The numbers are in for 2020, and despite Costa Rica borders being closed from March through November, we were able to eke out a small profit across our three properties. We attribute this to one major factor – owning all three properties outright, with no mortgage to cover. When you don’t have a monthly mortgage (or 3, since we own 3 properties), you don’t need much income to break-even. In addition, property tax rates in Costa Rica are low - .25% annually. Ongoing costs (e.g., insurance, utilities) are manageable – though fast Internet is more expensive than I would have [...]
Our last investment was a private loan at 10%, to fund a flip, and it’s coming due shortly. This is a borrower we have worked with before – a family business but with decades of real estate experience. We also know their work firsthand because we bought a rental property from them (they do sales, renovations and property management) and have done very well with it. Finally, we like investing with them because they have opportunities at a relatively low entry point – this loan was for just over $50,000. Other alternative investments require six-figures or more, and sometimes even [...]
We own rentals in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, Asheville, NC and Jacksonville, FL. For 2021, Costa Rica was named the number 1 best place to retire by International Living. In a US News survey of best place to retire in the US, Asheville, NC was number 8 and Jacksonville, FL was number 13. It’s no coincidence that we own real estate in top retirement destinations – that’s one of the factors we use to discover places to consider. (In this earlier post, we share some of the other factors we use when picking a geography to invest). These retirement round-ups do [...]
We don’t name all of our real estate – only the vacation properties, not the long-term rentals. All three of our Costa Rican units have names: Condo Boom, Casa Salita and Condo Reeves. From a practical perspective, we figured the names would help with marketing the properties. Having a name would make the property searchable on a vocational rental platform like AirBNB, without divulging the address. The names could also serve as tags on social media. Costa Rica doesn’t have addresses, so names are even more important here. The location of a property is simply described in relation to its [...]
I read 33 books in 2020, down 10 from the 43 books read in 2019. When I look back at how I spent my time in 2020 (I keep a Time Diary of activity on the half hour and highly recommend it!), I spent just as much time reading, but unfortunately I read more breaking news than books. Keeping tabs on the pandemic and its economic effect was part of it. Not having a commute, which I normally spend on book reading, also contributed. Still, I finished 33 books and include summaries below. My favorite of the year is Uncharted [...]
The Costa Rica Tourism Board is awarding 15 residents of the US and Canada (excluding Quebec somehow) an all-expenses paid vacation to Costa Rica. I don’t know what area of Costa Rica (there are 12 microclimates), but the contest prize description includes: Coach roundtrip air transportation for twoSix nights of hotel accommodations$200 in meal vouchersGround transportTravel insurance Here’s the link to enter if you’re feeling lucky! Even if you’re not feeling lucky, the cost of entry is a statement, in 200 words or less, answering, “Who Is Essential To You?”. Reflecting on that important question and committing your thoughts to [...]
I think it’s one of the work hazards of being a coach, but I spend an inordinate amount of money on learning & development, self-help and other personal and professional improvement resources. We spent just over $6,000 this year, and since 95% of that was directly attributed to me, I feel wholly responsible for the training line item. This is actually a pretty mild year in comparison. A few years ago, we joined a real estate mastermind group that cost $8,000 just by itself – and we spent on other courses, conferences and groups that year. A few years before [...]
The Sunshine Blogger Award is a peer-recognition award, given to those who inspire you, motivate you, or otherwise add “sunshine” to your day. There’s no formal, nomination process nor awarding ceremony but it’s a chance to be spotlighted by peers and then to pass on the sunshine to others – as you’ll see in the Award Rules. When you are nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award, you must follow these four rules: Thank the person who nominated you. Add backlinks to their blog.Answer the 11 questions they posed to you.Nominate another 11 new bloggers and give them 11 new questions.Include [...]
A friend of mine invited me to participate in a My Ten project, inspired by the NY Times series where celebrities, experts and other influencers from all walks of life share their list of ten things relating to a specific theme. In this case, we were all going to write about 10 things we did during the pandemic to keep us sane, and then my friend would collate all responses into an e-book in time for Thanksgiving. Even though I already write a lot, I jumped into this because I figured my friend’s project was going to be amazing. (She’s [...]
One of our readers wrote in with a question. It was lengthy and had personal details he didn't want to share, so it is summarized. In a nutshell, he owns a plot of vacant land in a prime area of Costa Rica but won’t be using it full-time. He was all set to start building a house on the land in March, but lost his job at that time due to the pandemic, and put it on hold. He is rethinking the situation, and wants to make sure he is making the best financial decision for himself, so is trying [...]
