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NOWADAYS, almost everyone shops for real estate
on the Internet, as potential buyers can view pictures, features
and prices of properties in the comfort of their own homes.
Realtors and developers know this, which means that a lot
of information is available. As a result, it can be hard
to find exactly what you are looking for among all the ads,
pop-up windows and millions of search results.
The other challenge is gauging the reliability of information
you find on the Web. How to Get Good Results It is important
to note that Google, MSN and Yahoo! all give different results
for any search; therefore, it’s a good idea to perform
searches using all three engines. An easy way do this is
to use a meta search engine such as Search.com, Dogpile.com
or Mamma.com.
These search several sources at once and offer
handy related searches and options alternate suggestions
that give you more focused terms related to your first
query.
Thinking about what you are looking for before you start
searching is a great way to save time. By far, the most popular
search phrase is “Costa
Rica real estate,” though this is not actually a
very good query. It’s too general, and includes homes,
land and buildings unlikely as it is that you will be buying
all of these at once. Include the area or neighborhood you
want, the kind of property you are looking for and even specific
features.
You will go directly to more relevant pages and sites if
you type in “Tamarindo
Costa Rica ocean view beach condo for sale,” rather
than just “beach condo.” Another way to narrow
down your search is by using the search engines’ advanced
features.
Search engines offer advanced search menus where you can
ask for an exact match, eliminate words you don’t want
in the pages and even specify where the term appears on the
page. Using these features, if you’re looking for a
vacation home to buy, for example, you can eliminate vacation
travel sites, vacation homes for rent and vacation homes
in other countries from your search results.
How to Avoid Scam Artists Once you start finding sites,
an important issue arises. How can you tell if a really slick
Web site belongs to a reputable realtor or developer? You
should follow several rules to ensure you don’t get
conned:
• First and foremost, don’t send any money!
Money for real estate transactions is placed in escrow, or
you pay when you are sitting in the lawyer’s office
(hopefully your own lawyer) and the seller signs the papers.
• Don’t buy a property you haven’t seen
in person. There is no way you can tell what a property is
like before you see it. Get references. Before you decide
to deal with a realtor or developer, ask him or her for references
from clients, other professionals and business associates.
• While you are surfing, you can watch for a few telltale
signs on Web sites. Reputable people tend to post their photos
on the site. Some may be camera shy, but it is pretty standard
for a realtor to have a photo and brief biography somewhere
on the site.
• Contact information is vital. The physical office
address or mailing address, multiple phone numbers and particularly
names are important.
• Many sites make a point of showing their affiliations
to groups such as the Costa Rican Chamber of Realtors, international
organizations or franchises, and local business associations.
These are all good signs, when the affiliation is meaningful
and involves a group that really exists.
• Another good sign is if the site links to other
realtor Web sites in Costa Rica. If they will tell you about
realtors in other areas of the country, it means they have
strong relationships in the industry.
• No Google ads. I take it as a warning sign when
a site has “sponsor” ads from Google or Overture
on it. Realtors and developers should make money from property
sales or providing valuable services to buyers and sellers
not from the traffic of browsers clicking on ads on their
Web sites. While this is not a sure sign of misbehavior,
it would tell me to watch closely for other signs.
• No hyperbole. There is a big difference between
good ad copy and outrageous claims. For example, watch out
for claims such as the following (taken from the site of
a known rip-off): “In the last five years property
values have increased 30 fold and are expected to continue
to increase dramatically as U.S. industry, tourism and retirement
surges.” (So, if I bought a condo in Escazú in
2000 for $100,000, it is now worth $3 million!) “At
this very moment the Costa Rican government is building a
super highway from the international airport in San José to
the central Pacific coast…
The government is also building an additional airport in
the city of Orotina…” (Somebody better tell Alterra,
the airport management company, that the government is building
a whole new airport behind its back!)
There are two old sayings to keep in mind when judging claims
made on any Web site: “You get what you pay for,” and “If
it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.” Investing
in real estate and construction in Costa Rica can be highly
profitable and rewarding, but there is no magic formula.
You can’t reasonably expect to come across a Web site
on the Internet that will allow you to triple a $6,000 investment
in one year. Russ Martin is the marketing coordinator for
the American-European Real Estate group; visit www.american-european.net
to see more than 500 properties in Costa Rica and Panama.
If you want more information about the best real
estate affordable, please contact Costa
Rica real estate and retirement properties or call toll
free 1 888 581 1786. |
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