Posts tagged American Expatriates

Don’t you wish you could turn back time, go back 10 or 15 years, and buy tons of property in Hawaii? Don’t you wish you had the foresight back then to invest your money in inexpensive beachfront homes that would now be worth millions today? Don’t answer that – it’s rhetorical.

Wouldn’t it be great if an opportunity like that were available now? Well, I’m here to tell you that it is – Costa Rica.

I can hear the questions already: “Isn’t Costa Rica in Central America? Is it safe? Won’t they take my land? Don’t I need all cash to buy there? Hasn’t the opportunity to invest in Costa Rica passed?” There are a lot of myths about investing and owning real estate in Costa Rica that are just untrue.

In fact, in my honest opinion, Costa Rica is probably one of the safest real estate investments you can make, and one of the most profitable. Here are some of the top reasons why you should invest in Costa Rican real estate:

10. Numerous English speakers. The Costa Rican government has put a lot of money into their education system, resulting in a high number of bilingual citizens that speak Spanish (their national language) and English. There is also a large community of North American expatriates.

9. Stable government and economy. Costa Rica is also known as the “Switzerland of the Americas”. They have a stable government and their economy is quite diverse relying on a variety of industries and not just tourism.

8. Tourism increasing. Currently, the supply of places for vacationers to stay does not meet the demand for the increasing number of tourists coming to Costa Rica. Current estimates predict that this will be the case for some time.

7. Inexpensive property taxes. Get this – in some places, property taxes are currently as little as 0.25% of the recorded value. Other areas may top out around 1.25%.

6. Availability of financing. Often developers will offer financing on their property, loaning you up to 70% of the purchase price. North American lenders are slated to enter the Costa Rican market in the near future.

5. Titled land. Yes, you OWN the property. In fact, foreigners get the same property ownership rights as Costa Rican citizens. Don’t worry – they won’t take your land.

4. Positive cash flow opportunities. Based on recent historical data, there is definite potential for a minimal investment to produce a positive cash flow after a couple of years.

3. Inexpensive beachfront property. Okay, the days of $20,000 beachfront acreages in Costa Rica are likely gone. But compared to anywhere in North America, beachfront lots are still plentiful and are still a bargain.

2. 10-30% appreciation. Ahhhh… Memories of the days where it was not uncommon to see double-digit appreciation rates. Oh wait – they have that in Costa Rica right now!

1. No capital gains tax. Nuff said.

Costa Rica has plenty of opportunities to invest, and in some of the hottest tourist spots in the country. Jaco Beach, an extremely popular tourist destination located in the coastal Mid-Pacific area of Costa Rica, has beachfront and beach-close investment opportunities, some starting for as little as the High-$100′s. Of course, if your investment is a short drive from a high-tourist area, the prices could even be less.