Prados del Sol
After searching for about 3 years, I came across what I think is a great opportunity
for property in Costa Rica, my wife and I bought in, and the prices are still the
same as when we bought in (under $180,000 per villa) it is in the Prados
del Sol project. (Note: Ticos are what the people of Costa Rica call themselves.
Tico Time refers to the laid back comfortable lifestyle in Costa Rica.)
In this review, I'll discuss why Costa Rica, why this specific area of Costa Rica
I was involved in the purchase of several units in a specific development - Prados del Sol. I am not the promoter for this project nor am I the developer (a well respected builder/developer in Costa Rica is).
I still think this is the best opportunity I have seen and with the Canadian dollar
over $.90 (about 0.95 as I write this), the Prados del Sol opportunities
are even better now. If you are buying for yourself - now is the best prices I think
you are ever going to see. If you are buying for revenue and/or capital appreciation
- you may have to wait a little while for the revenue stream to be great, but between
the anticipated revenue streams and the capital appreciation that is going to occur
as the reccession winds down (sooner or later!) you want to buy while they still
have a few units left. Once they are gone, the next best deals I have seen - even
now in the recession - aren't nearly as good of a deal!
Why would I purchase any property and this property in particular in Costa Rica?
The list of answers why I decided on these vacation villas at this location is long. To begin with, it is one 1 km
inland from the Pacific. This means that instead of paying $300,000 for a unfurnished 2 bedroom condo 5km from the beach,
or $4-500,000 US for a similar 1 bedroom villa on the beach, you only pay less than $180,000 USD for
the three bedroom unit! I, and a couple others on my behalf, looked at a lot
of other projects. I looked through various sources for such properties.
Only one bears mention:the huge marketing company International Living that many
people are fooled into thinking is an independent magazine advisory. While they
sometimes have good deals, if you read the fine print, they are not independent,
they are paid a commission when you follow their advice! Basically they are are
a marketing brochure that people pay to receive. I have no problem with
this as long as you/I are aware, but I've talked to many people who didn't read
or didn't understand the fine print and thought that that magazine was, indeed,
an independent magazine and were shocked to find out they were paying for a large
advertising brochure. So, I'm not saying stop subscribing, just be aware of what
it is you are receiving and you'll do fine.
So why the province Guanacaste?
The cost of Guanacaste is, in my opinion, the closest thing to ideal year round
weather I am going to find - and I've travelled extensively around the world through
my life (Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, China, Europe, Mexico, Panama
and the States.) It is warm enough to be HOT part of the day, but nice enough to
be refreshing the rest of te day. In the rainy season, a typical day is nice warm
sunny weather for 6-8 hours, 2-3 hours of rain (take a siesta) and a nice warm evening.
The water on the beaches is warm, comfortable both rainy season and high season.
The humidity level is lower than the Carribean side of the country.
And why near the town of Samara?
Samara is a nice town. Great for vacationing. It is big enough to have restuarants,
car rental, police detachment, real estate offices, grocery stores and lots of local
art to buy as souveniers. Yet it is far enough from the "bar" scene of Tamarindo
that you can choose when/if to participate in that atmosphere. In fact, when I've
talked to people who have both been to Costa Rica and Hawaii, every one
said that Costa Rica was better for vacationing and living with the exception of
one person, and he explained "In Hawaii I can get drunk within 5 minutes of leaving
the plane and I can stay drunk until I get back on the plane." Whereas, as he explained,
in Costa Rica, he had to go 45 minutes to Tamarindo before he could get plastered,
and then on the 45 minute cab ride back to the airport he started to sober up. So,
if that appeals to you, then clearly Prados del Sol isn't going to be your favorite
location, but for most adults and most families, Samara in Guanacaste is one of
the best locations to retire or vacation.
As far as costs go at Prados del Sol, the one bedroom Prados dol Sol villas are a stunning investment opportunity as
they begin at around
$150,000 USD. I know they
are considering raising the price as they get closer
to completing, but even at $200,000 these Prados del Sol properties near
Samara are, in my opinion, a good option.
's prices are less than ½ the cost of buying what I have seen as similar
property (location, size style) in Mexico, or even less than
directly on the beach in Costa Rica and indeed, every one of the inland Costa Rica properties
such as this I have seen are selling for more than that.
Recently (Feb. 2008), I received an advertising flyer telling me I could get a similar
property for only $99,000 for the land "only a few km from the beach",
and the building costs would "only" be another
$129,000 for the 1 bedroom villas! So Nearly $230,000 for a similar (but unfurnished, so I would also have to add that cost to the $230K) property in
Costa Rica, quite a bit further from the beach.
As a nice compact retirement home the one I am participating in would be a fantastic deal, personally, my involvement
is one of the companies I control is buying there as an investment opportunity, either
to keep and rent, or flip after the US comes out of its recession
or slowdown and the road by is paved. I see this as an excellent opportunity, we are buying while the competition
for buying is low. For Canadians,
if the Canadian Dollar drops to, say 85 cents, there is an instant win, since Tico
(Costa Rica) properties are typically listed in USD, and indeed.
And, worthy of note, there are many expensive beach properties
available in both Mexico and Costa Rica, but you will need to search long and hard for one
that is less than one km from shore and situated within 5 to twenty minutes of
surfing, seven stunning beaches, fine dining, snorkelling, sport fishing,
horseback riding, nature preserves, night life, and gambling.
For more information on Prados del Sol contact me and I'll put you in touch with
the developer. (Again to reiterate, I am NOT the promoter, I am a customer.)
When I write reviews, I typically have experience or research into a wide range
of similar products first. In this case, my research ranged from hotel rooms (that
you could 'buy') timeshares all the way up to these villas in size, it also ranged
from close to the beach all the way to the middle of the country (and yes, if volcanos
are the only thing that interest you, or you are planning on working in Liberia
or San Jose, those locations may be better for you), it ranged from Mexico to Peru,
with special emphasis on Panama and Nicaragua, and it ranged from prices in the
mide 100K's up to properties of over 1M in value.
If you want, browse around my site to see other reviews, that I think I did good
research on before I wrote them, including Spanish learning products, computer software,
solar technology, housing and other products. But for here, I think you will find
that, for Costa Rica Vacations/Holidays and for buying property for your family
(lots of kids OK), for retirement, for revenue properties with huge capital appreciation
opportunities, for more than 95% of buyers, Prados del Sol is one of the very best
opportunities you are ever going to find. I do recognize that there are lots of
reasons for specific buyers to buy elsewhere "my mother lives in ...", "I want to
work in the city of ..." "I want that one 20 room mansion overlooking a protected
wildlife reserve and money is not objective", "I want to own 100's of acres and
$400M is within my budget".
But for most people, the Pardos del Sol properties in Guanacaste near Samara are
by far the best value for rental property, Costa Rica vacations and holidays and
a great way to meet the Tico people.
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