Costa Rica FAQ Series – Habla Español?, Property Managers and Do I need a Realtor

Tank Tops Flip Flops Newsletter no. 226

Welcome to the 2nd installment of our Costa Rica FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Series, where we dive into the nitty-gritty of real estate and property investment and as always – life in Costa Rica.

First of all some great news!  Costa Rica is #1 in the world for the highest amount of Foriegn Direct Investment as a percentage of GDP.  Check out the article in Q Costa Rica for details.  qcostarica.com/costa-rica-is-first-in-the-world-in-direct-foreign-investment

Video 1:  Do I need to speak Spanish in Costa Rica?

Do you have to speak Spanish to live in Costa Rica?  Really the answer is no.  Costa Rica is very bilingual especially here at the beach where you find out that everybody speaks English and it is very easy to communicate.  But at the same token you’re coming to their country so you should go out of your way to learn some Spanish and again it’s fun.  There are many different ways to take Spanish lessons: You can do it privately where someone will come to your house and teach you Spanish in your own home, also many people do these small groups where maybe there’s four or five couples.  So, this week we have the lesson at my house, next week at your house, the week after that at Martha’s house and then afterwards we all celebrate we have some wine and cheese and hang out after our Spanish lesson.  There are schools here where you can go and take Spanish lessons in a more controlled environment but no you don’t need to worry about speaking Spanish coming down.  All the menus in the restaurants are in both English and Spanish and most of the grocery stores have North American products and if you can can’t read something there’s always somebody there that will help you.  My advice would be to take it upon yourself to learn Spanish so you can more fully enjoy this beautiful country.  You can always go to night school (wink, wink).

Video FAQ Series #1 – Financing, MLS and Working Remotely.

Tank Tops Flip Flops Newsletter no. 225

Welcome to the first installment of our Costa Rica FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Series, where we dive into the nitty-gritty of real estate and property investment and as always – life in Costa Rica.

Video 1: Is there Financing in Costa Rica?

A question often asked, yet rarely answered comprehensively.  Yes, there is financing in Costa Rica, but very few foreigners I know have ever gone through the entire process.  First, it is very hard to get financing as a foreigner because they generally want to see income here in Costa Rica.  But many people have a lot of wealth and net worth and will qualify for the financing.  For lack of a better word is there are a lot of fees involved with the financing in Costa Rica.  Upfront fees to set up the mortgage (Points) and fees to release the mortgage later down the line.