People who
come down to Costa Rica looking for real estate, are generally pursuing their
dreams of retiring in paradise or
looking for the perfect investment or vacation home. Finding the right property though, can be a
long and tedious journey, but the rewards of discovering that little piece of heaven
that jump out of your dreams and into reality are worth the
time, effort, and much, much more.
Nonetheless,
coming face to face with your dream only to figure out you cannot afford it, can be an anti-climatic Nightmare.
The best way
to prevent wasting time and going back home empty handed, feeling like the sad
little kid that did not get the birthday present they expected, is to know
exactly what you can spend, before you even start to shop.
For
a few
fortunate souls, "how much can I spend?" is a matter of looking at the
bottom
line of their latest investment account statement and deciding how much
cash to allocate to Costa Rica property. For most of us though, our
savings are just the first push and we
need the leverage of financial institutions to help us acquire real
estate. Even those fortunate people who can pay cash know, that
having a little financial leverage is always smart and opt for
financing. After all, most
rich people become rich by using other people's money, not their own.
A lot of you
may be so familiar with this process, that you may already be thinking: "Hey,
I've done this before; I know exactly how much money I can get." Well, you may be right, however if you have been reading the "Costa Rica Financing Demystified" articles, you may already be learning that some aspects of obtaining financing still differ in Costa Rica..
In
general,
lenders all over the world are the same, they want to know who you are,
what's the collateral and how do you plan to pay them back. Although
the
basic questions are all the same, the big difference is the proof
required by Costa Rica
lenders, because of regulations, risk management and the fact that they
are
lending the money to foreigners. Additionally, every lender has its own
unique way of reading and approving a credit file. The structure
provided in the US by Fannie Mae and Freddie MAC doesn't yet exist here.
So
what
choices exist if one wants to know how much money they can spend on
property in
Costa Rica? Well, you could spend the next month or two of your life
learning
all there is to know about the financial system in Costa Rica and
determining what will work for you. However, you could save all that
time, frustration and grief
by just contacting your closest Costa Rica Mortgage
Loan Consultant, spending
some 30 minutes of your time in person or over the phone, and 24 hours
later, receive a pre approval letter with a good faith estimate
defining the details, conditions and costs. In less than 2 days time
you'll be ready to go shopping for your
own piece of paradise, with complete comfort on what financing options
are on tap for you.
If by the time you are ready to buy, there is a better deal in the
market, not a problem, we will be happy to re-evaluate your file and pair you again with the best possible product for you.
Oh,
one thing I almost forgot to mention and you may be wondering: How much
does it cost to get pre approved? Nothing, nada, zero. At Costa Rica Mortgage we charge no application fees, so your pre approval will not only be fast, but 100% free. So if you're planning to come to Costa Rica and shop for some real estate in the near future, contact us, we'll make your life simpler and make financing one thing less to address once you're here.
