Note: This article that I wrote was published by the Tico Times in their real estate supplement of October 7th 2005Today almost everyone looks for property and homes on the Internet, since you can see pictures, features and prices of properties from the comfort of your own home. Realtors and developers know this, so that means that a lot of information is available. As a result, it can be hard to find exactly what you are looking for among all the ads, pop up windows and millions of search results. The other pitfall is gauging the reliability of information you find on the web.
How to Get Good Results It is important to note that Google, MSN and Yahoo! all give different results for any search, it is a very good idea to perform searches on all three engines. An easy way do this is to search on a meta search engine like Search.com Dogpile.com or Mamma.com. They search several sources at once and all have handy related searches options. These are alternate suggestions, which give you more focused terms related to your first query.
Thinking about what you are searching for before you start searching is a great way to save time. By far the most popular search phrase is Costa Rica real estate, but actually that is not a very good query. The reason is that it is too general, it includes homes, land and buildings and it is unlikely you will be buying all of that at once! Include the area or neighborhood you want, the kind of property you are looking for, and even specific features. You can see that you go more directly to more relevant pages and sites if you type in Tamarindo Costa Rica ocean view beach condo for sale rather than just beach condo.
Another way to narrow down your search query is by using advanced features that the search engines offer. Search engines offer advanced search menus where you can specify an exact match, eliminate words you don't want in the pages and even where the term appears on the page. So if you are looking for a vacation home to buy, you can eliminate vacation travel sites and vacation homes for rent and vacation homes in other countries using these features.
How to Avoid Scam Artists Once you start finding sites an important issue arises. How can you tell if the person has a really slick web site but they aren't a reputable realtor or developer? There are several rules you should follow to ensure that you don't get conned. Firstly, DON'T SEND ANY MONEY!!!!! Money for real estate transactions is placed in escrow, or you pay when you are actually sitting in the lawyer's office (hopefully your own lawyer) and the seller signs the papers. Secondly, don't buy a property you haven't seen in person. There is no way you can tell what a property is like before you see it. Thirdly, get references. Before you decide to deal with a realtor or developer, ask them for references from clients, other professionals and business associates.
While you are surfing, there are some telltale signs on the website that you can watch for. Reputable people tend to put their photos on the web site. Some reputable people may be camera shy, but it is pretty standard for a realtor to have a photo and brief biography somewhere on the site. Contact information is vital. The physical office address or mailing address, multiple phone numbers, and particularly names are important.
Many sites make a point of showing their affiliations to groups like the Costa Rican Chamber of Realtors, international organizations or franchises, and to local business organizations. These are all good signs, when the affiliation is meaningful and is to a group that actually exists. Another good sign is if the site links to other realtor web sites in Costa Rica. If they will tell you about other realtors in other areas of the country, then that means they have strong relations in the industry.
No Gooooogle ads! I take it as a warning sign when a site has “sponsor” ads from Google or Overture on it. A realtor or developer is making money from the sale of property or for providing valuable services to buyers and sellers. Not by gaining revenue from traffic clicking on ads that appear on the site. While it is not a sure sign of misbehavior, it would tell me to watch closely for other signs.
No hyperbole! There is a big difference between good ad copy and outrageous claims. If you see claims like these, watch out! (taken from the site of a known rip off)
“In the last five years property values have increased 30-fold and are expected to continue to increase dramatically as U.S. industry, tourism and retirement surges.” (So if I bought a condo in Escazú in 2000 for $100,000 it is now worth $ 3 million!!)
“At this very moment the Costa Rican government is building a super highway from the international airport in San José to the Central Pacific Coast... The government is also building an additional airport in the city of Orotina, ...” (Somebody better tell Alterra the government is building a whole new airport behind their back!)
“Ten years ago investors paid $1000 to $5000 an acre for property that now sells for $180,000 per acre.” (this is highly unlikely, unless they added major improvements – like an entire hotel and marina)
There are two old sayings to keep in mind when judging claims made on any web site: “you get what you pay for” and “If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is to good to be true” Investing in real estate and construction in Costa Rica can be highly profitable and rewarding, but there is no magic formula. You can't reasonably expect to come across a web site on the Internet that will allow you to triple a $ 6000 investment in one year!
Visit
www.american-european.net to see over 1,000 listings with photos and prices, also available via RSS.
