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Suggest You - Costa Rica - Watch Out for the Real Estate Sharks
Once solely restricted to the wealthy, now almost any one can obtain a credit card including the most favored, first year college students. It's no wonder then that U.S. consumer credit card debt stood at over $735 billion in 2003 which further breaks down to approximately $12,000 per household for those who elected to carry balances from month to month. While the advertisements of the Visas and MasterCards of the world continue to tout the convenience and ease at which you can shop or handle an emergency with just a swipe of the plastic, they fail to mention how you as a consumer should use your card including guidelines as to how much credit limit is too much and how to keep from ruining your credit rating by constantly maxing out your credit card. The purpose of this article is to provide you with some insight in these two areas.When you apply for a credit card, one of the first things you consider is the credit limit. Why? Because that determines how much you can spend, and the rule of thumb i
7. Your earnest money deposit is not refundable. Some agents use contracts or “letters of intent” that state that deposits are nonrefundable and that the seller receives the deposit immediately! You can and should write a purchase contract where your deposit is held in escrow and is refundable if certain conditions are not met. I strongly advise that you think long a
Tough times mean more meetings. This happens because executives respond to problems by calling meetings to fix them. And when the meetings fail to produce results, they call more meetings. In some companies, people have even called meetings to figure out why their meetings didn’t work.Rather than watch your boss trudge off to an endless schedule of meetings, here are things you can do to help make the most of them.1) When someone calls to schedule a meeting for your boss, ask for the agenda. If there is no agenda, check if your boss wants to attend. Lack of an agenda is the number one cause of bad meetings. Ideally, your boss would insist on having an agenda because time is money. For example, I doubt that your boss signs blank checks.If the caller replies that your boss will receive an agenda at the meeting, state that your boss wants to see the agenda at least a day before the meeting. This gives your boss time to prepare and avoids being ambushed by surprises.2)
Costa Rica does not regulate the real estate business and this leaves you, the buyer, at a huge disadvantage. All real estate agents in Costa Rica are in business for only one reason - to make money. They only make money when they sell a property. All the agent wants is your money. The expression “shark” is a very fitting synonymous for “real estate agent.” However, in my opinion, it is it is a derogatory comment about sharks.
Agents can be great people, best friends and can even be from your home country but do not trust them as the final authority with your investment money. They do not have your best interest at heart.
Here is my personal list of real estate stories (lies?) that I have heard from several agents in Costa Rica.
1. All Ticos (Costa Rican's) are out to screw you! I have found that some are and others are not out to take advantage of you financially. After living here for a year, personally I am more leery of Gringos trying to sell me something than the Ticos. This is because I know what the Tico wants but do not know the Gringo’s true agenda. Anyone who uses such generalizations should be included in the group that they are criticizing.
2. “We don’t mark up property like other agencies...” They may not use the same % of markup (called “Net Listings” which are illegal in the US) but don’t believe them unless they will let you or your attorney talk directly to the seller to verify the asking price. There is one very well known agent in the northern central valley that has previously openly advertised that he doesn’t mark up properties when in reality he does mark up property whenever he thinks he can do so. I forgot the exact words he used but the gist was: Real estate in Costa Rica is unregulated so we can do anything we want.
3. We charge a commission to the buyer because Costa Rican’s don’t pay commission. What a line if I ever heard one! Costa Ricans are not dumb and they know that to sell the property, they probably have to pay someone to find a buyer. Is the agent double dipping? I don’t know but I am willing to bet that nine times out of ten the seller is paying someone to get the property sold and the agent is making money on both sides of the transaction.
4. You or your attorney cannot talk directly to the seller. The excuse often given is that they are afraid your attorney is unscrupulous and may steal the property or something like that. My supposition is that the agent is either marking the property up and/or charging the buyers a commission while the seller is also paying a commission.
5. “We have already done all of the due diligence for you.” When problem arises the water or electricity or the neighbors, your agent is not going to pay to fix it, rather he will say something like “Gee I’m awfully sorry, I didn’t know about that.” One agent is advertising that they have done ALL of the due diligence on their properties before they list them. If that is the case, I wonder why the property I purchased from that agent doesn’t have any water available when he stated to me that it had water on the property.
6. Your agent states that he is making a full and truthful disclosure to you. California has one of the toughest disclosure laws in the real estate industry while Costa Rica has none. One agency in the northern central valley is currently promoting a house they are building on speculation by saying Vulcan Poas is not dangerous. In March, 2006, Vulcan Poas roared back to life (it is and has been one of the two most active volcanoes in Costa Rica) and scientists are now concerned because the water temperature of the lake is some 30 degrees hotter than normal. Is this a full and accurate disclosure? Not in my opinion.
7. Your earnest money deposit is not refundable. Some agents use contracts or “letters of intent” that state that deposits are nonrefundable and that the seller receives the deposit immediately! You can and should write a purchase contract where your deposit is held in escrow and is refundable if certain conditions are not met. I strongly advise that you think long an
Although receiving most publicity as a possible step in the path of patent reform, the eBay v. MercExchange case may have altered the landscape in obtaining permanent injunctions generally, and thus may have unintended and unforeseen consequences in other areas of the law.From the unanimous opinion (Thomas, J.) in eBay v. MercExchange, 126 S. Ct. 1837, 1839; 164 L. Ed. 2d 641, 645-646, 78 USPQ2d 1577 (2006) :According to well-established principles of equity, a plaintiff seeking a permanent injunction must satisfy a four-factor test before a court may grant such relief. A plaintiff must demonstrate: (1) that it has suffered an irreparable [164 L.Ed. 2d 646] injury; (2) that remedies available at law, such as monetary damages, are inadequate to compensate for that injury; (3) that, considering the balance of hardships between the plaintiff and defendant, a remedy in equity is warranted; and (4) that the public interest would not be disserved by a permanent injunction. See, e.g., Weinberge
1. All Ticos (Costa Rican's) are out to screw you! I have found that some are and others are not out to take advantage of you financially. After living here for a year, personally I am more leery of Gringos trying to sell me something than the Ticos. This is because I know what the Tico wants but do not know the Gringo’s true agenda. Anyone who uses such generalizations should be included in the group that they are criticizing.
2. “We don’t mark up property like other agencies...” They may not use the same % of markup (called “Net Listings” which are illegal in the US) but don’t believe them unless they will let you or your attorney talk directly to the seller to verify the asking price. There is one very well known agent in the northern central valley that has previously openly advertised that he doesn’t mark up properties when in reality he does mark up property whenever he thinks he can do so. I forgot the exact words he used but the gist was: Real estate in Costa Rica is unregulated so we can do anything we want.
3. We charge a commission to the buyer because Costa Rican’s don’t pay commission. What a line if I ever heard one! Costa Ricans are not dumb and they know that to sell the property, they probably have to pay someone to find a buyer. Is the agent double dipping? I don’t know but I am willing to bet that nine times out of ten the seller is paying someone to get the property sold and the agent is making money on both sides of the transaction.
4. You or your attorney cannot talk directly to the seller. The excuse often given is that they are afraid your attorney is unscrupulous and may steal the property or something like that. My supposition is that the agent is either marking the property up and/or charging the buyers a commission while the seller is also paying a commission.
5. “We have already done all of the due diligence for you.” When problem arises the water or electricity or the neighbors, your agent is not going to pay to fix it, rather he will say something like “Gee I’m awfully sorry, I didn’t know about that.” One agent is advertising that they have done ALL of the due diligence on their properties before they list them. If that is the case, I wonder why the property I purchased from that agent doesn’t have any water available when he stated to me that it had water on the property.
6. Your agent states that he is making a full and truthful disclosure to you. California has one of the toughest disclosure laws in the real estate industry while Costa Rica has none. One agency in the northern central valley is currently promoting a house they are building on speculation by saying Vulcan Poas is not dangerous. In March, 2006, Vulcan Poas roared back to life (it is and has been one of the two most active volcanoes in Costa Rica) and scientists are now concerned because the water temperature of the lake is some 30 degrees hotter than normal. Is this a full and accurate disclosure? Not in my opinion.
7. Your earnest money deposit is not refundable. Some agents use contracts or “letters of intent” that state that deposits are nonrefundable and that the seller receives the deposit immediately! You can and should write a purchase contract where your deposit is held in escrow and is refundable if certain conditions are not met. I strongly advise that you think long a
In The Beginning...For Webmasters Things To Consider When Developing A Website (Part 3) How can your product or service best be explained to the customer in a simple and concise manner?Previously in this series on website development, we've talked about selecting one message or theme to be communicated to your customer as a means of defining your website, and considering the customer's perspective in terms of how the website is developed and presented. Now we'll discuss how your product or service can be explained to the customer simply and concisely.Let's ask this question. When you're surfing the 'net, how long do you want it to take at any particular website for you to figure out if the website has what you're searching for? Not long. When potential customers are surfing the Internet, you have a matter of seconds to get their attention and convince them that your website has something that's worth more than a cursory glance.Some webmasters attempt to a
3. We charge a commission to the buyer because Costa Rican’s don’t pay commission. What a line if I ever heard one! Costa Ricans are not dumb and they know that to sell the property, they probably have to pay someone to find a buyer. Is the agent double dipping? I don’t know but I am willing to bet that nine times out of ten the seller is paying someone to get the property sold and the agent is making money on both sides of the transaction.
4. You or your attorney cannot talk directly to the seller. The excuse often given is that they are afraid your attorney is unscrupulous and may steal the property or something like that. My supposition is that the agent is either marking the property up and/or charging the buyers a commission while the seller is also paying a commission.
5. “We have already done all of the due diligence for you.” When problem arises the water or electricity or the neighbors, your agent is not going to pay to fix it, rather he will say something like “Gee I’m awfully sorry, I didn’t know about that.” One agent is advertising that they have done ALL of the due diligence on their properties before they list them. If that is the case, I wonder why the property I purchased from that agent doesn’t have any water available when he stated to me that it had water on the property.
6. Your agent states that he is making a full and truthful disclosure to you. California has one of the toughest disclosure laws in the real estate industry while Costa Rica has none. One agency in the northern central valley is currently promoting a house they are building on speculation by saying Vulcan Poas is not dangerous. In March, 2006, Vulcan Poas roared back to life (it is and has been one of the two most active volcanoes in Costa Rica) and scientists are now concerned because the water temperature of the lake is some 30 degrees hotter than normal. Is this a full and accurate disclosure? Not in my opinion.
7. Your earnest money deposit is not refundable. Some agents use contracts or “letters of intent” that state that deposits are nonrefundable and that the seller receives the deposit immediately! You can and should write a purchase contract where your deposit is held in escrow and is refundable if certain conditions are not met. I strongly advise that you think long a
Health coverage is going to be difficult for California Realtors from now on. California based Blue Shield, which used to offer health coverage for about 8,000 realtors and their families, has now decided to terminate its coverage abruptly. All the customers were informed through mails that their coverage would be active only till May 31, 2007. Reacting to the situation, California Association of Realtors has taken up the responsibility of defending its members and has sued Blue Shield.Blue Shield has cancelled all agreements with its customers. Speaking on this, Colleen Badagliacco, President of California Association of Realtors, said that this was really a tough situation. The families are trying in vain to find a replacement for Blue Shield. She further added that Blue Shield had behaved in the most careless and irresponsible manner by not showing even a hint of sympathy about the health of more than 8000 families. The company is not ready to hold any discussions pertaining to this matter.D
5. “We have already done all of the due diligence for you.” When problem arises the water or electricity or the neighbors, your agent is not going to pay to fix it, rather he will say something like “Gee I’m awfully sorry, I didn’t know about that.” One agent is advertising that they have done ALL of the due diligence on their properties before they list them. If that is the case, I wonder why the property I purchased from that agent doesn’t have any water available when he stated to me that it had water on the property.
6. Your agent states that he is making a full and truthful disclosure to you. California has one of the toughest disclosure laws in the real estate industry while Costa Rica has none. One agency in the northern central valley is currently promoting a house they are building on speculation by saying Vulcan Poas is not dangerous. In March, 2006, Vulcan Poas roared back to life (it is and has been one of the two most active volcanoes in Costa Rica) and scientists are now concerned because the water temperature of the lake is some 30 degrees hotter than normal. Is this a full and accurate disclosure? Not in my opinion.
7. Your earnest money deposit is not refundable. Some agents use contracts or “letters of intent” that state that deposits are nonrefundable and that the seller receives the deposit immediately! You can and should write a purchase contract where your deposit is held in escrow and is refundable if certain conditions are not met. I strongly advise that you think long a
For every couple, divorce is one of the most traumatic events of a lifetime. Divorce is a result of differences in family; Differences within any family create emotional turmoil and personal stress. When disagreements turn into legal conflict they become confusing, and even frightening. In such circumstances every couple needs someone who can make the separation easy and less traumatic. Are you suffering from such a phase of separation and need someone to make the separation smooth going? The answer is, of course a Divorce Lawyer in California, the best support you can get!The complex property division, child custody, and spousal support of family law in California are coupled with the emotional distress that goes with separation. It makes the task of crafting property division settlements, child custody agreements, and spousal support agreements more difficult. To avoid these difficulties you need to make a wise decision of choosing the perfect divorce lawyer NYC. One thing you might be looking for
7. Your earnest money deposit is not refundable. Some agents use contracts or “letters of intent” that state that deposits are nonrefundable and that the seller receives the deposit immediately! You can and should write a purchase contract where your deposit is held in escrow and is refundable if certain conditions are not met. I strongly advise that you think long and hard about a deal if the agent says you have to make a nonrefundable deposit.
8. The seller can change his mind any time he wants and refuse to sell. Again, some agents do not know how to or do not want to write a correct contract. If you have a purchase option and have it recorded, it will be much more difficult for the seller to back out.
9. You don’t need to use your own attorney. Just read our personal experience with attorneys and you will see why it is imperative that your attorney represent you and only you.
10. You have to pay all of the closing costs. The custom in Costa Rica is to split the closing costs equally between the seller and the buyer. Of course you and the seller can agree on other terms but don’t start off by offering to pay for everything - that just makes the job easier for the agent.
11. You don’t need a new plano. Your plano is a legal survey of the property. Unless you get a new plano you will not know for certain that what you are looking at is really what you are buying. It is a fact that some fences are occasionally moved by the neighbors and a lot of older surveys are flawed.
12. Don’t worry about utilities... The previously mentioned agent and his associates use practically the same story for every lot they show to their clients - “Electricity should cost about $3,000. The road should be about $2,500 and water is right over there.” Just make sure you verify everything with the proper authorities and get real estimates from the people that will be doing the work. Don’t be surprised if you find out that the real costs for installing utilities are up to 10 times as much as the agent stated.
13. The water is safe to drink. Over 90% of the surface water in Costa Rica is polluted with gray water runoff, industrial pollution, farm run-off and human waste. Even the large "municipalidades" have problems with human waste and gas getting into their wells. If you don’t know where the water is coming from get it tested.
14. Gringos are more honest than Ticos. This is a common misconception or misplaced belief on the buyer’s part that makes them feel more comfortable parting with their money. It is really easy to fall into this “comfort trap” and believe that all Gringos are honest. The simple fact is that it is easier for a Gringo to sell property or an investment to another Gringo. Think about it - Why are all of the international time share resorts are staffed with Gringo sales people?
15. No, the lot isn’t too steep... If the property is steep you have two options: Build on piers which is more costly or: Cut out a building pad. Either way make sure you allow for adequate drainage. I have seen some lots carved out of a hillside where there is bare earth for forty to fifty feet almost straight up. Landslides are common in Costa Rica, even though it is practically all volcanic soil. Don’t think your lot is an exception unless you obtain an engineer’s opinion. My uneducated opinion is that a retaining wall just delays the inevitable. When in doubt ask an engineer, not your agent.
16. Ticos are not litigious like people from the US. This is an out right lie. There are so many suits pending in Costa Rica, some courts are backed up for up to 10 years.
17. “I am an expert on Costa Rica real estate.” Ask them how long they have been in the country selling real estate. If they have not lived here full time
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