Pacific Lots of Costa Rica
Here’s all the details about our developments in Costa Rica. As the oldest and largest development in the country, it’s worth reading to see what you should be looking for in any development located outside the US.
Want to retire sooner? Interested in finding out more about owning a vacation home, rental property or investment property in Costa Rica?
So you’ve been wondering how you might be able to retire sooner and enjoy a higher quality of life for less money? Or maybe you’re just looking for a vacation home that can pay for itself through rental income? You’ve heard about the benefits of Costa Rica, an area noted for strong tourism demand, great healthcare, a strong democracy and full rights of property ownership. If you are curious why there’s so much buzz about this tiny Central American nation, you owe it to yourself to read this letter. Don’t let the fiscal cliff, debt ceiling or other mismanagement of the US economy ruin your retirement. You can skip down toward the bottom for the dates and information about our upcoming 4 day Discovery tours but I recommend you read the letter if you are concerned about the state of the economy in the US and thinking about moving.
Click here to view a Slide Show about our developments in the southern Pacific region of Costa Rica and information on how to attend one of our Discovery tours, 4 days all inclusive for only $299 per person including all lodging and meals. Be sure to select “full screen” from the menu pull down under the slide show while watching http://www.PacificLots.com/slide-show. You can also sign up for our newsletter here
Why Costa Rica?
With one of the most robust economies in the new world, Costa Rica has a healthy economy. With per capita income averaging under $10,000 per year, your money will go much further here, imagine an entire country living on average income of just over $10,000 per year. What’s really astounding is that for the past two years in a row, Costa Rica has been named the happiest people on the planet by the Happy Planet index (the US was ranked 105 and Canada 64). Why are they so happy?
Costa Rica abolished their military in 1949 by constitutional amendment, using the money they saved in military spending; for education, conservation and healthcare. Healthcare is free for residents, including foreigners who become permanent residents although you will have to pay to belong to the social security system, a whopping $50 to $100 per month. With a life expectancy longer than the US, you can feel comfortable knowing that healthcare quality is rated high by the World Health Organization, in fact higher than the US. Education is also free, it’s no wonder Costa Rica has one of the highest literacy rates in Latin America. Located below the hurricane belt, Costa Rica enjoys temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s year round. Over 25% of the country is national park, preserve or protected land in a country where tourism is their largest source of income. Dental work is incredibly cheap, I had a crown and root canal done last year that cost me only $300. I even had dental surgery and bone grafts in my jaw as well a four quadrants of deep root planing and the cost for all was only $600!
More Information: This particular development stands alone as a haven for expats. Though mostly North Americans, there are also a large number of Europeans in the region. Now in its 24th year, the project consists of 17 phases set in a mountain backdrop some with expansive ocean views and some with mountain views. Each phase features home sites with artesian spring water piped to each lot as well as extensive roads (gravel, not pavement) and electricity throughout. Internet service, phone service, 3G cell service and satellite TV is readily available. The area is blessed with abundant water, being sculpted into prior rain forest that had been cut away years ago as cattle farming was introduced to the area. Now many of these farms have been developed into residential developments.
Isn’t Costa Rica a Third World Economy?
Don’t think Costa Rica is not modern; Intel (the computer chip maker) is the largest employer in the country and dozens of US companies have facilities there. HP, Acer, Boston Scientific, GE, Abbott Laboratories, Unisys, Gillette, Price Waterhouse Coopers, KPMG, 3Com, 3M, Computer Associates, Microsoft, Oracle,Glaxo Smith Klein, Bristol Myers Squibb, BASF, Motorola, Johnson & Johnson and many more. Property ownership is deeded and fee simple, much like the US and foreigners have full rights to property ownership and title insurance is easily available. With great banking and easy access from the US, Costa Rica is an ideal destination for retirement, a second home or investment property and a good way to hedge against potential losses in the value of the dollar. And with nearly every major US airline offering flights from a variety of gateway cities throughout the US and Canada, with a bit of planning airfare tends to be surprisingly inexpensive.
The southern Pacific region of Costa Rica is often regarded as the nicest part of the country but has also been the hardest part of the country to get to. Until now…
Background: The southern Pacific region around the Osa Peninsula is often compared to the Galapagos Islands. This area is home to more lowland forest than anywhere else on the entire Pacific coast from the Arctic Circle all the way to the bottom of Chile. The largest mangrove wetlands in Central America can be found here as well as the largest native colony of Macaws. There are towering trees, scenic waterfalls and sweeping sandy beaches. A dizzying amount of the world’s biodiversity can be found in this area of Costa Rica. In fact Costa Rica contains twice the number of species of animals, plants and birds than the entire United States while the US contains over 200 times more land. Though only 6% of the land area of Costa Rica, the Osa region in the southern Pacific contains over 50% of animal and plant species of the entire country.
History: Over 20 years ago, a small enclave of North American expats formed a community just north of the Osa Peninsula in the towns of Ojochal and Tres Rios de Coronado. The development grew primarily by word of mouth attracting North Americans to this spectacular part of the country. But getting there was not an easy task. The inland route, the Cerro de la Muerte (translation is “passage of death”) traversed a mountain ridge high in the clouds, topping 11,000 feet in certain places. The coastal route required numerous river crossings (without bridges) as well as a trek over 20 miles of unpaved road, making the entire trip from San Jose over 6 hours to reach this destination. These challenges made the area largely unvisited. There was the option of taking a small commuter flight from San Jose but upon arrival to the region rental cars were hard to find and taxi service was not readily available.
Recent Changes: In January of 2010 two new highways were finally completed in Costa Rica, the Caldera highway stretching from San Jose to the Pacific coast and the Costanera highway connecting Quepos to Dominical. These two improvements made the drive from San Jose to the southern region an attractive three hour drive through some of the most scenic parts of the country. It also made the towns of Ojochal, Tres Rios de Coronado and Chontales much more accessible and desirable. This area is home to Pacific Lots, the largest and oldest residential development for expats in the region.
Our Developments: Pacific Lots of Costa Rica represents the largest International Residential development in Costa Rica for expats. Over the past 24 years we have built a wonderful community of Americans, Canadians, Europeans, Asians, and Costa Ricans living in our area located in the southern Pacific region of Costa Rica. Our developments have attracted nearly 30 bars and restaurants and a dozen hotels to locate within our community as well as a host of services. We have a brand new hospital, the newest in Costa Rica, that opened two years ago directly in front of our developments as well as a planned new international airport scheduled to open in the nearby town of Palmar Sur. There is already a domestic airport there with daily service to San Jose. Our region is loaded with opportunities for individuals as well as business owners looking for a better quality of life.
Is It Affordable?: Fully improved home sites in our development start at $40,000 and we are building custom homes starting at $100 per square foot. That means we can build a brand new smaller custom home for you for about $150,000 including land. At this price you won’t have an ocean view but you will be in one of our gated developments only a few miles from some of the nicest beaches in Costa Rica. Don’t get me wrong, most of our owners opted to pay more for an ocean view and many have built larger homes but even a fantastic home on a nice ocean view lot won’t break the bank.
You can find prices, view ratings, size and descriptions of our home sites and photos on our website at http://www.pacificlots.com/
Tell Me More: You may have seen the stories about us in Expat Exchange, Boomers Abroad, Inside Costa Rica, AM Costa Rica, the Costa Rica News, Escape Artist and International Living Magazine from folks like Betsy Burlingame, Tom Ocean, Phyllis Davis, Ronan McMahon or Margaret Summerfield. Many of these writers have personally visited our development and continue to rave about it. Though still in an emerging area of the country, we are one of the oldest (and largest) low density residential projects in the entire country. We’re located right off the new highway, close to the beach and in an area that is very beautiful and has a nice mix of international expats and Costa Ricans. We are also one of the most affordable. We have no time limits to build and you can build your own home or hire any other builder of your choice although most clients hire us to build for them. We offer excellent luxury custom home building services and have over 400 full time employees in our construction division. We make all of our own custom cabinets, windows and doors. We are located in an area of the country that has a three story height restriction, prohibiting high rise construction throughout the region. Our developments are in and around the village of Ojochal, about 15 miles south of Dominical as well as the town of Chontales. Ojochal has everything you need, grocery stores, liquor stores, clothing stores, bakeries, a nice garden center, a large hardware store, plenty of nice hotels and restaurants and Ojochal is growing fast. But we are still a village, I don’t want to mislead you, but we have everything we need nearby and what’s not in town is available within an hour’s drive. The entire area is known as the Bahia Ballena or Costa Ballena, or Whale Coast. Travel and Leisure Magazine just listed Bahia Ballena as one of the top two destinations to visit in 2013!
There’s No Downtown: Our village is deceiving however, since zoning laws were pretty non-existent when many arrived. Many of the hotels and restaurants are located off side roads and there is no “downtown” that you may be used to. The roads are all gravel other than the highway by the front of town. But the area is incredibly beautiful. We are also in a mountainous area that is stunningly beautiful but some of our developments are in steep terrain and not for those with limited mobility. Our home sites are located a few miles back from the beach and on the first steps of a mountain, making for nice views and terrain that’s not boring. Remember that this part of the world is noted as having amazing biodiversity with one of the greatest concentrations of animals, plants and birds on the planet. We also have one of the largest populations of North Americans in the entire southern region. There are about 2000 people living here full time and close to 4000 in the winter months.
Tell Me About Your Properties: Our home sites come complete with road, artesian well water plumbed to the lot and electric to each lot. Many of our homes have no AC and none need any form of heat. Most of the year we benefit from cooler ocean breezes though the temperature and humidity can take time to get used to but we don’t get extreme temperatures. The average year round temperature is 82 degrees and we have cooler nights for comfortable sleeping.
Ways to visit our properties: Come and see for yourself on a Pacific Lots Discovery Tour. These four-day, three-night all inclusive trips are just $299 and let you try out the Pura Vida lifestyle, and see if it fits. Just book your flight to San Jose, and we’ll take care of everything else… accommodations, meals, and transport. You can check out our community…built homes, and those under construction…see the little villages and beaches close by…immerse yourself in this gorgeous eco-wonderland, meet some of our owners …and decide if it’s right for you.
Turnkey Homes in Costa Rica
We have recently released a brand new phase of home/lot packages offering 3 two bedroom models priced from $155,000 to $225,000 including everything. This phase features a community pool, clubhouse, grill area for the use of the owners within the phase. These models feature AC in both bedrooms, granite counters in the kitchen and bathrooms, cedar cabinets, vaulted ceilings in both the kitchen and living room and simple landscaping. All permitting, septic installation and engineering is included in the price but this is a limited time offer. Contact me for more information. You can see the models and details here www.PacificLots.com/home-land-deal Purchase one of these homes today and you can be living in it in less than 6 months from now.
Upcoming Tour Schedule
Our tour availability changes daily so be sure to get confirmation from us that a tour is available before booking any airfare. We require a completed client visit application before confirmation on any tour. Here is a link to the application online http://www.pacificlots.com/online-client-visit-application/
Here are the upcoming dates of our Upcoming Tours: Tours are selling out fast this winter, book early to avoid disappointment
June 1 – 4
June 9 - 12
June 17 - 20
June 25 - 28
July 1 - 4
July 8 - 11
July 24 - 27 Room for one single only
July 30 – August 2 (Before the International Living event in Costa Rica August 3 – 5)
August 6 – 9 (Backwards tour following the IL event in August)
August 7 – 10 (Following the IL event in August)
August 21 - 24
September 3 - 6 (Labor Day tour)
September 17 - 20
September 23 - 26
More dates to follow, just ask…
Here is a link to the 4 day Discovery tour itinerary about our upcoming Discovery Tours
You can find additional information about us and our company at our website http://www.pacificlots.com/
Pacific Lots of Costa Rica is exhibiting in or sponsoring the following upcoming events:
Fast-Track Panama: Lifestyle & Opportunity Conference
April 3-5, 2014 - Panama City, Panama
We will be the "Costa Rica Bonus Session" at this event.
Event Date: Jun 04, 2014
International Living's Ultimate Event IX,
June 4-7, 2014,Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
At a time when nest eggs have shrunk, Social Security is less-than secure, and “guaranteed” pensioned have turned out to be not-so-guaranteed after all… looking beyond America's borders makes good sense. There are all sorts of havens abroad where you can live comfortably on less than $1,000 a month. With a $2,500-a-month budget, you could retire like royalty.
Event Date: Jul 21, 2014
Fast-Track Costa Rica: Lifestyle and Opportunity Conference
July 21-23, 2014 - San Jose
Join the Largest Group of Costa Rican Experts and Expats Ever Assembled…With Dozens of Years of Experience on the Ground in Costa Rica… the event this year will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel since over 200 people were turned away from the event last year due to a lack of room to accommodate everyone.
Fast Track Your Retirement Overseas Conference 2015
Event Date: June 3 - 6
Cancun, Mexico
Here is our 8 room guest house where we run our tours….
I Want Cheap: Costa Rica is not the cheapest place to live and not be as cheap as places like Ecuador or Nicaragua but you get more than what you pay for. Moving out of North America can be a culture shock for many but Costa Rica has much of what you are used to, a great democratic country with good infrastructure, great health care and quality living but at lower cost. Many other popular expat destinations are missing things, things we want and need. In Costa Rica much of the food is organic and less expensive than in the US. People are friendly and there is a sense of community hard to find in the US or many other countries for that matter. Any piece of property you buy outside the US is an asset, not an expense. Good assets go up in value, bad ones do down. Demand determines value and Costa Rica has strong demand. Costa Rica is close to the US and airfare is typically very affordable. And there’s a reason why all those big companies I mentioned earlier chose to locate large manufacturing facilities there. A visit to our developments is one of the best moves you can make if you are trying to decide where to live abroad. You’ll see what you need, in fact nearly everything except high property taxes and expensive healthcare.
Our Developments: We require that owners in our developments a house that is at least 1000 square feet but there’s no time limit to do so and you can hire anyone you want to build it or even build it yourself. Did I mention that we are the largest builder of homes in the entire country and that our current construction costs start at $100 per square foot for custom homes including design, engineering, permitting, the full monty. There will also be a few incidental costs and these prices don’t include a pool but we can build you a custom in-ground pool for less than $20,000. You’ll need about $150k minimum to build in our developments (including the cost of the land) but once you have built, the cost of living in Costa Rica is significantly cheaper than most places in the US and the quality of life can’t be beat. Our largest expenses in life are typically taxes, insurance and healthcare. These costs are significantly lower in Costa Rica and the place looks a lot like paradise. Our area of the country is now rivaling some of the best locations on the entire Pacific coast at substantial savings compared to most other locations. This area will be the new Puerto Vallarta, Carmel California or Big Sur at a fraction of the cost and will remain low density due to strict zoning laws. Come see for yourself why life in Costa Rica is described as “Pura Vida” (pure life).
About Our Property Tours: On our discovery tour, we’ll be at waiting for you at the San Jose airport (SJO airport code) when you arrive, unless you have arrived early for additional vacation time, in which case we’ll connect with you somehow. We’ll take you to the Resort Hotel Martino complete with Spa, gym, bar, great pool and restaurant, wireless internet and a zoo across the street which is included in the tour price. If you have arrived early, you will have plenty of time to unwind but you can arrive any time on the first day of the tour. On your day of arrival, meals are at your own expense since on that night we are at a hotel but the hotel has a great restaurant. The meals at the Hotel Martino are great, the owners are from Italy and the food is cooked on a wood fired grill and oven.
This first day of the tour allows people to arrive at any time of the day since some may be coming from Canada, the Americas or even overseas. On the following morning after a hot included breakfast, we’ll load up our van and head down the southern coast for a 3.5 hour scenic drive to our developments (including bathroom stops). We’ll assign rooms at our 8 room guest house and after a healthy lunch we’ll visit some of the custom homes we are building and a few finished homes and maybe meet some expat families living in the village, followed by a great dinner. We have a great chef who caters to every dietary requirement and we serve wholesome and healthy food, wine and beer and all meals at our guest house are included in the tour fee.
On the following day, we’ll start right in looking at both mountain and ocean view home sites after breakfast. We’ll also get a look at the new hospital, visit our huge workshop where our skilled artisans make all our own windows, doors, counters, custom cabinets, wrought iron work and also get a glimpse of the new 18 hole golf course now nearly completed. (the front nine holes are now open). After lunch we’ll see some local shops and restaurants, swim at a local Pacific beach, maybe visit a gift shop or check out the commercial town of Uvita to our north. We have no sales presentation but we do our best to answer questions about residency, banking, home ownership, taxes, insurance, etc.
On the following morning we start with breakfast and then head back to San Jose, arriving by 1:00 pm. If you can’t get a return flight after 3:00 pm, we recommend you book a room on Expedia for that night at a great hotel complex, the Ramada Plaza Herradura, with airport shuttle, great free breakfast and casino and fly home on the following day. The cost for the 4 day tour is only $299 per person and we apply $250 per person of the cost to any property purchase, making most of the visit fee actually a deposit on a lot. Remember that ready to build home sites in our development start at $40k and we give a 5% discount for non financed purchases though we do offer full financing so with your discounts and if paying cash you can purchase a home site for as little as $36,500. We’ll gladly finance your purchase if you prefer but financing does add to the price. Ocean front property is not for sale in Costa Rica, we sell ocean view and most of our developments are only a few miles from the beach, up the hill with a nice view.
Follow this link to view information we put together about our 4 day Discovery tours.
Opportunities: The growth of our developments have brought entrepreneurs who have opened restaurants, grocery stores, banks, car rental agencies, furniture stores, construction companies, garden centers and hardware stores. In the village of Ojochal for example, there are a surprising number of great restaurants with truly international offerings. There’s a new Argentine steak house (El Fuego) and two French bakeries, an Italian restaurant (Mama y Papa), a German restaurant (Bavaria) an Indonesian restaurant (Ylang Ylang) and a restaurant offering Indian cuisine (Madras). In fact there are over 30 restaurants in the area. There is a weekly farmers market with choice offerings of organic produce as well as a gathering place for expats. There’s even a thriving Mennonite community offering organic dairy products as well as incredible baked goods like shoe fly pie, coconut macaroons, delicious cookies and fresh baked granola. Local markets offer fresh meats, seafood and vegetables that bring back memories of what fresh food really tastes like. There’s no Taco Bell, KFC, McDonalds or Burger King, fast food in our area is healthy food that’s made by hand from fresh local ingredients.
What we are Not: We are not a big city, we are a village, our roads are gravel and they are not smooth like you may be used to. Our town is growing but many of the restaurants are scattered in the hillside and there is not yet a "downtown" that you may be imagining. Our lots are located a ways up the hillside and we are not ocean front. The entire area is magnificent and it is not unusual to see flocks of wild parrots, toucans and even great scarlet macaws. Our area is changing rapidly and someday soon our roads may get paved. Those of us who live there know who our neighbors are and have watched our town grow as new restaurants, stores and services are added. You can’t own ocean front in Costa Rica, the beaches are all public and though we have access to every beach, we can’t walk to them from our developments. Our home sites are up in the hills, many with sweeping views but again we are over a mile to the beach and have to drive there, not walk due to the steep terrain. Our area is growing quickly and change takes time. In the meantime we have a wonderful community and an opportunity to live in harmony with nature. But low taxes come with a price. You can't have low taxes and expect the same infrastructure that you had in the US, paved roads versus gravel for example. But yes we have Satellite TV, cell service, high speed wireless internet and most everything else you might need. You’ll also need a car in our area, most likely an SUV with 4 wheel drive as our terrain is mountainous and there are occasions that you need 4 wheel drive.
The Meaning of Life: Life is less complicated here. The pace of life is more enjoyable and there is a sense of community sorely missed in North America. There are weekly pot luck dinners, local events and entertainment. Life focuses more around people than things. There is a strong expat community that offers a variety of opportunities to be involved. There’s a woman’s club initially named the Ojochal women’s club but demand to join was so strong that it has been renamed the Costa Bellena woman’s club and now has over 200 members. There are poker games, movie nights, barbecues, pot lucks, festivals, rodeos, beach outings, live music and parties. Another point worth mentioning is that the people in our communities look out for each other so woman don’t feel as vulnerable when living alone as in some other countries. Sure there are times when there’s not much to do but that is a good thing too.
Live as you want: Though we are nestled in the jungle, the area is surprisingly cosmopolitan. There are no big malls in the area but shopping and services are readily available and inexpensive. Banking is easy in Costa Rica with a number of large Costa Rican banks as well as Scotia Bank, Citibank and HSBC. There is a brand new hospital located in Chontales and clinics, dentists and doctors nearby. For those who feel the need to shop, there are big box stores near Pacific Lots in neighboring San Isidro as well as major malls throughout San Jose. Wal-mart, Price Smart, Office Max and the Costa Rican equivalent of Home Depot are available as well as high end stores like Hugo Boss, Armani, Cartier, Tiffany and Company, Hilfiger, Benetton, Kenneth Cole and Lacoste. Though you may pay a bit more for American brands, there are plenty of inexpensive locally made offerings as well. Best of all is the fact that I can buy a box full of organic fruits at one of the local stands and get change back from $8.
Why Now?: Many Americans have seen a dramatic reduction in the value of their savings, their stock portfolios, their real estate holdings and their retirement accounts. Some startling new laws have been crafted to restrict and control the foreign investment activities of U.S. citizens. So, if you really want to protect your wealth, now and for your future--and prevent the value of your life’s savings from being reduced -- you have one sensible course of action: get some of your money offshore…. The government is looking for new ways to tax every dollar you have, even those dollars you have paid tax on and want to move out of the US economy.
Come see what we are doing in Costa Rica and get a better idea of strategies available to lower your cost of living and hedge against declines in the value of the dollar. A record number of people are now moving offshore seeking a more affordable lifestyle or retirement option. Many are also looking to change their lives, learn to relax and find alternatives to the stressful lifestyle many of us are now living. Most owners in our developments cite the lifestyle as their main reason for relocating. There are cheaper places to purchase property in the US right now than in Costa Rica but the cost of living (taxes, insurance, health care) in the US is what adds up, especially in retirement.
If anyone wants information on how to use a self directed IRA or retirement account to buy investment property, let me know. One of the best things I did in 2012 was self direct my retirement funds. I can show you how. You can use your retirement funds to invest in almost anything, real estate, loans to others, tax liens, etc.
Feel free to contact me directly if you have questions.