By Ivo Henfling

Imagine never having to clean your house again, or having to do the laundry and ironing shirts and pants. Cleaning the windows, do the yard and clean your pool. You’ll be able to finally sit down on your terrace with a good book, or just have a rum ‘n coke and enjoy the views. You got it right, you have just arrived to Costa Rica.

The cost of living in Costa Rica has gone up but hiring a maid, gardener or caretaker is still very affordable. Being able to afford a full time maid or housekeeper to take care of your home is one of the main attractions of living in Costa Rica. While in New York you might have to pay $75 a day for a housekeeper, in Costa Rica you can have a full time maid for under $15/day.

By Ivo Henfling

I remember the times we had cows and horses in the streets of Escazu and you could build anything in real estate in Escazu you felt like and those are long gone now. There were no controls, building permits were not important and zoning did not exist. The 4 year Costa Rica real estate boom changed all that and suddenly we had quite a few 7 story condos. That was more or less the only thing the engineering department of the city of Escazu controlled, no more than 7 floors, due to the seismic code.

Not only traffic in Escazu has gotten worse, it is the same thing throughout the Central Valley and the entire world. When I grew up, we had only 1 car at home. My Escazu neighbor’s family has 6 cars now. The Municipality of Escazu has always been a little slow on things but in the last 2 years, things have accelerated.

By Ivo Henfling

Before you retire to a new country, you need to find out which country to retire to or buy a 2nd home first. Once you have decided Costa Rica will be your retirement destination, in 3 weeks you can tour the country and find out where to concentrate the search or scratch it off your list.

Doing your online due diligence is only the start. I know some people who bought a house in Escazu years ago and still only do the trip airport – Escazu and vice versa. Please don’t be one of those; you don’t know what you are missing. The real fun starts when you come to Costa Rica rent a car for a couple of weeks and hit the roads. Leave you GPS at home and just get lost. When you hit ocean, you know you will have to make a turn.

By Ivo Henfling

Most people don’t realize they need residency to live in another country but your IRA, 401K or RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan - Canadian retirement funds) can be your solution.

There are many ways to apply for residency in Costa Rica but you have to keep one thing in mind: if a Costarican applies for residency in your home country it’s not going to be so easy.

Look at your options many years before you retire in Costa Rica. If you own a traditional or Roth IRA, you can transfer or rollover the funds to a self-directed plan with no penalties. Learn more about this way of investment and getting your residency in Costa Rica in place.

By Ivo Henfling

Quite some years ago, when nobody had a website, all the Costa Rica real estate companies used to advertise in The Tico Times. There were no magazines, no online newspapers and the Tico Times was the only weekly newspaper in English in print. Once a year, they would publish their real estate supplement and there were like 15 real estate companies in the whole country.

One real estate agency paid for ½ a page advertisement and it turned out that the other half was dedicated to an article describing how easy it was to lose your property in Costa Rica to squatters. That agency did not buy any advertising from the paper for a long time.

by Claude Dugas

In another blog, a couple of weeks ago, I told you who I am and how I ended up in Atenas – Costa Rica. Today, I will tell you more about the town of Atenas and what it means to me to live here, a dream that came true, now 12 years ago.

In those days, when driving around Atenas, you could meet about three or four foreigners in a whole day. Today if you stop at any street corner, any time of the day you’re sure to count at least five or six of us just by looking around, all happy and enjoying the beautiful weather and the slow pace of Atenas. In Atenas, you’ll find quite a few outstanding residential communities where mostly expats are living.

By Guestblogger I.J. Zemelman, EA.

Moving overseas mid tax year is not an uncommon venture for most expats.  When you think about it logically, the average taxpayer is not going to plan his/her move around the tax year.  Additionally, opportunities do not normally present themselves in a tax ideal situation.  No matter which day you actually move overseas, your move will undoubtedly have a moderate or huge impact on your US expat taxes. 

As you are probably are aware, moving to an international location may qualify you for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE).  US Citizens moving abroad mid tax year can request an extension for the due date of their US expat taxes so that they meet one of the 2 tests for qualification and are able to exclude a sizable portion of their foreign earned income.

by Ivo Henfling

Many people who are thinking of moving to Costa Rica use the Costa Rica Forums to find information. There are some real nice Costa Rica forums where people try to help each other.

Others have active members who should have never moved to Costa Rica or should just be sent back to where they came from.

They do not deserve to live in a great country like Costa Rica because they are angry people, they are negative about everything and are not there to help others but to complain and be nasty. I guess because they haven’t figured out how to be a happy person or they’re just ignorant.

By Claude Dugas in Atenas

I was born in Quebec, Canada and I lived there for more than fifty years. I knew from a previous winter spent in Amazonia of Peru that living in a warmer environment could contain its charms. Indeed, I have been suffering from the winter cold ever since.

So by the end of January 1993, I decided to come to visit Costa Rica to look at the possibility of making it my place of living.

I drove through USA and Central America and had the chance to live many adventures that could be the set for some very long and interesting blogs by itself. I still could speak some Spanish that I had so easily learnt in Peru so many years before.

by Ivo Henfling

In all my years as a Costa Rica real estate agent, I have had very few clients ask for Costa Rica title insurance. North American buyers are used to take title insurance when they purchase a property but a European or Costarican client don’t even know what title insurance is.

When you purchase a home or land in Costa Rica, you should be purchasing land that is free and clear from any claims, debts or other impediments. Costa Rica's national registry operates under the Torrens system, so with the proper steps you can be certain that your title is free and clear. For sure you don't want the headache of a bad title, so make sure you are informed about your options.

By Ivo Henfling

I have been struggling with bad pain in my feet for years and no doctor could find what the problem was. Thank God for the internet (not of Facebook this time), that made it possible for me to find out that I have a neurological problem. A Costa Rica real estate agent who cannot walk is no good, so I decided to do something about it.

In Costa Rica, the advantage is that if you have a medical problem, you do not need to be referred by any doctor. You just find a doctor in the phone book and make the appointment.

That is how simple it was for me to make an appointment with a neurologist in CIMA hospital in Escazu, a private hospital in Costa Rica. The doctor had me do a neurological electrogram and confirmed that I have a painful neuropathy and I won’t bother you with the rest of the mile long name. What I had also found on the web was that my problem is something that is mostly suffered by diabetics and I am not one.

By Ivo Henfling

When in school, you might have learned about yards, inches, square feet and acres. Well, in Costa Rica, all that is no good and you will have to learn about the metric system. Unless you have found a real estate agent you trust.

If you are buying property in Costa Rica, you will find the measurements will normally be in the metric system, though many real estate companies list the size of the house for sale in square feet and the size of the land in acres as well as in hectares.

I know, you do it different back home but just like you have to learn the Spanish language to make your new life easier, you will also need to understand how we measure properties in Costa Rica.

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 Shell Johanson

How much is my Cariari home worth? That’s a question I’ve been asked so many times. Usually a seller already has a price in mind and their expectations are at times quite dead-on; at times too low, but in most cases they want way too much money.

I’ve heard all the reasoning, “But I paid so much for it”, “I really need that much to buy what I want”, “But I’ve put so much money into renovations”, etc. I always tell them the same thing, “You can choose the paint, the curtains, the lamps, the home, but you can’t choose the price of your own home.” As unpalatable as it might seem to the seller, the price is decided by the market place, and the market is a slave to supply and demand.

by Ivo Henfling

Our neighborhood gang used to play baseball in some construction site near my home when I was 12 years old. The owner of the building under construction invited us to keep visiting after the building would be done.

That was when I was first introduced to 10 pin bowling, the first one in Holland (Europe). When I moved to Costa Rica, I was soon invited to play the American League in the Boliche Dent in San Pedro, the only bowling alley in Costa Rica at the time.

That was before the only terrorist act in Costarican history took place. Tico terrorists (can you believe that?) placed a car bomb against the American embassy downtown San Jose. Since most playing in the American League were US marines, people working at the US embassy and a few teachers who worked at Country Day School and The Costa Rica Academy (now International School), we were not allowed to play for the rest of the year. This was in the beginning of the 80’s.

By Ivo Henfling

To a lot of people I know, Costa Rica is hell, they tell me all the time: Hell, its beautiful here - hell, the food is great here - hell, the women are beautiful here - hell, I’m having a great time, Costa Rica is paradise.

Young people and senior citizens alike come here on vacation and are sold to the country; they come back again and again until they take the big step: moving to Costa Rica. People from all over the world retire in Costa Rica, some love it here and some don't find that happy life they expect to find. But if you do all the right things, your chances to succeed are much better than if you start off with the wrong foot.

The wrong foot is where the disaster startes and 8 GoDutch Realty agents, all ex-pats who have made Costa Rica their paradise, are there to help you. To give you the Ultimate Costa Rica Real Estate Experience, for FREE, at no cost. Is Costa Rica paradise or hell? Find out in this blog how to make it paradise.

by Ivo Henfling

Who would not want to retire in the country where the happiest people on earth live? Costa Rica scores for the 2nd consecutive year # 1 on the Happy Planet Index with a score of 64 points of 151 countries analyzed. Costa Rica's HPI score indicates high life expectancy and high level of experienced well-being.

What is the Happy Planet?

The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is the leading global benchmark for sustainable well-being.
The HPI measures what matters: the extent to which countries long, happy and sustainable life for the people deliver.

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 Ivo Henfling

Why run the risk of losing your money

You want to purchase Costa Rica property and you have your money still in your own country. Your GoDutch Realty agent has found you the right property and your offer has been accepted by the seller. Congratulations, you are on the way of acquiring a beautiful property in Costa Rica but might be a long way. 

A Costa Rica real estate closing can be very smooth, if you allow a professional handle it. But the real estate closing can be full of obstacles too. Stay away from those obstacles and use Costa Rica escrow.

Your real estate agent sent the accepted offer to your attorney to have the option to purchase – sale agreement to be drafted. At signature of this agreement, you will have to make an earnest deposit of 10% (this is customary but negotiable) of the purchase price.

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.