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: ...the group we have been speaking with over the past several months, has no money. We knew that but that was their problem.

This week, I've shown the property twice. We'll see.

Residencias Los Jardines
Property Management, Rentals, Re-Sales

Rain Water: we're still awaiting that good downpour to test the extent to which we've resolved our initial problems.

Re-landscaping: only tweaking the garden lighting... we still have some areas to focus on but this week was "catch-up" for the overall garden.

Re-Establishing Expectations: this re-education continues...

Market Activity

Sales: no calls.

Rentals: no calls.

Comments: I contacted a number of agents who, in the past, have successfully marketed Los Jardines in the past. All but one said that the market was "very slow" and that rental prices had decreased. One said that our prices were no longer competitive; that there were many very nice vacancies at lower prices. Another agent said he was still active although he had found prices had dropped -and I also note that he has fewer promotional postings so while he's busy, he doesn't seem to be as busy as before... In another exchange, a person was staying at a friend's compound similar to Los Jardines located in Alejuela; that compound has two vacancies whereas it had never before had vacancies. On another forum I monitor, several weeks ago I saw many, many individuals listing vacancies -many in the lower price range and I continue to see individual listings. The same person I spoke with in Alejuela has family in three European countries -Spain, France and Italy... he said his reports were that the economy was bad in those locations. I had some replacement covers made for our bar-b-qs. I used a seamstress I've used many times; I asked her how business was... she said awful, she's barely surviving... our two covers were ready the next day... she had no business...

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

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HOUSES FOR SALE

UNIT #125
FOR SALE $140,000

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.

HOUSES FOR RENT

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

See a complete description of this unit

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 July 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 #113
FOR RENT $1,450 mo.
Available June 21

See a complete description of this unit

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. It is attached on one side by a 6 inch cement demising (common) wall, which prevents sound transfer. The three other sides allow light, ventilation and garden views.

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

See a complete description of this unit

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: Normal rainy season weather...

Our week: Stupid Design: A simple "repair" turned into an ordeal... because the product had changed slightly (and not for the better). This seems to be a case of a designer never thinking about the product he was designing and never himself using it -and it really had nothing to do with CR... the same problem would have happened anywhere except here it was more difficult to solve... We have light standards around the parking and walkway areas for use at night. The lighted part of the standard has a plastic "hood: with deflectors. Over time, some of the deflectors had been broken -careless driving, falling branches, tools, etc... who knows all the reasons. I had searched and after a week, found the correct replacement part... (that in itself was a surprise). However, to install a bulb, three screws had to be removed... The nut on each screw was recessed and we had to find a special tool to unscrew it... this was the slight design change from those which I bought 10 years earlier -and not an improvement. We knew we needed a nut driver or a thin walled socket -Six places and 4 hours later we found it... and then promptly redesign the fastening system so we won't have the problem in the future. Designers should be required to use what they design...

Commercial Construction: this continues unabated. The huge building in Pozos continues toward completion. Next to it seems to be the beginning of another building -what it is going to be is not yet known. The large commercial center near Cruz Roja in Santa Ana continues at full speed. The hotel / convention center complex near Multiplaza continues; a building which I was told would be a restaurant (across the road from two other new restaurants) continues -if so, I won't be able to afford anything given the price of the building itself. The "hole in the ground" in Pozos is quite -normal sequence- probably awaiting further approvals. The development contiguous to Los Jardines on the east, continues -the buildings are completed on the outside- interior finishing work is on going. A new site near Mas X Menos is being developed for residential. A number of other residential developments have started. ICE continues to string more cables; the AyA subcontractors have finally left Pozos for a little while only because they haven't yet connected the water pipes; a small mall in Pozos is nearing completion as is one in Santa Ana central.

The government is bent on borrowing money at 6.5% interest to fund their deficit--mainly government salaries, not infrastructure which would be an investment and might yield a return; no thought has been given as to how to pay it back... the Limon dock workers have shut down the port and shippers are loosing millions of dollars -bananas and pineapples are rotting on the docks; a general strike has been called for later this month. A second raid was conducted looking for information on a government office suspected of misusing funds which may have coordinated the boondoggle boarder road to nowhere which is more likely to provide a direct pathway for illegal immigrants from Nicaragua into CR...

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