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Costa Rica Real Estate An Overview
How would you like to own a sprawling bungalow facing the ocean ornamented with a landscaped garden! Despite the recession, oceanfront real estate in California or Florida is STILL expensive.
However, you can own your dream in the Latin America. Such luxury properties are still affordable in Costa Rica. This country’s real estate is reasonably priced and the whole procedure of owning the property is hassle free.
In Costa Rica, you can find your dream real estate either in the small towns or in the major cities. Depending on your real estate investment aspirations, you can find any kind of property ---ranging from villas and condos to luxury resorts to commercial complexes.
Here is a bit of Costa Rica real estate history.
During the early 90’s, the real estate Costa Rica experienced a slow phase due to the general recession. The prices of the properties started soaring up from around 1996-97, when the tourism in the country started booming. Till now, this upward growth continues, however, the prices are still lower as compared to other parts of the Central America and Caribbean’s.
So far, as the geography of this island country is concerned, it consists of seven provinces---San Jose, Heredia, Cartago, Guanacaste, Alajuela, Limon and Puntarenas. Now, San Jose is the most populated district and most profitable for any real estate investment. In San Jose, you can find variety of properties and Escazu is the most popular district among international investors.
On the other hand, Alajuela province is famous for its pleasant weather and Cartago is famous for its range of farmhouse and ranch properties.
Oceanfront beach properties are available in the provinces of Limon, Guanacaste or Puntarenas. Here, you can get variety of real estate options ranging from cattle ranches to double storied villas. However, beach properties and oceanfront real estate in these provinces are costlier than the ones in the other parts of Costa Rica.
In Costa Rica, overseas buyers can have full ownership of lands and property. But, prior to buying real estate, they must contact several government and non-governmental institutions. These include Costa Rican Chamber of Realtors. First of all, the investor must hire a reputed lawyer who would help him through the purchase process.
Here are a few practical tips to get a better bargain. Take help from a Tico to make the bargains on behalf of you. When you have zeroed in on a property, first take a tour of the neighborhood to ensure whether it fulfills all your investment needs and only then take your next move.
