House Building Tips in Costa Rica

So, once you’ve decided to retire in Costa Rica, you’ve looked at properties and decided they aren’t for you, and you’ve found a contractor, it is time to build.  There are a few key building tips that you will want to remember for your home that is about to go up in Costa Rica.  These will save you quite a few headaches.

•             The best tip to remember is that if you have bought your home for the view, buy the lots around it.  If you have an incredible sea view, the worst thing that can happen is that you have some jerk buy the lot in front of you, put up a huge house, and it is over.

•             Along the coasts, the first 200 meters above the mean high tide is owned by the government, no house can be built within the first 50 meters.  From 50 to 200 meters, the land can be leased from the local municipality; however, foreigners cannot lease land.  If that’s you, someone clever may be able to help you find a way around it.

•             Don’t build anything over three stories high in the beach areas, the Costa Rican Tourist Board highly discourages it, and you really don’t want to deal with the potential repercussions.

•             You cannot build a house within 50 to 100 meters of a river, don’t even try.  You don’t want to pay the money to move a house, do you?

•             Check the local zoning laws, some of them are very strict and very picky; make sure you are properly following all of them.

These tips will help you get your custom home built, and live your retirement dream.  Following them will mean that you are following local laws and regulations and that you won’t have any issue remaining in your dream home.

cb-jaco.com