A FLASH ENDING!!!

ISSUE #637: Nov. 27 - Dec. 3, 2016

2016-12-05

Brian Timmons, Newsletter Author
Brian Timmons

Dear friends,

When I started Residencias Los Jardines, I started writing a weekly newsletter -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 re-sales and rental availability. Some readers may be interested in this information.

Brian Timmons
Developer / Property manager
Residencias Los Jardines

Web: https://www.residenciaslosjardines.com
Emails: info@residenciaslosjardines.com
ResidenciasPropertyManagement@gmail.com

Featured
rentals & sales

Paradisus Condos / Rohrmoser
FOR SALE / RENT
Visit our website

Paradisus Condos - click to visit

Each of the units consists of two bedrooms / two bathrooms, and a large living/dining/kitchen area. The floor plan of each of these units has eliminated the optional "den / office" divider. The result is a larger area offering more flexible furniture arrangements while still maintaining the option of including an office area. At 105m2 plus two parking spots each and storage locker, they offer a great opportunity for someone seeking views, security, central location, and first class, all round living...

PRICE REDUCTION
Semi furnished unit: For sale: $235,000
Fully furnished unit: For sale: $245,000
Floor 12 -west view

Market activity
sales & rentals

Sales: Unit #107 SOLD.

Rentals: Paradisus: Nothing available
Los Jardines: Unit #123 is available for rent.

Residencias Los Jardines
property management, rentals & re-sales

FOR SALE
Unit #106A: $ 165,000 / See Unit

FOR RENT
Unit #123: $ 1,450 mo. / Immediately / See Unit

For sale

UNIT #106A
FOR SALE
$165,000

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1250
Total area (Sq M): 120
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): 1
Type: Apartment
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.

For rent

UNIT #123
FOR RENT
$1,450 mo. / Immediately

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1516
Total area (Sq M): 140
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.

Our Lives

Weather: transitioning into the dry season... infrequent soft rains, beautiful temperatures, slight breeze.

Life Here: (1) for the past two weeks, the vacant house across the street has had a malfunctioning automatic gate... it opens and closes at random all night long and is more than annoying... (2) a water pipe broke on site so we have no water until it is fixed... several hours... in reality, our water reliability is higher than AyA but sometimes we do experience interruptions, and (3) tried to leave to buy some paint and a replacement ceiling fan which got fried... an accident at the end of the street changed my mind... I'll wait... all this is normal in CR.

A FLASH Ending: Tres Rios house... wow!!! this was a definite surprise. The deal was to close in 4 months with periodic progress payments and a balloon payment when financing was secured... March... On Wednesday the lender received notice that it was to close the next day... that was actually postponed until Thursday because the bank couldn't get their act together. However it did close as re-scheduled and payout was made on Friday. Not only did the lenders make a profit on the resale of the house (ie, sold it for more than their loan and even after their expenses, made money); they had also received a number of interest payments before the lender defaulted. The bottom line was they did very well, not as well as if the deal had gone according to plan, but definitely not a bad investment. What did they do right? The initial loan to value ratio was conservative enough... but just so since it actually sold for much less than they had expected in their initial analysis; and they did allow me to fix it up such that it looked better to a purchaser than it had when the borrower moved out leaving a mess... sometime one has to spend a bit of money to fix these things up... the lenders didn't have this background... I did but it was tough negotiations that I didn't enjoy... and it took a while to get paid.

News Items of the Weeknews

Comments

1. Competition: in general, the cost of air travel is higher in Central and South Am. in general due to historically low competition. This is changing.

2. Fuel Price Reduction: it seems to be back on and motorists are happy... They are on the roads in thousands, driving like maniacs... in a hurry to spend their aginaldo (13th. month bonus)... it is crazy, crazy, crazy.

1. Two low-cost airlines launch operations in Costa Rica

The Volaris inaugural flight between Costa Rica and Guatemala receives the traditional water salute at Juan Santamaría International Airport on Dec. 1.

The travel market in Costa Rica expanded this week with two low-cost airlines opening new flights to and from Juan Santamaría International Airport, outside of San José.

Mexican carrier Volaris, which offers flights to Mexico and the United States, officially launched operations in Central America on Wednesday with daily flights between San José and Guatemala City.

The routes will use Costa Rica as a hub; as the airline already offers connections to San José via Cancún and Guadalajara in Mexico.

Volaris Costa Rica General Manager Fernando Naranjo said at the opening ceremony that the company is very excited about its expansion in Central America, and hope to boost regional connectivity.

“We’re looking forward to further expand our presence in the region, and we will do it following our non-stop flights and low-fare scheme,” he said.

Tourism Minister Mauricio Ventura attended the inauguration and said that the new route represents a great opportunity to promote multi-destination trips to Central America among tourists from all over the world.

More options

Colombia-based Wingo, a subsidiary of Copa Holding, began operating routes between San José and destinations in Guatemala and Panama on Thursday.

The low-cost carrier will travel between San José and Panama five times a week on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Flights to Guatemala City will operate Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

Wingo General Manager Catalina Bretón said in a news release that she expects “Ticos to fly more, spending less on tickets and more in the places they visit.”

Minister Ventura said Thursday that the opening of these new routes consolidates the ministry’s goal of attracting more airlines to the country and improving air connectivity with the rest of the world.

The low-cost market in the region already includes VECA Airlines, which offers nonstop flights from San José to El Salvador since February. From there, travelers can connect to routes to Managua, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

New Tico airline Air Costa Rica is scheduled to open this month. The new carrier plans to open routes to Colombia, El Salvador and the United States.

2. Motorists get cheaper fuel prices starting this week

Per-liter prices of fuel dropped on Tuesday and will remain unchanged until next year.

The cuts, ranging from ¢19-41 per liter, correspond to pending fuel price settings from October and November. The Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) was unable to set fuel prices during those months due to a prohibition from the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, or Sala IV.

Sala IV Justices barred ARESEP from acting on the pending price settings until the court rules on a complaint filed by the Costa Rican Chamber of Industries against ARESEP’s calculation methodology for fuel prices. A ruling on the complaint is still pending, but on Nov. 16, justicies authorized ARESEP to approve a price setting requested by the National Oil Refinery (RECOPE) prompted by variations in international oil prices.

ARESEP approved the new fuel prices on Monday and they went into effect on Tuesday when the agency published them in the official newspaper La Gaceta.

The per-liter price of diesel went from ¢468 to ¢427 ($0.83-0.76); a liter of Plus gasoline went from ¢555 to ¢525 ($0.99-0.93-); a liter of Super gasoline from ¢581 to ¢562 ($1.03-1); and a liter of diesel went from ¢468 to ¢427 ($0.83-0.76).

For a person filling a 45-liter tank, these changes will result in savings of up to ¢1,845 ($3.30), depending on the kind of fuel.

ARESEP said in a new release that the price cuts were bigger than those requested by RECOPE, in order to compensate motorists for the past months. The agency does not have any pending requests to evaluate any other price-settings for the rest of the year.

FOR RENTAL OR SALES INFORMATION
ON ANY OF THE ABOVE, CONTACT:

Brian C. Timmons
Property Manager RLJ and Newsletter Author

Costa Rica:
Cell: (+ 506) 8305-3965
Land line: (+506) 2282-4142 Ext. 101

Canada:
VOIP: (+416) 461-2203

Web: https://www.residenciaslosjardines.com
Emails: info@residenciaslosjardines.com
ResidenciasPropertyManagement@gmail.com

 
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