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

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: As expected, I meet with the one company with whom we have been working for the past several months. They have confirmed all the info. we given them and told them and they have put their own stamp on the project. Based on the meeting today, they have some more groundwork to do. We expect to speak again in a month... ie. the end of May. In the meantime, we'll follow up other leads.

We've been contacted by the architect re. a group of investors / developers... we'll see what develops. In addition, we had another group do a preliminary short listing of possibilities. It's too early to know whether we're on that list.

 

 

Residencias Los Jardines
Property Management, Rentals, Re-Sales

Rain Water: Even though we had prepared for the rainy season, we still found a couple surprises. One drain was clogged and one large pump seems to have a problem discharging the water. We're working on each problem but don't yet have a solution.

Re-landscaping: The Board is trying to make some decisions re. lighting and re-landscaping some areas.

Market Activity

Sales: no one party looking...

Rentals: the multiple unit showing scheduled for Saturday got "rescheduled"; one showing only scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

 

FOR SALE

Unit 103:	$169,000	Reduced from $172,500	See Unit
Unit 125:	$140,000		See unit

FOR RENT

Unit 106C:	$1,300 mo.	Immediately	See Unit
Unit 109:	$1,500 mo.	Available May 1	See Unit
Unit 112:	$1,400 mo.	Available June 1	See Unit
Unit 116:	$1,450 mo.	Immediately	See Unit

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HOUSES FOR SALE

UNIT #103
FOR SALE $169,000
Reduced from $172,500

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1000
Total area (Sq M): 93
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): 1
Type: Detached
Furnished: Yes

1000 sf., single story, detached, two bedroom, two bathroom, with a nice covered terrace overlooking a nicely landscaped tropical backyard. Breakfast counter, dinning room table for 4, parking for one car. Vaulted ceilings in master bedroom and kitchen/dining area.

 

UNIT #125
FOR SALE $140,000

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.

 

HOUSES FOR RENT

UNIT #106C
FOR RENT $1,300 mo.
Available Immediately

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1250
Total Area (Sq M): 120
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): 1
Type: 4-plex
Furnished: Yes

This is a fully furnished 2-bedroom unit situated in a 2-story building, which has two units 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 terraces. Units 106A and B are on the ground floor; Units 106 C and D are on the 2nd. Floor. The solid masonry demising wall (common wall) as well as the 5” concrete slab prevent sound transference.

 

UNIT #109
FOR RENT $1,500 mo.
Available May 1

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1506
Total Area (Sq M): 140
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): 1 Story
Type: Detached
Furnished: Yes

This single story home (1506 sf. + parking for one car) is detached, has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, home office, living room wall / entertainment center along with a built in office and a semi-private terrace. In addition, it has a vaulted ceiling in the “great” room and two skylights. The covered entrance way is suitable for two chairs located next to a covered garden area. Once through the impressive front door, you enter the “great room” which houses the kitchen, dining room, office and living room. Upon entering, there is a built in wooden hutch surfaced with granite—it matches all the built-in furniture in the great room. There is a clothes washer and dryer off the 2nd bedroom. The owners have added many personal touches and have done a supurb job in decodrating the home.

 

UNIT #112
FOR RENT $1,300 mo.
Available June 1

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 #116
FOR RENT $1,450 mo.
Available Immediately

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

This 1,290 sf single floor home includes a 300 sf front terrace plus parking for one car and a separate, secure storage locker. It is and end unit and therefore attached on only one side by a 6 inch cement demising (common) wall, which prevents sound transfer.

 

 

 

Our Lives

WEATHER: We had a horrific tropical storm on Wednesday... confused winds and 2+ inches of rain in 45 min. Other than that, normal rainy season weather.

A New Bird: While winding down from the day, sipping a margarita in the hammock, a scene of nature was playing out: A large bird was evidently stalking a smaller birds nest. The little guys were dive bombing the much larger bird. I focused on the larger bird: I'd never seen it before... body was dark brown, head black with white "cheeks", and a long, strikingly brilliant Meyer lemon tail feathers... I looked in the Guide to BIRDS OF COSTA RICA... nothing similar...

The bird was identified by a respondent to my quire on a Costa Rican blog space. It was a Montezuma Oropendola, he first and only one I've seen at Los Jardines. I have seen their distinctive nests in the small islands in Lake Nicaragua near Granada...

CR's Road to the Swamp: A total management, financial, engineering, and environmental disaster:

MOPT Authorities Had No Clue Who Was To Watch Over the Border Road Project

The border road parallel to the San Juan river, on the Nicaragua border, known commonly as "la tocha fronteriza" is at the centre of a controversy that led to the forced resignation of the Ministro de Obras Publicas y Tranportes (MOPT), Francisco Jimenez and an investigation into corruption and payoffs.

Construction on the road, whose official name is the Juan Rafael Mora Porras, began in late 2010, however, the audit of the project by a private company started this year.

This means that MOPT authorities had no idea what was going on with the project and more did not know who was responsible for the controls, including the audit.

The interim MOPT minister, Luis Llach, who took over the post this week said he was not aware which agency was responsible for checking the work progress, including the time billed by each heavy machine on the project.

For this the minister has asked the Consejo Nacional de Vialidad (CONAVI) - national roads authority - for a full report to verify, in Costa Rican double speak, the distribution of resources (payments made).

The Cacisa company, the same that audited the Caldera, started work at the end of January this year, auditing the billing by the some 34 companies and 900 workers involved in the project.

On several occasions the work crews had to be reorganized to avoid underutilization according to preliminary reports.

The project, it appears, also lacks an engineering and surveying report.

The new road crosses some 160 kilometres along the northern border of Costa Rica, linking a number of communities which until the road had to use the San Juan river to connect with each other.

The skirmish between Costa Rica and Nicaragua over the Isla Calera led to the building of the road.

Last week the MOPT minister was asked to resign by presidenta Laura Chinchilla, following an investigation into alleged corruption by two CONAVI official and three days ago (May 7) the government, in a damage control effort, cancelled the contracts with the private companies.

Brian, Lita, Hugo, irreverent Vicka, the pigeon toed parrot, Chico II and Chica II