The Costa Rica Real Estate Expert

Costa Rica is well known for its eco-tourism, and for the most part, Costa Rica has done an exceptional job when it comes to being a leader in protecting its precious environment.  It started years ago when Costa Rica truly came onto the global scene as a hotspot for eco-tourism (still a popular niche in the tourism industry), and continues today as Costa Rica is one of four countries in a race to be the first to go carbon neutral (the other three countries are New Zealand, Iceland, and Norway).

That’s why it is not surprising to find a real estate development in Costa Rica that has adopted a firm stance on protecting the environment.  In fact, in my opinion, it should be odd to find a Costa Rican development that does NOT take a strong stance.  Of course, I don’t rule the world yet!

The development that I am speaking of is Las Colinas de Miramar in the Central Pacific of Costa Rica, a Certified Green Worldwide development.  The Certified Green Worldwide designation is a 12-point protocol that mandates comprehensive environmental safeguards:

1. Protection of wildlife habitats while allowing for recreation.
2. Protection of wetlands, natural water courses and aquifer regeneration areas.
3. Soil erosion safeguards; both during road building, construction, and occupation.
4. Utility operations, site specific or municipal, to contain contamination retention features for ground water protection.
5. Development plans consistent with local mandates, inputs and requirements.
6. Maintenance of natural geologic contours.
7. No construction on sites with a slope greater than 40 degrees.
8. Density restrictions; based on a formula of slope and wet land proximity.
9. View shed protections including project height standards.
10. Construction to use low wattage consumption by electric appliances and fixtures, insulated windows and walls using passive solar techniques, and recycling to reduce the carbon footprint.  Potential solar electrical generation may become additional options.
11. Encourage community related sustainable economic development though the use of locally produced building materials and local labor.
12. Good Corporation Citizenship.

As an aspiring Eco-broker, it gladdens me to work with a developer so dedicated to protecting the environment.  That is why I am going to do my part by purchasing carbon offsets from Carbonfund.org.   I am promising that for each Phase 1 lot I sell in Las Colinas de Miaramar, I will buy enough carbon offsets to make a medium sized home (1500-2499 sq ft) carbon neutral for one year.

So what can you do to make better take care of our Earth?

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Growing up in freezing, cold winters in a small rural town just outside the bustling metropolis of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the only way I can explain my fascination with all things tropical

Ever since I can remember, I dreamed of beaches, palm trees, coconuts, waves, and warmth.  My favorite foods are all exotic (Thai, Hawaiian).  My favorite smells (coconut sunscreen and neoprene from wetsuits) bring up visions of crystal clear waters on a cinnamon-colored, sandy beach.  Maybe that’s another reason why I’m fascinated by using exotic bamboo as a building material.

I started looking into it casually on the Internet a few years ago.  I even checked Amazon for some books on using bamboo to build structures, hoping I might find a “How To” book.  The idea of living in a tropical-looking house made of bamboo warms me and brings a silly smile to my face.

As it turns out, bamboo is also an extremely strong, renewable, and plentiful building material that has recently gained the attention that it deserves in mainstream architecture and development.    First of all, its growth rate is extraordinary - unsurpassed by any of the typical timber competitors.

Bamboo is also a superior building material when it comes to standing up to earthquakes.  Brick and concrete buildings collapse before bamboo buildings do.

If you want to read more about the mainstreaming of bamboo in development, check out this article on Yahoo.

So now I’m curious as to what you all think of bamboo houses?  Fill out my short questionnaire below and I’ll report the results in the upcoming weeks.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

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I believe in fate.  I also believe in the Law of Attraction, as introduced in The Secret.  I actually think the two are the same.

I believe that the Law of Attraction is what brought me to work for Compass Properties as an International Real Estate Specialist, allowing me to become an expert on the wonderful country of Costa Rica.  Of course, as part of my “studies”, I had to go there to see it for myself!

My first trip there was a short one - 3 days.  My husband had to get back to work, and he didn’t really want me to travel alone - especially the first visit.  So, the fact that I could fall in love with the country of Costa Rica and its people in just 3 days is a testament to how fantastic a place it is.

I was worried that it would be overdeveloped, mainly because several people had told me that.  I laugh now when I think about that, because Costa Rica is FAR from being overdeveloped!  Its quaintness and charm is still in abundance, which makes for unique memories.

I consider myself a “Foodie”, and I was looking forward to the local cuisine.  Costa Rican food is heavily influenced by Caribbean and Cuban cuisine.  A typical Costa Rican breakfast consists of a casado - rice and beans, fried plantains, meat or eggs, fresh fruit (VERY fresh), and coffee, tea, or fresh juice.  I ate this often, wanting to embrace this culture.  Fresh juices are also plentiful, and are extremely inexpensive compared to North American restaurants.  The reason is obvious, but it was still a delight to have a huge glass of blackberry juice with my breakfast, or a fresh watermelon smoothie in the afternoon (that REALLY hits the spot).

A pleasant surprise to me on this trip was that I had a blast trying to speak Spanish.  My Spanish vocabulary consists mostly of food (did I mention that I was a Foodie?), so needless to say, I was a little worried before going to Costa Rica, even though I knew most of the people there spoke English.  But, there were still numerous opportunities where I did need to use my miniscule Spanish vocabulary to purchase items like headache medicine or sunscreen.  After the first day when I felt like I was butchering the Spanish language, I came to enjoy trying to communicate in Spanish.  In fact, I enjoyed it so much I began to seek out opportunities to speak and learn more Spanish!  I think my future holds a vacation to one of the Spanish immersion schools in Costa Rica.

And of course, I cannot forget the beaches!  I am a surfer, so I was REALLY itching to get into the water!  I live in Southern California, and you never get lonely visiting beaches here - there are ALWAYS people at the beach.  I was ASTOUNDED when at 10:00 am on a Saturday, I ventured onto a beach in front of one of the communities that we are marketing, and could see only 3 people on the beach, as far as the eye could see!  And it’s not because it was dirty or polluted - there is just so much beach and so much room, that you can almost have your own private beach.

And finally, I must make mention of the wonderful people down there.  They were so hospitable and open.  I had a great conversation about the political climate in Costa Rica, with the driver who took us from the airport to our hotel.  One of the hotel workers helped me when my husband got a migraine on his first night there (never had one since I’ve known him).  And all of the restaurant and shop workers were very friendly and actually smiled!

I can’t wait to go back.

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