Buying real estate in Costa Rica carries similar risk as anywhere else in the World, but there are processes and legal procedures in place to ensure a buyer’s safety. The following are steps you should take in order to eliminate any ambiguity in a real estate transaction. Use a professional and experienced realtor/broker that has lived and worked in the area for a few years in which they are selling...
The city of San Isidro del General is located about 45 minutes inland from Dominical and is very convenient for shopping, hardware stores, doctors, dentists, lawyers, and more. San Isidro I have heard called “the fastest growing city in Central America”, but do not know if there is any truth to that. The area around San Isidro is known as Perez Zeledon and includes towns such as; La Palma, Cajon,...
If you want a cell phone in Costa Rica that works on the local networks, then it has to be unlocked; meaning not tied or ‘locked’ to any wireless provider in the U.S. The phone also has to use a SIM card and work on an HSDPA 3G network. Note: CDMA phones will not work here. There are few ways to get an unlocked phone: 1.) Buy it here, but the price is much higher due to heavy import taxes on...
So you are just visiting the area and want to get the feel of living in Costa Rica that you cannot get from the hotel experience; then the best option is a vacation rental home. There are plenty available in Costa Rica on websites like homeaway.com or vrbo.com (vacation rental by owner) where you can find great deals on luxury homes in exotic locations. If looking in the Dominical-Costa Ballena area...
Costa Rica is one of the most protected countries in the World for wild life and has placed about 25% of their entire land mass into reserves and national parks. The various climates and regions of Costa Rica are home to tons of animal, bird, and insect species. Tourists come from all over the World to visit Costa Rica for its picturesque beauty and to view exotic animals in their natural...
Labor in Costa Rica is very affordable compared to the U.S., Canada, or Europe and many ex-pats employ a full or part time gardener and house cleaner. Since the jungle grows so fast around here, a gardener can keep the property and the landscaping maintained. Same for a finished home, having some help cleaning windows, sweeping, mopping, and more helps maintain its beauty. After all most people move...
Fractional ownership is a new concept for the Southern Zone of Costa Rica and the Casa Big Sur is the first of its kind. This model has worked in Manuel Antonio and other areas in the Northern Zone of the Gaunacaste Peninsula. A buyer can purchase 6 weeks in this house per year with different times each year so all owners get a fair chance to enjoy holidays in the house. The time can also be...
About 40 minutes South of Dominical in San Buenas, Cortes there is a huge Mamones farm we like to visit to pick fresh Mamones. It is lots of fun to bring the whole family and get as much as you can eat to last a week, not to mention filling up while you are picking them right off the tree. The Mamone is a golf ball sized fruit with red peal and soft spikes also called Lechies in Asia. Inside is a grape...
High speed internet in the middle of the jungle is a beautiful thing, but up until a few years ago was almost impossible. The only options back then were to go to an internet café (which was usually dial up speed) or try and hook up your cell phone (if you had signal) to the computer and use snail pace internet. Well, all that has changed thankfully and it is possible to work online from your house in...
Costa Rica is a mecca for surfing with miles and miles of secluded coastlines on both sides of the country. There are numerous World famous breaks such as; Witch’s Rock up North, Playa Hermosa by Jaco, Pavones in the Southern most part of the country, and Salsa Brava the Costa Rican pipeline on the Caribbean coast. Witch's Rock in Northern Costa Rica Accessed Best by Boat The 'Costa Rica Pipeline'...