- Written by Christopher Howard
Pros Short-term cost: In the short and even medium term, renting is obviously much cheaper than building or buying. Those other options require you to have either thousands of dollars in liquid assets, or a down payment and good enough credit to take out a mortgage. To rent, you only need a deposit worth one
- Written by Christopher Howard
As a renter, you are pretty well protected under Costa Rican law. Rental agreements are legally binding whether they’re verbal or written, although it’s recommended that you get a written contract, translated into your native language if you’re not comfortable with Spanish. No matter what it says in the contract, a renter has a right
- Written by Christopher Howard
As mentioned before, there’s certainly a gringo rate in the rental market, just like there’s a gringo price for real estate. The gringo rate, however, generally restricts itself to two circumstances. First, the location – places like Escazú are more expensive across the board (restaurants, furniture, clothing, everything). The second is tourism – a lot of landlords in touristy
- Written by Christopher Howard
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,
- Written by Christopher Howard
Where you are looking to live will make a great deal of difference in your rental options, both in terms of cost and availability. The rental market, like the real estate market in general, can be uneven, nontransparent, and prone to exaggerations of price. There are plenty of deals, but also a good amount of