by Shell Johanson

I would like to tell you all about this incredibly beautiful older home I just listed right on the Cariari golf course. This 6,600 square feet Spanish colonial was one of the first homes built in Cariari and has been continiously updated.

This almost 1/2 an acre property overlooks the length of the 8th fairway and its green and also the tee-off at the ninth hole of the Cariari Golf and Country Club. Very few Cariari homes for sale offer this kind of luxury setting.

The home is one of the finest golf properties availables in Costa Rica and offers five bedrooms and 4 bedrooms on the 2nd floor, all spaciously set up for the luxury lifestyle you are looking for, plus a second floor patio with a gorgeous veranda overlooking the golf course.

by Michael Newhouse

An exclusive gated community in Ciudad Colon

Cerro Colon means "Colon mountain". Cerro Colon is a very upscale condominium - residential gated community located in the Ciudad Colon foothills only 3 blocks from downtown. Cerro Colon was developed in 2006 by Inmobiliaria Lauca, where they subdivided the 57 acres in a low density community, allowing only for building lots of over ¼ acre (1,000m2). Cerro Colon real estate for sale by GoDutch Realty.

Cerro Colon condominium consists of a total of 81 lots in three phases with high quality services and amenities, starting with a very elegant entrance and roads with pavers and nice sidewalks. The building lots were subdivided in such way that all have sweeping views of the valley and surrounding mountains. In 2012 there are about 15 luxury homes built in the community and more under way.

by Isabelle Jones in Atenas

A fine Atenas luxury gated community

Roca Verde gated community in Atenas is a fine luxury gated community. Homes in Roca Verde start as low as $250,000 and luxury homes start at $500K and go all the way up to almost $1M, depending on the views, the size of the home and the quality of the finishes. This beautiful gated community offers the best views in town and was developed in 2004 by master developer Jean Luc Sauvé and his partner Normand Bastien.

Roca Verde is located only two miles out of Atenas, where you have all the amenities and services you will be looking for when you move to Costa Rica. Located on an Atenas mountain range of 2,200 to 2,500 feet elevation, this community offers 75 home sites with lots varying from ¼ acre to 1 ¾ acres, in 3 phases. The community is not a condominium and there are no CC & R's but is legally a subdivision.

By Ivo Henfling

It is all in a lifestyle. I was reading on Glozal, a social network for realtors worldwide, an article about active Adult (55+) communities, which reminded me of several clients who moved to Costa Rica in the past. After some years, they thought they would be better off retiring to a real retirement community in Florida, where thousands of people retire to every month. Some of them never come back to Costa Rica but the adventurous ones realize that they made a big mistake by moving to Florida to retire and eventually end up in Costa Rica again. Let me tell you why.

Most of us, during our lives and our career, have acquired a lifestyle. Some love to read a good book or enjoy a nice glass of wine, others cannot live without concerts and theater and other just like to read a good book or live a different adventure every day. And that is what my blog is all about today.

By Ivo Henfling

Fantastic ideas and lots of dreams, they might all come true one day.

A very dear client, who years ago had planned an assisted living facility in Costa Rica, sent me a link that gave the recently released Cost of Care survey from Genworth Financial looked at the average prices of home care providers, adult day health care facilities, assisted living facilities and nursing homes across the USA, and unsurprisingly, found that there are staggering variations between states but all very expensive to Costa Rican standards.

Years ago, my client bought with his wife and several partners, a beautiful 300+ acre farm in the middle of nowhere from their preferred GoDutch Realty agent, with the fantastic idea of starting an assisted living facility on this land. Costa Rican governmental permitting and other circumstances slowed down their project and even before they got to completing it, their panorama changed completely.

By Ivo Henfling

In last week’s blog I left you standing in line at the Orotina toll on the highway, so we’ll take it from there now. As soon as you get past the Orotina toll, you have to be careful not to miss the Jaco Beach turnoff on the right. If you do, you’ll end up in Puntarenas. From there, you’ll enjoy a one lane easy going drive for the next 20 minutes until you get to the Tarcoles bridge.

Once you drive down the hill toward the bridge, you can enjoy the view of the Carara National Park right in front of you. Slow down when you get to the bridge because many tourists park their car and walk on the bridge to see the crocodiles for which the Tarcoles area is so famous for. They do this awesome crocodile - birdwatching tour at the river, next time I'll go do it again and I'll tell you all about.

By Ivo Henfling

Few Costa Rica golf communities in Costa Rica can boast the option of such a complete amenity in their community. Ciudad Cariari and Los Arcos, two small communities located just off the highway between the International airport Juan Santa Maria and San Jose, and very close to Belen, offer great homes for sale for those who like the quiet of the suburbs and the services of the city.

Ciudad Cariari and Los Arcos, both master planned subdivisions and very secure communities, where created by visionary developers in the 1970’s offer beautiful boulevards with trees and green areas everywhere. Both communities border the Cariari golf course and club so when you live in Cariari or in Los Arcos, you can walk to the club.

By Ivo Henfling

You might say that I come up with these crazy topics, but I can assure you they’re not as crazy as you might think. I am talking about the well known Bougainvillea, a beautiful plant with different flowers and spines, but later about that. Lets talk first about security. When you read websites from Costa Rica realtors, you will almost always see phrases like “gated communities”, “condominiums”, “secured access” and other things that show that it is important to take notice that you should live in a secure community but nobody tells you why.

By Ivo Henfling

Most people, when looking at condos for sale in Costa Rica, they look at how well the condominium is located to their needs, what amenities the condominium has to offer and how good the security of the community is. But many buyers of condominiums in Costa Rica forget how important all the legal issues are. And by legal issues, I don't mean the things that your attorney takes care of at closing.

I'm talking about many other issues that most don't think of when they are ready to buy a townhouse or an apartment, especially if the property is offered by the developer of the condominium or their sales people. Let me tell you a bit about all these pros and cons you should look at before you purchase a property in a condominium, no matter if it is a home site, a town house or an apartment.

Word is out and everyone talks about it: Armed robbery in Atenas

I feel the need to tell you a bit about what happened this week in Atenas and how one or two bad things going on in a certain town or city should not be seen as if it is the end of the world. Some people panic over the wrong things.

Yes, a home invasion happened and its all over the news.

But instead of reporting more of the same, I would like to make you all aware that though it's no fun to be robbed, especially when you're with your family and they put a gun to your head. This is something that rarely happens unless you brag about what you have, invite the wrong people into your house, or frequent the places like bars and other fun places where you might meet the wrong people.

By Ivo Henfling

This is an introduction to Costa Rica's retirement advantages. Many foreigners and foreign companies have found Costa Rica to be the best place to retire, to live and work, and to do business.

Here are some reasons why:

• Best places to retire: Democracy and politic stability in Costa Rica. Costa Rica has a long history of stable, democratic government. During the troubles of the Cold War, many international organizations found Costa Rica to be a safe base of operations for their aid efforts in Latin America.

• Best places to retire: Geographic location of Costa Rica.

• Costa Rica is only 3 hours flying from many places in the southern U.S. Many non-stop flights are available to South America and Europe from Costa Rica. This makes business travel and vacation travel easy for those who work and retire in Costa Rica.