The experts say that the key to making money is to invest without using your own money. It’s a nice notion but I haven’t come across too many people in my lifetime who have put their hand with $500,000 in it and said, “Here, do what you want," without some thick strings being attached. (If you have, please invite me to meet all of your friends!) Banking on the fact that your experiences are like mine, I suggest that you do the next best thing: Pool your money and find an investment that has the best potential to pay you back the fastest with the highest returns. For me, and thousands of other investors today, that investment is Costa Rica real estate.



Costa Rica real estate has been on the rise for the last 15 years. No, that’s an understatement. Real estate values in Costa Rica have skyrocketed over the last 15 years. Many of the real estate investors who bought Costa Rica land or invested in various Costa Rica real estate properties during the 1990s and early 2000s made all of their initial investment back within the first two years (or less.) And today, many of those investments are worth 300% of the initial investment.

A bulk of the wealth that Costa Rica real estate investors are enjoying is due to the thriving tourist market. The Northern Pacific coast has become a tourist mecca over the years, making those who’ve built hotels or resorts and vacation rental homes have made obscene amounts of money. Meanwhile, people who invested in other regions are welcoming more modest returns, which are still greater than almost any equivalent investments made in the North America. The point is: No other current real estate investment can compare to real estate investment returns in Costa Rica. I’ve seen this firsthand through my company Developing Paradise S.A., which provides the necessary information to ‘get the ball rolling’ to invest, retire or just vacation in Costa Rica. Based on the amount of other companies having similar functions, this attests to the strength of the Costa Rica real estate market also.

I should mention that when buying real estate in a foreign country, you do have to be careful. Do not try to cut corners and do not try to everything on your own. Though the Costa Rican government has put measures into place to simplify the process, the way real estate transactions in Costa Rica are executed is a bit different from how they’re done in the U.S. Therefore it’s imperative that you work with a reputable company. Now, you can (and should) perform independent research so that you can corroborate what the experts are telling you with your own findings. To find the most comprehensive collection of investor resources for Costa Rica real estate, the first place to look is the web. There are a number of resources out there available that you can waft through to find the information you need. Or, you can take the easier, more direct route and just contact me. I can provide you with at least several dozen web links that will be excellent, unbiased resources where you can find the information you’re looking for.

by David Lovendahl, Developing Paradise S.A.