Anyone have info on Costa Developers and their Costa Montana project?

[mbehner]

I have been in contact with them and I am considering investing in a lot in their planned gated community near Casara National Park north of Jaco.  Unfortunately, web searches have not come up with hits so I can gauge their ability to meet their promises based on prior performance.  The good thing is the contract states that if the infrastructure (roads, water, power) is not completed within 18 months, a full refund will be made.

I am looking for two assessments from people in the know.

1) How reputable is this firm?
2) What is the development potential of this area of Costa Rica?

Thanks for any help!

Max

[Russ]

A rose by any other name..... 

Actually, this is a new one for me.  But read all of the posts in this forum on Worldwide Land investments and Paragon. 

I am not saying that they are the same type of people, but all of the precautions apply.  This is true at any time in Costa Rica when there is no infrastructure within the development at the time you are purchasing. 

The contract may state you get your money back after 18 months, but if the company is bankrupt you won't have any recourse.

I would be happy to look into this further, did they give you a web site address?
What is the exact address of the development?
What is their pitch? (lower price? high return? ...)
What are their prices?

From what I have seen, development will go to the south first, Jaco, Playa Hermosa and Esterillos. The coast continues along to Quepos - Manuel Antonio, which is more attractive than to the north.  North of Jacó will not benefit from the new highway so much and to the north lies Puntarenas which is not currently a magnet for tourists or foreign residents.

[mbehner]

Russ,

Their website is  costadevelopers dot com.  Marketing is being done out of Ft Lauderdale FL.

Their pitch is quick appreciation and an upscale community to live in.

Prices start at 67,500 for 1.25 acres.

I have already decided to pass on this opportunity - too many misgivings.  Plan on coming down to Costa Rica and doing my own scouting around for a future retirement site.

Still would be interested in what you find out.  The most appealing part of their pitch is they are teamed with the architectural firm So+ Mussio Madrigal, which does have a track record of completed projects.

Max

[frettless]

I can confirm everything that you already know about lot sizes, location and price. I recived thier info packet in the mail. Very similar to Paragon only a different location and price. They are a bit more expensive. Same deal: Buy now, look at later.   

[Howard]

I have purchased two lots in Costa Montana. I visited the property with the developer and visited with their CEO, Attorney and met with their architect Marisio Madrigal. He was a great guy and very helpful and seemed to be very trustworthy. They seemed to be very professional and actually read every word of the contract to me. However, I do have the same concerns as others. If the project or developer goes bankrupt then the guarantee is worthless, but that is basically true with any investment (pre construction development). The first two phases are sold out and lots that I paid $80,000 for are now selling for $125,000. However, there is only one left. I personally walked on the lots with the developer (at least the sales people) and I was impressed with the views and the size of the lots. Having said all of that, I am still skeptical because I have never invested outside the US. At what point in time do you just have to roll the dice and hope for the best. If you want to invest outside the US I guess there will always be risk. In fact, I know people who lost money investing in the US in housing developments. I would appreciate it if anyone finds out any additional information about this development. I have been thinking about selling my lots now. The developer says he will sell them for me with no sales commission. I just might take him up on that offer. Well I hope this information has helped those of you who may be interested in this property. By the way, they do have dirt roads to the sites now and it appears a lot of activity is going on. They are getting their water and electricity from a nearby community. Another positive is that the property is about 5 to 10 miles from Los Suenos where the Marriott Marina resides and literally across the street is the NATIVA development where the remaining lots are selling for $290,000. If anyone has additional information please e-mail me at Pier12@aol.com

[DaveT]

All,
Just my two cents, but I have been trying to  research the Costa Rica real estate market recently and this project seems to fall in line with the plethora of other developments that are showing up almost daily (i.e. Worldwide Land Investments, Paragon, etc.).  I think these development companies will be a trend we will continue to see - its amazing the amount of buzz there is in this forum alone in such a short amount of time about them. To summarize, these developers are buying large tracts of land on underdeveloped, speculative areas that have no viable infrastructure in place.  They are selling the lots by utilizing very hard closing scripts out of boiler rooms in South Florida (Fort Lauderdale seems to be the preferred calling area) and are requiring large, lump sum deposits (20 to 25K) to secure the lots.  While I think some of these companies may be legitimate I have found them to be very loose with the facts.  As others have said in this forum you should really do your homework to try and understand what a farm or very raw land with mountain and oceanviews goes for that does not have an established infrastructure (like these developments).  To give you an idea, I have found a 100 acre farm in one of the cities that Paragon is currently pitching hard - the asking price is about $3850 USd an acre or $9500 USd a hectacre - Paragon is selling these same lots for  $60,000 (mountain view) to $85,000 (oceanview) per hectacre in the same city with the same amount infrastructure in place.     Please don't get me wrong - I am a huge advocate of Costa Rica land investment and I think there is certainly a ton of upside to the explosive growth the country is going through...I just think that one can do better on their own if they invest the time and due diligence.  There are just so many other potential deals that you can walk the property, talk to experienced realtors, look up to date comparables of property prices, and other activity in the area.  I am really skeptical of any product that you have to buy sight unseen even if they do offer a refundable deposit.  For those of you who are already engaged with a deal I would just encourage you to stay very pro-active and constantly be on the look out for red flags (i.e. is the company meeting deadlines/promises, are they providing up to date photos, do they have a cross-section of references you can check, are they accessible, etc.)   
I hope this is OK and proper protocol, but for those those looking into buying Costa Rica real estate to read a book by Scott Oliver (I'm not related to Scott or ever met him :-)- you can find the book on his website called www.welovecostarica.com or www.amazon.com - it is not the most in-depth book I've ever read, but it is a really good starting point and the only English speaking book I've found dedicated solely to Costa Rican real estate.   Best of luck to everyone!

[Russ]

Thank you Howard, you bring up a couple of points I would like to highlight.  Also to make it clear that the possibility exists of a reputable developer coming into an area, at the right time, selling plots or lots and everyone making money on the deal.  The key here is

I have purchased two lots in Costa Montana. I visited the property with the developer and visited with their CEO, Attorney and met with their architect Marisio Madrigal. ....

This is very important to visit the property - hopefully it was before you purchased.  If you can see the property and walk on the lot you are purchasing, then you are on the right track.

... If the project or developer goes bankrupt then the guarantee is worthless, but that is basically true with any investment (pre construction development). .... Having said all of that, I am still skeptical because I have never invested outside the US. At what point in time do you just have to roll the dice and hope for the best. If you want to invest outside the US I guess there will always be risk. In fact, I know people who lost money investing in the US in housing developments.

This is very important. If you believe in the developer, and/or their hype, and if you have money that you can afford to lose, then you might like to invest in one of these projects.  Any investment advisor will tell you to diversify and if you have a balanced portfolio then you can go for the home run.

  ... By the way, they do have dirt roads to the sites now and it appears a lot of activity is going on. They are getting their water and electricity from a nearby community. Another positive is that the property is about 5 to 10 miles from Los Suenos where the Marriott Marina resides and literally across the street is the NATIVA development where the remaining lots are selling for $290,000.

Anyone looking at property should be careful not to compare apples to oranges.  While the project is in the vicinity of Los Sueños, can't compare them. Los Sueños had properties in the development appreciat significantly due to 3 strong factors - magnets say - that spurred development:  They built the marina, they added a luxury hotel and they are located directly on one of the closest beaches to San José.

What similar magnet will Costa Montana have that will cause the market to pay premium prices in the future? 

Nativa also needs a magnet, however at this point they have a significant advantage of having all internal infrastructure completed.  You can't necessarily say that this price is where Costa Montaña will end up, or even if Nativa is currently selling very much at this price.

[Howard]

Thanks Russ for your comments. I unerstand everything you said in response to my comments, but I still maintain that the average person wishing to diversify their investment portfolio does not have the time nor money to spend in Costa Rica doing the due diligence that you may prefer. Most of us are working and have limited time to "walk land in Costa Rica". However, this may be a great argument for not buying land in Costa Rica. I am not convinced you can depend on realtors in Costa Rica anymore than you can depend or trust in the US. Once again, I would like for someone go give me an example where an investor made a tremendous return on their investment without some level or if not a high degree of risk. I am not a salesman for Costa Montana, but if you compare how they do business with someone like Paragon or most recently Wellington (Columbus Heights Development ) close to JACO, I will put my money on Costa Montana and Costa Developers. I recently spoke with the sales person who sold me my lots (Lee Samuel) and he sensed some degree of skepticism from me and offerred to put my lots back on the market at $125,000 and indicated they should sell rather quickly. Todate, I have chosen to hold out for awhile longer, but I just might take him up on it in the near future. There seems to be a lot of skepticism and concern by others with doing business with these developers in Costa Rica. I also agree with Russ to a point about Costa Montana's proximity to Los Suenos and what will Costa Montana's magnet be. Well I guess I would ask what was the orginial magnet for selling land in Los Suenos on a promise that a development and a marina would happen. I guess someone had to trust the developer at some point and those who did made a lot of money. I have no idea who built the Los Suenos Marriott and marina, but there is a big difference between paying close to a million dollars for a condo at Los Suenos and paying $85,000 for an ocean view lot ten minutes away.I don't know if appreciation of property will spread north by 10 minutes, but who does know what is going to happen along the Pacific Coast.

[don]

great site!!!
Im a 54 NY retired man, that would love to find a nice farm in CR paradise.
I saw all your opinions, and would like to ask Dave T, if you know about, more of this land you will buy in Costa Rica.
Thanks.

don

[Russ]

Howard,

You are right:

Once again, I would like for someone go give me an example where an investor made a tremendous return on their investment without some level or if not a high degree of risk.

From my position I want people to be responsible.  I would hate to see someone put, for example, all of their retirement or their kid's college fund on higher risk investment based on only the sales person's word.  So I caution people to see the land personally and also recommend them to buy something that they would want to use themselves, rather than just as something they will hold and turn over at a profit.  That way you cover yourself from many different perspectives. 

However, if you do as much research as you can and find a developer that you are comfortable with, then by all means go ahead.

I would also like to point every one to a new topic I just posted, just because someone did something a certain way in the past and made money doesn't mean that just anyone can repeat the feat.  Often circumstances and timing play a big part in these cases.
Can You Do It Too?

[Russ]

Hi Don, welcome to the forum.

I would invite you get detailed information on particular properties for sale on the main American-European site from the properties database:
Costa Rica Real Estate Database

[DaveT]

Don,
Sorry for the delayed response - just saw your posting. 
If you want more information on the farm I saw feel free to e-mail me at daveterry73@juno.com and will try to help you anyway I can.  Keep in mind, your best option for finding out what market conditions are like will be to contact realtors who are currently working active real estate deals and living in Costa Rica. 

[kens]

I have a real estate office in Jaco and have been asked about Costal from some of my clients. I have not had any dealings with them, but understand they have a pretty aggressive sales program - pushing for a check and promising refunds if the client wants to back out. I will contact them and learn more over the next few days and will report to the forum what I learn.
I would back up some of the postings - don't pay anyone anything until you have personally checked out the development or have had someone you know and trust investigate the project. There are a lot of scams here. Property is appreciating rapidly. People are (in some cases) asking insane amounts of money for property. Do your due diligence. Jaco is being developed and transformed or going through an evolution from a town that only has about 30 decent hotel / condominiums to stay in to a town that many predict will be a South Beach, Miami in a few years. Yes. Los Suenos is close and property in Los Suenos sells presently for over one million us dollars or a condominium. Los Suenos is a unique, gated community with its own Marina, Marriott 4 star hotel and extremely beautiful grounds. Los Suenos has helped bring credibility to the area. Don't, however, assume that because a property is near Los Suenos that it will share the same value - it most likely won't. Do know that the entire area around Jacob is appreciating rapidly, and Los Suenos, being a neighboring community certainly helps. Do know that there is a lot of mountain property available in the surrounding areas. Do know that most of the mountain property has yet to be developed. No one has a crystal ball, ball most believe the trend of appreciating land in Jacob will continue for many years to come. Assuming this is true (I believe it is) the right property / investments will do well (wrong ones may be difficult to develop, costly to bring roads, water, electricity or worse yet have title issues). If you are planning to drop ten or hundreds of thousands of dollars on an investment in CR, I think you owe it to yourself to spend five days or a week, here to see it for yourself. I will back up one of the other postings that many realtors here do not work hard and do not work within the best interests of the client. There are some good ones and there are some good developers.

[Russ]

very good points kens, we appreciate any information you can provide about developments and growth in the Jacó area.

[leshuey]

First of all, I'd like to commend you on a most informative site. I am interested in purchasing property at Costa Sol at Bejuco Beach approximately 15 minutes south of Jaco. The web site is www DOT condominiocostadelsol DOT com. The developer is an attorney by the name of Mauricio Chavez and wanted to know if anyone has had any experience with this development or know of the reputation of this company.
Thanks,  Les

[Ivo]

Thanx for the good words on our forum Les. I've checked their website as I never heard of them. I know the neighboring projects, Rancho Monterrey of Russ Whitney and Del Pacifico and Costa Reit of Barry Strudwick very well. But I've never seen this development. They say on their website that Costa del Sol is sold out and that they're now selling Costa Real. The website doesn't show any pictures or info on Costa del Sol, only renderings and pictures of the area (mainly other succesfull developments). To be honest, if I were you I'd check it out. First thing you want to know who the developers are and serious developers would post that info on their website, what they have done in the past and of course any info on a sold out project they did right next door.
Check it out thoroughly

[Juanusa]

Thanks IVO, your comments are very good.
I would appreciate , any comment either positive or negative about the picture ...I think I will try a little , tiny animation ..and see if it works .
I'm looking also , in that general area, Quepos...etc I think I found it ..but I will continue gradually investing in CR as I get confident , and knows more .
This img is sort of a rendering I did for practice ..Not intended any advertisement, I wanted to learn how to post pic from my computer

To call attention some words can be glowed
Congratulations to the developers of this site

• ----------------just a list for practice----------------
• Common sense help
• No substitute for good faith
• A lot of people are honest
• To succeed pacience is important but action also

[Ivo]

Thanx Juanusa
Yes, the picture showed good and glows indeed. I agree with your practice list. You have the right attitude to survive in Costa Rica

[Stan]

I bought a house on the next beach south of seco. I do not agree that this beach is worse. Paradigma a large CR firm is putting in a subdivision of Bamboo houses about 1.3 kilos from the Beach. They are putting in a Beach Club (all on their website) on the Beach for the people in the subdivision 170 houses. There is a lot already zoned and approved for( $175K) a bar restaurant, 12 cabanas and a pool supported by the tourism Dept and the seller has plans.
Here is a tip on the same road going to the beach closer that the bamboo houses  is a company Banderabeachestates.com. They are planning a 25 house development gated guarded. The houses are going to be better looking, lots are larger. They are working on lot surveys now and will be turning them in by the end of the month. They are going to build 2 or 3 spec homes to generate cash flow. I know the principles involved and you couldn't ask for better people and they have references. I have been telling people to email their
realtor for further questions. They have an application for funding with Banex Bank through Stewart title. Now is when they could offer the best deals, Their website is not up any day yet.
Their realtor a Tica and her husband is their lawyer also a Tico. Both have references.
The realtor is geannina@banderabeachestates.com

[BRIZ]

Have been reading some old posts about this company and the property but was wondering if anyone out there has actually bought land or didn't and received their ernest money back.

Can anyone share their experience with Costa Developers or can anyone provide their opinion on the 'Coste Esterallios' development?

[Russ]

Here are some links on the forum you might not have seen:
Escrow & Costa Developers
To grade the developer based on the information they give you, right click here, Developer Quiz PDF . Or left click to view it in your browser.  (453 kilobytes)

[Russ]

Update on WLI - Worldwide Land Investments

Internet real estate chief snagged in online scam case
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Law officers arrested the president of a Costa Rican real estate Internet marketing operation Friday on a U.S. fraud charge related to other online activities.

[Mano]

Just a word to the wise concerning Costa del Sol. The work on the project has currently stopped.  It was stopped by the Canton of Parrita due to the fact that there were no permits pulled.  Actually, ther was one permit pulled for one house on a project of over a hundred homes.  Mauricio's company was contacted several times to pull and PAY for the balance of the permits.  But did not.  I investigated this development thoroughly and discoverd this fact 6 months ago. 

At that time Compass Realty was selling for the development - it appears they have closed shop - or moved on to another development.  I know that the Sales Manager they had is currently working for ACQUAS Properties in down town Jaco.  The homes have gone through some changes - most for the good, since they were not up to American standards, or at least what gringos were expecting; originally.

Their next project Costa Real is currently on hold till this problem is remedied.  I have been told that is in process now with the municipality.

[Ivo]

Thanx for your update Mano, very much appreciated. We have not been able to find a reliable realtor in the Jaco area yet, so we're not too well informed about what's going on there. I was there three weeks ago with clients and I was shocked of all that's going on there now. It's scary. The local as well as the national goverments are not able to keep up with control, supervision and permitting and a lot of developers think they get away with things they shouldn't. Up north, the same thing is happening. For those who are looking to buy into developments, use a realtor in the area, they know all about what's going on with most projects. Don't buy into one that can't give you any security or a doubt.

[costacm74]

I was one of the first buyers to buy property in Costa Montana. Before I selected Costa Developers, I had traveled to Costa Rica every few months for two years to research the purchase of property on the Pacific Coast. As a result, I purchased three lots at Costa Montana and one lot in Costa Esterillios. I am in the process of building a house at Costa Montana. A revised spec house, Model Alta. I was in Costa Rica for 10 days, December 2007 to inspect the progress and to talk with Costa Developer's staff. I am completed satisfied with the ethics, professionalism and competence of the staff and their ability to deliver what they had promise. It has also been a rewarding investment experience. The infrastructure at Costa Montana is almost completed and my investment has appreciated 400%. I have verified this appreciation as actural by keeping in contact with my friends in Costa Rica that are in the local real estate business.

[Russ]

This developer is damaging the environment according to the government of Costa Rica.

This is the article published on the Costa Rica newsfeed:

Environmental Tribunal Closes 3 Condos

[presentmoment]

There was a big article in AMCostaRica   that several projects including Costa Montana have been shut down. Of all the developments in the area the only one built out and completed has been Columbus Heights by Wellington. Anyone buying land has got to be insane to send money without inspecting the property and spending a significant amount of time in Costa Rica. Yes I bought at Columbus Heights and payed $30k for 1 1/3 acres, I knew the area and met with the entire team...guess I was lucky?  Trevor Chilton the biggest loudmouth on these forums, although quiet of late saw his 'Gardens Of Dreams" wind up as just another dream down the drain as they barley completed one small building.  Gardens of the Pacific by Costa Rica LTD. was also completed but because permits were not filed and there is no proper sewage treatment they have not been issued titles.  Buyer Beware!

[Russ]

Wellington Asset Management and Columbus Heights?  This sounds like the pot calling the kettle black to me.  I know that this is the company advertising in the Tico Times and La Nacion for "closers" who speak "perfect English" and want to make big dollars.  Hmmmm. 

See the previous post from someone who contacted Paragon, Costa Montana and Wellington.  They went with Costa Montana and thought the other two were too aggressive and slick.  Well, good luck with your investment, I sincerely hope it works out for you.

In any case, it comes back to working with a reputable real estate broker, or doing your  own research into the developer and the project. 

Sanitation and over development is a big issue now.  People come to Costa Rica for the natural beauty, so if that is destroyed where will your investment go?? It is in the buyer's own best interest to make sure that the project you invest in will actually be built, but not only that, it should be taking into account the surrounding area. 

Is it a big project?  It should have it's own waste treatment plant.  Also, what is the developer doing to put something back into the community that will mitigate the effects of the project?  A big project will place a strain on the local infrastructure because it will attract local businesses and people looking for work.  Wouldn't it be great if the developers are putting money into the local school system?  Or also building cheap housing that local people can buy or rent?

Is it a small project?  What happens to the sewage and trash, even a small project will generate waste that needs to be disposed of properly.  Did the developer cut down forest to develop, is the project legal?   

In any case, I hope the tide is turning and that the government will step in to take action, I can think of 3 areas that need immediate attention:

- Permit processing has to be a lot faster, but the agencies involved should charge much higher fees.  The developers would be happy to pay more in my opinion if they knew the permit would come out faster.  But by the same token, the government needs many more inspectors, that make good wages, to make sure that the projects stay within their approved plans.

- Waste Treatment. Ditto. If you want to build and make a lot of money in this country, you should be aware that the reality is that you can't just hook into a sewage line.  Make developers and the eventual property owner put in viable waste treatment systems.

- Water and Energy.  The ICE claims that the Savegre River dam must be built in order to supply energy for the air conditioning in Guanacaste.  There is solid opposition to this project, because it will destroy a valuable ecosystem, but I believe the ICE in this case.  Why aren't the four star hotels and other projects made to put in solar energy systems???  Let's see, the sun makes it hot, causing demand for energy for air conditioning. Hmmm....  Maybe solar energy would provide electricity to cool beach condos? 

Well, I'll get off my soap box now, but it seems that people and the government are becoming conscious of these issues, so we can hope something tangible comes of it.

[presentmoment]

Russ the point is it has already worked out the project was completed and individual lot owners are building homes, including me. Before drawing a conclusion good or bad one must do there due diligence. Have you been to the project, spoken with the developer, had an attorney review the project? I am guessing your answer is no to all of the above, then all we have is an opinion based on an ad in the Tico times seeking aggressive closers and one guy that sort of said he did not like Wellington and bought from Costa...how's that working out for him?  I am in sales with one of the top 3 real estate firms in Manhattan, we also seek "aggressive closers" ,"make big money" but not thieves or hooligans.  Have you ever spoken to one single sales agent at wellington, just one even for 5 minutes or been to there office in San Jose just to try and verify if the hearsay is accurate? If you are going to moderate a site don't you think your opinion would better serve all of us if you did some research on any company you are commenting on, whether you have good or bad things to say?  And it's peculiar why you have no problem accepting the negative feedback but not the positive feedback of an actual buyer? At the very least Russ have a look at there web site wamcr.com they are not showing renderings of Columbus Heights, they are showing a finished project. They have also posted there permits to build out there new project and lots of photos. Can you get beyond your ego position and  reconsider you may have been wrong or at least you may have based your opinion on nothing but rumor and innuendo?  Go back through the older threads, both you and Trevor Chilton basically said Wellington were snake oil salesmen...well now Columbus Heights is complete, titles in the hands of all owners, water, roads, electric in and homes being built including a large Condo project within the gates. Can you get beyond your ego position and maybe admit you got this one wrong? 

[Russ]

Nobody on this or any other forum has a monopoly on the truth.  So any time I am wrong I will be happy to admit it. 

First I would like to point out that there isn't so much of a difference of opinion in my reply and your response.  I agree 100%:

Anyone buying land has got to be insane to send money without inspecting the property and spending a significant amount of time in Costa Rica.

Also I can see your point:

I am in sales with one of the top 3 real estate firms in Manhattan, we also seek "aggressive closers" ,"make big money" but not thieves or hooligans.

So like we both said, and as is very clear in our "checklist", click here to download the PDF - Costa Rica Development Quiz you have to know what you are getting into and what the risk level is.  If someone has visited the area, visited the project, met the developers and had their attorney check out the transfer process; then they are clearly in a position to make an informed decision.   

My problem is and has been with people buying real estate in Costa Rica sight unseen and due to pressure by unscrupulous operators, playing to their greed.  Our purpose here is to make information available to those who want to research the issue and to make it clear that they should get additional information from outside sources before putting down a large deposit on property they can't even get directions to. 

I did visit the Colombus Heights pages on the Wellington site.  I would just mention that I think these pages are promising a lot:

- Can I get rich buying Real Estate? 
- Can I make money? 

They seem to promise that a person can invest $30,000 with Wellington and earn 30 times that in a short time.