Costa Rica Luxury

Law for the Improvement of Tax Management Law #9069- Effective as of September 18th, 2012 The Law for the Improvement of Tax Management was issued with the objective of ensuring better tax revenue without creating new taxes and aims at improving fiscal transparency and strengthening the Treasury to facilitate the collection procedure. The main amendments introduced by this Law are: - Amendments to the PROPERTY TRANSFER TAX LAW, No. 6999- The main amendments affecting the Property Transfer Tax Law are:  The definition of “transfer” was modified. As of now, “Transfer” should be understood as any legal transaction by which real estate is transferred, either directly or indirectly, in accordance with the nature of the business and not in accordance to the denomination given by the parties to the transaction. “Indirect transfer” should be understood as any legal transaction that involves change in the control of any company which holds real estate. From the previous definitio...

One of the hardest lessons to learn in real estate is that property owners proof their honesty when it comes to the moment when they have to pay the commission in a closing process. In all of our years in real estate we have come across all kinds of situations when it comes to the payment of our fees. When people are not fair and honest, usually the closing is done and the commission is cut significantly, or the commission is not paid at all. Anyhow, we have had all kinds of experiences with property owners who said to be very honest and did not even need to sign a contract, with the end result being a nightmare in trying to collect the commission. Just as an example, a well known local developer decided to keep our well earned commission to pay some of his pending bills. This happened over a year ago, and here we are, still in waiting list of “ payments to do ” , waiting because the developer says he still has a lot of bills to pay!   Believe it or not, this ...

12/10/12 By: Andrea Guillén Alpízar www.CostaRicaLuxuryEstates.com & www.CostaRicaMillionDollarHomes.com Un típico alquiler en Costa Rica se realiza mediante un contrato entre dos partes, el Arrendador y el Arrendatario. El inquilino tiene un plazo de hasta 3 años para vivir en la propiedad, con posibilidad de ir renovando su contrato anualmente si lo desea. Sin embargo, más y más clientes, tanto propietarios como compradores me consultan por la figura de Alquiler con Opción de Compra. Esta modalidad en otras ocasiones no ha funcionado porque las reglas del juego no se dictan como deben desde el inicio, y termina el dueño con un típico alquiler y el inquilino al final no logró adquirir la propiedad y todo el dinero que invirtió durante meses en alquiler se convirtió en una simple renta. Con base en la experiencia, un Alquiler con Opción de Compra puede funcionar muy bien para ambas partes si las reglas del juego son bien definidas desde el principio de la relación y se...

12/10/12 By: Andrea Guillen Alpízar www.CostaRicaLuxuryEstates.com & www.CostaRicaMillionDollarHomes.com A typical rental in Costa Rica is done by a contract between two parties, Landlord and Tenant. The tenant has a term of up to three years to live in the property, with the possibility to renew the contract annually if desired. However, more and more clients, both owners and buyers want to learn more about the figure of the Rentals with Purchasing Option. This method sometimes doesn´t work very well because the game rules are not correctly addressed from the beginning and the contract is at the end a typical rental agreement, where the owner is not able to complete the sale of the property and the tenant sees all of the money paid simply applied to the rental price. Our experience has been that a Rental with Purchasing Option Agreement can work very well for both parties if the rules are clearly defined from the beginning of the relationship and well established in t...

One of our working alliances in England, with presence all over Europe, sent us an email today with the following remark:  "Things have been very slow in Europe this year. There are enquiries and viewings but very few buyers commit to buy. We have many clients waiting to commit until next year." Why is that remark so familiar?  It is just because it has been in the mouths of most of our contacts this year.  Just very few markets in the world have experienced some kind of recovery, but the truth is that it will take a bit longer to experience a residential real estate market recovery in Costa Rica. In general this year, we have seeing more demand for homes and apartments in the range of $100,000 to $400,000, but there is an increasing inventory of new homes in the market above that range, reason why we are being very selective about the type and quality of listings we are taking into our inventory. Property owners are more aware of the need of pri...

Just recently , the news reported that many of the most famous international soccer players that are playing in Costa Rica for the local teams of the most important clubs , are playing for their teams meanwhile they are just on tourist visas .  The government acted and they will not be allowed to play any more games until their immigration status changes and they have a valid working visa. Costa Rica is indeed a very unique destination and we are visited by people from all around the world , many of whom decide to live in our country for a while or more permanently.  As explained in the example above, s ome even decide to work , e ven though they are just on a tourist visa .  With a very strategic location and all of its natural ingredients, Costa Rica is also a very desirable destination for second home ownership and investment.  This is of course not new to foreign brokers and real estate agents. I have two comments to make in regards to deali...

Last week the exit ramp connecting El Coyol de Alajuela and La Garita with the Autopista Del Sol (route 27) was finally opened. With the two new bridges built (across from Riteve in Alajuela), it means that now it only takes 15 minutes to Escazu from La Garita.   A client who lives in Estancias del Sol, located at the entrance of La Garita on the cross of Manolos, reported:  “I drove the new road today, and what a difference. Now from my house, there is no need to take a secondary road to get to the Autopista Del Sol.  From my house you can drive on a major highway the entire time.  I am really excited about this development as now it takes me exactly the same time to drive to PriceSmart in Escazu, as driving to PriceSmart in Alajuela.” These are great news for property owners in La Garita, at the same time it means good news for all property buyers for luxury homes in Escazu and Santa Ana, as they now can buy a house or a property in La Garita and enjoy all t...

PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release COSTA RICA MILLION DOLLAR HOMES SELECTED TO REPRESENT COSTA RICA AND SAN JOSE’ BY ASSOCIATED REALTY OF THE AMERICAS Yalile Alpizar, President and Broker/Owner of Costa Rica Million Dollar Homes, a world recognized purveyor of fine homes and properties, has been selected by Associated Realty of the Americas (AREA) to represent the prestigious referral organization in San Jose’ and throughout Costa Rica. She was recommended by Greg Moesser, Vice President of the Private Estates Division of Rodeo Realty, Beverly Hills, California who said: “ Yalile and her team represent the best the world has to offer in client service and integrity .” AREA, which is headquartered in Arizona, is a non-fee based, high end residential and commercial referral organization dealing with “high net worth individuals” consisting of “by invitation only” hand-picked members from North America as well as selected agents and companies throughout the World. Lo...

The title says it all, when you find these ingredients together, you have found the perfect beach home of the dreams,  that most buyers are looking for. Costa Rica has many advantages for beachfront living, but the most desirable one is privacy connected to nature.  People want to enjoy the views and the sounds of the ocean with a feeling of been alone in this world.  And that is exactly what you get when you are at this unique property in Punta Islita.   Its absolute elegance mixes with the beauty of the forest and the magic sounds of the ocean, turning it into the most unique living experience. This is the most  luxurious villa for sale in the Punta Islita area.  The house features 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, Cable TV with flat screen in each bedroom, Garage for 2 cars plus private parking facilities, Hot water, Full AC units, Terrace, Swimming pool, Construction area: 450 m2, Land extension: 2,000 m2 Punta Islita has a privileged location along the sun...