The Costa Rica Real Estate Expert

Do you know what your options are for financing your Costa Rica real estate purchase?  You may be surprised to find that there are more than you may think.  Check out this article, Financing Options to Purchase Costa Rica Real Estate to review the options available to you.

Okay, so after having read that article, you know what your options are - what next?  Well, lucky for you, the Costa Rica Real Estate Expert has partnered with select financial professionals to serve our US and European customers.

We want to work with the best in the business, and we think we have definitely found that.  They will help you review all of the financing options available to you, review your current financial situation, and even discuss your future financial goals.  From there, they can recommend a financing course of action to purchase your Costa Rica property AND they can offer you the financial products to do just that.

Our foreign financing experts would love to assist you.  Please fill out this form and one of them will contact you shortly!

Share This

Do you know what your options are for financing your Costa Rica real estate purchase?  You may be surprised to find that there are more than you may think.  Check out this article, Financing Options to Purchase Costa Rica Real Estate to review the options available to you.

Okay, so after having read that article, you know what your options are - what next?  Well, lucky for you, the Costa Rica Real Estate Expert has partnered with select financial professionals in Canada to serve our Canadian customers (my peeps - I’m originally from Manitoba).

We want to work with the best in the business, and we think we have definitely found that.  They will help you review all of the financing options available to you, review your current financial situation, and even discuss your future financial goals.  From there, they can recommend a financing course of action to purchase your Costa Rica property AND they can offer you the financial products to do just that.

Our Canadian financing experts would love to assist you.  Please fill out this form and one of them will contact you shortly!

Share This

Negative movements in the exchange rate can drastically increase the cost of property to Canadians 

If you are a Canadian looking to buy property in Costa Rica, you will inevitably need to transfer your currency to US dollars to buy the property or arrange financing.  Canadian buyers should pay close attention to the USD/CAD exchange rate, as volatility in the currency markets can have drastic repercussions on the final Canadian dollar (CAD) cost of an American property priced in US dollars (USD).

For example, a Canadian buyer wants to purchase a property in Costa Rica priced at $300,000 USD.  In the first week of November 2007, it would have cost approximately $271,500 CAD (USD/CAD = .9050).  One month later in December 2007 the same property would have increased in cost due to the exchange rate to $306,000 CAD (USD/CAD = 1.0214).  In other words, the property in one month became $34,500 CAD (over 12%) more expensive to a Canadian!

Currency exchange specialists like HiFX can help you protect against currency fluctuations that would increase the cost of your property by locking in an exchange rate for up to two years with a ‘forward contract’.  This service can be useful if you have a lengthy closing period or future property payments.  With a ‘forward contract’ you will have locked in the cost of the property in CAD and will be unaffected by any volatility in the currency market.  HiFX provides ‘forward contracts’ free of cost and requires only a 10% deposit.

Canadians have amazing purchasing power today

Fortunately for Canadians, now is an attractive time to look for a property in Costa Rica as CAD has strengthened heavily against the USD over the last few years, making property in Costa Rica even less expensive.  On September 20^th, 2007, the Canadian dollar reached parity against the US dollar for the first time since 1976.  This means that Canadians have more purchasing power now than they have in the last 31 years!

If a Canadian buyer was looking to buy a $300,000 USD property in Costa Rica in January 2008 it would cost approximately $300,000 CAD.  If five years ago the Canadian had been looking to buy the same $300,000 USD property, it would have cost them a staggering $485,000 CAD.  In other words, the same property is now $185,000 CAD (almost 40%) cheaper than it was five years ago!

Use a currency specialist to pay for your property

Working with a currency exchange specialist to make property payments can not only save you time and hassle, it can also save you money. The fact is that many individuals will simply use the exchange rate offered by their personal bank. Currency specialists can typically offer more competitive rates of exchange than personal banks, to save you on the cost of your property. The bank may also charge wire transfer fees, commissions, and bank receiving fees. Many individuals don’t realize there are better alternatives available to them.

HiFX has seen an average savings of 1%-4% of the transaction amount for its clients, and in addition will transfer funds free of charge.  On larger transfers the savings can turn into thousands of dollars.  HiFX does not speculate with funds and all funds are held in a secure private client trust account at the Bank of Montreal in Canada.  It may be worth speaking with a consultant at HiFX to register for no cost or obligation.

If you have any questions about the currency exchange rates, or would like to learn more about HiFX fee-free currency exchange services, please contact Thomas Wight.

Share This

If you are an investor or looking to buy real estate as an investment, then you NEED to read this.  Because by reading this you may discover that you have financial resources for investing in real estate that you were not aware that you had.

Now, almost every American resident has heard of Investment Retirement Accounts, more commonly referred as IRAs.  IRAs are a great tool for helping you save for retirement and also for tax savings.  There are several different types of IRAs, each one offering tax savings at different times.  However, there is one type of IRA that is not as well known - a self-directed IRA.

Control Your Investments

Just as the name implies, a self-directed IRA is just that - one in which you, the IRA holder, directs the investment activities for that IRA.  You might be thinking, “But I do that now.  I choose the mutual funds or stocks that I want my IRA to invest in.”  That is true, but your choices are limited to those mutual funds or stocks that your IRA administrator offers to you.  With a self-directed IRA, you can invest in ANY stock or mutual fund, as well as private businesses or even real estate.

Buy Real Estate With Your Self-Directed IRA

Real estate?  Yes, and it doesn’t mean taking out a loan from your IRA, buying the real estate, and then paying it back to your IRA, which is the way traditional IRAs work if you want to use funds from them to buy real estate.  Essentially, your IRA can buy a real estate investment.  In fact, when that happens, technically you don’t own the real estate, but your IRA does.  So any income that results from the real estate investment does not go directly to you, but to your IRA.

When I first heard about using self-directed IRAs to buy real estate, it was like seeing the sun shine through the clouds!  Being a real estate investor, I understand real estate investments.  I am not so savvy though when it comes to stocks or mutual funds, nor am I all that interested in becoming an expert on the subject (right now).  So now, I had a tool where I could use my knowledge of real estate investing to save for my retirement.

Of course, when people hear me talk about self-directed IRAs, of course they ask me if they can be used to buy foreign real estate.  The answer:  Yes.  There’s really no magic about it.  As long as the IRA administrator can get the property paperwork (title, deed, or whatever tool used to grant ownership of real estate), the self-directed IRA can buy the real estate wherever it is located.

There is one small drawback - you and your family cannot use the real estate that is purchased using your self-directed IRA.  That’s a very important note, as someone who wants to buy a property in Costa Rica for a vacation home would not be recommended to use a self-directed IRA.  But, if someone is looking strictly for an investment property, a self-directed IRA would be perfect.

Going even further, it is even possible to purchase an investment property using one’s self-directed IRA with other buyers.  So if one person cannot afford an investment property, but 2 people can, those 2 people can both use their self-directed IRAs to purchase the property jointly with equal ownership.

Self-directed IRAs are valuable tools for real estate investment that should not only be added to every real estate investor’s arsenal, but also anyone that has an IRA.

Share This