Collection of earlier observations for Costa Rica's Central Pacific Jaco beach, Playa Hermosa, Esterillos!
Hello There:
As I am trying to become more "social media" relevant, I thought it might be a good idea to start
blogging more often. Since I have normally posted little insights on the front page type of blog,
I thought I will post those items below and start doing some real indepth, heartfelt observations
as to what exactly is going on here.
Listed below are my current favorite observations from the front page blog:
of particular note is the further reduction of two of our favorite Costa Rica Beach
Fire Sale Properties:
1. This one is $875,000, reduced from an original $1.6 million, and most
recently $1,195,000> and it won't last long as it is a 7 bedroom custom
home, located in Playa Hermosa de Jaco, Central Pacific Costa Rica.
http://www.crbeach.com//Jac/Puntarenas/Other/Playa_Hermosa/Agent/Listing_88643786.html
2, Located in Jaco Beach, Central Pacific, Costa Rica, this is a unique 3 bdrm townhouse with its own pool
because its only 3 minutes from Jaco beach sand, and yet it has a fantastic ocean view on a hill away from the crowds. Reduced from $400,000 to only $229,000
http://www.crbeach.com//Jac/Puntarenas/Other/Jaco_Beach/Agent/Listing_83157193.html
A few Jaco real estate brokers got together
recently and we affirmed our committment to
our clients to place your funds in Central bank
approved escrow accounts. We know you are
a little worried about investing in a foreign
country, and we feel strongly that your
money is best protected by using Escrow.
There are a couple of options, but our favorite
is Trustco Escrow Services. They have been
the best without a doubt, over the past couple
of years! Check out www.trustcocr.com
I did the research for 2 clients new to our area,
and discovered that Jaco has lots to offer you.
From the regular Friday "Feria" which every
week has new organic growers, to the
Hermosa Organic Farmers' Market on Saturdays,
to the new Uncle Earl's range fed beef and pork
with a new permanent store soon to open in
Jaco by our friend Greg! This is all In addition to
the many products found in our "macrobioticas"
(health food stores), you can eat very naturally
in our little corner of the world. Go organic,
and avoid GMOs and other nasty ingredients,
come to the Jaco-Hermosa area!
How is the exchange rate? Very very constant.
For every dollar you will get 494 colones, thus
your 1000 colones bill is worth about $2.00.
So a quick way to figure out a price from
colones to dollars:multiply by two and
drop the 3 zeros 10,000 colones is $20.....
The "new Jaco", full of new activities:
I would like to remind you all that our website
has great info regarding fun and free activities
as well as groups and organizations that cater
to North Americans and Ticos.
Please check out our Enjoying CR Life page,
where I just posted that the Central Pacific
Women's Group is starting up again. Also why
not learn some handy spanish phrases on our
"Learn These Words" page? It will help!
TURTLES-TORTUGAS ATTACK!
Sunday, Sept 21, 2012, a day I'll never forget.
As I was on my morning stroll along the not
white sandy, but chocolaty soft sanded Playa
Hermosa beach, I came upon a gathering of
sun-worshipers/surfers gawking at something
in the sand. As I got closer I noticed the top
layer of the sand was moving, and voila, little
turtle heads appeared. First one, then 5 then
10, and pretty soon
we had a mini army of the cutest little turtles
instinctively heading towards the warm waters
of the Pacific. What a great experience,
probably Reason #2 "why I love living in
Playa Hermosa".
Keep in mind also that when
comparing the costs of living between the
U.S. and Costa Rica, as well as houses
for sale Costa Rica, one must include all
of the extra costs. Things like medical
insurance, doctors, dentists, and massages,
can be a lot cheaper here. Keep in mind as
well all the other taxes that we don't have in
C.R.I loved being in the U.S. on vacation but
I still prefer living in Costa Rica- maybe you
will too!
Reasons # 958-959 Why I love Playa
Hermosa! Everyday I walk on the beach
and everyday I see something new. Today
I found a very cool fishing lure and some nice
agates. Yesterday I picked up one of the
biggest conch shellsI have ever found! Great
ocean wave like acoustics as it was a nearly
perfectly formed shell. Last month I wrote: I
wish I had taken my camera because one of
the biggest multi colored land crabs greeted
me as I approached the incoming surf. Then
about ten minutes later one of Costa Rica's
favorite butterflys daintily flew by me. This was
one of those large bright fluorescent blue
winged types-Blue Morpho-and it flew past,
over the tide! Moral: take your camera!
Forget Mexico!
Look at the article I posted on our news Sept. 1, 2010 AND YET, the
violence continues. It seems like everyday the news media still has a
negative story about violence in Mexico. In Costa Rica you can get
100% titled beachfront for less, you saw that Costa Rica is the safest
country in Latin America, and you can still buy Coronas, Tecate, pico
de gallo (mistakenly referred to here as chimichurri!), shooters with
Kahlua & Blue Agave tequilas. Yes I agree that Mexican food is better
than Tico food, but our Central Pacific coast has us worry free about
hurricanes that every year seem to affect those other vacation places. HOW TO CHOOSE A REALTOR? (updated April 15, 2013) I realize that many of you who are coming down to Costa Rica might be nervous as to who exactly you are dealing with and if your money is safe. Certainly there have been some warnings and the occasional negative press over the years, about the swindlers that have come to Costa Rica. Thankfully most have all ready been discovered & are
now gone. (Belize might be their new home) You also may have heard that Realtors in Costa Rica don't even have to be licensed. It's the wild wild west, some say, (although less frequently than years ago).
How do you know who to trust? My suggestions for those of you looking for properties in Costa Rica: 1. On their real estate website, do they list a land line phone number or just a cell phone number? They may not be in the Central Pacific area! Would you contact a realtor in your State who lives hours away from the area where you are looking? 2. Does the Realtor list a physical address? Are they located in the
Central Pacific area or are they in San Jose, Tamarindo, or Pavones? 3. Do they mention they are certified by the real Costa Rican real estate boards-either the CCCBR or the CRGAR?? Yes these boards do exist and are gaining more legal licensing power every year-and in 2013 we may even see licensing become mandatory! 4. Do they have an "About Us" page with real information that lists their names, where they are from initially, how long they have lived in Costa Rica, and if they have legal residency? Some have an "About Us" page, where nothing is written about "them."
I am amazed when other real estate websites don't even list the name of
the real estate broker or agent- yet they want you to fill out a contact form! 5. You might want to search for a date that shows when the website was
last updated, or for when their copyright date began. I have seen numerous
Costa Rica real estate websites where their business closed down years ago, or the properties they are/were promoting ceased all operations, yet they
promote them like they are current. I also have seen some websites claim
they have been Costa Rica's #1 real estate company for longer than they
have actually been in Costa Rica! Remarkable achievement! 6. If you really have any doubts about a realtor or a specific project-just
Google the name and put "complaints against" or "lawsuits against" or
"SEC violations against". Google is great, sometimes, about uncovering
swindlers with histories! Our experience in Costa Rica has helped us
quickly identify who is legit, and who to avoid.
Fortunately, a lot of the bad ones left Costa Rica
during the "crisis" and the good ones, are rebounding quite nicely. I would like to mention that not everything you see on Craigslist Costa Rica
is updated-so be careful in your searches without using an
established realtor! Any questions, just give us a call, and please check out our other pages! Sincerely, Jeff |
Add