Have you ever heard of the expression “every homeowner is a prospective real estate investor?” At Los Sueños Resort and Marina in Costa Rica, this expression is clearly made evident by the high level of property sales and the busy vacation rentals market that has developed in recent years.
The real estate success of Los Sueños can be attributed to various factors, to wit:
* Foreign home buyers in Los Sueños do not face the restrictions that their peers face in other Latin American nations. When it comes to acquiring real estate, the legal framework that has been in place for decades makes virtually no distinctions from nationals and foreigners. All Buyers get clear title exactly as you would in the US or Canada. This is not the case in jurisdictions such as Mexico and the Bahamas, countries that have thousands of acres of beachfront property that is not enticing to foreign investors due to the numerous hurdles to acquisition and restriction to foreigners. At the upscale Marina Village, the center of business and commercial activity in Los Sueños, a prestigious law firm has established an office to help foreign buyers with real estate transactions, and most homeowners here will tell you that the process was smooth and efficient.
* In an effort to solidify the local housing market, Los Sueños Resort only offers whole ownership of properties instead of time shares. This measure has proven very successful for real estate investors who have seen the value of their properties increase considerably, and the strong demand for vacation rentals at Los Sueños has certainly helped in this regard.
* Financial security and added value from a master planned gated community has proven to be one of the major draws for investors at Los Sueños. Of all the luxury resort properties in Costa Rica, Los Sueños alos enjoys the most support by lenders who are willing to provide financing at competitive rates. The bylaws of the master deed in the various residential subdivision give owners plenty of freedom to offer their properties as vacation rentals, and many homeowners are able to keep their units busy with lease agreements through clever marketing and thanks to the support of various property management agencies. To put it succinctly, Los Sueños is a “hot” resort that manages to attract considerable attention from prospective vacationers; in fact, wealthy local families are known to flock here during the two major holiday seasons in Costa Rica: Easter week and the period right after Christmas and before children return to the classroom.
* Los Sueños presents very interesting demographics in terms of ownership. While 65 percent of owners are from the United States, 35 percent are from Costa Rica. This is an interesting statistic that is not observed in other luxury resorts in Costa Rica. We all know the three most important factors in Real Estate, Location, Location, Location. Los Suenos resort and Marina is the closest beach resort to San Jose and the Central Valley where almost 90% of the population resides. Another interesting aspect of this resort is that the Marriott hotel and the residential properties will often have the same occupancy levels which is not the case in similar resorts much further from the city where residential units are ghostly abandoned most of the year.
* The architectural diversity of Los Sueños has helped to attract buyers who can choose between many communities such as Del Mar, Bay Residences, Colina, Altamira, Eco Golf Estates, Marbella, Montebello, Veranda, Vista Tres Bahia, Vista Del Sol, Montecielo, Riviera and The Estates.
In the end, most homeowners at Los Sueños started off as vacationers who rented a home, condo or villa and simply fell in love with the place. Quality of life is very high at Los Sueños, and this could be the most important factor that makes it a great real estate investment.