If you’d like a place in the sun, this Central American jewel is a place to consider and Costa Rica real estate is a great way to start your search.

Costa Rica is often called the ‘New Hawaii’. This usually means that is that it is similar to Hawaii as far as climate and beauty is concerned but, importantly, that Costa Rica is how Hawaii used to be fifty years ago! Then Hawaii had huge sugar plantations. Costa Rica has coffee and pineapple plantations. Now, however, Hawaii gets most of its money from tourism.

Located in Central America, Costa Rica is an emerging nation who are working hard to get rid of their ‘third world’ status. Surrounded on the east by the Caribbean Sea and on the west with the Pacific Ocean, Costa Rica is truly beautiful. The country is famous for its bio diversity and indeed even the sand comes in all colors, from volcanic black, browns, reds to spectacular white. The ocean is warm and you can either enjoy a good book on the beach with the occasional swim or go all out with a great variety of water and sand activities from scuba diving to wind surfing to beach volleyball. There are many varieties of insects, birds and animals and this alone is a huge source of eco tourism.

People that visit Costa Rica often think of returning to live there - be it for a vacation home, a second home or even to relocate there for good. Prices are still reasonable but the place is ready to boom. Buying Costa Rica real estate can be as simple or challenging as you like. There are so many options. Land and housing come in all forms and prices! You can buy a simple hut on a piece of land or go all out and have a villa built overlooking the ocean. Costa Rica enjoys two seasons - wet (green) and dry. On the coast it’s usually hot and humid - although even that varies from north to south where it is more arid in the north. However, the Central Valley which surrounds the capital, San Jose, has spring-like weather all year round.

It seems that everything is available if the price is right. Even North American realty companies are there to help you in Costa Rica - Remax and Century 21, for example are well represented.

There are also companies from the U.S. or Canada who have bought up a large tract of land in Costa Rica and then put it into plots for sale. You can buy this land in various stages, from the original land, the land with roads and infrastructure in place and many companies facilitate building a house for you and take care of all the legalities. As Costa Rica is Spanish speaking, getting a lawyer that understands what you want and can speak and understand English can be challenging. These North American companies take care of all that and even after you have your home built, some companies offer furnishing options as well as maid and gardener services. To put icing on the cake, they often offer rental services - i.e. they will rent out the place for you and keep it maintained and cleaned for the time you are not using it personally.