Building your house in Costa Rica

Ah the construction! We have heard so many negative experiences on this subject that we took the time to inquire in order to detect the false from the true. By nature, human beings have an unfortunate tendency to only remember the dark side of things....We did not want to buy an already built house: firstly because the local constructions did not meet our expectations or then we came across pretty houses built by expatriates whose motivation was to make money: we build them, we sell them straight away with of course a very nice added value.

Buy land, be careful!

So we took the time, met a lot of expatriates who had already been there and lived in the country for many years. Through discussion, the names of good builders came up regularly, we were able to see their achievements and, bingo, we chose ours, a Canadian who also spoke French, and that helps when you don't master the language ! We submitted the plan to him and a few days later we had a quote for the supply of a turnkey house within 6 months during which we had almost nothing to manage. We met other expats who chose another fairly common solution: call on a team of workers and their site manager for the labor and manage the purchase of materials. A solution that is certainly less expensive but requires you to spend a lot of time in DIY stores, managing orders, deadlines (and delays!). And as we knew nothing about building we preferred to pay a little more for our peace of mind!

Beforehand we had to find the land of our dreams. Here again word of mouth and the network worked wonders. But be careful, once you have found the rare gem, do not sign anything: ask for all the papers from the seller and send them to your lawyer who will check all the documents. Here some people sell land that they do not own and there is a hassle in going back! Once the documents have been validated by your lawyer, the signing of the sale takes on average one month, faster than in France!

The champions of structural work....less for the finishing touches!

Our house was delivered to us on time and looking back we are delighted. The workers amazed us! Always a smile, hard workers and under 35 degrees from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a half-hour break at lunchtime I say respect. The technical means are not the same as in Europe! Our 250m2 slab was made with a wheelbarrow and a simple small concrete mixer....The 40 foundation blocks, holes of one cubic meter dug...with a shovel!

On the other hand, if they are “machines” for the structural work, it’s more rock’n’roll for the finishing touches! Once again we do not have the same culture, let alone the same tastes. So it’s better for this part to be behind them to make them understand what you want! Also note that the choice of materials is limited. Even if there is progress in this direction, DIY stores are much less busy than here, so you will have to know how to make concessions. But after all it is up to us foreigners to adapt to the country that welcomes us!