Skip to main content

Tag: Costa Rica real estate

Message from Management

Recently I spent ten days in Costa Rica working on various projects. It had been six months since I was there last. I thought you would be interested in what I saw.

Southern Costa Rica continues to make favorable changes while retaining its unique

features of beautiful flora and fauna and a friendly relaxed lifestyle. For example, ten years ago there were only muddy agricultural roads in the area. Now there is a beautiful two lane highway with reflectors making driving safe and easy all day and night.

Rather than having virtually no telephone service and no cell phone service (as was the case until December 15, 2009), internet service is becoming commonplace and it is only a short time before the community of San Buenaventura has internet service.

Instead of an outdated medical facility, the Southern zone of Costa Rica now has one of the newest medical facilities in all of Costa Rica. For photos click here.

Cortez Costa Rica
New hospital 5 minutes from The Village of San Buenas

Rather than providing sporadic electrical power, a new hydroelectric power plant is being built.

And finally, although no specifics have been announces, rumors continue to float that a new international airport will be built in the southern zone/Osa Peninsula sometime in the relative near future.

The Village of San Buenas

Our Costa Rica real estate development continues to be more impressive on each visit. Our family has built a home about in the middle of the development. The news are spectacular! We see the ocean and mountains, see parakeets, toucans, scarlet macaws and hear the flowing river running through the project along with  the howler monkeys that live in the nearby natural preserve (located on the project).

Village San Buenas Logo
Affordable Costa Rica Living

We are making excelling progress in getting more infrastructure in place. Specifically, we have constructed a bridge over the river that flows through the property. Within the next twelve months we will have a well drilled that will take care of many of our lot owners when they choose to build their home.

We are working closely with the government agencies to have electricity available to everyone in the near future. We hope to have internet service available to select areas of the project by June 2011. Telephone service is expected to be available to select regions of the project by December 2010.

All these things mean that the infrastructure should be in place in a large portion of the development before any lot owner decides to build a house.

Obviously the depressed world economy has had a negative impact on the value of many peoples’ houses and holdings in the stock market. It is very pleasing to note that no such decline has occurred on the value of our lots. Indeed, virtually everyone who purchased a lot has seen its value increase. As we continue to upgrade the project we plan to increase prices.

I encourage you to visit our website, www.VillageCostaRica.com, then contact me directly with any questions you may have. We would love to visit with you about beautiful Costa Rica and The Village of San Buenas.

As a final note, buy your airpland ticket and go see our project – I invite you to stay at our house to view the project. You will love what you see and hear!

Our beautiful house
Our beautiful house

Duane Halverson
Chairman of the Board

Nature Air named an overall winner in Condé Nast Traveler World Savers Awards

We always recommend that clients fly from San Jose to Palmar Sur regional airport when visiting The Village of San Buenas for the first time. Nature Air recently received an international award from Conde Nast Traveler magazine. Nature Air has daily flights to and from San Jose (Pavas) and Palmar Sur.

The Costa Rica-based airline was acknowledged for comprehensive efforts to compensate for its carbon emissions and social initiatives to promote education and the general welfare in the regions they operate. Nature Air received award from Conde Naste Travler

“Our efforts are aimed at raising the standard of living in the destinations we fly to, while offering an exceptional experience to our passengers” said Alex Khajavi, Founder and CEO of Nature Air. “Awards like World Savers help confirm that we are on the right track, and strengthen a growing community of socially responsible industry pioneers that are on the same path.”
Nature Air offsets 100 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions by subsidizing reforestation and conservation of tropical forests in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. Nature Air purchases carbon credits from the government’s National Forestry Financing Fund (FONAFIFO), run by the Ministry of the Environment (MINAET). In addition, Nature Air fuels all ground equipment and vehicles with bio-diesel (a mix of recycled vegetable and cooking oils), collected from airline employees and local restaurants. It’s estimated this biodegradable fuel will reduce roughly 560 tons of CO2 emissions per year.nature air logo
Nature Air also funds a social and educational initiative called the Nature Kids Foundation. Nature Kids aims to provide English education to the communities Nature Air serves. The program has developed two schools, one in Santa Ana and the other in Drake Bay, with the goal of expanding to the rest of the airline’s main destinations. Nature Kids’ students range from elementary age to adults. They learn practical English skills for educational advancement and application in the tourism industry, which dominates regional economies where the schools are located.While some members of the tourism industry have battled tough economic times, Nature Air has continued to grow through eco-friendly cost-cutting strategies. Nature Air continues to invest in its sustainable tourism programs and has increased profits by 22% since 2003.

Alex Khajavi has been invited to speak on a guest panel at the 2010 CNT World Savers Congress on Oct. 20 in Singapore along with representatives from fellow winners: Abercrombie & Kent, Royal Caribbean, Grand Hyatt, and the small Costa Rican hotel chain Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality. He, along with other honorees of the World Savers, will introduce to the heads of the tourism industry – collectively the world’s largest industry at $7 trillion in revenue this year – a range of resources to help them implement more effective and sustainable programs.

Nature Air is the world’s first certified carbon neutral airline and the fastest growing regional airline in Central America. Since its inception in 2000, NatureAir has grown from flying 18,000 passengers annually to more than 140,000 in 2008. Nature Air offers charted flights and 74 daily scheduled flights to 17 destinations in Costa Rica and Panama.

About the Condé Nast Traveler World Savers Awards

The Condé Nast Traveler World Savers Awards are awarded annually to travel companies from around the world for their leadership in social responsibility in the areas of cultural and environmental preservation, education, wildlife conservation, poverty alleviation and health initiatives . An independent panel of 22 judges, leaders from the travel industry and non-governmental organizations, rated airlines, small hotel chains, large hotel chains, city hotels, small lodges and resorts, large lodges and resorts, tour operators and cruiselines against their peers.

Costa Rica Housing Expo – 2010

By Adam Williams
Tico Times Staff | [email protected]
http://www.ticotimes.net/daily_paid/dailynewsarchive/2010_08/080410.htm#story1
The eighth edition of ExpoCasa, the Costa Rican national housing exposition, kicks off Wednesday afternoon at the Centro de Eventos Pedregal in San Antonio de Belén, in Heredia, northwest of San José. The expo, which runs through Sunday evening, will feature over 250 stands with information on renting or buying a home or property, financing a home, and real estates agencies, as well as items for home construction and décor.

Fifty of the stands will be dedicated to housing and property offerings in different regions of the country, including the Central Valley, mountain areas and beaches. Jason Alvarado, the spokesperson for the expo, said the sales prices of the homes offered range from $49,000 to $560,000 and that 12 national banks will be on hand to provide interested home owners and buyers with financing options.

“The reason ExpoCasa has always been so helpful for visitors is that it allows them to take care of many of the steps involved in buying a house or property all at the same place,” Alvarado said. “It makes the entire process of home ownership much easier.”

As many as 14,000 people are expected to visit ExpoCasa during the five-day event.

ExpoCasa Schedule
Wednesday – 1 to 10 p.m.; Inauguration at 5 p.m.
Thursday – 1 to 10 p.m.
Friday – 1 to 10 p.m.
Saturday – 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday – 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Entry fee:
Wednesday through Friday: Free
Saturday and Sunday: ₡ 1,000; free for senior citizens and children under the age of 12.

House_Lot 9
House in The Village of San Buenas

Costa Rica Seeking More Investment from China

http://www.ticotimes.net/daily_paid/dailynewsarchive/2010_08/080210.htm#story4
By Chrissie Long
Tico Times Staff | [email protected]
Even as the Chinese are putting the finishing touches on world class soccer stadium in San José’s La Sabana metropolitan park – a gift to the Central American country – Costa Rica is seeking more investment by the Chinese in infrastructure and in clean energy.

On Sunday, during a visit by China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Costa Rica made a pitch to its Asian ally to invest in a $221 million highway that would connect the country’s northern plains with the Caribbean port of Limón, among other infrastructure projects.

The plea comes at a time when Costa Rica’s highways are crumbling under heavy rains and the weight of years of postponed improvements. Just three days before Jiechi arrived, part of the country’s main highway north, which connects the country with the rest of Central America, was closed when part of a bridge over the Rio Seco collapsed (see story, below).

But Costa Rica’s foreign minister, René Castro, said the relationship should be a two-way street.

“They also have some ideas for advancement relating to biotechnology, cultural exchanges and sciences that are being developed,” he said, adding that he is looking for “a mature, win-win relationship” between China and Costa Rica in years to come.

Following a working session at the Foreign Ministry’s headquarters at the Casa Amarilla, in downtown San José, the two diplomats signed a cooperation agreement, which is expected to bring $6.2 billion in infrastructure improvements to Costa Rica.

Jiechi spent time with President Laura Chinchilla, Vice Presidents Alfio Piva and Luis Liberman, as well as the heads of the Security Ministry, the Foreign Trade Ministry and the Transportation Ministry.

Formal relations between Costa Rica and China began in 2007 during the Oscar Arias administration. In addition to the soccer stadium, China is also investing in the state-owned refinery in Moín and has purchased $300 million in bonds, among other projects.

Costa Rica Tourism Up Through First 6 Months 2010

Source: http://www.insidecostarica.com

Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) – Costa Rica’s Tourism Board – has an optimistic outlook for this year, expecting to reach two million visitors for 2010. The optimism is based on the 3.96% increase in tourism the first half of this year as compared to the same period in 2009.

According to date by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (Costa Rica’s immigration service) the number of tourist arrivals from January to June 2010 was 1.124.044. In contrast, during the first half of 2009, 1.025.460 tourist arrivals were recorded.

Given these figures, the executive director of the Cámara Costarricense de Hoteles (CCH), Pablo Solano, despite the increase in tourist arrivals, the average occupancy rate reported by his membership has risen slightly over last year, averaging 60%.

Solano addedthat the hotel operators are positive that increase will continue due to the ongoing efforts by the Chinchilla government to attract more visitors to Costa Rica.

Tourist arrivals from the United States is still the most important market for Costa Rica, showing a 10% increase for this year, for a total of 468.172 visitors, 43.218 more than the first six months in 2009.

Message from Management: Feb 2010

February 23, 2010

Dear Investor/Owner/Prospective Client:

As we begin the new year I wanted to make certain you were fully appraised of the status of the project and the latest news in Costa Rica. With this in mind we present you the following overview:

Nick Halverson
CEO of Nick Halverson

Costa Rica
Like virtually all countries Costa Rica has experienced a challenging national economy. Tourism was up just slightly last year which is not good for the country, but great compared to other regions of the world. Unemployment is increasingly a problem as many construction projects have stopped. I would term the economy as “sluggish.”

On the other hand there are good signs for the future. The country has made a definite commitment to upgrade its road system. For example, within 90 days there will be an excellent modern highway system in place from the northern border of Costa Rica to the southern boundary.

In January a new highway connecting San Jose to the Pacific coast was opened. This project took over 40 years to complete since it was first proposed. The drive from San Jose’s airport/Alajuela to Jaco is now just over an hour. It used to be approximately 2.5 hours. This means that the time to travel from San Jose to our development will now be 3.5 hours rather than the previous 5 hours.

The modern highway is one mile from our project. The fact that there is now easy access to the south is very favorable.

Costa Rican President Elect Laura Chinchilla
La Presidenta de Costa Rica

In early February there was a national election. The new President is a woman who is prodevelopment while still insisting that the environment is protected. Her name is Laura Chinchilla and she will be in office for the next four years. Previously she served as Vice President under current President Oscar Arias. We look upon the election as a good sign. Click here for more information and some of my observations about the election.

The newest hospital in Costa Rica is operating well. Please remember that it is but about five miles from our development.

Finally the town of Palmar Norte, which is 15 minutes from Paradise Developers, has added several new stores and the municipality has paved more roads, while retaining the Costa Rican culture.

The Village of San Buenas
Because of the slow economy worldwide many development projects are moving at a slower pace than in the past. We continue to move forward at a steady pace after working through the sluggish 2009. Specifically:

1.  We now have sold 39 lots . This is excellent progress and we have approximately 80 more lots to sell.

2. We have water and electricity to a small portion of the project. We will add these as buyers decide to build their houses.

San Buenas House
House for rent: Village of San Buenas

3. The first house has been completed and built  on Lot # 9.  It is now being rented out at the rate of $1,500 per week. Within the next 30 days a website for the house will be developed and linked to the main website of www.villagecostarica.com The house will also be available for  serious prospects that can stay at the house for free if they purchase during their visit.

4. It appears that a buyer will be starting to build a house in the next 120 days. I have met with the architect on his behalf several times and we hope he can get all of his paperwork approved soon.

5. We continue to generate interest every week through our marketing efforts and our price points make it one of the most affordable Costa Rica real estate options available. The purchase process for most clients is twelve months (from first expressing interest to purchasing), however, those who move more quickly continue to receive great bang-for-buck (cash discounts) and first pick of the lots. I always encourage prospective clients to visit the property as soon as possible. This way, they get first hand experience of the views, the area and the other options available in the project. They also can meet with architects, myself, our property manager, our workers so they quickly feel a sense of community and what The Village of San Buenas is all about.

Every year we also have several “site unseen” buyers which is also an option. I don’t encourage it but everyone of our clients who has purchased and then visited has been thrilled with their purchase. I am continuing to add more photos and videos to provide clients from around the world the ability to see and hear what the project is about. The videos and photos don’t do justice as to how beautiful it really is. Even with several thousand photos and hours of video I can’t effectively show the friendliness of the people and the local community.

Here’s a link to some photos: http://villagecostarica.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/2010_janfeb_costarica.pdf

Here’s a link to some videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/SolPropertyGroupNick

6. We continue our Pay As We Go as a key strategy. Hence we have no long term debt.

7. Our biggest challenges for the balance of the year is to gradually build the infrastructure and to continue our sales momentum.

We continue to be optimistic about the future and are continuing to improve the project to exceed expectations.

Please check out the website at www.villagecostarica.com and review some photos from the last 60 days here 2010_JanFeb_CostaRica

You will notice we have a wide price range of lots available from the low $20,000’s to $294,000 based on location and views. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Nick Halverson
President
[email protected]

612.819.8154

Costa Rica Message from Management Oct 2009

nick2 The last couple of months have been very busy in Costa Rica, Sol Property Group and The Village of San Buenas. I’ll highlight a few events that were very memorable.

August
Back in August I spent a day with Rodrigo Arias (Costa Rican Secretary of State), Jorge Eduardo Sanchez (Deputado or “Senator”), Rosibel Madrigal (Mayor of San Isidro) and Hanz Cruz (Deputy Mayor of San Isidro). I spent the day taking photos, attending a private lunch with 50 business owners and executives from some of the country’s largest banks and largest companies. The event was to announce government loans for farmers of mora, coffee and sugar cane in the area.

Rodrigo Arias, Dept. Jorge Eduardo Sanchez, Nick Halverson
Rodrigo Arias, Dept. Jorge Eduardo Sanchez, Nick Halverson
Ribbon cutting event at new bridge outside San Isidro
Ribbon cutting event at new bridge outside San Isidro

Later a group of us jumped into a handful of cars, including the security detail, and drove to several new bridges for “ribbon-cutting” events. At each bridge Secretary of State Arias and Rosibel each made a small speech. Click here to see photos of this event. It was a great day and culminated in a BBQ at Tres Jotas new meat processing plant in San Isidro. It was the best ‘carne’ (meat) I’ve had in Costa Rica. 

September
We had a honeymooning couple from the United States spend a week in/around The Village of San Buenas. They had never left the United States before so I was

 hoping they would enjoy Costa Rica as much as I did. I needn’t worry. They had a blast! They enjoyed whale watching (they saw three), eating at various

A beautiful day in September 2009, San Isidro del General, Costa Rica
A beautiful September day in San Isidro del General, Costa Rica

restaurants and watching (and hearing the howler monkeys!) all of the beauty the zone has to offer. They are already planning their next visit in 2011.

I drove on the highway from Dominical to Quepos—wow! What a difference! They are close to finishing the entire stretch with approximately 2 miles to finish paving and the installation of two bridges. I believe they will easily hit their December 31, 2009 target date. What used to take up to two hours is now an enjoyable, easy 45 minute drive. When completed it will be around 35 minutes.

October
I still believe that Costa Rica’s rainy season (September – October) is one of the most overrated ‘non-event’ in Costa Rica. Generally speaking the mornings are very beautiful with 5:30 am sunrises and the afternoon showers start around 2:30 pm. It is the coolest time of year to visit and the number of tourists is very low as well. Don’t overlook visiting next October. I think you will be pleastantly surprised.

Village of San Buenas
Demand for the Village of San Buenas continues to increase. The last 90 days have been very busy with numerous lot sales and with water and electricity now available in certain areas of the project we have seen an increase in demand. We are planning on raising prices December 1, 2009. If you have every thought about visiting The Village of San Buenas, in the South Pacific region of Costa Rica, or if you have every thought of owning Costa Rica real estate now is a great time to act.

  • We have updated our masterplan to give a better representation of the beautiful development. Check it out here.
  • We have added a link to over 300 photos in Flickr. Check out the photos here – don’t forget to click on the Flickr logo to see them all.
  • 3749387103_25a3c5cc7dWe have installed the first set of electrical poles and 1,000 meters of electricity lines on “main street”. Now in the evening you can see the development lit up by the street lights. Given all of the new laws and regulations regarding developments, this is a great feeling to get accomplished. Click here for more photos
  • We have planted over 300 new plants, flowers and shrubs.
  • We have a professional agronomist making weekly visits to oversee the planting and re-seeding of the development.

Costa Rica
Costa Rica continues to make tremendous progress in terms of infrastructure improvements.

  • There is continued dialog regarding the new international airport in the Southern zone. I believe it is still five years away from becoming a reality, but I will send an update immediately if anything changes.
  • The government will begin construction on a large hydro-electric project starting in the next twelve months that will generate 608 Megawatts of electricity – enough to power over 480,000 homes. In a country of 4.3 million people (not homes) this is a huge project and is projected to become operational in 2016. This project is located approximately 10 miles from your project.
  • The road from Dominical to Quepos is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009. I drove on it on September 20th and it was amazing. What used to take between 90 – 120 minutes only took 45 minutes. When the final four miles are completed and the last two bridges are replaced it should take approximately 35 minutes. This will completely open up the Southern zone of Costa Rica. I feel that it will increase demand of this region of the country. Up to this point most visitors rarely made it south of Quepos.
  • The highway between San Jose and Jaco is scheduled for completion in fall 2010.
  • The airport in Liberia (Guanacaste) is getting a $35 million facelift.
  • San Jose International Airport (SJO) is now being managed by an investment group out of Houston. It is currently under an expansion plan.

Sol Property Group
We have added Twitter and YouTube channels and updates. Please be sure to follow us there for the most current updates, photos and videos. We also continue to blog several times a week on the official Sol Property Group Blog.Follow us on Twitter

If you ever thought about visiting Costa Rica or buying real estate in Costa Rica now is a great time. We have lots starting at $19,900, condos starting at $75,000 and houses starting at $89,900. Now is the time to act. Also, The Village of San Buenas is going to be raising prices December 1 – lock in your savings today!

Sincerely,
Nick Halverson