Commercial Real Estate
There is commercial
real estate for anyone thinking of starting a retail business
or looking for office space. Office space in and around San
José can be leased for anywhere from $7 to $20 per
square meter, depending on the location.
Downtown San
José has outgrown itself. The majority of office
space is now found west of the city. More and more tenants
are moving into new buildings on the outskirts of town. The
new Torre Mercedes and Centro Colón are huge office
buildings west of downtown. Oficentro is a huge complex of
five office buildings, to the south of Sabana Park. About
five minutes to the west is Plaza Roble, located next to Multiplaza
Mall. In Santa Ana, the newly constructed Plaza Forum Center
has abundant office space.
Many large homes in the Rohrmoser area have been turned into
businesses because of the lack of adequate space and office
facilities in San José. All of the growth toward the
west has happened because many Costa Rican landlords have
not refurbished buildings in the downtown area.
Financing
Until about 10 years ago it was difficult for anyone to obtain
financing here. The only thing available was owner financing.
Now all of that has changed. Costa Rica Costa Ricans and foreigners
may now apply for loans from public and private banks. However,
foreigners need to have a residency permit and/or a job. Interest
on the loan and requirements may vary from bank to bank. Please
see the next page for details about financing.
A well-kept secret is that foreigners may use pre-tax IRAs
from the United States to purchase property here (see the
section in this book about IRAs). This procedure is perfectly
legal. They can also take out a line on credit of the equity
of their home in the United States. We also know of some people
who have obtained financing in Costa Rica without being residents
as long as their credit rating is good in their home country.
Now you can be part of bigger things by participating in
joint venture investor groups. This is not a solicitation
for investments, but for those who wish to join forces with
other like-minded people seeking larger tracts of land.
For information about financing and joint venture investor
groups, contact Costa Rica real estate and retirement properties toll-free
at 1-888-581-1786
E-mail: robert@ costaricaretirementvacationproperties.com.
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