All Forum Posts by: Rob Pattison

I'm in my last 8 days of due diligence on the property I'm in escrow with, which is the first post on this thread.

I'd like to hire a second attorney to double-check the work with the first attorney.  Does anyone have suggestions on where to find a competent attorney in the Jaco area?

Finally, I'd also welcome advice on finding a rehabber.  I have one referral from my realtor, would like to have one I found independent of the realtor.

I used to go down to Mexico frequently in my 20's and 30's, since living in LA, Mexico is only a 2 hour drive away.   I've had cars reupholstered in Tijuana for $100 flat.  I've been to Ensenada, Cancun, hiked Chichen Itza' and loved Puerto Vallarto, and the small towns north.   The reason why I don't go to Mexico now is the safety issue.  Too much gun play from the drug cartels put people's lives in danger.   I don't think things are as bad as they were, but I'm not going to take a chance when I hear of tourists getting pulled off the tourist bus and robbed at gunpoint.

Other countries in Central America have varying levels of safety and political stability.  For all of us, everything gets thrown out the window if a Manuel Noriega, or even a Daniel Ortega comes to power, throws out the constitution and nationalizes everything.

One reason Costa Rica is more expensive is the demand from tourists, and many tourists go to where things are safe and there is established infrastructure.

We all have lifestyle decisions to make.  For me, spending the cold, winter months living next to the beach and surfing where the ocean today in Costa Rica is 85 degrees (the ocean in LA is 58 degrees today), then when the rainy season starts, then migrating back to LA to enjoy late spring, summer and football season is a good goal for this point in my life.  LA has a dry summer and fall.

The property I'm in escrow on, and doing my due diligence on is actually 2 adjacent side-by-side lots.  One lot has 4 years left on the 20 year concession lease, the other lease, the one closest to the beach, has yet to be granted a concession.  I have an attorney working on finding out what the issue is.

The lot furthest from the beach (60 seconds walk from the beach), has a house on there that is ultimately a tear down, 2 bed / 1 bath, about 900 square feet.  I can spend $10k to $15k to make it habitable, or put a pre-fab house there.   Does anyone have experience with pre-fab houses in Costa Rica, where to get them, and what any issues may be?

My goal is to build a 5 bed / 5 bath once the new 20 year lease starts and I have the other concession lease approved.

Thank you, Cathy, for suggesting the Facebook group for more intricate knowledge on investing in Costa Rica.  I'll check them out today.

Thank you, Steve, for addressing potential worst-case scenarios.  Your post made me think that I should hire another attorney in addition to the one the Remax realtor recommended to me, an attorney I find on my own through my own network independent of this real estate deal.

I also will get a second quote for the rehab independent of the first quote.

To answer the question on why not just rent rather than buy, I think about my experience living here in Hermosa Beach, a beach town in greater Los Angeles, 4 miles south of LAX.   When I moved here in 1990, in my 20's, rent was $500 per month and a beach house could be bought for $150k to $200k.   

Now, in 2021, rent is minimum $1,500 on up, depending on size and proximity to the beach.   My rent is $1,115 because I've been in the same place for 20 years.   Buying a house here will be $1.5 million to $5 million, throw in property taxes and insurance, and I'd be saddled with a ball and chain the rest of my life.

I was told on one of my trips to Costa Rica that there are plans to modernize the airport in San Jose so they can take in the big jumbo jets sometime within the next 7 to 10 years.  If and when that happens, housing prices might take off like they have in southern California, where what was once affordable now is not.

I could easily buy a house now "in-land" in southern California, or Costa Rica and live 30 minutes to 1 hour+ from the beach.   I've owned rental houses in San Antonio where I've had beautiful houses ranging from 1,500 to 4,000 square feet, each one of them purchased for under $130k.  I could buy a house in Kansas or Kentucky for $40k.  For me purchasing inland would be the equivalent of cooking your favorite dish, but adding zero seasoning, and living a safe but bland existence.   Life is too short, and precious to not live your dreams.  Obviously I need to make a well-thought out and intelligent decision and to minimize the risks that I'm discovering.

Shiloh, the pics of your house inspires me.

Hi guys, I've been traveling frequently myself over the past 20 years, been to Panama, Mexico, Thailand about 20 times, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Europe.

I like Costa Rica for several reasons, #1, the Costa Rican people are so nice, welcoming and helpful.  You don't always get that quality in other countries, and I find it in short supply where I work and live in the LA area.  

#2, I can get down there in 5 and 1/2 hours out of LAX on a Delta or Alaska flight.  Right now Costa Rica is  2 hours ahead of us, once California reverts to Daylight Savings Time this weekend, they are 1 hour ahead of us, either way, I can get up early, walk 60 seconds to a surfing beah, get a good 1 to 2 hours of surf in, have breakfast, and still be able to service my clients over the phone when they get in to their offices  between 7am and 9am CA time.

I've been an outside sales person in the maintenance and operations business the past 18 years, a recession proof business, and I've structured my business so 90% of my income comes by phone, email or ordering directly online.

My game plan will be to spend long weekends there, and maybe use Costa Rica as a jumping off point to explore the rest of Central and South America.  When the weather turns cold in LA, December to April, I'd be spending time down there.  When the weather starts to turn rainy in Costa Rica, there's no better place to be on earth, in my opinion, than anywhere in coastal southern California between Santa Barbara and San Diego between May and November.

I understand the issues with building a house, I've done 5 rehabs in Texas while in California.   I will need to take steps to mitigate the temptation to steal.

If I wasn't going to Costa Rica, I'd consider setting up in San Pancho, Mexico, a bit north of Puerto Vallarta, a similar vibe, or Koh Samui in Thailand-just beautiful with elephants and waterfalls, or some of the beautiful smaller islands off Bali where one can surf, and live fairly remotely.  Some of those islands outlaw motorized vehicles, the only way around is by walking, running, bicycle or horse.

Wow, Shiloh, that is a FINE looking house!   Thanks for posting the pics, you've given me some ideas on how /what to build if I go through with my own purchase.

What are you spending total on this property?

I've invested with 3 other partners in the past. We put the property into an LLC, had an attorney write out the operating agreement with different scenarios, for instance, how long do we have to cash a partner out if he wants cashed out.

Let's keep in contact, I'm interested in how your property turns out.  Manuel Antonio is only about 45 minutes drive from where I may be.

Thank you for your advice, gentlemen.   You've given me potential issues to think about and to take steps to lessen the risks before they arise.

Shiloh, this property starts at about 10 yards from the beach, and is at most 50 yards from the beach at it's furthest point.   I'm acquiring it for approximately $160k.   The property you are mentioning is about twice the price and more than a football field away.  

To Mike and Mike, the fact that this property is a concession is what concerns me most, and I thank both of you for bringing the issues to my attention.

The realtor showed me other properties that were freehold, most of them on around a lot 3,000 to $5,000 square feet and a 5 to 10 minute DRIVE from the beach, not a 20 second to 60 second walk to the beach.

Being that close to the beach, being able to see it, smell it, and walk with my surfboard to the ocean and surf in less than 60 seconds moves me emotionally more than having to get in a car and drive there.

I am in my due diligence period till the 27th and will continue to think, listen and investigate.

Thank you for your advice, gentlemen.   You've given me potential issues to think about and to take steps to lessen the risks before they arise.

Shiloh, this property starts at about 10 yards from the beach, and is at most 50 yards from the beach at it's furthest point.   I'm acquiring it for approximately $160k.   The property you are mentioning is about twice the price and more than a football field away.  

To Mike and Mike, the fact that this property is a concession is what concerns me most, and I thank both of you for bringing the issues to my attention.

The realtor showed me other properties that were freehold, most of them on around a lot 3,000 to $5,000 square feet and a 5 to 10 minute DRIVE from the beach, not a 20 second to 60 second walk to the beach.

Being that close to the beach, being able to see it, smell it, and walk with my surfboard to the ocean and surf in less than 60 seconds moves me emotionally more than having to get in a car and drive there.

I am in my due diligence period till the 27th and will continue to think, listen and investigate.

I'll be happy to invite you when the house is habitable.  There's a tasty pizza and beer place across the street.

I'm looking for advice from anyone who has bought property in Costa Rica.   It's been my dream to have a house within 60 seconds walk to a beach where I can surf, where I can step out on my front porch and both see and hear the ocean.

After 3 trips to Costa Rica over 3 years, I've finally found a lot, about 12,000 square feet from a surfing beach in a small village of about 300 to 500 people.  The village is south of Jaco, and north of Dominical.  

The lot has a house on it, 2 bed / 1 bath, built in the 80's and the inspector says is in poor condition and at some point will need to be torn down.  I'm buying the lot for $160k and plan to use it to spend long weekends and when I'm not there, rent it out through airbnb or similar.  I live in Los Angeles and can fly non-stop  into the capital city, San Jose in 5 and 1/2 hours.  The drive from the airport to this village is approximately 2 to 2.5 hours, depending on traffic.    The property title is in the form of a "concession", meaning basically a lease at this point, renewable every 20 years.   The attorney I've hired says she has never heard of a lease not being renewed.   I could buy a titled property, but they are all a 5 minute drive from the beach or further away.

My plan is to put about $20k into the house, stay there on some long weekends, rent it out when I'm not there, and think about what type of house I would like to eventually build, probably something like a 5 bedroom / 5 bath.   I'd put in an orchard with different types of fruit trees, possibly a pool, and one of those large chess boards like what is at Santa Monica Beach, where the board is on the ground, and the chess pieces range anywhere from knee high for a pawn, to chest high for the major pieces.

I welcome any advice as I've just started my due diligence period.  

Whatever course you decide to take in life, the result you get out of that decision will be in direct proportion to the energy and effort you put into the decision you make.

I went to a 4 year public university, UCLA, that at the time I went, was a great bargain, graduating in 5 years with only $5k in student debt.

One advantage to going to school is that you will be exposed to many different ideas and people and cultures from all over the world, and you'll learn from them.  

You will also have the opportunity to explore skills that normally wouldn't come your way.  For instance, I was able to take several years of sailing classes on both single hull and catamarans because the school I attended owned  a dock in a harbor adjoining the pacific ocean.  Those classes only cost me $40 per semester.   In the real world, those classes would be hundreds if not thousands of dollars to take.

I graduated with a degree in English, then went on to earn a J.D.   Both degrees have served me well in the work and investment worlds.  I learned to write well, speak well and know how to lessen the probability that I will be subject to a lawsuit with my investment properties.

I also joined a fraternity, and made life-long friends and business connections through this organization.   I've been hired in two different occupations through my fraternal organization, from people belonging to my fraternity from different schools.   This pool of potential investors in my business continues to grow as more people graduate from universities all over the nation each year.

Finally, I'll leave you what I read from an interview Kobe gave to a reporter about 20 years ago.  Kobe, as you might know, by-passed college and went directly from being a high school graduate to a 17 year old player with the Lakers.  His parents had to sign his first contract because he wasn't 18 yet.

In his free time, Kobe would go the the UCLA campus often and look at the people, his age, having fun, and enjoying the transition from child-hood to adult-hood that college gives.   He mentioned that he often experienced regret at skipping this period of his life and going directly into an adult occupation at 17.

Work will always be there, and many of us will work 30 to 50 years of our lives.  Your youth and freedom to explore and experiment with not many of the pressures of adult life, is fleeting and will be gone before you know it.  

My advice, find the right 4 year university to attend, take this time to enjoy your life, make life-long friends, and experience the diversity in people, ideas and cultures that college life gives you.   Work will always be there. 

When people are on their death bed and contemplating their lives, what is most important is not how much money they made, or how many hours they put in at the office.  Rather it is the experiences and relationships in their lives that makes the biggest impression.  Sam Walton (founder of Wall-Mart), on his death-bed, as his children stood around him, told them that he missed the boat.  In hindsight, he should have spent more time with his children, who he didn't know well, and less time making his billions.