When considering purchasing the retirement home of your dreams, the first thing you should ask yourself is how long you will stay in Costa Rica. Five years? Ten? Twenty? Maybe just a month out of the year? Or the rest of your life? The answer to these questions will make a big difference in buying property in Costa Rica. If you are planning to retire or live full time in Costa Rica, buying will be the logical choice. Rather than wasting your money on rent, you’ll be paying a mortgage (or better yet, own the property outright). Because it’s your own home, and will be for years, and you’ll have little to worry about as far as the real estate market, tourism industry, or health of the local economy. Another reason for buying property in Costa Rica may be as a second home or vacation home. If this is your situation, your life plans won’t matter so much, but be sure you can afford it. Many developers sell beach condos as vacation homes to North Americans with the promise that they will be able to rent out the condo while not using it and pay the mortgage with the rental payments. Beware careful here. While this is possible in some cases, it’s almost impossible to keep a property rented twelve months a year. Occupancy can be sporadic at times and only good during the high season. Homes should be bought with extra cash, and not with mortgages whose payment is tied to the tourism market. Finally, there’s the possibility that you are buying simply as an investment. In that case, ask yourself how much experience you have in real estate investment. Though getting rich quickly in real estate is certainly possible, real estate investment is complicated, long-term, and can be risky. Add to that a foreign culture and language, and Costa Rica is probably not a good place to learn. The market has gotten a lot leaner and tougher over the last 15 years, things aren’t generally cheap anymore, and investors have to be quite a bit more daring (and rich) than used to be the case. That said, real estate investment in Costa Rica is perfectly doable if you have some experience or some extra money to play with. Surround yourself with the right people and go in with your eyes open and you can make out just fine. Keep in mind that there is always the possibility you’ll lose on your speculation if you don’t invest wisely. Thousands of foreigners have bought a house or condo in Costa Rica and have had an impressive return on their investment. However, investing in property always carries with it an element of risk anywhere in the world. Investing in real estate should be approached as at least a medium-term exercise. Costa Rica is a stable country, a prime tourism destination and a place where people buy vacation homes. These factors make it a good place to invest now and in the future. The bottom line is that If retirees and others do their homework, buy at the right price and in a good location in the path of progress, they can buy they will do well investing in Costa Rica. Advantages of buying a home in Costa Rica: Return on investment: The money you pay into your property stays there, and if you own it long enough, it’s an asset that will increase in value. The same is true when you build, but not when you rent. Ownership: Owning your own property means you can do what you like with it, within the bounds of local regulation. You can modify it, decorate it, and have pets. This isn’t the case when you rent. Permanence: A nice, non-tangible effect of owning your own property is a sense of permanence or neighborhood. You can get to know your neighbors, because you’ll be seeing them for quite some time. Simplicity: Buying an existing home, though complicated, is much simpler than building your own, and the headache factor is considerably lower. Possible issues: More responsibility: You can’t just get up and leave if something happens. Property ties you down and reduces your flexibility. Higher risk: Investing in a developing country carries with it a certain amount of risk – exchange rates, government stability, immigration law changes – which is one reason why property is so much cheaper than in a developed country. Costa Rica has the most stable and enduring democracy in Latin America and is considered the most stable country in the region. So there should be no problem here. Greater initial cost: You need a sizable chunk of money to purchase a piece of property or a house, even if you’re getting a mortgage. This can present difficulties for some people. Design limitations: By buying a pre-built home, you’re accepting someone else’s design, which may not be acceptable to some looking for a dream home in Costa Rica. However, there are more and more homes being built to U.S. standards and design so this should be less of a problem in the future. I have personally seen the changes in this direction over the last 10 years.