Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes I’m sure you now want to learn more about the remodeled result of our home. We went through a long and detailed process, but we’re all happy with the remodeled result. We bought our new property in Costa Rica at a price that allowed us to afford all of the…
Planning to import your household container? Then be careful and be patient! Our construction projects continued. And based on our prior inquiries and due diligence, we thought we had timed the arrival of our household container pretty well with our move-in date. The ongoing progress of the work at our house to receive our container…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes For some reason, new expats who don’t know where to rent, often ask an agent to give them a tour. I never understood why some assume that real estate agents want to drive them around for days, all over the Central Valley. So they can make a commission. I have…
A car accident is never fun nor is it ever convenient. One Saturday a couple of months ago my husband was driving through Barrio Mexico, going to a Little Theatre Group rehearsal. He stopped at a stop sign as required and was thinking about whether he should go straight or turn right (he wasn’t familiar…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes I have now learned to watch my pants because I was stung by a scorpion. On occasion, the relevance of an event or experience needs to be related while it is fresh in one’s mind. Therefore, I’m taking a brief detour in this blog from writing about our home improvement…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Carole and Don from Atenas bought a cheap car that needed a paint job. Instead of painting it the same color, which was identical to the gardener’s car, they changed it to red. They had no idea what an adventure it would be getting the legal transfer in order until…
Atenas expats always enjoy the Annual Atenas Charity Chili Cook Off. Are you a great cook? Do you like to eat? Do you have a great Chili recipe that’s been in your family for over a century? Are you ready to have some fun? Even if you don’t live in Atenas, you should join the…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes I had to paint my car red. That’s the color of the taxis in Costa Rica. But there was a reason. The business was dead. Picturesque Capitola, a seaside village in California, my hometown for twenty years, was abuzz with summer tourists. My seafoam green XJ8 Jaguar was parked outside…
I told you last week that we had to move into our home under construction in Costa Rica. It didn’t matter that the contractor was still working on the reconstruction job. Unfortunately, less than 48 hours after we moved into our new home, we were on a flight back to the States. It was a…
Our house is under reconstruction and it’s moving day! This is the first time in our lives that we move into a home that’s still under reconstruction. I’m not trying to use my blog as a pulpit. So, I’ll try my best not to get too preachy here. But I’ve been meaning to say this…
There are many surprising ways a seller can lose the sale of a property in Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, we do not have lockboxes. So, we need to organize a day of showing ahead of time and adjust our agenda (and our buyer’s agenda) to the availability of the sellers. In Costa Rica real…
After the remodeling contract was signed between us and the contractor and House Hunters International Renovations in the rear-view mirror, it was time to get started. We had many plans and remodeling projects that we were intent that would eventually yield to us our dream home. I made that 30-plus minute commute from our rental…
We have to pick the best contractor estimate. Selecting the contractor with the best quotation is never an easy task. But for us, it was a very simple process of selection by default. I was always dubious regarding Builder #1’s enthusiasm to quote for a second time despite his agreement to do so. So, I…
Yes, we have mosquitoes in Costa Rica, lots of them! And also plenty of rodents, like cockroaches, ants and even fleas! Brooke Bishop, our Grecia expert real estate agent, went the extra mile as usual. She took care of the pest control or fumigation as we call it in Costa Rica, for an absentee buyer.…
Before closing, we had invited 3 contractors for the new home renovation. Two things happened at about the same time. Actually, it’s more accurate to say, our escrow closing HAPPENED. But having an acceptable contractor ready for the repairs and home improvements HADN’T HAPPENED…yet Brooke Bishop, one of the GoDutch “Realtors Extraordinaire” had made contact…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes I get questions by email about the annual Costa Rica corporation tax that was approved in January 2012. In a past article, I explained what this annual Costa Rica corporation tax is all about and why it was created. This is important information for most of my readers since many of…