services
Confidential advisory
Straight answers before you commit. We advise buyers, sellers and people relocating to Costa Rica on what a property is, what it will cost to own, and who to trust with the parts we do not do ourselves.
What we advise on
Most of the expensive mistakes in Costa Rica happen before an offer is written: the wrong ownership structure, a concession-zone lot bought as if it were titled land, a residency plan that does not fit the purchase, a builder chosen on price alone. Consulting is where we work through those questions with you, at whatever stage you are at.
Buying. Where to look and where not to, what a fair price is in the area you are considering, how to hold title, what closing actually costs, and how to buy from abroad without flying down for every step. If you are considering a Self-Directed IRA, we have done those transactions and can explain what they involve.
Selling. What your property is worth to the buyers who are actually in the market today, what to fix and what to leave, and how to market it to North American buyers who have never seen the road it sits on.
Relocating. Residency categories and which one fits your circumstances, what moving here costs, schools, healthcare, and the practical questions that come up in the first year. Much of this we have answered for ourselves.
Owning from a distance. What it takes to run a rental or keep a second home in good order when you are not here, and what a property manager should and should not be doing for you.
How it works
Start with a conversation. Tell us where you are in the process and what is worrying you, and we will tell you honestly whether we can help and what we would look at first. Some questions take one call. A purchase or a relocation is usually a series of them, spread across months, and we stay with it.
Where a question needs a lawyer, a surveyor, an immigration specialist or a builder, we say so, and we introduce you to someone we have used ourselves. We do not take referral fees for those introductions.
Who you will talk to
Ian Shaw, a Certified International Property Specialist who lives in Guanacaste and brings over a decade of experience helping Canadian and American buyers here. Property management and rental questions go to Danielle Henry. For buyers at the top of the market, or anyone weighing whether to open or grow a brokerage here, our partner Leonora Prince brings more than forty years of building and running real estate firms in Hawaii and the mainland United States.