the Tamarindo area. Tamarindo is a beautiful place. It is on the Pacific coast of the country and the view of the Pacific is breath taking.
It is a tropical environment on the coast, being about 11 degrees off of the equator. But there are also the mountains and the rain forests which can be much cooler. There is a dry season and a rainy season. The rainy season starts in May and lasts through November. October and November are normally the rainiest and I am told that many places close for the month of October.
Costa Rica is a democracy with a stable government. The official language is Spanish. The literacy rate is about 97% and English is taught through the senior year in high school. I would not claim that everyone is fluent in English but the majority of people understand enough English that getting around is almost never a problem. In fact, everywhere I went the signs and menus were in both Spanish and English.
Property rights are strong in Costa Rica. The laws protect ownership rights of property owners and investors. There is a national property registry that records all ownership. They feel so strongly about the rights that the real estate attorneys in Costa Rica do not recommend title insurance.
Costa Rica has been actively encouraging foreign investment as well as retirement for many years and there is a large population of retired expats in the country. There are people from Germany, Italy, and really all over although the majority immigrated from the US. While retirement is one of the big draws, I met all kinds of people who moved there because they liked the climate and the country and the relaxed pace of life. In fact, many of the people who moved to Tamarindo are surfers.
The economy struggled when the US economy had its downturn back in 2008. Although unemployment presently is at nearly 11%, the country still has one of the stronger economies in Central America. Nicaraguans come to the country looking for work and provide very inexpensive labor. Many Nicaraguans will come and stay for the week, moving from house to house of Costa Ricans working as cooks, maids, landscapers and the like and then returning to their families in Nicaragua for the weekend.
With the efforts to attract retirees and foreign investment, Costa Rica has been developing its infrastructure. Developments in Tamarindo have water, sewer (or septic systems), and electricity. (Everywhere I went, the water was safe to drink.) Cell phones work there and internet is available.
A new airport in Liberia just came on line in 2012 and provides great access to the Pacific coast. The trip from the airport to Tamarindo was a little less than an hour. Still getting around can require a sense of adventure. While there are some good roads in the country, probably the majority of the roads are still dirt. Because of the mountains, some of the roads can be very steep. Most of the roads are not named. A lot of the people use 4 wheel drive vehicles to get around.
It's a beautiful place with a perfect climate. Property rights are strong. There is good infrastructure. You can see why Costa Rica has developed one of the best reputations for investment in Central America.
If you are curious and would like to know more, I expect to have a link to the Costa Rica Global Association of Realtors available in the near future! When I do, you can browse those listings and see for yourself. AND if you need any help with real estate there, let me know. I can definitely get you started.
Thanks for reading. Have a great day.
David
David W. McCoy
Associate Broker
Commonwealth Commercial Real Estate
10444 Bluegrass Pkwy
Louisville, KY 40299
ofc: (502) 379-6005
cel: (502) 905-5274
e-mail: DMcCoy@ccre.biz
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