Hello again world..

In these troubled times, we are very conscience of our problems and perils, but often not so focused on our blessings… I have heard “experts” say that in troubled economic times, one way to reduce stress and the negative impact the economic crisis may have on your life is to spend more time with family.  Family is a constant in everyone’s life, and will not come and go such as business relationships, or money.

Anyway, being a new mom, I take this particularly to heart and really cherish this time right now with my family.  I urge you to do the same!

But onto my choice real estate topic this Thanksgiving week, misnomers.

I get very upset, irrationally so, when I read the word “luxury” on every single residential property being advertised in Jaco and Costa Rica for that fact.  Why?  What is a characteristic that qualifies something as “luxury”? 

With real estate a fashionable industry in the past 15 years, the word luxury has become increasingly common.  To the point where nowk, when I read a “luxury” condo, it really means nothing to me unless I know the property myself and can assure that it is indeed luxury.  People assume that if you throw a granite countertop onto a three bedroom / one bath residence a short walk from the beach on a paved road, you all of a sudden have a “luxury” property.  Well, not so my friends.  It takes alot more than a few key bullet points (like granite counter tops and 24 hour security) to be luxury.

Buyer beware, just because that condo for $450k on the beach in Jaco says that it is a luxury property, you’ve really only got about a 50/50 chance of truly being a luxury product by international and luxury property specialists standards.

But the misnomers don’t end with the incessant bastardization of “luxury,” the newest and trendiest misnomer is “eco-friendly” and any array of “green” products on the market.  Wow, this is a never ending leaky faucet of misleading representations flowing into a vast sea of consumerism designed to make you feel better about your purchasing. 

Well, if you’ve met me, you probably knew very quickly that I have been an avid “eco-warrier” as my friend Ron would say it.  Although I’m not really an eco-warrier, I do fully sympathize with the cause and promote it as much as possible and addmittingly convenient for my on-the-go lifestyle.  So obviously, I am very enthusiastic about the new consciousness that our society has developed for living a lower carbon foot print lifestyle and using less.  I grew up on Recycle, Reduce and Reuse, and often remind myself of that everytime I go to throw away a plastic bottle.  It may take a little more effort in the long run, but recycling has a world of benefits for our children (literally).

But eco-estates and eco-friendly development in Costa Rica and world wide is fashionable, and unfortunately more often than not, simply a catchy adjective that the marketing team concocted to reach a new earth friendly demographic.

I am not going to discount all real estate developments in Costa Rica that claim to be eco friendly, but I am going to propose that you do some research before buying into a property for its eco-friendliness. 

When researching “eco construction” here are some things to look out for:

1.  What kind of materials, especially wood, are being used.  Although Teak is a fast growing hard wood, it is also a destructive crop to the top soil of the natural tropical forest, and seriously disrupts the previous ecosystem.  Bamboo is a much preferable alternative.

Don’t buy an eco-friendly home and stuff it with rustic wood furniture!  If you’ve visted our area in Playa Hermosa or Jaco, you probably know what I’m talking about.  Like oversized dining tables with a massive top made of a 6 inch solid piece of beautiful wood.  Although striking, this furniture is made of 200-400 year old trees.  You connect the dots.

2.  When possible, add a water filtration system to your home.  This will reduce water bottle waste as you consume many plastic bottles of water.  Water that does not come from a plastic bottle is also better for you too!

3.  Research water treatment systems available to you in your area.  Many homes in our area are on septic tanks, all of which, are not created equal.  Be sure that your tank is the appropriate size for your home and that it is not near any watersheds.

4.  Don’t cut down the trees!  And don’t purchase a lot that will require many trees to be cut!  Many MANY MANY Costa Rican based developers are offering lots with fantastic ocean views in the forest, but you will have to cut down the trees to do so.  Not only is it illegal, but it is also very irresponsible.  Trees cut down on erosion, and on any mountain property, this is the most threatening aspect to development.

5.  Plant native species to Costa Rica in your garden.  Many tropical plants here were imported from Asia and other parts of the world.  By planting native species, you help out the local ecosystem.

6.  If you are building on a mountain property, or trying to sell a mountain property, or looking to buy a mountain property BEWARE OF EXCAVATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is just as important for the ecosystem as it is YOUR INVESTMENT.  Many (if not most) of the mountain developments in the Jaco and surrounding areas were excavated without proper permits and/or engineering design.  Therefore, when water slides down the mountain in a new path, it often takes down parts of the mountain with it.  Be very careful of who you depend on to do excavation.  You can lose your farm, literally, and destroy water shed ecosystems at the bottom of the mountain in the process.

I’ll continue my eco-building and buying tips in part two of Misnomers. 

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Cheers,

Wendy Brown

Hi again world,

In the past few weeks I have been getting alot of the same question.  Although varying in its form, it usually has something to do with, “I guess the real estate market in Costa Rica is in the can?”  Whether it’s a question or an assumption, the response, to which even myself is slightly amazed at these days is, “Surprisingly, we are quite busy and new markets of buyers are emerging.”

It is very true, that in this week alone, I have watched as three agents from my office have been showing so much property they can barely attend to their emails, and two other agents have put a home under contract within the past two days.  I do hear complaints from our neck of the woods of other agencies not being busy, so I must assume that the market has generally slowed down.  But quite frankly we are not feeling it.

Sure, people are not getting ridiculous premiums for homes that they thought they could last year.  But at ERA Jaco Realty and Playa Hermosa Realty, we are realists and will sell things for real market values, skipping over listings that seem over - priced.  And admittingly, we did lose around three to five deals under contract in the month of October to people who had a good portion of their money tied up in one of the “toxic” companies that recently had problems.

But really, Costa Rica in and of itself is opening up to the world.  Although the ramifications of the US recession are being felt world wide, there are still markets that are not as hard hit, such as the luxury market and local buyers.  Tapping into those markets can be tricky, and sure you have to know how to fill your pipeline when times are down.  But all in all, we are seeing a surge amongst bargain hunters, and non-US based buyers that is quite encouraging.

The best deals these days, in my opinion, are ocean front vacation rental properties (my favorite is Hermosa Palms single family homes in Playa Hermosa), and rental income properties for long term renters (high and low end).  Jaco’s nature will always lend itself to having a strong long term rental market, due to the transient nature of this town.  And there is a wide gammot of renters available to match any investors’ plan, from low income housing to high end $2000+ / month rental homes and condos. 

Fortunately for you world, we have some fire sales available right now, because the world wide financial “crisis” has hit some of our sellers, and they are cashing out.  Some of my favorite listings include an 8 unit apartment building for under $250k, a luxury fully furnished home in Hermosa Palms for $519k (will hear offers), and a great 2/2 in Opera Salvaje for $225k with a pool and large garden.  The former to homes are the lowest priced in their respective neighborhoods. 

Anyhow, this is the time for bargain hunting if that’s your game, but if you are more interested in resort - style vacation properties, not to worry, our books are getting full for vacation rentals this high season.  We expect tourism to stay on track with steady growth in the Jaco area.

Until next time,

Wendy Brown

Hello World…

Today is a special day in our neighboring country to the north (the USA).  Today is election day and thank goodness for that!  I won’t get into a political discussion here, but I will confess, that I have wasted SOOO many hours of precious time watching news programs on Obama vs. McCain.  Liberal media vs. “no spin zones”.  Elite media vs. silly interviews with silly people trashing each other.  Enough is enough!  Thank goodness hopefully this whole thing will be over soon and we can get back to our real lives!

Well, part of the reason that I moved to CR in 2001 was to escape the crazy media, trashy politics and over hyping of disasters and tragedies in the US media.  So, I really shot myself in the foot getting so wrapped up in this ‘08 election.  

Onward and upward, I was given a wake up call about two weeks ago on my way home from work one day in Jaco Beach en route to my home in Playa Hermosa.  It was a typical October day, rainy and sunny simultaneously.  For those of you who have been here, you know that the drive between Jaco and Hermosa is a spectacular one, with a blue ocean vista the entire route to the west, and fantastic jungle year round greenery to the east.  Needless to say, when rainbows fall, they can quite often be spectacular.  This day was no exception.

I believe that on this particular day I had been to the electric company, and I probably was not in the best of spirits.  All I can clearly recall now is that all of my stress was washed away with the realization that I was driving right through the END of a beautiful rainbow!  It was surreal.  However, my delight only multiplied when I saw the end of another rainbow within feet of my car on the ocean.  Whipping around the bends in the road we found another rainbow, but this one had concentric rainbows, three in total whose ends were also in my driving path.  Well, at the risk of dampening the explanation of this majestic site, versus boring you with my sun-shiney blab, I will only say that I litterally lost count of the rainbows that JJ and I drove through that day.

All along the road, cars were stopped and marveling at nature’s visual gift.  And this is one of the many pleasures of living on the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica.  Where we are blessed with healthy and affordable coastal living in one of the most beautiful and diverse places on Earth.  Costa Rica is not for everyone, true.  But if you do fall in love with this place, !tengan cuidado!  (Watch out!)  Because you may fall very hard.

Lovin life,

Wendy Brown