Lake Arenal Costa Rica Real Estate

News About Us and About the Real Estate Market at Lake Arenal

2011-08-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that we are already at September of 2011. How time can fly!

Many of you already know about what I am going to tell you in this blog posting, but since we have some rather mean-spirited neighbors who seem to have nothing better to do than spread gossip and rumors, I thought it was time to set the record straight. So, here goes:

I recently sent out a lot of invitations to friends and clients to join me on one of the social networking websites. What I received back were many responses from clients and friends telling me that they had been told by one of our 'competitors' that Alex and I had abandoned Costa Rica!

Alex and I have not run off and abandoned our business nor Costa Rica. We made a key business decision last year to drop our Remax franchise, but nothing else has changed. I know who is spreading that rumor and I wish they would find a better goal in life. Really. I am currently on the Board of the Costa Rica Global Association of Realtors and will be attending the NAR convention as one of their representatives in November in Anaheim, California. That doesn't sound like someone who has abandoned my beloved Lake Arenal, now does it?

Many of you also know the reason for my absence from the area lately. For the past year, I have been traveling between Michigan and Costa Rica due to the failing health of my aging parents. My father suffers from Alzheimer's and my mother is a polio survivor. Neither of them are thriving and this is my time to assist them. Enough said. Rumors put to rest, I hope.

Alex is at Lake Arenal as I write this. He, too, is traveling back and forth a lot in order to assist me. He is doing an amazing job for us. If you see him around, please say hello. He has a new hearing aid which has transformed his ability to hear.

Now for news about the real estate market at Lake Arenal. Our office's activity has really picked up. We have our stellar sales agents, Ana Gonzalez and Peter Ybarra, to thank for that, along with Alex and his diligent focus on keeping our website fresh and up-to-date. What a team!

Our recent sales have seen a higher price point than over the past three years. We have many boomers now reaching retirement age and Lake Arenal is gaining in popularity each year as the best place to choose for retirement. We also have investors who are still taking advantage of the opportunities while prices are still well below their peak of 3 to 4 years ago.

Our inventory is still quite large and will continue to be for some time, but we are definitely seeing good growth in sales. And with each passing year, my staff and I become more and more proficient at meeting the varied needs of our clients. And we have fun doing so.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I look forward to hearing from each of you.

Pura Vida!

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
Arenal Lake Partners
www.arenalbuyersrealty.com
www.lakearenal.blogspot.com
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
Office: 506-2695-4511
Fax: 506-2695-4005

Valentine Swooning

2011-03-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know that I am supposed to write about real estate and the nuts and bolts of living in Costa Rica sometimes (I will do so after I tell you about Valentine's Day), but food just keeps getting in my way! Valentine's Day 2011's dinner was no exception, and it was exceptional. Jason Elliot, the accomplished chef at our local Longhorn Grill, along with his business partner, Cindy Carroccio, put on an ambitious, over-the-top, 11-course Food and Wine Pairing Menu. It was amazing.
We began the evening with Cold Poached Sea Scallops with Citrus Tarragon Vinaigrette, paired with a Hugel Gewurtzraminer:

Course Number Two: Crab Cakes with Roasted Piquillo Remoulade paired with Kaya Chardonnay:

Cute Heart-Shaped Remoulade!

Course Number Three: Oysters on the Half Shell paired with Villa Maria Souvignon:

My personal favorite!!

Course Number Four: Smoked Salmon with Tomato Basil Coulis paired with Erath Pinot Noir:

Course Number Five: Seared Yellowfin Tuna with Pecan Lime Butter paired with two wines--Navarro Structura and Navarro Correas Malbec (as the lovely evening wore on, I tended to forget my photographer duties until things were half-eaten:

Course Number Six: Black Truffle Risotto paired with Antinori Solaia Cabernet (this was my second favorite course):

Yep, I started before taking the shot again...

Course Number Seven: Roast Leg of Lamb with Minted Jus Lie paired with Chateau Alter Ego Bordeaux:

Okay, I know that's not a photo of Roasted Lamb, but my photo didn't come out well and so I decided to show Chef Jason enjoying some of the Alter Ego Bordeaux instead...

Course Number Eight: Roast Duck Confit with Pear and Ginger Sauce paired with Marqes de Caceres Gaudium Tempranillo:

Half-eaten, but still looks yummie!

Course Number Nine: Mediterranean-Style Grilled Vegetables with Herbed Viniagrette paired with Torbreck Factor Shiraz:

Que rrrrrico!!

Course Number Ten: Seared Flat-Iron Steak with Bleu Cheese Peppercorn Sauce paired with Chateau Montelena Zinfandel:
Okay, folks, it was getting really late by this time and my photo of this course did not come out well, so I'm substituting a photo of the menu:

And finally, Course Number Eleven: Chocolate Cheesecake with Warm Berry Compote paired with Santero Moscato:

I cannot recall being so happy to be so full! And just for kicks, I'm throwing in a photo of me slurping one of the evening's courses, Oysters on the Half:

Okay, now for non-foodie news: Real estate at Lake Arenal: The good news is that we have the best inventory of listings available right now and very motivated sellers. If you are planning to purchase an investment property, a vacation home, or are planning to retire here in the near future, now is definitely the time to make your move.

Also, more good news is that the Costa Rican government has recently finalized an agreement with the Dutch government to do a full, comprehensive, $1 billion upgrade of the Port of Limón at Moín on the Carribean coast of Costa Rica. What this means to ex-pats moving to Costa Rica from the East Coast of the U.S., Canada, or from Europe is that there will now be a much more efficient port on the eastern side of Costa Rica for the shipping and acceptance of your personal belongings. You can read more about this on the amcostarica.com website at this link: http://amcostaricaarchives.com/2011/03/dutch-firm-agrees-to-put-1-billion-into-moin-docks/

In closing, I must share some very sad news about one of Lake Arenal's most energetic compañeros, Sr. Steve Kummert, a/k/a Estefan Kummert, El Dueño de (the owner of) Hectares Verdes (Green Acres) at El Aguacate con su esposa (owned along with his wife), Sra. Eve Kummert. Steve passed suddenly in his sleep last Monday in San Jose. Estefan, you are missed by so many, but never forgotten. My sincerest condolences to Steve's wife, Eve, and all of his family and friends. Our hearts are broken. Hasta luego y vaya muy bien, Estefan.

Tocar el timbre de su vida!

Laura

Laura Murray

Owner/Broker
Arenal Lake Partners
www.arenalbuyersrealty.com
www.lakearenal.blogspot.com
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
Office: 506-2695-4511
Fax: 506-2695-4005
From the U.S. and Canada directly to our office in Costa Rica: (310)-929-7580 or send us your Skype name and we will call you back.

Some exciting changes to our website and at our office

2010-11-22T12:22:00.000-08:00

Hi, Friends and Family,

As many of you already know, we have made some changes to our business model and are no longer associated with ReMax. We were very happy with ReMax over the years, but needed to make a business decision based on today's marketplace and, most especially, the marketplace in our own region of Costa Rica at Lake Arenal. We still have the same website URL: www.arenalbuyersrealty.com and the same office location and staff, but we are now known as Arenal Lake Partners. Our phone and fax numbers remain the same as well, but all of our staff have new email addresses, listed below.

Laura Murray: Owner/Broker laura@arenalbuyersrealty.com
Alex Murray, Owner/Webmaster: alex@arenalbuyersrealty.com
Ana Victoria Gonzalez, Sales Agent: ana@arenalbuyersrealty.com
Pete Ybarra, Sales Agent: pete@arenalbuyersrealty.com
Raquel Acuña, Office Assistant: raquel@arenalbuyersrealty.com
Laura Alvarez, Part-time Office Assistant: l.alvarez@arenalbuyersrealty.com
We also have a General Information email address of info@arenalbuyersrealty.com

We have changed our logo on our website as well as on our signs, and here is a photo of some of our staff with one of our new signs (from your left, that's Ana Victoria, Pete, and Raquel):
Many of you also know that Alex and I have recently sold our beloved Casa Mañana. Our friends and gracious neighbors next door to Casa Mañana, Amy and Adrian Pratt, are allowing us to stay at their home while they are living in New Zealand as Adrian completes his first assignment with the U.S. Department of State at the Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand in his position as the Assistant Public Affairs Officer.

I hope that everyone is looking forward to a wonderful Holiday Season, no matter in which corner of the globe you are located.

Pura vida,

Laura

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
Arenal Lake Partners
www.arenalbuyersrealty.com
www.lakearenal.blogspot.com
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
Office: 506-2695-4511
Fax: 506-2695-4005

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

My favorite local Festival, and Thai food at the lake!

2010-05-17T10:31:00.001-07:00

My husband, Alex, I, and a whole lot of our friends found our way to the annual oxcart festival in Tierras Morenas this past Saturday. This festival is my favorite of all in the surrounding canton. The festival revolves around the Day of the Laborer in Costa Rica and many pueblos throughout the country do the parade of the oxcarts. In the case of Tierras Morenas (I can't vouch for any of the other pueblos who have this parade), many of the oxcarts are filled to brimming with wood, cut into equal lengths and then tied into neat bundles, mainly to be used for cooking. The parade includes all manner of oxcarts, brightly painted, unpainted, large, small, old, and new. I even saw one being pulled by two goats this year.

After the parade, the wood is auctioned off and the proceeds go to the church in the village. The festival lasts through the weekend and I imagine there are a few locals who were "de goma" this morning. For those of you not familiar with the local sayings, that means "hungover".

Here are some of the photos that Alex took for me:

News about Real Estate in our area: Things have really picked up after a long, dry spell, just like the dry spell that hit the U.S. a couple of years ago. We are selling homes, lots, and businesses as more and more ex-pats make the decision to move to our area or to buy in anticipation of retiring here. Of course, that means that I am busier than ever, but it is a good busy.

And now for the usual food talk that accompanies nearly all of my blog postings: Five Corners Grill was recently sold to a couple from Austin, Texas, Jason and Cindy, and they have decided to do a 'revolving' menu. If last week's Italian-themed menu is any indication, we have a lot of wonderful dining to look forward to. The food is what I would term "bistro style". Four of us dined together there during Italian week last week and no one was disappointed. This week is Thai week and I can't wait. I promise to take some photos and post them right away. Another themed-week that is planned is Indian food. How exciting to have such wonderful food at reasonable prices, well -presented, and with new menus to look forward to.

Hasta pronto y pura vida,

Laura Murray

Owner/Broker

Re/Max Lake Partners

Lake Arenal, Costa Rica

laura.murray@remax.net

http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/

Changing Times in Costa Rica

2010-01-20T09:05:00.001-08:00

I have lived in Costa Rica for six years and the changes have been amazing to me during that time, mostly positive.

One of the recent changes, which I will write about in this blog posting, could be viewed in either a positive or a negative way depending on how you tend to view the world. This recent change was implemented by the Ministerio de Hacienda of Costa Rica, our version of the U.S. I.R.S. The new tax is called the Impuestos Solidarios and it is a luxury tax being imposed on all owners of property that is appraised at 100 million colones (approx. $175,000 USD) or more.

The formula for this tax is posted on the Hacienda's website and it is as follows:

Hasta ¢100.000.000.00 Exento
Sobre el exceso de ¢100.000.000.00 hasta ¢750.000.000.00 0.25%
Sobre el exceso de ¢750.000.000.00 hasta ¢1.250.000.000.00 0.35%
Sobre el exceso de ¢1.250.000.000.00 hasta ¢1.750.000.000.00 0.45%
Más de ¢1.750.000.000.00 0.55%

So, if your home and property are worth 100,000,000 colones up to 750,000,000 colones, your annual luxury tax will be 0.25 percent of the value. This is in addition to the taxes you already pay to your local municipality. Let's say that you are at the minimum of approx. $175,000. Then your annual luxury tax will be around $450. But before you pay it, you must have an engineer come to do an appraisal of the property. This will cost you about $175-$200. After the inspection by the engineer, the engineer will input the data into a formula created for this type of appraisal and let you know what the value for tax purposes will be. If you are at or above the minimum, then you can have your accountant prepare the form in preparation of payment . There was the typical confusion about all of this and the deadline for payment has come and gone (it was last Friday, January 15, 2010), so many of you will already have completed your work but many of you will be learning of this for the first time.

After you get your valuation report from the engineer, you can take it to your accountant. The accountant will get it ready for payment, which you can do at any bank. Our accountant charges 30,000 colones, or approximately $54 USD for this service.

The purpose of this tax is so that the government of Costa Rica can begin tearing down slum neighborhoods to replace them with decent housing. So, it depends how you look at it--a positive, or a negative?

If your property comes in under the minimum, then you just keep your report as evidence of same. Most of you know that your property is obviously under the minimum and will not even need an engineer, but for example our home falls near the minimum according to formula, so we had to have the engineer come to our property for the appraisal. We actually came in just under the minimum. And any of you who know our property know that it is worth far more than that, even in today's market, so the formula that they use seems less stringent than I had expected. This tax, to me, seems to be targeted toward the luxury beach properties and we have been expecting something like that to happen for some years now.

This tax must be paid annually, but you do not need the engineer every year to do the appraisal. These appraisals are good for four years.

Last Friday, the Hacienda posted a letter on their website from the Director of Taxation and he warned in that letter that the government has been collecting data and training their personnel on how to implement this program. He also warned that taxpayers who ignore this tax can be fined up to ten times the amount owed. You can still find that letter on their homepage.

Some people in my area who own property have told me that they are not going to comply, no matter what. Of course, that is a personal decision that each homeowner must make.

I hope this helps you in your planning. And remember, if you think that this is a high tax, just consider what you have been paying in taxes in the U.S. and Canada.

Also, the municipal taxes here remain at 0.25%, no matter what the valuation.

Pura vida,

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
www.arenalbuyersrealty.com
www.lakearenal.blogspot.com
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
Office: 506-2695-4511
Fax: 506-2695-4005
From the U.S. and Canada directly to our office in Costa Rica: (310)-929-7580

Christmas Tamales

2009-12-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

Renowned Tilaran cook Mary Barrientos answered a culinary call from Tronadora on Dec. 2, visiting the lakeside village to show my friend Elvie Gray how to make up a big supply of tamales to help sustain husband Neal while she makes a trip to Canada. The Grays have bought a wonderful volcano-view hectare and are house-sitting in Tronadora while they build their own home. Their neighbor, Mary Esquivel, persuaded Tilaran’s Martha Stewart to undertake the long process that produces the traditional Costa Rican tamale. The process starts with making a chicken and pork soup of which both the meat and broth are vital to further steps in the process. It ends with the cook dextrously tying up the results in a banana leaf prior to steaming or freezing. Observing the tamale-making process was awe-struck Nancy Durham, another new resident of the lake area, who may or may not undertake tamale production for husband Rusty.

Sra. Barrientos began early that morning by submerging pork roast and a whole chicken in a bath of water, salt, garlic, onion, sweet peppers, carrot, cilantro, and garlic. When the pork and chicken were cooked, she set them aside to cool and then shredded the chicken and chopped the pork. The rich broth that was a result of the cooking was then used to make a "masa" of corn meal mixed with the rich broth. Butter was added to the masa at the end and when it was just the right consistency it was set aside to await the production of the tamales.

While the meats were cooking, Sra. Barrientos and her helpers chopped up sweet peppers and carrots, cilantro, and cooked some green peas. They also cooked some white rice with spices and achiote for color and some potatoes as well.

The banana leaves used in Costa Rica for making tamales are washed and cut and stacked in twos. Sra. Barrientes put us to work getting the table and the banana leaves ready for the tamale process.

Now came the fun part. But Sra. Barrientes was not going to let some novice gringas ruin her hard-earned reputation, so she watched over each and every one of the tamale assemblies, especially the wrapping.

It was hard not to take tastes along the way because everything looked and smelled so delicious! At one point I did catch my pal Nancy sneaking a taste:

After a while one gets the hang of it, or at least one thinks one gets the hang of it, but don't ask Sra. Barrientes her opinion of your handiwork unless you have thick skin.

All in all, we had a wonderful time sharing something cultural, delicious, and friendship-building.

Pura Vida and Happy Holidays!

Life at Lake Arenal Just Keeps Gettin' Better

2009-10-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was the third week in a row that I ordered fantastically fresh and beautiful organic food from an online provider here. They offer fruits, vegetables, breads, cheese, yogurt, compost, poultry and fish, and many more items. My favorite is their spinach. Any of you who have spent time here in Costa Rica know that the spinach here is that slow-bolting, fuzzy stuff that no one cares to eat. The spinach from this provider, however, is the real McCoy. They also sell fabulous avocados, Italian parsley, arugula, watercress, berries, etc., etc. The company is called Natura Style and they have a website where, following a simple initial registration process, you can order their foods online. Your order must be in by Thursday afternoon and then it is delivered on Saturday afternoon by bus to the Tilarán bus station. A couple of days after you receive your order, you receive a bill in your email reflecting the items that you received. You can then pay the bill with online banking or go directly to the bank to make the payment. So easy, so fresh, so delicious! Here is a photo of one of my recent orders:

Their website is: htt p://www.naturastyle.com/

Our large, organized ladies' group known as Ladies of the Lake, or Las Damas del Lago, recently decided to have a fun day trip to visit one of the hot springs at La Fortuna. We chose Titoku Hot Springs. About a dozen of us piled into three or four vehicles and headed out in the morning. Some of us stopped by the Lost Iguana gift shop on our way past the Arenal dam for a "retail fix", and then we enjoyed a leisurely morning lounging in the lovely gardens and hot pools at Titoku.

After that we were relaxed and hungry, so we stopped at Indio Pelato at La Union for salads and pizzas.

One of my favorite early morning activities is to walk through my garden. The other morning I found this orchid in full bloom:

And this hibiscus:

We have some excellent real estate opportunities on offer right now. One of my favorites is our listing H109. This gem of a home is perfect in every way. Another excellent buy and a favorite of mine is our listing H106, for those searching for a larger piece of land. And an excellent commercial opportunity is our listing B34. This property would make an excellent restaurant or commercial office. Here are the links to these listings on our website:

http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/Properties/Homes/H109.html
http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/Properties/Homes/H106.html
http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/Properties/Commercial/B34.html

Now I have to get started on our Halloween costumes for this year's Halloween fundraiser at the home of our friend Christina Glass. The proceeds from this fundraiser will go to the Tilarán library. If any of you wish to attend, send me an email and I will send you more details.

Pura vida,

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
www.arenalbuyersrealty.com
www.lakearenal.blogspot.com
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
506-2695-4511
From the U.S. and Canada directly to our office in Costa Rica: (310) 929-7580

Back to Life

2009-06-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

**PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS BLOG WAS PUBLISHED AUGUST 12, 2009 (FOR SOME REASON, THE DATE ABOVE READS JUNE 24, 2009 AND IS INCORRECT)**

Many of you know about the horrible accident that my husband, Alex, had on the 5th of April of this year. It has been a very difficult time for us both, but we are now finally getting back to a more normal life. Because of the accident, I have not had any spare time to devote to my blog and I have really missed writing and then receiving your comments and feedback.

Alex was severely burned over twenty percent of his body in a gasoline fire. He spent three weeks in the hospital and required skin-graft surgery. His recovery, though, has been miraculous and he is back to work full-time. Whew. Makes you re-think a lot of things when you go through an ordeal such as this. We are so very fortunate to have had such wonderful care for him in the hospital and also to have the support of the ex-pat community here at Lake Arenal. Pura vida.

The real estate market here is recovering at a rapid pace. Over the past year, prices have dipped dramatically and we now have many clients willing and able to purchase vacation and retirement homes, as well as investment property. It keeps us busy and happy. And we still have plenty of properties on offer, some with owner financing, so keep watching our website and let us know if you have any questions.

Now that we are back to a more normal schedule since the accident, we have been able to again enjoy the local cuisine. The restaurants here just keep getting better, thank goodness. When I first moved here five-plus years ago, there really weren't any decent restaurants. Recently, to celebrate my friend Lisa Hudritsch's birthday, we enjoyed lunch at a new place in nearby Tilaran called "Fusion". Here is a photo of my pal Lisa in her birthday tiara as we set out for lunch:

And here is a shot of the lunch plate that Lisa enjoyed:

Our friend Frank Goodell who owns and runs the new Jaime Peligro Bookstore and Cafe at Rio Piedras sent me the photos below which he and a friend took while rescuing a wayward two-toed sloth from the highway just down from my office last week:

This is how they found the little guy on the road.

First, they offered him a branch to get him off the road.
Then, while the sloth clung to the branch, they carried him to safety.

In case you are wondering about the green haircolor this little guy is sporting, it is a naturally-occurring fungus that helps with the sloth's camouflage.

Recently, many blue and green cables were installed in the Lake Arenal area crossing high above the roads at identified animal feeding corridors in order for the sloths, monkey, kinkajoos, and other wildlife to be able to cross safely without having to use electrical wires or the pavement, but we still have a way to go in completing this project.

Okay, friends, that's it for now. I promise to be more frequent in my blog postings now that we are past the accident. And please feel free to contact us with any of your questions!

Pura vida,

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/
http://www.lakearenal.blogspot.com/
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
011-506-2-695-4511

Why bother with a Realtor?

2009-02-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

It's 'green mango season' here in Costa Rica and I'm happy about that. If you've never had green mango, you've missed out on a major treat. The fruit vendors are selling bags of these little green morsels. You bring them home and slice them into wedges, then squeeze lime juice on them, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, then toss with a little Lizano sauce and pop them into your mouth for a flavor explosion.

In today's post I will talk about the reasons why you should consider working with a seasoned, professional Realtor when buying property in Costa Rica. As many of you know, I worked in the real estate industry in the U.S. for many years before moving to Costa Rica. One of the first things I learned about Costa Rica is that there are no real estate agent licensing laws, no MLS, no real comparable data, and no formal board to oversee the actions of real estate agents.

Before I opened my RE/MAX office here and began to sell real estate, I witnessed some real estate transactions that were down-right unnerving. For example, an acquaintance of mine decided to purchase a home in my neighborhood here at Lake Arenal through a local real estate office. At the time that this acquaintance made the initial deposit, the real estate agent asked for cash. The agent then took the cash deposit and gave the majority of it to the seller, then gave the rest to herself as part of the commission!! When it came time to close, the seller had decided that she needed more than the initial contract offer and she became obstinate, refusing to close unless she got more money for the property than originally agreed. The real estate agent wanted nothing to do with the conflict, and I ended up going to the seller and 'talking turkey' with her in order to get her to close. I shudder to think what might have happened if this acquaintance (who speaks no Spanish and does not understand this culture) had not had someone on her side to help her through this situation. At best, she may have ended up paying more and finally closing, but at worst she could have ended up losing her initial deposit and then facing years in court here to try to reclaim her deposit.

My client's deposits go into an escrow account which is managed by my real estate attorney. I and the sellers do not see any of the deposit money until closing, just like in the U.S. On rare occasions the buyer and seller mutually agree to a hand-off of the deposit money, but that is not the norm at all.

Another reason why you would want to choose to work with me, a seasoned, professional Realtor, is that I know what the current fair-market value of the properties I am selling are. In Costa Rica the sale of property is an emotional event. Ticos often ask for much more than they are willing to accept because it is a matter of personal pride to them. I will counsel you on what I feel the property is really worth, and I will present all offers. That is a delicate matter, though, and one needs to be careful not to insult the seller. This is where I come in.

All of my purchase offers and contracts are written in both English and Spanish, making them legal documents in Costa Rica.

Each of the properties that I represent has been thoroughly studied in the National Registry of Costa Rica to ascertain what, if any, liens, mortgages, etc. might be underlying them. It is not uncommon for a trusting buyer to believe that they are purchasing a property free and clear only to find out that the seller did not pay off an underlying mortgage, leaving the buyer liable for same. What a nasty surprise that would be!

I also assist you in the following ways, to name a few:

Acquisition of the legal entity (corporation) for you to use in taking ownership of the property you purchase

A full-time staff and an office that is open 7 days per week

Contractors and other professionals for any land or building services that you need

Property management services

Answers to your questions regarding Costa Rica ownership, lifestyle, where to buy things, healthcare, etc.

So, if you want peace of mind, a smooth transaction, and a fair price, I'm your Realtor here at Lake Arenal.

Back to food. One of the benefits of being a RE/MAX agent here is that I meet and get to know interesting people from all over the world. One of my favorite client-families are the Stebbins of Arizona, Beijing, and Lake Arenal. When the Stebbins are in Beijing, they buy me Chinese noodles and then schlep them around the globe for me. Here is a bundle that I recently received:

I've been having fun making noodle dishes and the noodles are about half gone already. I will try to remember to take a photo of one of my noodle creations for you.

Don't forget Valentine's Day this Saturday. I have some nice things planned for my Valentine/Hubby and will share them with you in my next blog.

Pura vida!

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
www.arenalbuyersrealty.com
www.lakearenal.blogspot.com
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
011-506-2-695-4511

Happy New Year, and Healthcare in Costa Rica

2009-01-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

A big thank you to my clients and friends for the lovely notes and emails you sent to me during the holidays. They helped me get into the holiday spirit and now I'm looking forward to a prosperous and exciting 2009.

The New Year here in Costa Rica signifies the start of our Summer. Having lived here for five years, I'm beginning to get used to the patterns of the seasons, so Summer in January seems right. Also, I can begin to dry out after the long rainy season.

In late November, my friend Ann and I made appointments to visit a private hospital in a suburb of San Jose. The hospital is called Hospital CIMA. It is my "go to" hospital when I need something more than my local doctor, i.e., an MRI.

Hospital CIMA offers several packages of healthcare checkups, and it was one of these packages that took Ann and me to CIMA this time. The package that we chose is CIMA's "women's comprehensive checkup", and it consisted of the following:

Traditional mammogram

Ultrasonic mammogram

Ultrasonic pelvic exam

Pap smear

Fecal check

Full bloodwork

Bone-density scan

Consultation with a Nutritionist

Consultation and physical checkup with a General Practitioner

Breakfast

I cannot imagine what the above tests would cost in the U.S. or Canada out-of-pocket, but here they cost each of us a bit less than $400. And the care and equipment at CIMA are exceptional. And--surprise--they gave us the full results to keep, including the ultrasound images, the full bloodwork results, and the bone-density scan images.

The good news is that I am in excellent health. Even my cholesterol. So---what are we waiting for?? We all know what that means, right?? FOOD!! CHEESE!! MEAT!! COOKING!! Let's go!!

Last night I prepared fresh Corvina filets with a garlic-lime-cilantro-butter sauce. I served them with steamed Jasmine rice and steamed broccoli with French viniagrette. Tonight I'm making a chicken stir-fry, and tomorrow night will be Dijon-pork chops, eggplant (capponata), and oven-roasted potatoes. I have already shopped for and prepared most of these items so that our weeknight meals will be easy and non time-consuming. Oh, and I found some perfect cauliflower in the market this week, so I will be making "popcorn cauliflower", too.

During the holidays here at Lake Arenal, we have lots of Holiday Open Houses, much like in the U.S. and Canada. It's always fun to plan and prepare the hors d'ouevres that I take to the various events. A hit this year was my goat cheese/ricotta/caviar "cheesecake". Que rico. And very easy to make.

To celebrate the holidays with my two incredibly talented and hard-working assistants, Raquel and Laura Emilia, I treated them to lunch at the newly opened 5 Corners Grill. We had a wonderful lunch and then exchanged gifts. Here are some photos of the event:

Can you believe that tiny Laura Emilia ate EVERY bite of that huge panini? She also had a fruit smoothie, AND a chocolate sundae for dessert!

This afternoon Alex and I treated ourselves to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Cafe y Macadamia at Rio Piedras. I love what the owner, Marcos, does with the presentation, and the food is always fresh and delicious. Alex started today with a mango/yogurt smoothie:

Next, Alex ordered the tilapia sandwich:

And I ordered my perennial favorite, the tilapia salad:

And the tilapia salad was served with three different homemade dressings:

Que r-rr-rico, and check back soon!

Kind regards always,

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
www.arenalbuyersrealty.com
www.lakearenal.blogspot.com
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
011-506-2-695-4511

Post-election, and Halloween madness

2008-11-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

Whew. It's over. Never in my long life have I witnessed such a political phenomenon as the recent U.S. presidential election. No matter which side of the fence you choose politically, you have to agree that it was, and is, an exciting time. In my corner of the world my hope is that business will get back to a more normal pace now that we know the general direction that the U.S. government will be taking in trying to get the country back on track.

My husband, Alex, and I were in Washington, D.C. for a week in mid-October and spent some time with family and also enjoying the fall colors, the local art museums, and the food. One of our most enjoyable lunches was at a classic French bistro that sits in a quiet spot on the west side of Alexandria. It is called Chez Andree and it has been there for many years and has a loyal clientele. I read about it on my favorite foodie website, chow.com, before we left on our trip. I had the chicken liver plate and it proved to be an excellent choice. Chez Andree has been at the same location since 1964 and is still owned and managed by the family that started the business.

Also while we were in D.C. we dined at Charlie Palmer Steakhouse to celebrate my birthday (none of your business how many years...). Here is the beautiful and delicious dessert they served me:

I even had a chance to do some cooking during our D.C. visit. One night, I made this pork tenderloin in mustard-cream sauce with oven-roasted potatoes:

Back here at Lake Arenal on Friday, October 31st, we attended the popular annual Halloween party held at Christina Glass's lovely home. All proceeds from the party went to the Tilaran Library, which was begun by the Ladies of the Lake group here over one year ago. The proceeds came from entrance fees, raffle tickets, drink sales, and a silent auction. The total raised was $1,525 (!). Bob Benjamin played DJ while many of us danced the evening away. I had a blast.

The winner of the Halloween costume contest at the fundraiser was none other than my husband, Alex. When you see the photos of him below, you will understand why he won, hands down:

Egads.

I went as a rock star (that's me in the white makeup) and the cat woman is my pal Delia:

Many of us are anticipating a delicious Thanksgiving meal at Gingerbread this year. At least, I think we can convince chef Eyal to accommodate us (she said, crossing her fingers)...

Recently, my clients/friends Misty and Dave Amodt of St. George, Utah were in town and we stopped in at the new bar and restaurant in San Luis called Monica's Roadhouse. The proprietor, John VanCamp, is from Ohio. He has done an excellent job on the remodel and on developing a nicely varied menu. The place has only been open for a couple of months and it is already popular with locals, both Ticos and Gringos. While Misty, Dave, and I were there we enjoyed a very pleasant lunch as we sat looking out at Lake Arenal and the Tenorio Volcano. Dave ordered a chicken chalupa and, although it took a while for him to be served, it was worth the wait. Here is what it looked like before Dave demolished it:

Que rico!

I am delighted to announce the publication of The G-PAW Cookbook containing favorite recipes from loyal supporters and volunteers. In case you have not heard of G-PAW, it is an organization formed and run by volunteers to assist in animal welfare issues in rural areas of Costa Rica. G-PAW stands for Guanacaste Province Animal Welfare. One of G-PAW's founders, Judy Reisman, is responsible for the publication of this exciting collection of recipes, with the proceeds going to the G-PAW Foundation.

The sections of Appetizers, Soups and Salads, Main Courses, Sides, Sweets and Desserts and Critter Delights contain such tempting delicacies such as Texas Caviar, Orange and Carrot Soup, Apple, Avocado and Corn Salad, No-Fuss Gazpacho, Shrimp and Feta with Roasted Tomatoes, Turkey Enchilada Casserole, Chocolate Chip Meringues, Kahlua Trifle, Ghetto Truffles and Toto's Doggie Treats.

There are recipes for meat lovers and recipes for vegetarians. Many are health-conscious. Some are indulgent. Most call for a limited number of ingredients (some as little as three) and use ingredients that are readily available and not excessively expensive.

Contributors include both English and Spanish speakers, and all recipes are presented in both languages. Not surprisingly, there are a number of traditional Costa Rican specialties, but also recipes from the US and other parts of the planet.

The cookbook was painstakingly edited and designed in order to result in not just a collection of recipes, but an attractive addition to any cook's library. It makes an ideal holiday or all-occasion gift for animal lovers and "foodies" alike.

The cookbook is available for a minimum donation of $18 each, plus postage and shipping. And, of course, 100% of the proceeds go to fund the subsidized spay/neuter clinics in low-income communities in rural Costa Rica.

Every cookbook you buy for yourself or give as a gift will help end the scourge of unwanted and uncared-for street animals. The proceeds from every two books enable G-PAW to spay or neuter another dog or cat. The more you feel comfortable contributing, the greater will be G-PAW's ability to work in the community. You'll feel good knowing you've done good!

Please let Judy know how many copies you would like to order and the address to which you would like the books to be sent. Judy will then determine exact shipping costs and let you know the total. You can reach Judy by email at this address: JudyReisman@mindspring.com

So, that's the news from Lake Arenal. I hope that all of you up north are keeping warm and cozy, and please plan to visit us soon!

Pura vida,

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/
http://www.lakearenal.blogspot.com/
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
011-506-2-695-4511

Acquiring a Costa Rican driver's license and, of course, some notes on food

2008-09-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

When I went all by my lonesome to the San Jose office of COSEVI (the Costa Rican equivalent of the Department of Motor Vehicle), I found myself wishing that I had a companion along, preferably one who "knows the ropes" when it comes to the process of getting a driver's license in Costa Rica. But, alas, there I was with my gringa self, trying my best to understand something that is not very understandable, especially to an ex-pat without much skill in the local language.

So, I thought that a good topic for my blog would be to give you the low-down on what to expect and how to go about procuring your driver's license in Costa Rica. For those of you planning to make the move to Costa Rica, and those of you who have moved here recently and have not yet "experienced" COSEVI--here goes:

First, take a taxi. Don't even think about driving to COSEVI. It is located in the extremely busy area of La Uruca in San Jose. If you have never been to La Uruca, you are in for some bonafide stress. The traffic in La Uruca reminds me of one of those youtube videos of the traffic in India.

You must go to the La Uruca office if you are applying for your first Costa Rican driver's license. After that, you can go to Liberia for renewals, which is much more convenient for Lake Arenal residents. But for your first time, you have to go to the main office in La Uruca. If you are like me, you will have to go the day before, stay at a hotel, and go to COSEVI the next morning. Otherwise, you will likely self-implode from the stress of trying to do this all in one day. If you have the luxury of time, you might even want to make it a three-day trip--one to drive to San Jose, one to go to COSEVI in the morning and recover at your hotel in the afternoon, and the third day to travel back to the lake. I'm not kidding. It wears you out. Okay, call me a wimp, but we'll see how you fare when it's your turn...

So, now you are in the taxi on your way to COSEVI. If you have been lucky enough to read this posting before your trip to COSEVI, then you will most likely have the necessary copies and doctor's reports when you arrive at COSEVI. You see, in order to apply for your Costa Rican driver's license as an ex-pat, you need a copy of the main page of your passport, a copy of the page showing your most recent entry into Costa Rica, a copy of your valid driver's license from your home country, two copies of the results of your official examination (especially for the purpose of getting your driver's license) done by a Costa Rican doctor (you can use any Costa Rican doctor for this as long as they have the correct document for this purpose), and two copies of the official results of a blood test showing your blood type (also on a document especially for the purpose of obtaining your driver's license--your doctor should have one of these, also).

Sheesh.

Now, if you are like me and did not get a list and are not prepared, then when the taxi driver drops you off at the entrance to the building (in the rear bowels of the COSEVI complex) where you are to apply, you will have to hike back to the front of the complex, exit onto the street, turn left, and look for the building with a sign that says "Medico". There are actually a lot of these offices near the COSEVI complex, but this one is closest and the people running it are helpful and friendly. When you get inside, the young man behind the desk will relieve you of 15,000 colones (approx. $30), and then you will proceed to the lab where they will prick your finger to do the blood typing. After that you will spend a few minutes with a doctor having your vision and reflexes checked, and answering a few of the doctor's questions about your general health. When the blood test results are complete, the doctor will give you the official blood-type document and the official report showing that you are capable of operating a motor vehicle. Next, you will queue up at the front desk with all of the other poor souls going through similar misery, and have two copies of each of your test results made. And pay the young man behind the desk for the copies (about a dollar).

Okay, so now you have everything that you need (oh, I almost forgot--you also need your original passport and driver's license in addition to the copies). Go back inside the COSEVI complex, hike to the rear building, and go upstairs to meet with Brunhilda, the boss who overseas all ex-pat driver's license applications. This is the part where I would really rather drink castor oil and eat worms than have to go into Brunhilda's office. You see, Brunhilda is not a happy woman. I decided after spending a few minutes with this woman that she either does not like her job, does not like her husband (she wears a wedding band), does not like ex-pats, or possibly all three. I don't know, maybe Brunhilda just has a chronic rash on some tender part of her body, but you get the picture. She ain't pleasant and woe be to anyone who is not completely prepared and strong in the face of such disdainfulness.

So, assuming that you did not forget anything and Brunhilda is forced to release you to your much-anticipated freedom from her so that you can finish the process (don't get too excited--this is far from over), you then go downstairs and take a number from the nice security guard stationed at the entrance. With this number, you wait to be called to the area known as Pantalla, located on the first floor, directly below Brunhilda (try not to think about her because you will be photographed in the not-too-distant future for said driver's license and thinking of Brunhilda cannot be good for your facial features). When you are called to come to one of the Pantalla desks, the nice clerk there will take all of your documents, input them into a computer (yes, the first time during this whole ordeal that a computer is used), and then give you a document and send you back to the front of the COSEVI complex so that you can queue up to pay your fee to get your driver's license. The payment office is located just inside the entrance to the complex, so you will be hiking again. Don't be too discouraged when you see that the place where you pay your fee is called something very similar to the English word for "infractions". You are not being punished (any more than you are already being punished by enduring this process, anyway). This is just the place where everyone gives up their moola. At this writing, the fee is 4,000 colones, or approximately $8.

Okay. Now you have your receipt after having paid your fees. Hike back to the rear of the complex and find the nice clerk who sent you to pay your fees. You will then be given another document and told to wait for the "Camara". This area is located directly across from the Pantalla area, and it is where they will take your photo. When you are called into one of the cubicles where your photo will be taken by another nice clerk, you will find that not only will they be taking your photo, but you will also be signing a plastic screen exactly the way that your name appears in your passport AND having a fingerprint taken of your right index finger on yet another plastic device. I was pleased (for the first time since arriving at COSEVI) to find that Costa Rica takes your photo while you are sitting down instead of making you stand there like a goofball on the tape in front of a screen like they do in the U.S.

Now you are nearly finished. You just have to wait outside the photo cubicle until the nice clerk calls your name. He/she will then hand you---YES!!!--your Costa Rican driver's license! Don't look at the photo on it, whatever you do. Don't. Just hike back to the front of the complex and try to hail a taxi, like about twenty other poor suckers in line in front of you.

After you get a taxi, tell the taxi driver to take you to the nearest bar or day-spa, whichever you fancy. You're gonna need it.

Now, let's talk about food.

The produce and gourmet product availability here just keeps gettin' better. Two weekends ago I was in Liberia for two days of required courses for my membership in the Costa Rican Global Association of Realtors (affiliated with the National Association of Realtors in the U.S.), so I got to hit a couple of my favorite suppliers. One is the Italian food warehouse, Pippo's, about which I wrote in an earlier blog posting. The other is a great little market in the basement of the Liberia mall. At this little basement market I found some wonderful Spanish sausages and roma tomatoes, so I used them to make a delicious pasta dish when I returned to the lake. The sausages came in three flavors: one with figs, one with green peppercorns, and one with Cabrales cheese. I used one with figs in my pasta dish.

And I used my favorite pasta for this dish:

And to accompany the pasta dish, I prepared a mixed salad using a new vegetable/fruit that I found recently at the market in Tilaran. The produce clerk at the market told me that they are "tomates de arbol", or "tree tomatoes". They are delicious! (Be sure to remove the bitter peel.) These tree tomatoes are a welcome addition to the ubiquitous mixed salads that grace the table at our house. Here is what they look like:

And that is enough of my ramblings from Lake Arenal. Thanks for visiting.

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/
http://www.lakearenal.blogspot.com/
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
011-506-2-695-4511

Back home at Lake Arenal, and the downward price trend of local real estate

2008-08-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

So I'm back at Lake Arenal after a lovely visit with family stateside. As I anticipated in my last blog posting, there was great Southern food and fresh vegetables all around, so I nearly ate myself to death. But what a way to go. I even indulged in deep-fried chicken livers. And the weather was much better than I can ever recall it being in August in the South.

Back here at the lake we are enjoying our "green season". It hasn't been (so far) nearly as rainy as last year. But we still have September and October ahead of us. They can be the wettest of all months.

As I was driving home from work the other day, I came across this two-toed sloth clinging to a small tree right beside the road below my house:

I think this guy might be the baby we have been watching for some time in a tree on our property. Maybe it was time for him to "leave the nest". When he was much smaller, he used to nap near his mother in a bromeliad plant that is attached to the tree he and his mother seemed to favor.

The real estate market here is still proving to be interesting. We have a lot of ex-pats and ex-pat 'wannabes' looking, some buying, others wishing. Some of the local Tico sellers are beginning to realize the impact that the U.S. economic downturn is having on property sales here. But some of them don't care and will continue to hold their prices too high, good market or bad. The Ticos are very proud of their beautiful country.

However, if you are searching for investment property, a vacation home, or a retirement home at Lake Arenal, this is an excellent time to buy because we have sellers who have been affected by the situation in the U.S. and need to sell, plus many of the locals are realizing the reality of the U.S. downturn. Many of you in the U.S. cannot or will not sell your U.S. properties until the market in the U.S. improves dramatically. That does not mean, however, that you cannot purchase homes and land here at Lake Arenal. We do have sellers who are willing to carry a portion of the purchase for a period of from 2 to 5 years at a favorable interest rate. We tailor every purchase to fit the buyer's needs, and we will present any reasonable offer. Okay, enough of my sales pitch--let's get on to the food!!

We enjoyed another delicious, over-the-top meal at Gingerbread last Saturday evening with our friends Ann and Doug. We always share around because Eyal, the owner/chef, serves up such healthy portions. Besides, we each want to taste everything on the table! Saturday night we started off with perfectly prepared tuna sashimi done in the style of Hawaiian poke. Mmmmmm. Next, it was our mains--roasted baby chickens over mashed potatoes and---chicken livers again! But these were not deep-fried like the ones I had in Kentucky. These were served in a scrumptious sauce with rice and veggies. Dessert consisted of one of Eyal's best: Bread Pudding. I wanted Boca Negra (molten chocolate cake with passion fruit sauce), but was out-voted, 3 to 1.

UPDATE: I have just received a slew of new listings--homes and land--and it is going to take us some time to compile all of the photos and information, and then to post them on our website. Please keep watching over the next week or two for many new listings. In the meantime, if you would like an advance notice on certain types of properties, drop me a line and I will send you the information before the listings are posted to our site.

Pura vida,

Laura Murray

Owner/Broker

RE/MAX Lake Partners

http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/

http://www.lakearenal.blogspot.com/

laura.murray@remax.net

Lake Arenal, Costa Rica

011-506-2-695-4511

Real Estate Market Thoughts and, Of Course, Food Thoughts

2008-07-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

As we move along here through the rainy season, I am thinking of many of you to the north, enjoying and/or possibly suffering a long summer season. I will be heading to the U.S. this week for a family reunion and am looking forward not only to visiting with family and friends, but also to the incomparable flavors and scents of garden fresh corn, tomatoes, cukes, and the like. Here in Costa Rica, the produce is starting to look a bit sad in the markets due to the rains. The lettuce is not only wilted, but the head sizes are downright wimpy. But at least we only pay around 75 cents a head (or less) for our local lettuce. The red bell peppers look kind of sorry, too. And the selection of fruits and vegetables in the markets always dwindles this time of year. The good news is that I can almost always find broccoli, papaya, pineapple, and bananas, all of which I love.

We are watching the real estate markets in the U.S. and Canada with a great deal of interest, of course. It is not affecting us here in the Lake Arenal region as much as we had expected. Part of the reason for that, I think, is that the people who want vacation homes here are now able to get solid financing at reasonable rates in a fast and efficient manner. My favorite mortgage broker here is James Johnson of Costa Rica Mortgage. James has always been quick to respond to each and every question from me or a client, be they potential or already in the process of pre-qualification. Having James on my team makes my job so much easier because my client arrives already knowing their budget limits, and I have already been able to narrow down the properties that we will view, making me actually look a bit professional...You can reach James at this U.S. phone number: (949) 458-5135 or by email at james@costaricamortgage.net His web page at the company is www.costaricamortgage.net/james

Another interesting aspect to this market is that the locals (Costa Ricans) are not going through what so many people in the U.S. are going through. To them, the land around Lake Arenal is becoming more and more precious as there becomes less of it available. The Costa Rican people are very proud of their country, and rightly so. And they are especially proud of the amazing land surrounding Lake Arenal. So, as a result, we are seeing some price increase pressures.

And, finally, there is a third aspect to this real estate market which is quite different from the above, and it is directly related to the U.S. market downturn. As the dust finally settles, a lot of people who were speculating and planning to make big money in both the U.S. and Costa Rican real estate markets are finding that they cannot afford to hold on to many of the properties that they have amassed over the past few years. So we are having some fire sales. And that's the way it goes.

Okay, back to food. Here are some photos that I took of a salmon crespelle canneloni dish that I prepared earlier this month. We are in our "comfort food" time of the year here, so it seemed appropriate. This dish is amazingly simple, even though it might look a bit complicated. The crespelles are simply non-sweet crepes and can be made ahead of time. If you would like the recipe, please send me an email.

The fresh crespelles waiting to be rolled and stuffed with the salmon cream sauce.

Some of the sauce ingredients.

The salmon-lemon-dill cream sauce.

Voila. The assembled dish, fresh from the oven.

So that's it from the lake, my friends, because the last part of this blog post has left me famished!

Hasta luego and pura vida,

Laura Murray

Owner/Broker

RE/MAX Lake Partners

www.arenalbuyersrealty.com

www.lakearenal.blogspot.com

laura.murray@remax.net

Lake Arenal, Costa Rica

U.S. Phone: 310-928-1523

Costa Rica Phone: +506-2-695-4511

Lake Arenal Life and Real Estate Ramblings

2008-06-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hi, Friends,

Now that our rainy season has begun in earnest, I am enjoying watching the renewed, rapid growth of the plants and trees here at Lake Arenal. I have a few new plants in my garden which are thriving, but I sure wish that I had more free time to garden like my pal Ann in Las Flores near Nuevo Arenal does. I swear, Ann can make anything grow. But one of these days she is going to take root in her own garden if she doesn't slow down!

I was the hostess of the monthly Ladies of the Lake luncheon this past Thursday. It is always nice to catch up with everyone and to share ideas, succeses, and failures in our various endeavors. At Thursday's luncheon, Gloria Dempsey, our area Zoologist, gave an excellent presentation on what to do in case one of your animals is bitten by a venomous snake. The most dangerous snake to animals in this area is the Tercio Pelo, or pit viper. The pit viper releases a hematoxin which causes terrible bleeding. There is anti-venom available, so if you know what to do and have some of the anti-venom on hand, you can save your animal's life while you rush it to the vet. Gloria also discussed what to do if your dog chomps on a poisonous cane toad. Cane toads release a neurotoxin. Gloria's advice is to put your dogs head down and then gently rinse the mouth out using a garden hose. Gloria said to use hardly any force so that you do not force the toxin into the dog's lungs or stomach. Then get the animal to a vet right away.

We also heard from Roberta Ward-Smiley, the founder and director of La Reserva Forest Foundation. Roberta gave us the great news that the national electric and phone company, I.C.E., has agreed to begin placing the new "monkey bridges" around the Lake Arenal area. These bridges will allow wild animals such as monkeys, sloths, and kinkajoos to cross roads in search of food and shelter without having to use power lines, which often electrocute them. Great work, Roberta! You can read more about Roberta's foundation, and also her blog, at this link: http://la-reserva.org/

Okay, here goes my foodie bit before I get back to work. This is a photo of the fresh Vietnamese Salad Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce that I prepared and served at the luncheon on Thursday:

They were scrumptious and fun to make. If anyone would like the recipe, just send me an email and I will send it to you.

And now for some analysis and news about the real estate market here in the Lake Arenal region. But first, a caveat: I will give you my opinions of how I see the real estate market here. Some of it may not be what you want to hear, but I strive to be as honest and professional as possible.

As the Baby Boomer Generation begins to retire this year, we are seeing more and more of them deciding to move to the Lake Arenal region. They are mainly coming from the U.S. and Canada. We are also seeing a lot of younger people moving to the area and they are coming from the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The younger people are entrepreneurs and virtual workers in technology.

The retiring Boomers are mainly interested in purchasing land on which to build, but some of them are also looking for existing homes. What I am not seeing, though, is much interest in gated communities or even simple lot developments, unless the lots are very well-priced. Most of the lot developments around the lake are priced in the $20 to $50 per square meter ($100k per acre to $200k + range), and that does not interest my client base. My clients, for the most part, are searching for a piece of land. One hectare (2.5 acres) seems to be the most popular size. The buyers want land on which to grow fruit trees and enjoy their privacy, with easy access and views. And they are shopping in the $10 to $20 per square meter range.

There are now some "smoking-hot" land deals here as well. Some of the area investors over-bought and are now selling at excellent prices. I have a parcel near the base of the Tenorio Volcano with some riverfront that is for sale at just $1.25 per square meter. I also have a working Tilapia farm on nine acres in a beautiful setting for just $150,000.

Another busy part of my business is serving clients who are in search of a small vacation getaway. Nothing too fancy, but again with easy access and, hopefully, some view. These clients are spending from $30K up to $125K.

Along with the influx of ex-pat retiring folks comes a higher demand for construction services. We are seeing younger North American construction contractors moving into the area, some with young families, to build new homes or remodel existing ones for our new residents.

If you are thinking of something simple as a vacation getaway, we also have a Canadian couple here in the village of Sabalito who have recently completed a pre-fab home on their own lot, and they are so happy with the results that they have decided to become distributors of the product. If you would like any further information on this, drop me a line and I will assist you.

And, finally, we are seeing an increased need for rental properties because the people having new homes built need a place to stay during the construction, plus we have a lot of inquiries for 2-to-4 week vacation rentals. So, if you are an investor, this is an excellent time to get into the rental market here. If you have the land, you can easily construct small, simple pre-fabs to North American standards and realize good rental income in the years to come.

Another new area of the real estate market in Costa Rica are efficiently-managed real estate mortgages. I work with a professional, pro-active young man who can assist you with any of your questions. Just drop me a line and I will put you in touch.

Okay, that's enough of my ramblings for this posting. In my next blog posting, I will give my thoughts on how locals decide on an asking price for their land here.

Take care and feel free to contact me any time.

Pura vida,

Laura Murray

Owner/Broker

RE/MAX Lake Partners

http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/

http://www.lakearenal.blogspot.com/

Lake Arenal, Costa Rica

U.S. Phone: 310-928-1523

Costa Rica Phone: +506-2-695-4511

A Foodie Living in Costa Rica

2008-05-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hola, Friends,

For those of you who know me personally, you know that I am a complete "foodie". I love to cook and I love all types of food. I read endlessly about cooking methods, recipe reviews, new ways to cook, etc. My two favorite websites are http://www.epicurious.com/ and http://www.chowhound.com/. I also enjoy reading a lot of the new food blogs that are springing up on the Internet.

As I write this, I am waiting for some fresh goat's milk/yogurt cheese that I made from scratch to be ready. I got the goat's milk from one of my neighbors. I added basil, sea salt, roasted red bell peppers, and a bit of garlic to the cheese while I was making it. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

The only thing that I can really complain about living in Costa Rica is the food. I have often wondered how a foodie such as myself ended up in a country where the local cuisine is, well, not cuisine. The Ticos possess a very simple palate. Ahh, but the challenges of finding and resourcing my food wants and desires has turned out to be quite fun and entertaining. And some of the food in Costa Rica is superior to the food in the U.S. and Canada. I much prefer the natilla here to the "American" version of sour cream. Natilla is more like creme fraiche. And of course the tropical fruits here are outstanding. I love having a whole bunch of organic bananas hanging on my kitchen porch where I can grab one any time I like. And since I'm such a carnivore, I really like the pork tenderloin (lomito de cerdo) and veal (ternero) that I can buy for not much dinero.

Over the four-plus years that I have lived in Costa Rica, I have seen big changes in the availability of better and more varied food products as well as better restaurants opening all of the time. My hands-down favorite restaurant at Lake Arenal is, of course, Gingerbread. There is no comparison. Chef Eyal's food is some of the best I have had in Costa Rica, and in the world, as a matter of fact. Here is the link to Gingerbread's website: http://gingerbreadarenal.com/ And here are photos of a tropical salad and lasagna taken at one of my visits to Gingerbread:

Another restaurant in this area that I enjoy is Cafe y Macadamia near Rio Piedras. I love their composed salads. I had lunch there last week and took this photo of my food:

It is a grilled Tilapia composed salad with roasted eggplant and lots of other goodies and it is served with a fantastic viniagrette and homemade nutbread. Mmmmm...

Most of the time, though, I like to cook at home. And you never know what I'm going to decide to try next. But the challenge here has always been finding the ingredients. I and my foodie friends here trade stories about the stuff we manage to smuggle in from the U.S. and Canada on our frequent trips--such as goat cheese, Better Than Bullion, blanched almonds, good cocoa, special pastas, etc. But I have also become adept at substitutions, i.e., using celery leaves in place of Italian parsley, using Queso Turrialba or Queso Tierno (local fresh cheeses) when I make a Caprese salad, red onion in place of shallots, etc. But last week, friends, I hit the jackpot. My friend Ann invited me to go to Liberia with her for a day of shopping. Liberia is a little over an hour's drive from the lake. Liberia has been growing rapidly over the past couple of years and now has a lot of the same shops that you used to have to drive to San Jose for. On the way to Liberia, Ann told me that we would be going to Pippo's Italian Warehouse. I had heard about this place before, but could never find it. Well, lo and behold, that day turned out to be the best food shopping experience I have had in several years. Pippo's is hidden in the back of a warehouse cluster not far from the international airport. They do not have a sign, so you just have to know how to find them.

I could not believe my eyes when I walked inside Pippo's for the first time. Stacks and stacks of Italian foods. They have wines, ales, Italian sodas, pastas, olives, oils, beans, soups, sweets, sauces, ciabatta bread, fresh mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, European butter, frozen salmon filets, prosciutto, salamis, goat cheese, raviolis--- the list goes on and on.

So, poco a poco Costa Rica is becoming an okay place for good food.

Gotta run now--I'm planning what I will cook tonight.

Pura vida,

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/
http://www.lakearenal.blogspot.com/
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
U.S. Phone: 310-928-1523
Costa Rica Phone: +506-2-695-4511

Northern Weather, and Local News

2008-04-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hola, Friends,

Many of you in the U.S. and Canada are enjoying better weather, I hope. But some of you are still getting socked with winter weather conditions. Take our friends Leanne and Terry from Seattle, Washington. They emailed me these photos, taken just the other day from outside their home in Washington:

Leanne and Terry are counting the days until they can be living here at Lake Arenal full time. And I promise, Leanne and Terry, you will never see snow here! (I get chilly just looking at these snow photos...)

Kudos to our local neighbor, Helen Hollenbeck, for her efforts on a trash cleanup in the village of San Luis last weekend. Helen and about 20 other folks (half of them gringos and half of them Ticos, local children included) spent 1 and 1/2 hours cleaning both sides of the road from near Cinco Esquinas to the Puerto San Luis road. The group collected 10 feed bags and 10 large garden bags of trash of all kinds. I hope that we can encourage others in the area to do the same. Great work, Helen!

Howler monkeys will not be swinging through “Kiki’s Corridor” anytime soon, but thanks to a highly successful La Reserva Forest Foundation fundraiser on March 15, future generations of monkeys and other animals will have this new biological corridor by which to move between two forest islands now separated by a kilometer of open pasture. With a goal of $1604, the Mexican buffet, silent auction and raffle held at Jim Aoki’s Five Corners Grill raised over $2,000, further local and States-side donations bringing the total to over $2,500, more than enough to plant the corridor of four meters by 1000 meters with 600 trees. Some of the money will be used to pay the pasture owner, the rather playfully named Kiki, at the customary reforestation rate of $300 per hectare per year for his land donation of about ½ hectare.

At least 125 persons attended the party, where they listened to music provided by the talented Chris Sullivan and an increasingly competent group of local amateurs including Gary Graham, Sonya Sullivan, and Daniel Spreen. Bernard Hudson joined Chris in providing the pleasant vocals.

La Reserva’s founder, Roberta Ward Smiley, is planning work parties for the tree-planting, which will begin with the rainy season. Read more about the whole event and project in her blog at http://www.la-reserva.org/, where you can also find how to join in the work parties.

As many of you know, I recently had the pleasure of "starring" in an episode of a very popular real estate show that is televised in the U.S. and Canada. Due to privacy issues regarding the filming, I cannot reveal anything about the program until it airs, which will be several months from now. I will let you all know when that happens. It was a lot of work, taking an entire week of very long days, but it was fun and definitely worth my efforts. The production crew were a great bunch of guys and working with them was an absolute pleasure.

And that's the news from Lake Arenal. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Laura Murray, Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/
laura.murray@remax.net

News from Lake Arenal

2008-03-10T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hola, Friends,

Well, I know this isn't fair to those of you reading this from the frigid northern regions, but I'm gonna do it anyway: WE ARE HAVING THE FINEST WEATHER HERE AT LAKE ARENAL! Cool evenings, sunny days, nice breezes, and the volcano is showing itself every day.

There has been a lot of activity in the real estate sector here at Lake Arenal over the past month. Many of our buyers are coming in from Canada, but we are also getting visitors from the U.S. and Europe. We have a good selection of great properties from which to choose, but we are always searching for more properties for our client base.

Our friend Roberta Ward Smiley of La Reserva Forest Foundation reports being very encouraged on behalf of the monkeys after meeting with the president of ICE (the national electric and telephone company here in Costa Rica) and members of the Comision ICE Intercantonal at a luncheon recently. The ICE people distributed a folder describing their environmental concerns and showing where they have installed some monkey "bridges" as well as another safeguard on the insulators. If you have not heard about monkey "bridges" before, the idea comes from the problem that we often observe here when monkeys and other wild animals do not have enough trees on which to safely move from one feeding area to another. They often end up perched precariously over the roads, hanging from power lines, and generally placing themselves in grave danger. The monkey "bridges" consist of strategically planted trees of the proper species which allow the monkeys to feed and move around safely. Roberta has complied with ICE's request for information about monkey crossings around the lake by sending them a list of 10 locations that various residents have recently contributed. Roberta expects work on these to begin promptly. I will update you on this as I learn more.

Later this month we will be enjoying the annual fiesta in the village of Tronadora. This is my favorite fiesta of the year, maybe because it is held during the best weather of the year. There will be bull riding, bull chasing, great food, local crafts, and local musicians.

At this past Wednesday's "gringo gathering" at the Hotel Tilawa, a group of ex-pats got together for an impromptu jam session of rock n' roll. We sure do have some talented folks around here! At tomorrow's fund raiser for La Reserva, we will also be enjoying live music. I will take some photos and post them soon. The theme of the fund raising dinner tomorrow will be Mexican. Yum.

Speaking of yum, I'm getting a treat this evening, or maybe I should say that I'm getting my "fix" this evening because I will be enjoying dinner al fresco at my favorite restaurant, Gingerbread. If you haven't enjoyed Chef Eyal's fantastic, eclectic cuisine and the lovely ambience of the Gingerbread, be sure to plan a visit the next time you are in the area.

Okay, that's it from the lake for now. Keep your questions coming, and hasta pronto.

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
www.arenalbuyersrealty.com
www.lakearenal.blogspot.com
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
U.S. Phone: 310-928-1523
Costa Rica Phone: +506-695-4511

Area News and New Listings

2008-02-02T04:57:00.000-08:00

Hola, Friends,

I hope that 2008 has started off well for you. And for those of you living in the frigid north, you won't be envious of me when you learn that I am actually in Michigan right now and will be for a while longer, assisting my elderly parents in transitioning from their home to an assisted-living facility. I have not been in cold weather for a very long time and am finding it NOT to my liking!

For those of you searching for a property in Costa Rica, please check out our website to view several new listings, as well as a price reduction, which we have recently posted: http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/

Tilaran will be awash Feb. 15-22 with people celebrating environmental and personal health by means of World Wetlands Day and the 17th Annual two-day bike ride around the lake known as the Vuelta al Lago. The estimated 3,000 bikers and their supporters overflowed with their reservations the hotel capacity at the west end of the lake two weeks ago, making sure they’d have a place to sleep before the 9 am start of the 137-kilometer recreational ride on Saturday, Feb. 16.

The events for World Wetlands Day, which is supposed to celebrate the Feb. 2, 1971, signing of the Convention on Wetlands in Ramsur, Iran, start on Monday, Feb. 11, with conferences on environmental management in the small communities around the lake. As the week progresses, Tilaran will be the site of larger meetings and various activities in pursuit of the 1971 Convention’s mission, “The conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local, regional, and national actions and international cooperation as a contribution toward achieving sustainable development throughout the world.” Costa Rica has 11 wetlands listed with the worldwide Convention on Wetlands, one of them our area’s Cuenca Embalse Arenal. The motto this year is "Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People" ("Humedales Sanos, Gente Sana").

Friday through Sunday, the World Wetlands Day activities will include a fair and art exhibit in Tilaran’s central park, a street parade around the park at 5 pm on Friday, followed by a Pena Cultural music concert at 6:30 pm in the central park, together with a Malekos Rain Dance Show and other dancing. The fair will continue Saturday and Sunday even amidst the commotion of the bike race start and finish.

These healthy bikers will not be destroying any wetlands if they stay on course, but they will definitely get wet fording the Cano Negro River, the largest river entering the lake, just before El Castillo, which is at the foot of the Arenal Volcano. Anyone may enter the “Vuelta,” including children with signed parental permission. Day of race registration is 5,000 colones, preregistration 4,500. For that you get, at El Castillo, site of Sunday’s 9 am restart, a garden garbage bag with bedding and supplies to help you through the night if you have not reserved a room in one of the nearly 100 hotels in the popular volcano area. The bike website is at www.vueltaallago.net. The wetlands website is at www.ramsar.com. Also, here is a great youtube.com video of last year's Vuelta al Lago:

The Biblioteca Para Todos (Library for Everyone) will be opening in Nuevo Arenal on February 11, 2008, next to the Lava Java Cafe, 100 meters from the gasoline station on the road to La Fortuna, according to library organizers Ed and Leslie Wood. Their first library project, under the auspices of the Ladies of the Lake, opened in Tilaran in May of 2007. Wrote Ed, " We are always looking for donations of books in Spanish, time and money. The libraries are entirely supported by gifts and donations. We currently have two Tico librarians on staff and need funds to continue paying them. Any help is welcome." Ed and Leslie's email address is:
tronadoratwo@yahoo.com.

The Biblioteca Para Todos will be open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am to 12 noon, and from 2pm to 5pm; and on Saturdays from 9am to 2pm.

Okay, that's it for now. Please feel free to contact me with any questions and thanks for reading.

Pura vida,

Laura MurrayOwner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/
http://www.lakearenal.blogspot.com/
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
U.S. Phone: 310-928-1523
Costa Rica Phone: +506-695-4511

Happy New Year from Lake Arenal!

2008-01-02T09:46:00.000-08:00

Hola, Friends,

Here's wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year. I look forward to serving you in the coming year.

We are enjoying the company of quite a few of our non-resident clients right now--from Canada, Florida, and Alaska. One of the topics being discussed is regarding how to manage and complete various types of remodels. As many of you know, it is not easy to find contractors here at the lake right now due to all of the development going on in the area. Most of the good contractors are working full-time for local developers, so it is difficult to schedule them for smaller projects. Many people moving into the area are choosing homes built to Costa Rican standards and then remodeling them to North American standards. The challenge comes when part-time residents have to go back to the U.S. before the work is complete. Fortunately, we have a couple of very reliable, honest contractors who are willing to work on weekends and during the evenings when they are not working at their full-time jobs, plus a couple of enterprising contractors who work on their own. So, if you are planning a remodel or the construction of a new home here, it can be done very well with careful planning.

I hope that you all enjoyed a fun and safe New Year's Eve. Here at the office, we were treated to live marimba music hosted by the our landlord, Gito. The band played all day on New Year's Eve and Gito's family and friends stopped by to enjoy the music, dance, and beverages throughout the day.

After that, we were among the fortunate guests at an informal pizza party given by our friend Christina Glass at her lovely home. There was a big turnout and it was nice to catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while.

And I hope to see more of you here at the lake very soon!

Pura vida,

Laura MurrayOwner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/
http://www.lakearenal.blogspot.com/
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
U.S. Phone: 310-928-1523
Costa Rica Phone: +506-695-4511

Happy Holidays and Here Comes the Wind!

2007-12-04T10:45:00.000-08:00

Hola, Friends,

After returning from a trip to the chilly U.S. and getting past the ubiquitous "traveler's virus", I am back at work and enjoying our balmy weather and the beginning of our windy season. We will be seeing lots of windsurfers and kitesurfers in the coves at the west end of the lake in the coming months, enjoying our world-class windsurfing conditions.

My trip back from San Jose upon my return to Costa Rica included an overnight stop at an amazing organic farm/eco-resort near the base of the Arenal Volcano, in an idyllic setting along the Cano Negro river. This magnificent property is owned by a dynamic businessman from Chile, Juan Sostheim. It is set in a valley 12 kilometers below the Monteverde Cloud Forest and consists of over 100 hectares. Sr. Sostheim is quite engaging and outgoing, and I learned a lot from him during the visit. The resort is called Rancho Margot and you can view their web site here: www.ranchomargot.org. The ranch is completely self-sufficient, growing and raising their own organic food, producing cheese, yogurt, etc., and they are also totally "off-the-grid", generating their power needs through water, solar, and bio-waste thermal production. They receive their Internet via satellite and, if you forget your laptop, Sr. Sostheim will loan you one.

Now on to local news on our end of the lake: In plenty of time for Christmas, the Hotel Tilawa will again host the annual Arenal Artisan’s Fair on Dec. 12, starting at 3 pm. If it’s anything like last year, there will be a wide array of artistic gifts to choose from amid the paintings, jewelry, and sundry crafts, many of them really attractive and bound to please.

Really pleasing, even amazing, stunning, or enrapturing, was the sunset sky over Lake Arenal about Nov. 11. On a windless day – unusual for this time of year – two sinuous curtains of clouds hung as motionless screens for the changing colors of the long afternoon sunset. The shapes and colors in the sky reminded some of us of the Northern Lights. Getting some good photos of our golden version was Barth Derryberry, with his wife Glyda here from Jacksonville, FL, to complete purchase of a home in the village of San Luis. The Derryberrys, who are teachers, will be back about Christmas and will, in the near future, begin putting a second story on the home to acquire a lake view.

Speaking of the far north -- end-of-the-road Homer, Alaska, will again be sending us a substantial part of their population about the time 2008 hits us. Several Homerites have bought houses near San Luis and Tronadora and the word is that more are thinking of buying homes here.

Still in San Luis, I can recommend a new business there, making a total of three, the two minsupers and nowthe new glass installer, Jose Luis Paniagua R., of Multiservicios La Pampa, located between the minisupers. He did a nice job in making a large bronzed-glass main- entrance door for my RE/MAXoffice. He’s in a handy place for all of those Floridians and Alaskans building and remodeling along the south side of the lake.

Okay, friends, that's it from the lake for now. I will post a real estate related topic in the next week or two. In the meantime, feel free to contact me with any questions.

A happy holiday season to all and pura vida,

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
www.arenalbuyersrealty.com
www.lakearenal.blogspot.com
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
U.S. Phone: 310-928-1523
Costa Rica Phone: +506-695-4511

Baby sloth and more about corporations in Costa Rica

2007-11-10T09:45:00.000-08:00

Hola, Friends,

I hope this finds you well. All is well here in Puravidaville, except we are crossing our fingers for a baby sloth which fell from a tree last week here in the village of San Luis. Unfortunately for sloths, the mother's instinct when this happens is to not attempt to save the baby due to the fact that they would both be in danger during the rescue attempt. So, in this case the baby sloth was rescued by humans and transported to the Las Pumas rescue center in nearby Canas, and from there was taken to the Buttercup Sloth Rescue Center near Limon, Costa Rica:

http://ogphoto.com/slothrescuecenter/aboutus.htm

Please keep your fingers crossed for this little guy.

Also, if you would like to get involved in the Buttercup Center's "adopt-a-sloth" program, you can contact the center at this email address: aviarios@costarica.net

The center is run by Luis and Judy Arroyo. Here is another photo of the little guy:

And now, on to our real estate topic for today: About corporations in Costa Rica, known as Sociedades Anonimas, and how they relate to the purchase and holding of real estate here. I have briefly covered this topic in the past, but today I will try to give you more information which you may find useful.

But first, my advisory regarding the fact that I am not, nor have I ever been, nor do I ever plan to be, nor could I ever legally be here in Costa Rica since I am not a Costa Rican,---an attorney (known here as an "abogado/a"). For that, you gotta pay money. I would be happy, though, to recommend an excellent immigration attorney when you are ready to begin the process.

It is a very common practice here in Costa Rica for property to be held in a Sociedad Anonima (anonymous corporation), and it makes sense for both the Purchaser and the Seller. When a property is held in a Sociedad Anonima, the owner of the property is liable only for the Sociedad Anonima which owns the property. In other words, if something happens on the property or to the property, other properties owned by the owner are not in danger of being a part of the liability.

Another advantage of using a Sociedad Anonima is that when the property is sold, the transfer taxes are much lower than if the property is owned and sold by an individual. So, it is customary here, if a property is not already held in a Sociedad Anonima (S.A. from now on because I'm tired of typing the whole thing out!), to purchase an "off the shelf" (pre-registered) S.A. from your attorney for a nominal fee, place the property in the S.A., register the S.A./property in the National Registry, and then transfer the S.A. to the new buyer, thus avoiding transfer taxes. This is legal by Costa Rican law and is not frowned upon by the Costa Rican government.

Also, it is common for each asset of value to be held by a different S.A. An example is that my home is in one S.A., my car is in a separate S.A., and my business is in yet another. If, for some reason, there is a liability claim against any of these S.A.'s, the others are not affected.

One question that my readers and clients have been asking is regarding what, if anything, they need to do when it comes to the management of the S.A., i.e., annual board meetings, etc. The short answer to this is that if the S.A. has no activity, then no meetings, minutes, or filings are necessary. In other words, it is only necessary to document through annual meetings, minutes, and filings if the corporation has had any activity or income.

I am sad to report that, while writing this posting, I have learned that the baby sloth did not make it. He/she died on the trip to the Buttercup Rescue Center in Limon. Que lastima.

So, that's my output for today. I hope that you found the information helpful and, as always, please let me know if I can answer any questions.

Pura vida,

Laura Murray

RE/MAX Lake Partners, S.A.

www.arenalbuyersrealty.com

Ghoulish photos, and your input is requested

2007-10-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hola, Friends,

Well, the locals here at Lake Arenal proved to be rather ghoulish last Friday night, celebrating the second annual fund-raising Halloween costume party to benefit Las Damas del Lago, a charitable group of women living around the lake. Our hostess was Christina Glass, who opened her lovely home to us and provided a bar and live music. The decorations were fabulous, and a good time was had by all. Each guest brought a potluck dish, so we got to enjoy many delicious and varied items. One of the best costumes this year was worn by Alex Murray, who came as a Dama del Lago (Lady of the Lake). The photo below of Alex needs no further description:

Live music was provided by Chris Sullivan, a resident of the village of San Luis, who is an excellent guitarist, singer, and composer. Here is Chris in his vampire costume which his wife, Sonya, told me that he made entirely on his own:

I went dressed as a volcano, but that is all of the information you are going to get about that. Sorry, no photos of me in costume posted on this blog. Suffice to say that they were priceless...

Here are a few more photos of the festivities:

Our lovely hostess, Christina, and friend Bernard.

"The Kids..."

Ginny "The Cannibal" with Jorge (muy guapo Caballero!).

Hellen and Michael.

So, now back to work. Work for you, that is. Today I would like to ask that you give me your input as to what topics you would like to see covered in my blog postings. Some of you have already requested more information regarding the use of Sociedades Anonimas (anonymous corporations) when buying and selling property in Costa Rica, and I plan to cover that topic right away. But I often sit here at my desk trying to think of useful and interesting topics to post, but I usually end up thinking about whether or not I have any ceviche left for an afternoon snack, or if I will be able to see the volcano erupt any time soon. Not that I don't work, mind you! But I could sure use your help. So put on your thinking caps and let me have your questions.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Pura vida,

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/
http://www.lakearenal.blogspot.com/
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
U.S. Phone: 310-928-1523
Costa Rica Phone: 011-506-695-4511

Rain, rain, go away--plus about financing your property purchase in Costa Rica

2007-10-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hi From Soggy Costa Rica, Friends,

I didn't think that it could ever rain this much anywhere. This little country is really getting hit. It is being blamed on "La Nina" and it is affecting all of Latin America. Here at Lake Arenal, it is just making us grouchy, but in many parts of Costa Rica the people are experiencing terrific problems due to mudslides and flooding. The weather is clear today, so "crucemos los dedos" (cross your fingers!). In fact, I was just out sitting in my little office garden, enjoying a rare sun break when I looked over and noticed this amazing insect:

As many of you know, I teach English once a week to a group of about 18 Tico students of elementary school age. They are such a delight! This week their teacher, Don Oscar, played the guitar while the children sang a song that they had written especially for me. I had tears in my eyes by the time they finished. Okay, I'll stop being so sappy now and get on to today's topic: Financing your property in Costa Rica through a Costa Rican bank.

Over the years that I have spent working in real estate in Costa Rica, the process of securing financing for non-Costa Rican people has evolved from not being available at all unless you found it through a private source, to being available but difficult to process, and then to what we have now: Mortgage brokerages with highly organized processes and systems which allow you to shop for the right finance package to fit your unique needs.

Loans on property in Costa Rica are, of course, not the same as what we in North America are used to receiving. The rates are a bit higher, as are the loan origination fees.

You can expect interest rates on your loan(s) to be from 7.75 percent to around 9.5 percent, depending upon the type of borrower and the type of loan, i.e., construction vs. purchase, credit score, etc. You can also find many different variations of loans such as adjustable rates, fixed rates, 3 to 5 year loans, and even some loans which are fixed for twenty and up to thirty years.

In preparing to secure financing on your Costa Rican property purchase, you will need to organize most or all of the following documentation:

Purchase Agreement (or Earnest Money Contract). A copy of the Earnest Money check is a good idea, as well.

Copy of the passport(s) and driver's license(s) of the Purchaser(s).

Loan application, completed and signed.

W-2's for the past 2 years (wage earner only).

All pages of all Liquid Asset account statements for 6 months (checking, savings, 401K, mutual funds, stocks, etc.) to prove source of down payment/reserves. 12 months statements are required for international lenders.

2 months of pay stub copies (wage earner only).

Past 2 years of tax returns.

If you are self-employed or your commission earnings exceed 25 percent of your gross income, you will also need: Corporate/Partnership tax returns, with all schedules attached, for the prior 2 years; Profit and Loss Statement for year to date (signed and dated); and Balance Sheet for year to date (signed and dated).

Note: If there is any other documentation that would be helpful in speeding the loan process along, please supply that information as well. Such information may include documentation on a Costa Rica corporation (Sociedad Anonima) if you have one, survey plans, folio real numbers, construction plans, documented proof of alternative sources of income including award letters for pension and/or Social Security, rental income/agreements, etc.

The above 8 items are necessary for our mortgage brokers to begin to process your loan application. After the loan application process has begun, you will then need to provide various other documentation, depending on the type of loan that you have applied for. Some of these items might be:

Appraisal: Appraisal of the property, done by a bank-approved appraiser. Appraisals generally run between $400-$800.

Title insurance: Title insurance is required by some lenders. The general rule of thumb on the cost of title insurance in Costa Rica is that title policies range in price from 0.7 percent to 1.0 percent of the value of the loan.

Life Insurance: Some lenders in Costa Rica require a life insurance policy equal to the value of the loan (in some cases lower than that) and it must be in place before the loan closes. If you currently have a policy from your country of origin, that policy can be used if equal to or over the amount of requested financing, but the lender would need to be made beneficiary equal to the loan amount. In the case that you do not have a life insurance policy and it is required by the lender, you must request a policy from a provider in your home country. Sometimes this involves having a medical appointment and the policy must be underwritten as well. If this is required, we suggest that it be expedited immediately to avoid delaying the loan closing. We, of course, will assist you in this process.

Home or Hazard Insurance: Home or hazard insurance (one and the same) must be placed on the home, as it is required by all lenders. We will assist you in securing this insurance during the loan process. You can expect this policy to cost around 0.0026 percent of the property value per year. For example, if your home in Costa Rica is worth $100.000, the policy cost per year would be around $260.

Municipal Taxes: You will need to certify that the municipal taxes are up to date. This is normally provided by the seller of the property. Property taxes in Costa Rica run about 0.0025 percent of the value of the property. For example, if your property is worth $100,000, the property taxes per year would be around $250.

The Closing: To close on your loan, you either need to be here in Costa Rica to sign the loan documents, or you will need to provide a power of attorney for it to be done on your behalf. This power of attorney is more complicated than the special power that people often give their Costa Rican attorney in order to close on a non-financed property in Costa Rica, so we will need to pay particular attention to this detail during the loan process. We will be happy to assist you with this.

General Closing Costs:

Bank and Broker Fees: The bank and mortgage broker fees (known commonly as origination fees) will range between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent of the loan amount. This may seem high to those of us who have grown accustomed to "no points" loans, but I can assure you that even your "no points" loan had hidden costs.

Transfer and Documentation Fees and Stamps: These fees and stamps range between 2.5 percent and 3.0 percent of the value of the property. However, and this is a very important point: If the property you are purchasing is in a Sociedad Anonima (Costa Rican corporation) and the seller of the property passes the shares of that corporation to you at closing, there are no transfer taxes or fees. We will assist you and the seller in doing this, thus saving you up to 3.0 percent in fees.

Mortgage Registration Fee: 0.10 percent to 0.25 percent of the loan amount.

Trust Fund Management: If the lender requires that the property be placed into a trust for the life of the loan, there will be an annual fee of $100-$250. Not all lenders require this step, however.

Some Additional Information:

Credit Scores: Credit scores must be above 680. We have access to one lender who will use credit scores down to 650. If your credit score is not above 680, we have ways to assist you in boosting your credit score.

LTV (Loan to Value--what you can borrow against the property purchased) Levels: Home or Construction:

- up to 80 percent for Wage Earner

-up to 75 percent for Self-Employed

-up to 90 percent for outright purchase on a case-by-case basis. Restrictions apply.

Land Only: 60 percent, Wage-Earners and Self-Employed. (We do have one lender who will lend up to 75 percent on land.)

DTI (Debt to Income) Ratio: 25 percent for housing (up to 30 percent in some cases), and up to 45 percent total (housing and other debts).

Application Fees: These vary from broker to broker. We are constantly working on the negotiation and organization of these fees. We advocate that the borrower first run an inexpensive credit report before actually paying an application fee in order to avoid this expense if the credit report comes back showing that the borrower is obviously not a candidate for a mortgage in Costa Rica.

Okay, friends, sorry to be so long-winded this time, but I have been getting a lot of requests for information on financing here in Costa Rica, so I thought I would provide you with all that I know. I am constantly updating myself in this area and will continue to update you as well.

And, as always, please feel free to contact me with any questions that you might have.

Pura vida,

Laura Murray

Owner/BrokerRE/MAX Lake Partners

http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/

http://www.lakearenal.blogspot.com/

U.S. Phone: 310-928-1523 Costa Rica Phone: 011-506-695-4511

CAFTA referendum passes, plus a new RE/MAX marketing tool

2007-10-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

Hola, Friends,

Well, the CAFTA referendum vote here in Costa Rica on Sunday was close, but the yes votes outweighed the no votes by around three percent. There was a high voter turnout and a lot of horn honking in the streets after the results were posted.

Now there will be some teeth-gnashing in the Costa Rican national legislature between the pro-CAFTA and the anti-CAFTA members, but the changes will quickly begin here in Costa Rica, allowing more privatization of services, and removing trade barriers and import duties. President Oscar Arias believes that this agreement with the U.S. will bring the Costa Ricans to a new level of prosperity, and we are definitely going to see major growth and change here within a very short time. You can read more about these changes online at http://www.ticotimes.net/.

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have some new tools which I received from RE/MAX International while I was attending a RE/MAX regional conference last week. I am sending the following link which is one of my new tools, featuring a stunning property I have listed here at Lake Arenal. This property is priced at $2,500,000 and can also be viewed in more detail on our website. Here is the link to the new slideshow and I hope you enjoy the show! Luxury Lake Arenal Estate with 4 Homes.

Pura vida y hasta pronto,

Laura Murray
RE/MAX Lake Partners
www.lakearenalbuyersrealty.com

News about our website, my blog, and information on financing your Costa Rican property

2007-10-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Hola From the Lake, My Friends,

Well, I have just returned from a whirlwind trip to Miami for a RE/MAX International regional conference. The good news is that, as always, I came away from the conference energized and in possession of even more tools to keep my office "Above the Crowd". I will now be able to keep my website more dynamic and updated, and will be able to give my Sellers more state-of-the-art marketing of their properties, while also giving my Buyers more information at their fingertips. That all sounds rather vague, I know, but in the coming weeks you will see some exciting changes to our website and my blog, so stay tuned...

Miami was Miami. What a contrast from Lake Arenal! But it is always good to contrast my tranquil lifestyle here in the mountains of Costa Rica with the busy lifestyles that people in a large city such as Miami lead. And the flight from San Jose to Miami takes only about two-and-a-half hours, but it seems a world away in so many ways.

Okay, now for today's topic: A lot of you have been contacting me about the possibility of financing your dream property in Costa Rica. Having worked in the field of real estate in Costa Rica now for over two years, I have watched the financing process evolve, albeit somewhat slowly. But now there are several trustworthy, professional banking and financial institutions who have "gotten their acts together" and figured out the process of offering "gringo-style" financing to ex-pats, whether they are residing in Costa Rica full-time or purchasing for vacations or investment. The general formula works like this:

Purchase of a completed home: 70 to 75% financing for up to 20 years.

Purchase of a lot or acreage: 65% to 70 % financing for up to 10 years.

The rates are competitive and are based on your credit record.

Paperwork can be completed in as little as 15 business days once all documents have been received.

You do not have to be in Costa Rica to complete your loan application or your closing.

We can assist you in pre-qualifying so that you will know how much your loan amount will be and also what your rate and terms will be.

And one more thing for today before I sign off: This is a red-letter day here in Costa Rica because the Costa Ricans are casting their final vote on whether or not the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will be passed in Costa Rica. The polls show that the country is pretty much split 50/50 on the issue. I will post news on the outcome as soon as we have concrete results. I won't get political in my blog by telling you which way I would choose if I could vote, but I am crossing my fingers, nonetheless.

Pura vida y hasta pronto,

Laura Murray

www.arenalbuyersrealty.com

Local Cultural Event and Our New Bridge

2007-09-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

Greetings, Friends,

Friday night was the second monthly cultural event in Tilaran, the "Pena Cultural". It was my first time attending, and I was amazed by the talented performers. I will definitely try to attend each month in the future.

The first performer of the evening was a 14-year-old girl who played two flawless classical compositions on the piano. After that, there were two young adults who recited their own, beautifully written poetry. And a well-known local writer who has written several children's books read one of his children's stories to us. It was about a hen who gets confused and sits on a nest of duck eggs. When the little ducklings hatch, they think that the chicken is their mother. It was a very sweet and humorous story.

After that, we enjoyed several guitar/singer combos, some solo and some duos, each very accomplished and different in their styles. I was mesmerized during the entire 2 hour performance.

Here are some photos that I took at the event:

I also contacted the owners of our local tennis/country club about the possibility of hiring these talented performers to play at the club, and they said that they are very interested in hosting events such as this.

On Saturday afternoon, I visited the site of the recent washout that has caused the only road around Lake Arenal to be closed for several weeks. As you will see in the photos here, they made a lot of progress quite rapidly, and today I was able to finally drive over the bridge. Of course, the bridge span today was a bit farther along than it was when I took these photos...

Okay, mis amigos, that's it for today. I hope that you are enjoying my blog as much as I am enjoying blogging.

Pura vida,

Laura

Local Cultural Gathering Tonight, and About Gaining Residency in Costa Rica

2007-09-21T05:52:00.000-07:00

Greetings From Lake Arenal, Friends,

I am excited to be attending a "Pena Cultural" (Community Gathering) tonight in our nearby town of Tilaran. We have many talented artists in the area who will be singing, reciting poetry, and playing musical instruments. I will take some photos to post here in the coming days.

Okay, today's business topic is about gaining your residency when you finally make the permanent move to Costa Rica. But first, my advisory regarding the fact that I am not, nor have I ever been, nor do I ever plan to be, nor could I ever legally be here in Costa Rica since I am not a Costa Rican,---an attorney (known here as an "abogado/a"). For that, you gotta pay money. I would be happy, though, to recommend an excellent immigration attorney when you are ready to begin the process.

SIDE NOTE: Have you ever seen and/or heard a keel-billed Toucan? There are several of them in a tree just outside my window right now and they are making it difficult for my feeble mind to concentrate. They sound like very loud, agitated bullfrogs...here is a photo of one that I recently took while out hiking:

Now, back to work. Below is an overview of the various ways in which you can gain residency in Costa Rica:

Retiree ("Pensionado"):

You must show proof of monthly income from a qualified pension plan (which include, among others: Local, State, and Federal government pensions, Canadian Pension System benefits, U.S. Social Security Administration benefits, private pension plans, school district pensions, etc.) of at least USD $600 per month. To be a qualified plan, the pension must be payable to the resident applicant "for life".

Please note that a married couple needs to show proof of only one (1) monthly pension of at least USD $600 for both husband and wife to apply for residency. The pension recipient can be either spouse.

Legal Resident ("Rentista"):

Unmarried applicants: You must show proof of at least USD $1,000 monthly income from interest or dividends and that its payment to the applicant is guaranteed for the next 60 months (5 years).

Married applicants and dependent children: Under the 2005 Immigration Reform Law married applicants must show proof of at least USD $1,000 monthly income per spouse, or USD $2,000 per couple. Additionally, the parents must show proof of income of at least USD $500 for each qualifying child. For example, a family consisting of four members (the father, mother, and two minor children) will need to show proof of income in the amount of at least USD $3,000 per month in order to qualify to apply for residency under the Rentista Program.

Business/Investor ("Inversionista"):

The Inversionista Program has three levels of invesment based according to the business activity to be undertaken:

-USD $50,000: "Key" industries, including tourism and export of Costa Rican products

-USD $100,000: Certain pre-approved reforestation projects

-USD $200,000: All other types of businesses (retail, manufacturing, farming, etc.)

Married to or Relationship to Costa Rican Citizen - "Vinculo" Program:

Must prove a relationship in the first degree, either by marriage or blood, to a Costa Rican citizen, and the Costa Rican citizen must be willing to sponsor the applicant's residency. The Vinculo Program includes applications for a spouse, son, daughter, father, mother, and unmarried brother or sister, but does not include grandparents, uncles, or aunts.

Other Programs-Temporary Residency:

In some cases, you may obtain temporary residency as: An employee or representative of a foreign company working in Costa Rica, including: Executive-level personnel, and technical and professional staff.

Basic Documents Required for ALL Applicants:

-Birth Certificate - a certified and authenticated copy
-Police Clearance Letter - not older than 3 months - notarized and authenticated
-Current Passport
-Eight recent passport-type photographs
-If your spouse is also applying: A Marriage Certificate - certified and authenticated copy
-Pensionado and Rentistas: Proof of Income Letter - notarized and authenticated

Okay, Friends, that's my post for today. Check back soon for information about the Pena Cultural.

Pura vida,

Laura Murray
www.arenalbuyersrealty.com

Costa Rica's Independence Day

2007-09-17T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hola from Lake Arenal, Friends,

Well, Saturday was all that we expected for Costa Rica's National Day of Independence. There was a fabulously colorful parade through the streets of our nearby "county seat" of Tilaran, and all of the children who had drums made certain that we could hear them loud and clear. There were traditional dancers in colorful clothing, traditional food sold by street vendors, as well as Costa Rican musicians and a dance at the local bullring that evening. I took lots of photos and am posting some of them with this post. The first photo below of high-school age children in a group moving uphill in the fog, following a car, was taken on Friday morning in front of my office. They were part of the annual tradition here in Costa Rica of carrying a torch from the border of Nicaraqua all of the way over the mountains and into Cartago, south of our capital city of San Jose.

The torch represents peace and liberty to the Costa Rican people. They began the torch tradition to honor what occurred in 1821. The Declaration of Independence for the Central American countries was signed in Guatemala on September 15, 1821, and then it was passed from Guatemala to Honduras, from Honduras to El Salvador, from El Salvador to Nicaragua and, finally, the Declaration of Independence arrived in Costa Rica on October 13th, 1821 from Nicaragua. So today they pass the torch from town to town in memory of the first running of the Declaration of Independence. The fire of the torch represents the liberty and peace of Costa Rica, and the Costa Rican people take care of the torch all day long, even on a rainy and foggy day like last Friday, because they (symbollically) don't want their peace and liberty to be extinguished.

You will also notice that many of my photos are of the small children. They are so precious in their traditional outfits and they generally love to be photographed. This little guy was my personal favorite.

And then this little girl was leading the entire parade. She must be 3 or 4 years old.

And this year, they even gave drums to some of the girls!

I am not going to post an "informational nugget" on buying and selling real estate in Costa Rica with today's post since it is already long, but I hope that you enjoy seeing and reading more about the culture and history of the Costa Rican people. Here are some additional photos of Saturday's parade and festivities:

And that's it for today. Pura vida y hasta luego!

Laura Murray

http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/

Today's topic: Civic activities around The Lake

2007-09-14T05:14:00.000-07:00

Hola Again, Friends,

Today is the day before Costa Rica's National Day of Independence, so all we can hear in every pueblo, town, neighborhood, etc. is the sound of drums. Thousands of them. Costa Rican boys are given drums weeks in advance to practice for this annual day of celebration. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what will happen if you give a boy (or a man, for that matter) a drum and tell him that he can practice pretty much any time that he pleases.

The Ticos are very proud and patriotic when it comes to their country, so tomorrow will be a day of parades, fiestas, feasts, and general celebrations throughout the country. Since it is a legal holiday, my staff will have the day off, but I will plug along like any ex-pat would do. Hey, wait a second--how come I never get a holiday when it is a legal holiday in my home country?? But I will manage to go and watch at least one of the local parades, so check back for photos after tomorrow. The children are fun to watch, as they really get into the whole thing and they get very dressed up for the occasion, especially the little girls.

Okay, now for today's topic: Many of us who move to the foreign countries are interested in giving back to the communities in which we choose to live, as many of us did when we lived in our home countries. Here at Lake Arenal, a group of like-minded women began a group nearly three years ago which is now known at "Las Damas del Lago", or "Ladies of the Lake". Our goal is to raise funds for and contribute our time to assisting with various community needs. We have accomplished many different projects, both complete and ongoing, such as the Children's Library in nearby Tilaran which is open to the public four days per week and which now has over 2,000 books, both in Spanish and English. The library is also provisioning desktop computers for the use of library visitors. Other individuals around The Lake give personally of themselves and their resources to assist with such things as municipal water system improvements, teaching English to the local students, etc. It is rewarding to be a part of a community such as this one and we look forward to having more ex-pats involved in the enhancement of the quality of life here as our community inevitably grows.

Pura vida and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Buying your Costa Rica property in a corporation

2007-09-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

Hola, Friends,

Thanks for visiting again. We are enjoying a beautiful day here at Lake Arenal, following heavy rains last evening.

Yesterday afternoon, I heard a lot of monkeys ("monos" in Spanish) just outside of my office, so I went out to find quite a number of them frolicking in some nearby trees. I think that there may have been two groups who encountered the same tasty tree and they were being territorial with each other over the tree. Anyway, I managed to get some pretty good photos of them, and I am attaching one photo of the most dominant male of the group.

Okay, now back to work. Today I will write a bit about the advantage of using a "sociedad anonima", or anonymous corporation, when buying and selling property in Costa Rica. It is a very common practice here and it makes sense for both the Purchaser and the Seller. When a property is held in a sociedad anonima, the owner of the property is liable for the sociedad anonima which owns the property. In other words, if something happens on the property or to the property, other properties owned by the owner are not in danger of being a part of the liability. Another advantage of using a sociedad anonima is that when the property is sold, the transfer taxes are much lower than if the property is owned and sold by an individual. So, it is customary here to purchase an "off the shelf" (pre-registered) corporation from your attorney for a nominal fee. An example is that my home is in a sociedad anonima, my car is in a separate sociedad anonima, and my business is in yet another.

So, that's our nugget of information for today. Don't forget to check back often and, as always, feel free to contact me with any questions about real estate in our area.

Pura vida,

Laura Murray

RE/MAX Lake Partners

http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/

011-506-695-4511 or our Skype phone number: (310) 928-1523

More from Pura Vidaville (and regarding mortgages)

2007-09-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

Hola Again, Friends,

Last evening was so much fun! There was a DJ-hosted dance at our nearby tennis club and a nice crowd of locals and ex-pats got together for some dancing, chatting, and chowing on bbq. The owners of the club have decided to put this on at least once a month. They turn on the covered swimming pool's lights and it makes a magical glow for dancing on the dance floor, which is located just above the swimming pool area.

Several of the folks at my table decided to go out boating and fishing this morning but, alas, I had to work instead. The weather is perfect this morning for boating, too. We will most likely get our usual rainy-season thunderstorm later on, but for now it is perfect here.

Today is Costa Rica's National Children's Day. The elementary school on the lane above my home will be celebrating during the school day tomorrow, so I will attend for a while and take them some treats. I teach English once a week at this little school and it is by far the highlight of my week. There are 16 students, ages 6-14, and they are like sponges when it comes to learning English.

Okay, now for some business matters: If you are in the process of purchasing real estate in Costa Rica, or are dreaming of doing so in the future, please watch my postings for information nuggets that will assist you in making the right choices along the way.

Today's topic is about existing mortgages and/or liens attached to a property being sold. Do not ever take the Seller's word that they will be satisfying any mortgages or liens after you have made the purchase. It just isn't going to happen that way. End of story. Instead, insist that the mortgages, etc., be cleared as part of the closing. This should be done simultaneously and your attorney/notario can (and should!) do this for you.

Now it's back to work for me. And please feel free to contact me with any and all questions.

Pura vida,

Laura Murray

http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/

laura.murray@remax.net

Our Hidden Jewel, Lake Arenal

2007-09-08T15:43:00.000-07:00

Hola, Friends,

Having recently opened the first RE/MAX office here at beautiful Lake Arenal in the NW mountains of Costa Rica, I decided that one of my priorities should be a blog so that I can push dynamic information out on a regular basis. HOWEVER--this is my first experience with blogging, so bear with me, please.

I have lived in Costa Rica for nearly four years and, prior to living here, I was involved in the U.S. real estate industry for over twenty years (yep, I'm a Boomer). I have had the advantage here in Costa Rica of working directly in the real estate development field, so I have gained a vast knowledge of the Costa Rican real estate process in a relatively short period of time.

For those of you with concerns about buying real estate in a foreign country, I am here to answer your questions and concerns. The easy part about buying real estate in Costa Rica is that almost all property is titled, except for some of the concession land at the beaches. Also, we have an online national registry where you can confirm that your property is in fact available for purchase legally, and also if it does or does not have mortgages or liens attached to it. After that, though, you should conduct yourself with the same caution that any purchaser of property outside of their home country should conduct. And that is where I come in. I use only tried and true professionals to conduct all purchase transactions. I understand the process and the legal language of this country, so you can be sure that you will not hit unnecessary or frustrating roadblocks along the way.

After you purchase your property here in paradise, you may or may not choose to live here full time. If you are retiring to live here full time, we are here to help you to integrate into our diverse, interesting community of ex-pats, as well as to help you get to know the wonderful local people and their culture and traditions.

If you are buying for investment, vacations, or for a future dream home, we will assist you to ensure that your property remains secure and in pristine condition. It is important, due to Costa Rican law, that you have a trusted party to watch over your property for you in order to avoid "squatters" (people who stay on your land long enough to claim ownership). I have not actually known anyone personally who has had this problem, and I believe that it is pretty much a thing of the past, but a prudent person would not leave their property unattended for long periods of time, no matter where it is located.

Our office is staffed seven days a week and we check email constantly, so feel free to drop us a line. And please let us know when you will be in the area so that we can plan to show you what we have available. Property values here at Lake Arenal are rising, but are still very affordable, so why not make your purchase now, while the time is still right? And for investors, this is definitely the right time to start your project or long-term land investment. We are seasoned in the development process here and can take you through each step of your due diligence and subsequent development work.

If you are interested in moving to the Lake Arenal region to start a business or to buy an existing business, we are also here to assist you along the way. My husband, Alex, and I have owned our own small B&B here for over three years and we know many of the local business owners, both Costa Rican and ex-pats.

Okay, that's enough for my first posting. Whew. But check back soon for more news, information, and updates.

Pura vida!

Laura Murray