Costa Rica-Real Estate Condos for sale in Guanacaste

As I mentioned before on my post The Costa Rica International Arts Festival 2008 this really is one of my favorite events, is simply an awesome spectacle for the family to enjoy and it is free!!!

The International Arts Festival has presented to Costa Rica one of the most original artistic dance displays courtesy of the group Retouramont; famous for their aerial dances over the streets, on cliffs and the side of the city buildings.

It took place in downtown San Jose, literally next to the Gran Hotel Costa Rica (For the side of the Hotel was actually the “dance floor”) under a sky filled with stars while the moon poured some light over the spectators. The city and everybody on it “froze” for the 40 minutes of the show named Réflexion de façade (Façade Reflexion)

Even though the show was Schedule to start at 6:00 PM there was a 30 minute delay (But nobody minded that) specially when one of the dancers suddenly jumped out of the top floor of the building to begin with the “sky dance routine”.

I was there along with my family and some friends, and we all agreed that the love Costa Rica has for the arts and all the initiatives the Costa Rican government keeps putting in place to bring this kind of shows to the people, is definitely a contributing factor as to why everybody wants to either visit or move to this Central American country.

Now for those of you that are actually in Costa Rica and are reading this thinking you miss your chance to see these guys; think again fellows. There will be another show for everybody to enjoy in San Jose, same place again Gran Hotel Costa Rica at 6:00pm tonight!!

Don’t forget to bring your camera!!!!

As I have mentioned before on posts like: Costa Rica New Projects vs. Electricity it is well known that the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) is constantly looking for new options to produce power to supply the demand from the growing users.

And this is certainly not an easy task at all; try to picture a big hotel with 80 rooms each one with the AC at maximum so the guests endure the heat while they watch TV (Are we getting the picture yet?) The ICE is moving forward in order to prepare itself to face the challenge that the future projects will bring.

To produce more geothermal energy for Costa Rica is currently the ICE main goal, and one of the main names they have mentioned as a potential working partner to develop new alternatives is Power Tube.

Here is a little info from their website:

Power Tube, Inc. has developed a disruptive new proprietary technology that uses the heat of the earth to create energy. The device is called Argus. It is a clean energy, closed loop, geomagmatic, renewable power plant. The technology is the subject of a twenty-two (22) point complete systems patent based on 4 new technologies and 11 disciplines. The patent was granted in June 2001, and is owned exclusively by the corporation.

The Argus unit does not rely on water to drive a turbine. Since it is completely enclosed, it releases no pollutants into the air. Due to the significant differences between Argus and standard geothermal technologies, we have coined the term geomagmatic.

Ok, so now that we know more about them, let’s take a look at the numbers!

According to different research studies performed by Power Tube, their method should save a regular electric power plant (In a year) over a million gallons of fuel destined to feed the turbine to produce electricity. And if that number did not impress you, think about this for a moment; a million gallons in fuel are enough to fill up the tanks of 6.600 diesel vehicles.

As the ICE keeps on exploring new alternatives a growing trend has starting to take strength between the real estate investors in Costa Rica; and more and more are the developers that add options like power generators to their buildings and condos, as well as more “green” features for the owners.

I’ll keep you posted on any new developments on this issue.

Recently a couple of friends from the US contacted me for advice on their new real estate project, as you might have guessed by now it was about moving to Costa Rica, so they want to get reliable information about the business panorama in the country.

One of the biggest dilemmas for my friends had to do with the location and to choose between getting a beach house or a city condo; (I refer to this issue on: What should we choose between the beach and the city? ) Never the less, after evaluating the pros and cons that both real estate options had to offer to them in Costa Rica, they decided to purchase a new home in the Guanacaste area.

Buying a house is different from acquiring a new home, as the later involves commitment to the property and to “open” to a new life style in a foreign country.

It is a big step, and that is why I always recommend to each and everyone to take their time and gather information previous to invest on any future real estate project in Costa Rica. (Or any other location for what matters)

Living in a luxury beach condo in Guanacaste is bliss, not only in terms of privacy but also in all the different options you have right outside your door. (And this was a major point for my friends to actually choose the beach house over the city condo), to have access to dozens of Costa Rican national parks (Some at less than a15 min drive), and literally hundreds of options in tours.

Yeah I know it sounds good and quite familiar to thousands of ads regarding real estate in Costa Rica; so before you guys think I’m selling anything let me get to the point.

Talk to your real estate agent about this major elements:

1- Land taxation.

2 – The weather cycle.

(Both in the area where you want to invest)

Regarding the land taxes (Even tough it should go without saying) it is always best to “put the cards on the table” so ask your Costa Rican real estate agent for a study of at least the last 4 years, this way you will have a better view of what your budget will “face” in the near future. Now when it come to the weather factor, keep in mind that acquiring a beach house can certainly have quite a lot of advantages; however it might also need more attention to keep it at a 100%. Rainy season can be though in you are not prepared to take care of your property in a tropical country like Costa Rica; so inspect your new home to locate any “weak spots” and ask your agent about the local weather transitions that you will encounter.

The 2 elements I mentioned today have to do directly with the future of the property; and even though it is not a common topic when you are ready to invest in a new real estate project in Costa Rica, they can certainly make a big difference for your wallet.

That is right Mr. Microsoft himself is in beautiful Costa Rica; he is staying for a couple of days in the Four Seasons Hotel along with his family.

He arrived in a private flight to the Liberia Airport (Guanacaste) and was discretely transported to the Hotel; were he intended to spend some days in relaxation among his love ones.

Right… so what could be his “main” objective in the country?

It is well known that Costa Rican President Oscar Arias met with Bill Gates in Colombia in 2007 during the assembly of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) in the city of Cartagena. There he presented Microsoft co-founder with the Costa Rica Consensus, a plan to reduce developing countries’ military spending by rewarding them with debt forgiveness.

So yes they know each other, now I will get to the point.

Could this be linked to the new digital project activity that is also taking place this current week in Costa Rica? And just in case if you are wondering what am I talking about? Take a look at this: Costa Rica New Digital Approach

Now let’s see some numbers

It could as well be a simple coincidence; however somebody with $58 billions learns how to make the best out of each and every business opportunity that comes his way. Take his Hotel selection by the way; he can go to any Hotel he wants in Costa Rica, however he is staying in the one in which he has 1.9 million stocks from. (That is 5% of the Four Seasons Hotel Franchise)

Gates is famous for his “knack” to know when to invest; and you can be sure that his visit to Costa Rica has certainly more than just relaxation in his “to do list”.

The Digital Costa Rica Strategy; that’s the name of an initiative presented to the Costa Rican Government yesterday from a group of Businessmen and Scholars in the country.

The main objective is to enhance the current Internet services available to the public in the country; and to explore new alternatives to eventually offer more choices to the users.

Two of the main entities behind this initiative are:

Club de Investigación Tecnológica (Technology Investigation Club) Conformed mainly by businessmen with a tech background and several companies famous for keeping an edge on the new technological aspects as part of its policy. This group seeks to promote the latest advances on the technology, as well as to develop new ideas in order to lower the costs of current and new projects.

INCAE, a private, non-profit, multinational, higher-education organization devoted to teaching and research endeavors in the fields of business and economics aimed at training and instructing, from a worldwide perspective, individuals capable of successfully holding top management positions in Latin America. (Info taken from Their Website)

Now for those of you that want to know more on the INCAE click on the title Having the right people doing the right job ; as for the Technology Investigation Club I will give you their link, but let me warn you that is completely in Spanish: http://www.clubdeinvestigacion.com/main.php

OK, now that we know a little more, let’s keep going

Costa Rica’s president Oscar Arias and his vice president Laura Chinchilla were present during the presentation; the main topics focus on upgrading the existing cell phone connectivity network to promote Internet usage, the eventual creation of a Call Center that deals with the public services, and different proposals to come up with a “new take” on technological education.

As the Costa Rican government analyses the different proposals of The Digital Costa Rica Strategy, more big names are being “linked” with this initiative; CISCO is one of them. And taken into consideration the huge opportunities this project has to offer I am quite sure that we will see a bunch of familiar names following in CISCO’s footsteps.

This certainly is a time to start thinking and come up not only with some ideas; but also to look at all the different possibilities that will open its doors to future investment.

The meeting between Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and Antonio Saca from El Salvador took place yesterday in San Jose.

Arias and Saca signed a treaty promising to cooperate more directly between them; Costa Rica will provide advice on subjects such as: Sustainable tourism, and environmental care; while El Salvador will lend some knowledge on the Digital and internet realm, and also private business development initiatives.

Many topics were discussed between both leaders; however one of them held more weight than the others, the future negotiations with the EU (European Union).

Now for those of you that want to know more on this EU business just click on this title: Europe ready to take a “Big bite” on Central America and then you’ll see what the big fuzz about the EU is and their future business plans for Central America.

Next week El Salvador will be the host for the third round of negotiations for an accord between Central America and the European Union; which will include quite important topics like: political cooperation, E.U. aid and free trade.

Even though we don’t have numbers to look at on today’s post, we all can imagine the benefits an agreement with the EU can bring to the Business sector of Costa Rica. That is becoming more and more appealing to the international investors as time goes by.

I love Costa Rican coffee, and as I mentioned before in posts like: Costa Rica Coffee + Starbucks = A Good Deal! It is quite clear that the fame of its quality is well known outside the Costa Rican borders; and now there is a contest that is actually helping to “push the limits” of the coffee producers in CR to deliver a better product. The name of the contest to determine the best coffee of Costa Rica is called: Taza de la Exelencia (Cup of Excellence) And it began with a total of 123 samples on its first week; now however only 48 samples remain in the contest for the first place.

The Costa Rica Cup of Excellence is part of a program organized by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE).

Yes I know; here is some info on these guys!

The Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc is overseen by a Board of Directors. An advisory panel made up of members of the trade along with a representative of the member producing countries helps design program elements and strategy. A small team manages every aspect of the program to ensure success. (Taken form their site)

There are currently 8 different countries competing this year to determine the best of the best among its coffee samples: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil.

Ok, what about the jury?

They are 19 in total, coming from the US, England, Norway, Switzerland, Japan, Canada and off course also from Costa Rica. Each and every one of the jurors has a background on coffee excellence, and they are completely devoted to their task.

Let’s take a brief look at the numbers!

The Costa Rican winners from last year competition sold their lot at $2.135 (46 kilos) on an internet auction; not bad considering the current market price at that time for 46 kilos of coffee was $114.55 (Yes that is a 19 times difference) But taken into consideration that the quality of the coffee was over 84 points it was a pleasure well worth it.

The Costa Rica Excellence Cup is also overseen by the Costa Rican Institute of Coffee (Icafe) and the Costa Rican Association of refined Coffee. Never the less the ones who will be in charge of the coffee auction are the ACE, you need to be registered with them in order to have access to the online auction so here is their link:

http://www.cupofexcellence.org/WhatisCOE/tabid/184/Default.aspx

Happy Coffee Hunting!!!

Aiming at the future, the Agricultural Sugarcane League of Costa Rica (LAICA) has decided to invest $3 million on future developments that will enhance their ethanol production in at least a 30%. The works will take place in the LAICA’s plant in Punta Morales (Puntarenas) from the next 17^th of May until the 17^th June.

The main goal is to enhance the dehydration process capacity of the plant (hopefully to a 40%); in order to do this the LAICA is acquiring a new boiler, brand new industrial pipes, a new power generator and also brand new software to control the plant’s operation.

So what is the big deal with ethanol anyway?

Ethanol has many uses, however I am referring to the fuel aspect here, for added to gasoline, ethanol reduces ground-level ozone formation by lowering volatile organic compound and hydrocarbon emissions, decreasing carcinogenic benzene, and butadiene, emissions, and particulate matter emissions from gasoline combustion. (Translation: It is supposedly good for the gas)

A long time ago Henry Ford designed the first mass-produced automobile, the famed Model T Ford, to run on pure anhydrous (ethanol) alcohol — he said it was “the fuel of the future”. Today even though the cars are not running on pure ethanol (At least not yet), it is commonly blended with regular gasoline (Approximately in a 10%) This “mix” is known as gasohol, and it is widely sold throughout the U.S.

Now back to Costa Rica and yes, the look at the numbers!!

The LAICA handles an average yearly production of 143 millions liters of alcohol; however with the new upgrades this number will go up to 200 millions liters instead.

Brazil is the biggest name in the ethanol world market, and most of the 140 millions of the product that was sent to the US market from Costa Rica (Between 06-07), originally came from unprocessed Brazilian material.

New business opportunities keep opening up in Costa Rica, and sometimes all we need is for someone to let us know what is happening; so what are you waiting for guys?, share the news with your friends, opportunity could be around the corner.

I know it sounds a little bit funny, but actually this has to do with quite a serious issue for the Caribbean countries; there is simply not enough milk to satisfy the growing demand from their markets.

But let me start from the beginning

Costa Rica is one of the 3 Latin American countries that can actually satisfy their own market needs and have enough milk to export to foreign lands. (For the record the other 2 are Argentina and Uruguay)

The main consumer for the Costa Rican Milk is Guatemala with a 30%, followed by El Salvador with 28%. As for the potential consumers in t he near future The Dominican Republic and Panama are the more likely to join the list.

So what is the plan?

The National Milk Production Council of Costa Rica is already scheduling several business meetings; here the “Big Guns” will formulate new initiatives to face the growing demands from the external market.

Its ok you guys can say it now, let’s take a look at the numbers!

Costa Rica produces an average of 2 million liters of milk, 60% goes to especial industrialized plants, and 20% of that production goes to the external markets.

The milk production in Costa Rica grows at a 3.5% rate; however it has to reach at least a 5% in order to satisfy the local market and the external demand.

The Costa Rica milk production companies need some help, so as you can see this opens a new (And very good) possibility for international advisors, producers and or business investors looking for a make a move on a “safe” investment.

So we have another business event next week here in Costa Rica (And it was about time) this initiative is aimed at different companies in order to promote and create more alternatives for corporate travel to the most active zones in Costa Rica; like San Jose and Guanacaste.

American Airlines, Copa Continental, Taca, are just some of the names of the companies that will be present at this “Travel Forum” The Marriott, and Radisson representatives will also attend this meeting. And taking into consideration that they provide services for many their executives, IBM, Procter & Gamble and Citibank will also be present at the activity.

The Travel Forum is an initiative from the BCD Travel Costa Rica, and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives

I know what you are thinking; so who are these guys?

BCD Travel was founded on January 3, 2006, when BCD Holdings N.V. announced its decision to purchase TQ3 Travel Solutions Management Holding GmbH and a majority interest in The Travel Company. These two companies were combined with World Travel BTI under one ownership to form BCD Travel. (So yes they are Big) They are also one of the largest global travel management companies. (Info taken from their site)

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) is a not-for-profit association established to provide executive-level global education and peer-to-peer networking opportunities. Membership spans all of business travel, from corporate buyers to agencies to suppliers, and accords all sectors equal membership. ACTE serves more than 6,000 executives in 50 countries. (Info taken from their site)

Ok so now that we know a little more of the people behind the activity, let’s move on!

The Travel Forum will be held next week April 9 in the Marriott Hotel, as usual during these activities there will be some speeches, interactive activities and also a round table.

Let us hope that this mark the beginning of a new mentality in the “travel sector” of Costa Rica; that has currently concentrated most of its efforts (90%) on tourism, leaving corporate travel in the “backyard”