UGH!!! in Spades!

ISSUE #687: Nov. 26-Dec. 2, 2017

2017-12-04

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: Los Jardines: Units #106A, #114 and #124

Rentals:

Paradisus: Nothing available

Los Jardines: Nothing available

Residencias Los Jardines
property management, rentals & re-sales

FOR SALE
Unit #106A: $ 165,000 / See Unit
Unit #114: $ 199,000 / See Unit
Unit #124: $ 135,000 / 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.

UNIT #114
FOR SALE
$ 199,000

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

This 2 bedroom/2bathroom,1,290 sf single floor end unit home includes a 150 sf front terrace plus parking for one car. This house is fully air conditioned and has recently been professionally decorated by international decorator Alcides Graffe and has undergone a complete renovation—new modern furniture, finishings, window coverings, and art work by Carlos Gambino. It is arguably the nicest furnished unit at Residencias Los Jardines and only steps from the pool

UNIT #124
FOR SALE
$ 135,000

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, + covered parking for one car, is a one bedroom home on the 2nd floor overlooking the large pool. It is ideal for a single person or couple.

Our Lives

Weather: The dry season -seems to now be here... pretty close to being on schedule -Dec. 1... the trade winds have picked up, mostly sunny, we are beginning to have to water plants.

...the odd shower still but nothing substantial.

CR Banks earn their Scorn:

To put closure on the most recent incident... over charging on a CC account. When I asked to pay the balance on my CC, the teller brought up the current balance instead of the previous month's statement. I paid it and then started checking my records. I did not know... how could I have... that what I paid was for the December period... It took the bank a week to figure this out and they did not return messages or phone calls. I had to attend to the bank in person. I asked how can I avoid this in the future... there was no answer... just a statement that the new teller had misunderstood... o.k. I will work on this more the next time.

Foreclosed Property:

I have the keys and have changed the locks. It is really depressing to see how they lived. I have been gathering opinions to help form my action plan. The plan, whatever it will be, is to figure out how to take my lumps in the fastest and least painful way..and move on. While the existing two bedroom house (basically just a shell) could be salvageable, the sewage and drainage of the lot is such that it really isn't usable. I am meeting with Tico contractors, surveyor -the survey I have doesn't match with what I was told the lot lines are and I think it is best to determine the lot lines before making enemies... which I am sure to do... and I have reconnected with the architect I used before... I don't plan on building but need some information as to drainage and sewage... which now runs through other's property into the river.... The solution may be to raze what is there, build a retaining wall and raise the lot to street level... now it slops down from the street... the street does not have sewers. Another option is to clean the lot and sell it... I am liking this option better... but I have to gather more info.

Misc.: Lots and lots of other stuff has happened this week including it being the beginning of the month which means invoicing and rent collection... the cycle repeats itself. I checked out two other loan opportunities... one has been picked up by a friend and the other is being considered by another friend... I had considered both but decided I needed to keep more dry powder for my problem which does not yet have a solution.

News Items of the Week

Comments

1. "Cementgate"... as I said, the rot goes to the top... Solis has been implicated but so far seems to have a teflon coating.

2. Dirty Cops: 31 -basically the entire police force on the east coast...

3. Convention Center: which is built very near a similar, privade (Pedgal) complex... why was is built? Who owns the land? Who got the contract? Who is going to manage it? What budget do they have? Follow the money and learn the answers.

4. CIA Income / Wealth Distribution: Interesting numbers. The assumption is that the greater the disparity (higher the number), the more "unfair" the wealth distribution is and this is a proxy measure of social / political stability and social values. I didn't show all 150, only the first and last and points in between... CR has a higher number than the USA.

1. Costa Rican Police Searches House and Office of Congressman and Presidential Candidate Otto Guevara

Costa Rica’s Attorney General Emilia Navas ordered this Wednesday morning the search of the house and offices of congressmen Otto Guevara and Victor Morales Zapata as well as the vice-ministry of Treasury (Ministerio de Hacienda) Fernando Rodriguez.

The police arrived at the “pink house” or Congress offices (Asamblea Legislativa) along with the Attorney General and forced their entry to the offices of the two representatives where they proceeded to seize documents and technology. The Public Ministry confirmed a total of 7 searches, in the houses and offices of the three men and their advisers. The main offices of Treasury and the Sion building where Zapata’s office is located also received the visit of the police officers.

Guevara has served as a congressman for several periods and has run for the presidency of Costa Rica as the main figure of the political party Movimiento Libertario.

The police operations have to do with the investigation related to the China Cement corruption scandal and for which there are currently seven people in preventive prison.

The relationship between Guevara, Zapata and businessman Juan Carlos Bolaños has been object of investigation for several months now.

2. Costa Rica’s Ministry of Security Confirms Arrest of 31 Police Officers in Limon

The Office of Judicial Investigations (OIJ) arrested this Wednesday morning 31 police officers from Limon who are suspects of illegal searches, abuse of authority, and stealing evidence.

The Minister of Security, Gustavo Mata, confirmed the information and explained that the operation was carried out in coordination with the judicial police. Apparently, the detained men are members of different police units, who were working together to battle the violent crimes that take place in this city mainly as a result of conflicts between drug trafficking groups; however, the OIJ received several reports of illegal behavior of the officers and therefore the Ministry ordered the investigation eight months ago.

27 of the arrested officers are men and the rest are women; according to the information provided a total of 5 formal reports were filed against them and at least 70 anonymous complaints were received by the authorities.

One of the reports refers to an abuse of authority that occurred in January 2017 when two men reported having been stopped and searched by five officers in the area of Cineguita, after this, they supposedly beat them up.

Another of the illegal actions apparently took place in February 2017 when a woman claims an illegal raid to her house after which money and a jewerly were missing. Two similar and separate incidents were reported by a man and a woman in June 2017.

The police officers detained were taken into custody to provide their statement, a judge will decide the necessary precautionary measures

3. Tourism Board Bets on Corporate Tourism with Convention Center in Costa Rica Almost Done

With a progress of over 80% in the construction of the National Congress and Convention Center, the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) is betting on positioning the country as a destination for corporate tourism and meetings with the purpose of diversifying its offer and attracting more visitors and investors.

The National Congress and Convention Center was the missing element for the ICT, the new building which has a cost of approximately US$35 million is located just minutes away from the Juan Santamaria International Airport and just 10km from San Jose, a key location that will facilitate the access from visitors.

“The significant progress on this project represents a wise choice for Costa Rica, by taking on the challenge of diversifying its tourism offer. We are a consolidated destination and we have managed to bring more airlines that connect the country and attract tourists and investments; now, with the National Congress and Convention Center finished we will be ready to compete in this demanding market that requires this type of infrastructure that positions the country at the forefront and at the same time seals our commitment with sustainability”, commented President Luis Guillermo Solis.

The corporate and meetings tourism market moves approximately $11 billion dollars every year, and over 120 million conventions are organized around the world annually according to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).

Another advantage of this market is that it doesn’t low and high seasons, and the type of visitor it attracts usually has a high purchasing power.

According to the ICT for 2018 and 2019 there’s already seven congresses confirmed.

The Convention Center is expected to be inaugurated in April 5, 2018.

4. CIA Measure of Income Distribution Inequality

Distribution of family income - Gini index measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country. The more nearly equal a country's income distribution, the lower its Gini index, e.g., a Scandinavian country with an index of 25. The more unequal a country's income distribution, the higher its Gini index, e.g., a Sub-Saharan country with an index of 50. If income were distributed with perfect equality the index would be zero; if income were distributed with perfect inequality, the index would be 100.

Lesotho       	63.2
Panama		50.7
Costa Rica	48.2
Mexico		48.2
Nicaragua	47.1
USA		45
Russia		41.2
Germany		27
Norway		26.8
Finland		21.5

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

Brian C. Timmons
Property Manager RLJ and Newsletter Author

Costa Rica:
Cell: (+506) 8-455-59-35
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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