I love going out to try new drinks and try new food.

Like you we had 3 teams of two door knockers  2 for safety one women one man.. and we door knocked every NOD in our 2 mil MSA  all to boil it down to if we were very lucky to get 2 to 3 deals a month.. now we were a little different I only would buy very high equity deals.. and we leased back .. because as you state 99% don't want to leave.. 

its highly risky for most mom and pops to sell on sub to.. and its simply not a way for those without substantial wherewithal to buy property and keep the seller safe..

The 10% vacancy and repairs, along with 5% capex in my opinion are pretty high. 

Real estate agents are not highly regulated in Costa Rica as opposed to North America.  

- Highly recommend REQUIRING tenants to get Renters Insurance and adding you, as the landlord, as additionally insured.

Is this expected since interest rates are high and listing prices are subsequently dropping? 

I agree that pricing a rental too high is a classic mistake than can make it sit, but don't you think encouraging landlords to rent quick will make them compromise on the vetting of the tenants?

Condo's usually have high HOA dues which will eat into your cash flow.

The key difference, though, was he spent months carefully getting to know the local architecs, reputable builders, and even a couple of niche design firms that specialize in modern builds for mid- to high-end buyers.