Canadians are flying to the Gulf of Papagayo in Costa Rica because of the great travel deals now available. yyzdeals.com shows round trip flights from Toronto to Liberia Costa Rica (LIR) for $299.00! In 5 to 5-1/2 hours Canadians can go from col Many condos and homes along the beaches of the Papagayo Gulf are only 30 minutes from the Liberia airport. 

It’s not enough, though, for a destination to be affordable. Canadians are coming to Guanacaste, Costa Rica because of the weather, of course, since the days are warm with low humidity. Spend your day relaxing by the pool or at the beach. They’re also coming because the people in Costa Rica are so friendly, helpful and welcoming. After all, Costa Rica has been named the country with the happiest people in the world. 

It’s an excellent time to buy real estate in Costa Rica. Buy a vacation home for winters and summers; buy a Costa Rica home or condo as an investment: rent it out if you’re not going to be using it. Buy now for retirement later – or just decide to retire now and enjoy life in the Papagayo Gulf area. Guanacaste offers a wide variety of properties, from a small studio condo to homes over 10,000 sq ft. 

Find out more about Costa Rica real estate.

Community pool at Lomas del Mar

Lomas del Mar (Hills of the Sea) is in Costa Rica –  15 minutes from Playas del Coco but a world away, along the Monkey Trail. It’s a planned, gated community of 600 acres of rolling hills, tropical dry forest, and pasture land with gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean and various bays from Matapalo to Papagayo and mountain views. 85% of the community will be left natural.  Not many homes have been built there yet which is partly because we had to get to it via not only a dirt road, but a very bumpy dirt road. Kendall Sanborn recently emailed me the good news – the road has now been paved!

This is a great place for horse lovers. A unique feature of Lomas del Mar is the equestrian center, Haras del Mar. In fact, when driving past the first time, the rambling Mediterranean stables caught our attention, its clay tile coloring standing out against the green surrounds. They offer horse boarding, trail rides, lessons, dressage and jumping. You can ride the winding trails through the forest, with glimpses of the ocean, or ride down to nearby Playa Matapalo.

The photo is taken from the community pool that overlooks Coco Bay. Adjacent is fitness center with beautiful views to captivate you while you work out.

You feel away from it all when you’re at Lomas del Mar, but you’re a 10 minute drive from the beach, 15 minutes to Papagayo Golf & Country Club, 15 minutes to the bustling village of Playa del Coco, and 30 minutes from Liberia International Airport.

Currently there are finished homes ranging from $279,000 for a one story, 3 bedroom, furnished home with 1,700 sq ft on a wooded lot to $1,500,000 for a 5,700 sq ft nearly finished home (it will be furnished) with wonderful views of Playa Matapalo and a 1 bedroom caretaker’s apartment above the 2 car garage.  Mountain and valley view lots range from $59,000 to $109,000 and ocean view lots range from $195,000 to $395,000. All lots have water and electric and the developer is offering – at the moment – to pay closing costs and a title guarantee through Stewart Title. Financing is available, though most purchases in Costa Rica are cash sales.  If you visit or contact Lomas del Mar, be sure to tell them that Sharon sent you.  Pura Vida!

Peninsula Papagayo

in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, was the subject of a recent interview Kevin Brass of the International Property Journal recently had with Steve Grubba. Sales have increased this year at Peninsula Papagayo for single family homes, condo/villas and building lots. You may know this peninsula in northwest Costa Rica by the Four Seasons Resort at the tip of the Papagayo Peninsula. According to Grubba, the turnaround started in December 2009. Most of the current buyers are people planning to live in Costa Rica, or spend time there. The Four Seasons branded products have held  their pre-recession values. For the rest of the peninsula, lot prices are down about 30%, condos are down about 40%, and single family homes have held their value. The larger estate homes are in such demand that none are currently available.

Rob and I spent some time on the Peninsula Papagayo in January, had an extensive tour of the peninsula and looked at finished homes, homes under construction, condos, lots and the varied amenities.

Written by Yalile Alpizar, President of Costa Rica Leading Estates in San Jose, Costa Rica

Important clarifications and warnings regarding the Solidary Tax (Impuesto Solidario) or tax to luxury homes in Costa Rica

The Solidary Tax includes land and construction values as part of the calculation of the new tax to luxury homes.  After further clarifications with the Ministerio de Hacienda, and differently from what has been said in several articles and interviews from different media, the Solidary Tax includes the value of the land and constructions as part of the calculations of this new tax to luxury homes in Costa Rica.  There has been some general confusion around this issue mainly because people who own vacant land in luxury locations, luxury gated communities and resorts, were also confused if their land (without constructions on it) would be subject to the new tax, but it is not.  On the other hand the Articles 3 and 4 of the law are not clear enough in that respect.  For this reason, the example of how to calculate the luxury tax without including land value, provided in a previous release, is not applicable.

If you own a luxury property in Costa Rica or plan to own one in the future, and the property has or will have constructions for housing purposes on top, it is important that you are aware of the following: 

1)  There is time until December 31st 2009 to pay the first payment of this tax which corresponds to the last quarter of 2009.  From there on the tax will be paid every year in January during the first 15 natural days.

2)  The property value has to be updated every three years.

3)  If the constructions are updated or remodeled in any way that improves the value of the property, a new declaration has to be registered within one month after the works are initiated.  The new declared value will be applicable to the next fiscal period.

4)  Hacienda will compare the declared value with the parameters used by Hacienda to establish property values and construction values in the national territory.  If the declared value agrees with their parameters with a difference of no more than 10%, Hacienda will give a bonus of 50% discount applicable to the amount of taxes payable for the next fiscal year.  If the declared value differs with a margin or 10%, Hacienda is entitled to update the value according to their parameters and will just notify the owner.

5) There is a fine of up to 5 times the amount of unpaid taxes for those who register values that are not in accordance with the real value of the property according to the parameters established by Hacienda.

6)  The value of the constructions will be based on market value.  A manual of values known as Manual de Tipologías is used by the Ministerio de Hacienda to establish the cost per square meter of a construction according to several categories.  Since the manual is very technical it is better to use the services of a professional to do the calculations if you are not sure about what is required.

7)  According to Article 9 of the law, every one owning a property for housing purposes will have to present the declaration.  Even if your property is valued under 100,000,000 colones, you have to register the declaration.  For those who refuse or forget there is a fine of half base salary.  For those who own luxury properties with a value over 100,000,000 colones and forget or refuse to present the declaration, the fine is of 5 times the amount unpaid in taxes.

8)  Only properties with houses, condominiums and apartments for housing purposes are subject to the Solidary Tax to luxury homes.  This includes properties with recreational areas for housing purposes.

9)  Luxury homes located in the Maritime Zone, not matter if they are under concession, under possession or titled, they are also subject to the tax. See Article 5 of the law.  (Artículo 5º—Sujetos pasivos. Son sujetos pasivos a título de contribuyentes de este impuesto, en orden de prelación, las personas físicas o jurídicas que sean propietarias o copropietarias, usufructuarias de acuerdo con el Registro Nacional, o poseedores, de bienes inmuebles de uso habitacional, respecto de los cuales se verifique el hecho generador del impuesto.  Igual condición tendrán los concesionarios, los permisionarios o los ocupantes, de la franja fronteriza, de la zona marítima terrestre o de cualquier otro inmueble otorgado por el Estado o sus Instituciones, por los bienes inmuebles de uso habitacional, respecto de los cuales se verifique el hecho generador del impuesto.)

Also, please visit the following links to find some maps with values in different locations of the country and all the forms that are to be filled out in order to pay the Solidary Tax which is due on December 31st, 2009 and corresponds to the last quarter of year 2009 (the tax is collected beginning October 1st, 2009):

http://dgt.hacienda.go.cr/valoraciones/Normativavaloraciontribadmin/Parametrosdevaloracion/Paginas/Reglasparaelimpuestosolidario.aspx

http://dgt.hacienda.go.cr/oficina/herramientas/Paginas/Programaparacalcularelimpuetosolidario.aspx

The new law is published in full here:  http://historico.gaceta.go.cr/pub/2009/09/29/ALCA40_29_09_2009.html

View from Colinas Paraiso condos Playa Hermosa Costa Rica

Colinas Paraiso are relatively new condos on a hillside overlooking Playa Hermosa, a quiet and inviting beach that has been awarded the Blue Flag Award. You can take an elevator to your 2 bedroom 2 bath condo with 1,600 sq ft. Enjoy stunning ocean views and many-hued sunsets. The complex has a community pool and barbecue area and there is covered parking. Condos here on Paradise Hill are currently available from $199,000 to $359,000.

Playa Hermosa, conveniently located between the Papagayo Peninsula and Playas del Coco,  is just a 20 minute drive from the Liberia International Airport.

Excellent restaurant choices nearby.

Bay Point condo balcony

One of my favorite condo projects in Guanacaste Costa Rica is Bay Point, a small condo complex in the Vistas del Pacifico development of Playa Panama. We saw an unfurnished first floor unit in January, and it sold soon after; we saw a second (top) floor furnished unit in early July, and it also sold soon after. Both were in the $400,000s. The gated development of Vistas del Pacifico is also the location of my favorite Costa Rica house, which also sold soon after I saw it. The neighborhood is on the side of a mountain overlooking the Papagayo Peninsula, with sunsets over the Pacific. The condos have quality construction, open floor plans, and love of light. Accents include tray ceilings, recessed lighting, travertine flooring, natural stone accents, arched entryways, and balconies or patios. There’s a pool just for the condos, as well as a large infinity edge community pool for the use of both the homes and the condos. It’s 20 minutes by car from Liberia International Airport, 5 minutes from the beaches, and 15 minutes from Playas del Coco.

The Papagayo Peninsula is the home of the Four Seasons resort and the Marina Papagayo. There are lots of real estate opportunities both on the peninsula and near it. You do want to have your own representation, so please contact The Simms Team and we’ll introduce you to a trusted colleague in Costa Rica near the Papagayo Peninsula.

Enjoy life - and research property

This morning (July 29th)  A.M. Costa Rica published an article “Real estate shortcomings are beginning to surface”. Fraudulent land sales in Costa Rica have been around for years – so have land sales in Florida that turned out to be swamp land. Don’t ignore due diligence because you’re enchanted by the surf on the beaches and the unspoiled land and wildlife.

If you’ve ever been to Costa Rica, you’ll recognize the truth in the observation that many developments are just fancy entrance gates and perhaps some roads. Not all developments intent to take advantage of early investors – many have great plans, but don’t have enough sales or enough financing to proceed. Yes, being an early purchaser can get you the greatest rewards due to pre-construction pricing, but that’s because such sales bear the highest risk. Financing, sales, permits, new laws – all these can affect the viability of a project.

There are some great opportunities for buying real estate in Costa Rica – and also some great pitfalls. That’s why we introduce our clients to reputable real estate agents in Costa Rica that we’ve met and vetted. Since real estate agents in Costa Rica don’t need to be licensed it’s important to choose the right one.

3 bedroom luxury condominiums at Del Pacifico Costa Rica

Del Pacifico, a master planned community of 700 acres on the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica, between Jaco Beach and Manuel Antonio, is offering a limited number of single family home sites with not only a money-back guarantee, but with a guaranteed rate of return. The current “jewel” of the central Pacific coast is the Marriott Los Suenos resort – just 20 minutes away is a lower priced alternative that hasn’t yet reached its development potential. If the luxury boutique beachfront hotel and golf course are built at del Pacifico, the value of the lots should go up significantly, in which case you can sell your lot or build on it. If that doesn’t happen, the developers of del Pacifico are offering a special “repurchase option” on a limited number of lots. If you decide not to build yourself or sell during the first 5 years, the developer is agreeing to  repurchase the lot at the end of 5 years for 140% of the initial purchase price! That’s better interest for you than a current CD  and lower interest for the developer than current construction financing. Mountain view lots start at $200,000 and ocean view lots start at $250,000.  Finished condos and single family homes are also available.

Contact The Simms Team at ALVA International, Inc. for more information.

Villa los Laureles on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

On our recent trip to Costa Rica, we had the opportunity to experience a stay at Villa Los Laureles. This contemporary home with nearly 5,000 sq ft on 3 acres is located just above the tree line, overlooking the Pacific Ocean between Jaco and Manuel Antonio.  Exceptional privacy awaits at the end of a winding drive up the hill. The 360 degree views are magnificent! Vanishing glass walls allow the inside and outside to merge. You’re surrounded by the beauty of nature and the sounds of birds and animals. Just down the drive is a separate guest house. Nearby you can enjoy world class sports fishing, ziplining through the canopy of trees, or horseback riding along the beach. This property is available for $1,900,000 furnished and is also available for vacation rentals.