Author: Ivo Henfling

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5 Magic tips for a normal life while selling your house

Planning on selling your house or you already have it for sale? I bet you already know that selling a house in Costa Rica can take a while. Some don’t realize that the time that it takes, is really up to the seller. Pricing is usually the reason that a house sells quickly, or not!…

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What is parado de uñas in Costa Rica

If you really want to go native when living in Costa Rica, you should learn the typical Tico slang or Tiquismo that is used by the locals. In other blogs, I have told you about Chunches, Upe, and some others. Today’s turn is for “estar parado de uñas“. What is parado de uñas in Costa…

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What is Upe in Costa Rica?

Everyone in Costa Rica knows what upe is. Or uuuuupeeeeeee, when you yell it. If you don’t say upe loud enough, nobody will hear you and they won’t come to the door. Do you want to know what Upe in Costa Rica is? Alf Giebler, in his book “A lo Tico”, says that is means…

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20 Genius household hacks that work in Costa Rica

Estimated Reading Time: 9 Minutes My blogs are meant to make things easier for you when you live in Costa Rica. That’s why this time I have tried to find 5,555 genius household hacks that should work in Costa Rica. I decided to start with only 20 of them and leave a few for some other…

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12 facts that everyone living in Costa Rica takes for granted

Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes When you first arrive in a new country, there are concepts, habits, and unique facts that everyone notices. They might be the reason you move to Costa Rica or not, but you assume you’ll do all you can to enjoy them. After a while of living in Costa Rica, you…

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7 Costa Rica Real Estate Contract Killers You Should Know About

Do you think that as soon as the real estate contract is signed, you can take the day off and celebrate? Had you heard about those horrible contract killers than can happen to anyone? I’m sorry but unless you have the perfect real estate contract and everything else falls in place, you will not be…

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How to save money on liquor in Costa Rica

Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes   Did you know that you can save a lot of money buying liquor in Costa Rica in the right place?  If you don’t drink before you move to Costa Rica, there might several reasons to start doing so pretty soon. It can be pretty warm some days and for…

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The death of a landmark in Costa Rica

Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Did you know that a landmark can be incredibly important so visitors can find your house? Few things are as hard as directions or finding an address in Costa Rica if you have recently arrived. Even if you are fluent in Spanish. Our addresses are weird. Even if you use…

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Adjust to food in Costa Rica

Do you think you will be able to adjust to the food in Costa Rica? Moving to another country is a much bigger step than most think it is. Especially when it’s about trying to adjust to the food in Costa Rica. There is so much information available online. Nonetheless, I find that only a few…

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Will property in Costa Rica sell faster on an exclusive listing agreement?

Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes Unless you love to suffer, do not sign an exclusive listing agreement for your property in Costa Rica with any real estate agency, no matter how sexy, famous, smooth, handsome, or successful the agent who promises to sell your property next week is. Why would you put all your eggs…

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Which powers of attorney does your property manager in Costa Rica need?

Many homeowners forget to give their property manager the necessary powers of attorney to do the job. Then they find out when it’s too late. This is more or less how it happens: Everybody involved in the real estate closing is exhilarated, the buyer most of all. Of course, she is. Susan just closed on…

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7 Luxury homes in the Central Valley worth checking out

Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes Have you ever wondered what luxury homes in the Central Valley can look like? Depending on your timing, you can find great listings of luxury homes for sale. Maybe you’d like to hire a buyer’s agent or run around with 10 different agents? How does the luxury home market in…

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9 Jaw dropping ways to make things work in Costa Rica

Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes If you’re planning to move to Costa Rica, we would like to mention that living costs in Costa Rica are below average, but you better learn how to make things work. If you were born and raised in a developed country, you are used to going to the store and…

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Are appliances included in your Costa Rica home purchase or rental?

“Darling, I love that luxury condo in Escazu, all those appliances are included; I just sent you the link so you can have a look at the photos. I asked the realtor if that 36” Sub-Zero side-by-side built-in is included in the sale.” “And you should see the rest of the appliances in the kitchen;…

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La chilera and the hot sauce in Costa Rica

Do you know what a chilera is? Costa Rican cuisine offers quite a variety of vegetables.  You can purchase those at any farmers market or grocery store as you all know. What many do not know is that those vegetables are also used in one of the most important ingredients of that Costa Rican cuisine:…

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