I just composed this article for the participants on my next relocation/retirement tour. Since the housing industry was hit so hard in the United States we have a lot more renters now. This summary of the situation should really be helpful to future residents of Costa Rica. Renting is the least risky and more flexible than building or buying. It can, however, be costly in the long term, and depending on where you want to live, there may not be much rental product available on the market. Neither do renters have the chance to see a return on their investment. On the other hand, if you have limited resources and are not planning on staying in Costa Rica for the long term, renting is by far the best option. Likewise, even if you do plan to live in Costa Rica for a long time, it’s highly recommended that you rent in some cases before you buy. Neighborhoods and cultures reveal their secrets reluctantly, and six months of renting will teach you things about your new home that a simple visit would never expose. This is especially true considering that your move will include a measure of culture shock. If you discover something you don’t like, you can pull up stakes and try out another region of Costa Rica. In the event that you decide to move here permanently, you will still have to consider whether to continue renting, or to buy or build something. Types of rentals available No matter what kind of rental you get, it will either be furnished or unfurnished. These are loaded terms, and don’t mean the same thing they do in the United States or Canada. For one thing, unfurnished apartments are completely unfurnished. That means they don’t even include basic appliances like stoves and refrigerators. Furnished apartments, meanwhile, are generally decorated very poorly, with knick-knacks, cheap picture frames, and tacky curtains. The furnishings themselves are usually hand-me-downs – castoffs from the landlord’s residence. Shockingly, this is often the case even in pricey properties in the $500 to $1,000 range. Landlords in Costa Rica typically put the bare minimum of upkeep into their properties as well, so before you settle on a place, you will probably view a parade of gloomy concrete boxes with cracked tiles, pealing paint, ancient kitchen and bathroom fixtures, and faded wooden cabinetry, all being rented at absurdly high rates. Newer properties, by the way, won’t necessarily have these same problems, and in all likelihood they rent for the same rate. If you’re looking for a house rental, your two basic options are stand-alone houses and houses (or townhouses) in gated communities. The former might be cheaper because your landlord does not have to pay condo fees. The latter will be safer, since the condo fees usually include 24-hour security, and your landlord may not ask you to pay them. There are quite a few gated communities in the Central Valley and the surrounding areas, and more are being built every year. That kind of housing is more difficult to find in rural areas, and in beach areas it’s usually targeted toward tourists, and therefore quite expensive. How to find a rental? (1) Find an area you like. (2) Look in English publications like the Tico Times or local Spanish newspapers like La Nación. Also check on line newspapers like Inside Costa Rica, AM Costa Rica and the Tico Times for homes or apartments. Craig’s list is also good. (3) Drive around the area and look for rental signs which say, “se alquila” in Spanish or for rent. (4) Ask other expats and retirees. I have found several places this way. Disadvantages to renting (1) Furnishings: Usually poor, or at least in bad taste. This can be fixed somewhat with an unfurnished rental, but not completely if things like window frames and kitchen cabinets are taken into account. If your standards for comfort and interior decorating are adjustable, you should have no problem, but it really is difficult to find a nice rental home for a decent price. (2) Landlords: You will, of course, have to interact regularly with a landlord, which can be tolerable or hell on earth, depending on the landlord. Language barriers provide another layer of problems. (3) Ownership: You don’t own the property, which limits your use of it. Drilling holes to hang a picture? Ask the landlord. Want a dog? Ask the landlord. Thinking about painting the walls of the second bedroom your favorite shade of fuchsia? Better ask the landlord. (4) No investment potential: All that money you pay on rent is gone, paying someone else’s mortgage. If you stay for the long term (rule of thumb is 100 months), by buying you might even make money, as Costa Rican property has steadily risen in value over the last decade. If you buy a property in a good location and in the “path of progress” you are bound to make money on your property.