Ladies & Gentlemen….Casa Macolla:

Posted by Daniel on July 14th, 2010 filed in Uncategorized
Comments Off

We will be working on plumbing, electrical and walls next week. The house will be completely finished in 1 month.

Casa Macolla, Loma Vista

Posted by Daniel on May 20th, 2010 filed in Uncategorized
Comments Off

I would like to present to you, the first photos of my newest construction, Casa Macolla (pronounced macoya).

The structural integrity of the home is 16 beams of bamboo about 6 inches thick each beam. They are set in concrete with a foundation more than 10 feet deep and 10 feet wide.

The first floor is the bathroom that will be finished in slate, rustic style ceramic tile and there is a water reserve tank of of 1200 liters accessed by a door on the floor of the bathroom.

This is the view from the top floor, which is the main floor will there will be the kitchen, living area & dining area. I designed the house, so a half bath can easily be added on later on the top floor, so people do not have to walk down 3 floors to go tinkle. I could not put in a half bath right now as I am on a really tight budget.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS; CostaRica.Daniel@yahoo.com

Update Puerto Viejo & Loma Vista

Posted by Daniel on May 3rd, 2010 filed in Uncategorized
Comments Off

PUERTO VIEJO; To start, Puerto Viejo was written up in the travel section of the New York Times!!!! This is great for our investment. Read about it at; http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/travel/04next.html?ref=travel?8dpc

A new law has changed in Costa Rica. Now, every property needs a “visado” stamp, which means “visited”. Every property needs to be inspected and approved by the municipality before anyone can sell or build on their land.

This was a new law that passed 2 years after we purchased this land. However, I took it upon myself to get the visado stamps for everybody!!! It was not easy, there were some extra administration fee’s that I had to pay to get the approval in a timely manner, but we all have the stamps. It was $50 per lot for “administration fee”, plus an additional $50 management fee I am charging to help pay for my travel expenses down there, $100 total.

I still have to pay our taxes. The reason I have not done it yet is because only one person sent in their money so far. This is very important, so I will lower my management fee to $75 and that is only to help pay for travel expenses back there. The taxes itself will be around $25 a lot. I will be going back in July to take care of the taxes. So,

PUERTO VIEJO LOT OWNERS, PLEASE MAIL ME $200 AT;
Daniel Berkley
2854 Ridge Road
Steamboat Springs, CO 80487

That will pay for the visado stamps and taxes.

Our fence was in need of help due to the wet ground and 2000 plus lbs animals brushing up against them. The owner of the cows that grazes our land (keeping it nice and clean) repaired our fence for free, saving us thousands of dollars!!!

It was in his best interest and in my opinion, partly his responsibility to repair and maintain the fence and that is exactly what he is doing, saving us a few thousand dollars in repairs.

The posts he used are not the greatest, but he is maintaining the boundaries for us, which is what is important. To give you an idea on how valuable it is to have his cows there, the house I have in Puerto Viejo is on a similar size lot about 1200 square meters and it is costing me $50 a month to have someone cut the grass!!

LOMA VISTA DE MATAPALO DE SANTA CRUZ, GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA; The project is going well. I had completed the environmental study the municipality required in order to get my visado stamps. The visados should be ready on Wednesday and than the planos will be sent to the National Registry for Catastro. At that point, I can officially sell lots, but I am going to wait until the house and pool is finished.

Now that it has rained it really firmed up the road base I put down and the road to the top of the property looks great.

We have great water pressure all the way to the top of the property, which was a big mystery. We thought the altitude would be too high and we would need a water pump for good pressure, but it is not necessary.

I should have photos to share with you by next month of the v-house/cone home, which I am calling Casa Macolla, because the home is like a Macolla tree. The main structure of the house is 16 beams of bamboo, each beam over 5 inches thick. Very strong and flexible in case of earthquake, which has not been uncommon in the world today and needs to be planned for, especially here where they get big earthquakes at times. Don’t worry, the last huge one was 50 years ago, however, we are do another one soon in Guanacaste.

What I am most excited about is the POOL! I am doing an all natural pool. No chemicals, no expensive electric bills from constantly running water pumps. It is flexible material that is earthquake resistant. A big portion of the pool has gorgeous plants growing actually inside selected areas of the pool that acts as a natural filter.

The plants are green all year round and never needs to be watered. Check out the type of pool I will be building at Loma Vista at www.NaturalSwimmingPools.com.

For questions and comments, email me at CostaRica.Daniel@yahoo.com

My cone homes

Posted by Daniel on March 12th, 2010 filed in Uncategorized
Comments Off

For all of you to get a better idea for the homes I am soon to build in my newest development, Loma Vista, Playa Grande, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, check out this link. Lessen your carbon footprint and build on steep terrain that normally would have been deemed unbuildable,  www.archdaily.com/3762/v-houses-heinz-legler/

Questions or comments; CostaRica.Daniel@yahoo.com

Signs of recovery.

Posted by Daniel on February 1st, 2010 filed in Uncategorized
Comments Off

Signs of a recovery.

In my personal situation regarding my real estate business, I was lucky to sell my home in NOsara in July. That gave me a little money to work with to start my new project, Loma Vista. 14 forested 1.25 acre lots with community pool & guest house and now that I have started, I need to fire sell something else, anything, to finish the project.

I think there are others in a similar situation. They have seen a little action and need a little more to continue and this is helping with momentum.

Generalizing even further, those who are sitting on equity in their properties have become realistic now with where the market is at. They have been waiting for a year and a half now and want to see some action. Those who are sitting on money are getting bored. I think both sides realize that the market is not going to go down any further and are ready to make deals……

This in a way, have made it easier for Sellers, because after the colossal hit our market took just months ago, if someone is out there looking to buy, they are serious buyers. Unqualified homebuyers or tire kickers are not so common now. The people I have encountered recently are serious.

CURRENT ACTION for Daniel Berkley Inc.  Finally, after 6 months waiting I have a lot under contract in Puerto Viejo, Limon. It is 700 square meters one block from the beach listed at $40,000 and a sale is in process.

I dropped the price on the spec-house on Playa Negra, Puerto Viejo Limon from $125,000 to $85,000 and now it is starting to get shown a lot. A lot of the people interested in the house, is also interested in buying the lot next door, which surprised me after so long of seeing no interest. Now, people with money that want to buy 2 or 3 properties from me are showing up at once. Most likely, of my inventory, the Puerto Viejo properties will move first based on the recent activity I have been getting.

I want this sale to happen, because it would be the difference between financing the construction of the community pool & rancho for Loma Vista or taking out a small business loan. For those of you interested in financing in Costa Rica; once you are established in the country with land, bank accounts and time visiting here, lending is getting easier. However, a small amount like what I am looking for, I am taking out an equity line of credit from my bank in the United States.

I guess, what I am saying is, if anyone out there wants a lot in Puerto Viejo, Limon, I take all major credit cards………

Current Construction, I got the quote for electric. To bring it, 600 meters will cost $10,700. I have paid and they are working on getting permits to start construction. I will probably have electric on my farm in the next 3 weeks.

In this moment the backhoe is there installing the water line from the local water tanks located 800 meters away Water I have successfully put together a brilliant plan for providing water to all 14 lots; I made an agreement with the local ASADA (town water) that I drill a well, connect it to their system and we share the water and they agreed. Now that I am providing to a public service instead of a private development, the time to get legal water was cut from 2 months to possibly 2 years and it will cost 65% less!!!!

Making a deal with local water board is a big achievement, but it gets better…..The ASADA needed their own lot where the well and water system is going and I negotiated a lot for the ASADA, from my next door neighbor. The deal is, he gives the lot, I pay for installation of the water system, we share the water rights and he, I and ASADA all agreed!!

Not only did I negotiate a free lot that I would have given out of my land if I had to, but where the new ASADA lot is will cost me thousands of dollars less to drill and it will produce a lot more water. It was a very successful achievement for the project. The reason why is, most ASADAS, including Nosara, shuts their water off at certain times of the day in the late months of the dry season. We are sitting on a lot of water, we will have a gusher and we will have lots of water all year round.

We can go into water rights another time, but if you are interested, or have any questions about real estate in Costa Rica, contact me at CostaRica.Daniel@yahoo.com .

Once I have electric and water, the actual construction of my house, guesthouse and pool will all be quick. I have already purchased all the material to build. My goal is to start construction by February 20th and I want to be done with construction and have the first phase of 4 lots, 1 house and community pool & guesthouse available for sale by June 2010.

Posted by Daniel on December 30th, 2009 filed in Uncategorized
Comments Off

I am back living in Costa Rica working on my new project, Lomas Vistas Real.

This community consists of 14 forested lots, 1.25 acres in size. Each lot will include ownership rights to pool, guest house and common fruit and vegetable garden. The first house will be available for $85,000, which will include 1/3 ownership of one of the lots. Each lot will be available for $50,000.00.

At the moment I am working on bringing electric to the farm and I am exploring my options on what route to go for water. I could do my own private system, but in order to do that I need a permit to drill the well and a water concession to use the well after it is there. This is a long and tedious process.

The other option is to work with the aqueduct. I have an agreement with them that if I drill a well for us to share, they will give me the 14 water connections I need. Since they are an established aqueduct and public service I have more rights and power with them in local government.  We are trying to get an exception for me to drill in what would normally be a restricted zone, which would cut the cost to 1/3 of what IH ave budgeted for a private system. That would free up capitol to do a really nice pool & gueshouse for the community.  Either way, I will have water at the property to start construction on the first house, January 15th. The water connection will be sufficient for one house in the mean time and the direction we will go with water for the rest of the project will be determined in the months to come.

LOTS IN PUERTO VIEJO,  The neighborhood is growing fast regardless of economic crisis. ON the road to our 10 lots there 4 new homes built and they all look very nice. The investors are thinking long term and hope to do a development there by 2013.

We need to repair the fence and add posts for the tree post that did not grow due to the fact that the ground is too wet. It will be $250 per lot to build a strong fence. I need about 100 concrete posts, 100 small sacks of concrete, 3 more lines of barbwire, plus labor, I am estimating about $2500.

Also, I am charging a service fee of $200 for anyone that wants me to go the the municipality in Bribri to pay their taxes.  That fee includes the actual cost of the taxes, which is about $25 for the year.

Mar de Plata is now available for vacation rentals.

Posted by Daniel on November 18th, 2009 filed in Uncategorized
Comments Off

- Please check the rental page for more information. Here are photos of the model home. For rentals or sales information, please contact us at costarica.daniel@yahoo.com

1st phase of Mar de Plata completed

Posted by Daniel on September 30th, 2009 filed in Uncategorized
Comments Off

Gorgeous 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom / 2 level 1298 sqft single family homes on seperately deeded lots with 1/8 ownership of pool, rancho & common areas, beach front, Nosara Playa Guiones starting at $285,000. This property is located in the heart of all the best resturaunts, markets, office center and right in front of the most consistent surf break in Costa Rica. These homes are the best price, best location, therefore hottest rentals in town.

I just got back today from a 6 week business trip in Playa Guiones, Nosara wrapping up this project. Everything went very well and I am pleased on how these units turned out. We will be furnishing 2 of them for rent and leaving one vacant for sale. We will be renting these units for $1,000 a week and we expect to be booked solid from November – May, so if you are interested in purchasing or renting at Mar de Plata, please contact me at CostaRica.Daniel@yahoo.com

Mar de Plata, Playa Guiones, Nosara CR

Posted by Daniel on July 26th, 2009 filed in Uncategorized
Comments Off

- We are finished with the first 2 homes, pool & rancho and they turned out magnificent. The third home (orange) will be completed by the end of the month.  After all homes are completed we will be working on the common grounds, landscaping, entrances, fences, etc. Stone piller, gated entrances & all the rain gutters will be installed at the beginning of phase 2.

 

  These homes are 2 bed/ 2ba. 1200 sqft units, in front of the beach. We are offering competitive pre-construction pricing before completion at only $275,000

 

 

 

Questions, comments or to purchase on of these lovely homes, please contact me at costarica.daniel@yahoo.com  or US direct; 970.485.2935

Making big progress

Posted by Daniel on July 14th, 2009 filed in Uncategorized
2 Comments »

- The real estate market in Costa Rica is showing signs of recovery as far as my business is concerned. As of right now I have had 1 sale and 2 more Costa Rica properties under contract this month.

Yesterday, I traded one of my beach lots that is located in Camaranol to my friend, for a lot in Stagecoach, 30 min. from Steamboat. I lived there for 5 years and my parents recently retired there, so I am excited about the trade.

My house in Nosara is sold, closing today and it sold for $125,000. I also traded a lot in Puerto Viejo for a well I need drilled for my new Green project, Lomas Vistas Real, where I will be building my solar home, just outside of Playa Grande, Guanacaste. I am not so sure I want to do the trade and I would still sell for cash as well as the well driller would be happy to take cash.

Final walk through on 2 of the homes for Mar de Plata is scheduled today. The last home of the first phase is projected to be completed at the end of July. We have not sold one yet, but the first phase is just getting finished now and we are in the off season at the moment, so sales activity normally is slow until November. We reduced the price for the first home from $325,000 to $275,000 an excellent value.

I am going to tell you my secret, CREATIVITY!! In such tough economic struggles I have encountered success by regressing back to the bartering system and it has worked out well. For example; my lot for sale on the Caribbean coast I traded the well driller. Normally I would sell the lot to raise money to drill a well for my sustainable community, Vistas Lomas Real. Today, I just traded the well driller the lot for a well and no closing costs!!  All the activity I have had, has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with making things happen, thinking outside the box.

The secret to selling my house is I sold cheap, but it was a calculated decision. I realized, it is better to sell and take a hit and re-invest into a development that will make me far more money then waiting for top dollar.

Speaking of which, I also reduced the price on the house in Puerto Viejo from $125,000 to $99,000!!! Priced to sell!!

IN short, my progress, SOLD: Nosara house, Puerto Viejo lot, Camaranol lot

Focused on selling: Mar de Plata & house in Puerto Viejo

Ladies & gentleman we are back in business!!!

for questions or comments, email me at costarica.daniel@yahoo.com