Homes for sale and homes for rent in Santa Ana, San José, Costa Rica | Newsletters

Brian Timmons

Dear friends,

When I started Residencias Los Jardines, I started writing a weekly news letter -determined to tell all the good, bad, and the ugly. I knew some readers would be interested in the construction process. I expected others might be interested in the lifestyle of two people who had decided to live outside the box. For others, the adventures of Lita, the parrot and the cat took on an entertainment saga all its own.

Residencias Los Jardines is finished. We periodically have resales and rental availability. Some readers may be interested in this information.

More and more, the content will be dominated by events of our new project, "El Dorado" for short. While the future is always uncertain, I again aim to tell it like it happens -the good, the bad, and the ugly, and that is what follows.

Brian Timmons
DEVELOPER:
Residencias Los Jardines / https://www.residenciaslosjardines.com
Hacienda El Dorado / https://www.eldoradocostarica.com
E-mail:
brian@eldoradocostarica.com
info@residenciaslosjardines.com
ResidenciasPropertyManagement@gmail.com

Construction Log
Updates about Hacienda El Dorado

Rio Oro: This time of year, the property looks its best -green, and the continuing grass / brush cutting enhances that look. Now if Europe and N. American can just get their social, political, financial, and economic acts together...

Residencias Los Jardines
Property Management, Rentals, Re-Sales

Market Activity: Saturday morning we had Chris Howard's tour consisting of 10 people considering relocating -buying / renting- to CR. While we haven't gotten any follow up from this monthly tour for the past year, we used to get a lot of follow up in terms of both sales and rentals. We'll see this time.

Sales: we had one retired Venezuelan couple check us out; we'll see.

Rentals: We have one addition to the rental stock -Unit 112- see below.

Pending sale of 112: we continue to work our way through the snag and believe we now have a plan for it to happen but it will probably take another two weeks. More work and again the closing recedes into the future. We're all getting frustrated and tired; I believe it will happen and remembered as a marathon for reasons which are murky.

Mosquitoes: this issue is being readied for the shareholders to vote on.

Garden Paradise: this time of the year the plants get the right amount of sun and moisture. We've hauled 4 loads of cuttings away this week. There's always more to do but we're in pretty good shape. We continue to have to move plants around as shade / sun / and root conditions change.

FOR SALE / RENT:

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HOUSES FOR SALE / RENT

UNIT #106B
FOR SALE $169,000
FOR RENT $1,200 mo.
September 1

See a complete description of this unit

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1270
Total area (Sq M): 115
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): Ground
Type: Apartment
Furnished: Yes

This is a fully furnished 2-bedroom unit situated in a 2-story building, which has two nits on the ground floor and two units on the 2nd. floor. Each unit is the same size 1,250sf) divided into 800 sf of interior space and 450 sf of covered front and back erraces. Floor. The solid masonry demising wall (common wall) as well as the 5" oncrete slab prevent sound transference.

UNIT #112
FOR RENT $1,450 mo.
September 1

See a complete description of this unit

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1290
Total Area (Sq M): 120
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): 1 Story
Type: Attached
Furnished: Yes

This 1,290 sf single floor home includes a 300 sf front terrace plus parking for one car. It is attached on two sides by a 6 inch cement demising (common) wall, which prevents sound transfer.

UNIT #115
FOR SALE $205,000
FOR RENT $1,550 mo.
Immediate

See a complete description of this unit

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1345
Total area (Sq M): 124
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): 1 Story
Type: Attached
Furnished: Yes

This 1,345 sf single floor home includes a 200 sf private terrace plus parking for one car. It is attached on two sides by a 6” solid concrete block wall which prevents sound transfer. This is an extremely well decorated home with lots of natural wood built ins.

UNIT #121
FOR SALE $265,000

See a complete description of this unit

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1423
Total area (Sq M): 131
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2.5
Floor(s): 2 Story
Type: Detached
Furnished: Yes

This two story, detached 1,423 sf home + parking for one car has two bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms and a 2nd. floor covered terrace.

The open railed wrought iron cement stair case leads to the 2nd. level where the master bedroom with en-suite master bathroom as well as 2nd. bedroom and en-suite bathroom are located. Also accessed from the 2nd. floor hallway is the covered terrace.

This is a very nicely furnished home with a good floor plan for those wanting two floors.

UNIT #125
FOR SALE $150,000

See a complete description of this unit

Total Area (Sq Ft): 662
Total area (Sq M): 61
Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Floor(s): 2nd Floor
Type: Semi-Detached
Furnished: Yes

This 662 sf, + parking for one car and 33sf locker is a one bedroom home on the 2nd floor overlooking the large pool. It is ideal for a single person or couple —or investment property.

Our Lives

WEATHER: normal rainy season weather returned -sunny in the mornings, clouding up mid day and usually a rain for a couple hours followed by clearing. We had one hard rain but most have been relatively normal.

Bye Bye Birdie: While Lita continues to hope he will return, there's no evidence this will happen. She's dealing with her grief and making peace with the loss.

Time Out Tavern: This restaurant has returned to it's former self -great food, decent quantities, adequate service... prices are a bit higher... but after a two year slump in all the above (except prices) they seem to have come back and back from the brink of extinction as patron's have returned.

Brad's is gone; they didn't figure it out.

Hotel Leyenda: our favorite hotel in Samara / Playa Carrillo -a place we've gone to many times and have taken many people. They seem to have a new policy now which is based on Tico economics -they would rather remain empty vs. getting something less than rack rate... It makes no sense to me from what I was taught in my undergraduate conservative school of economics but then I've never understood Tico economic "thinking". I know pretty much the incremental cost of having clients and I offered three times that cost for 9 room nights... they turned it down. In the past, they've been very happy to accept a deal to net $500; now they have a new contact whose thinking is at least different than the previous person's and mine... too bad... we both loose. I'll phone the owner and have a chat with him; maybe the policy is coming from him; maybe he doesn't know -if he doesn't know, he should- I like him and I want to see he and the hotel succeed.

Mother's Day: Last Monday was Mother's Day and a national, paid holiday.

Brian, Lita, Hugo, irreverent Vicka, the pigeon toed parrot