It’s good to write today with an update of activities in Chontales, our largest master planned community within our developments. Our crew there is very busy!
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Tags: Real estate in Costa Rica, Pacific Lots, Chontales, Suenos Del Tropicos, Costa Rica real estate tours
Building a custom home might seem like a lot of work for many of you. The time, effort and stress make many people want to just buy a house off the shelf. However taking the time to build a custom home lets you get the house of your dreams. The process does not take as long as you think and we make it easy.
Tags: Living Abroad, Americans in Costa Rica, international living, Pacific Lots, Pacific Lots of Costa Rica, covintec, expats in Costa Rica, Chontales, custom homes Costa Rica, Ventana del Pacifico, Buiding a custom home, Canadians in Costa Rica, Costa Rica
Impressive! Our latest effort has been the engineering, design, approval and construction of the water system for the Chontales development. High in the mountain jungle behind Chontales is a large artesian mountain spring. Over the past 5 months a posse of our workers hand carried over 100 tons of cement, rebar, miles of PVC piping and wood to make forms deep into the jungle. These materials have been transformed into a collection system capable of delivering over 40 liters per second of clean artesian spring water.
Tags: Infrastructure, Costa Rica real estate, retirement property Costa Rica, Property in Costa Rica, Pacific Lots of Costa Rica, ICE, INVU, MINEA, SETENA, MOPT, Paragon Properties
Tags: Panama, international living, Pacific Lots, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica
I thought after writing this response to someone who has emailed me from our website that many of our readers and owners might enjoy reading this:
Tags: Real Estate Fraud, Failed development Costa Rica, retirement property Costa Rica, Hacienda Matapalo, Paragon properties Costa Rica, Paradigma Costa Rica
Twice in the past month belly dancers have performed in the village of Ojochal to an international audience of both expats and locals. The venue is an amazing restaurant that one would not expect to find in this small village, a classy place called Citrus Restaurant. Estelle Zaghloul is the lead dancer in the group and I believe was a national champion belly dancer in Lebanon. There were three dancers in all and their repoirtore included fan dances, traditional belly dances and some tribal dances. The show lasted nearly 2 hours with great rhythmic music, fire dancing and hard to imagine movements. The dancers captivated the audience with their hypnotic motions. With every seat full, every door and window also had standing room only crowds crooning their necks to see the performance. The audience for the show reside mostly in the developments by Pacific Lots of Costa Rica located along the Costa Ballena area in the southern Pacific region of Costa Rica. This area is one of the most pristine locations in Costa Rica and has been recently made more accessible with the completion of the Costanera highway extension connecting Quepos and Manuel Antionio to Dominical and points further south.
Tags: Pacific Lots, Belly Dancing, Costa Ballena, expats in Costa Rica, Citrus Restaurant, Costa Rica
About 3 hours south of San Jose Costa Rica, just above the coastal highway around Ojochal is the largest residential expat development in the entire county. Without the aid of a real estate office, highway signs or office in San Jose, this project has been one of the best kept secrets while being the most successful. While many other developers in Costa Rica have come and gone, this firm has grown slowly and steadily. The company is represented under the name Pacific Lots of Costa Rica and sales to North Americans from both the US and Canada have been brisk even as most other real estate projects in Costa Rica struggle to survive. With 22 years developing land and building custom homes, a primary reason of the success of the company has been its conservative approach and the decision to build a residential community, not a tourist attraction.
Tags: Costa Rica real estate, Real estate in Costa Rica, Caldera Highway, international living, foreclosed homes costsa rica, Pacific Lots, Costa Rica retirement, Property in Costa Rica, Costa Rica development, baby boomers offshore, Costa Rica
No matter where you look right now in Costa Rica it seems that there's work being done on the highways. Long noted for having some of the worst roads in the Americas, Costa Rica has been working very hard to change its reputation for having bad roads. On my recent trip hosting discovery tours in early December I had some time on my hands and did some highway touring and here's my report. Background information: MOPT is the name of the agency responsible for the roads in Costa Rica and there is both a website and phone number you can call to check on daily road closures, delays, etc.
Tags: Panama, Nicaragua, Caldera Highway, San Jose Puntarenas highway, Autopista del sol, Costanera Highway, Cerro de la Muerte, Caldera
Ecuador
Ecuador stands out for extraordinary amount of biodiversity in contains in such a small country, and for being one of Latin America’s hot spots for expat investors and retirees. Another country in my continuing comparison of Costa Rica versus other retirement destinations.
Ecuador has a low cost of living. For example, it’s among the very cheapest places in the world for buying groceries, and hiring a personal fulltime cook/housekeeper costs just $30 per week. It’s quite possible to live comfortably in Ecuador on $1200 - $1700 a year. The property market is favorable as well. Renting an furnished apartment can cost as little as $300 a month, or around $600 for a house. Property prices vary, but the capital of Quito is currently pegged at the best place to buy, with homes in the old colonial center selling in the $30,000 - $50,000 range. Apartments in Cuenca, a popular expat destination, go for about $75,000. One of the most convenient things about Ecuador for Americans is that it uses United States currency, so you avoid currency conversion hassles. It’s like taking your money back in time to when a couple of greenbacks could buy a decent lunch. It’s worth noting that prices in major tourist centers will be more akin to what they are in the States, but this is not the case for most of the country. But in Ecuador you get what you pay for. Much of the country is pretty third world and don't expect your property there to appreciate, more likely hope it will retain its value. Supply exceeds demand in Ecuador and prices reflect that situation.
Ecuador is still a developing nation, so it’s probably best to visit first before deciding to move there, to get a feel for whether or not you are comfortable with that lifestyle. It’s been a democracy since 1979 but has been politically volatile recently, as was demonstrated in September 2010 when the president was kidnapped by renegade police officers and quickly rescued. Quito is at an altitude of 11,000 feet above sea level and many find themselves overcome with altitude sickness without a bit of conditioning. Flying commercial aircraft into Quito is challenging and Quito has had a few major accidents in the past 10 years.
Still, this is a beautiful country, home to the Andes Mountains and the Galapagos Islands, with a laid-back pace of life and friendly locals. Barring disaster, it seems quite plausible that Ecuador’s star will continue to rise as a retirement destination. Cuenca, with its college town atmosphere and UNESCO heritage site flavor is a picturesque town with much to offer expats. The city is bustling with activity and has a kind of bohemian flavor.
Country Overview
Ecuador appropriately enough, sits roughly in the middle of the ecuator, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises three main geographical regions: "La Costa," the low-lying area of the Pacifc coast; "La Sierra," the central highlands dominated by the Andes, and "El Oriente," the eastern half of the country, mostly made up of the Amazon rainforest. The climate varies depending on altitude: mild in the valleys, temperate and dry in the Andean highlands, very rainy and tropical on the coast.
Facts and Figures
Ecuador’s population was 13,927,650 in 2008 and is estimated to be 15,144,000 by 2015. Most people speak Spanish, which is the official language.
In terms of crime, the rate of intentional homicides is 19 per 100,000 people.
Political Instability Index (out of ten): 7.7
Quality of Life ranking (out of ten): 6.272
Economics
Ecuador uses American currency. This can be both good and bad. It's convenient but could spell trouble as the dollar continues to lose value internationally.
Price of a round-trip flight to Quito:
From New York: $596 (Expedia), $696 (American Airlines)
From Los Angeles: $724 (Expedia), $843 (American Airlines)
From Miami: $438 (Expedia), $409 (American Airlines)
Price to rent an economy car for 10 days in Quito: $215.04
Median price for an apartment in Quito city centre: $981 per square meter.
Ecuador has some political, social and economic risk not found in most other Latin American countries but for those who don't have much to lose, Ecuador is a great bargain. The northern Pacific coastal areas around Manta, Bahia and further north have recently become more accessible from the new road from Quito.
Tags: Cuenca, Quito, Costa Rica versus Ecuador, Salinas, Manta