Whoa!! My last ad entitled the “world’s worst realtor” provoked the proverbial flood of responses…some good, and some bad. But no one was apathetic to the ad.
The intention was to point out that there is a lot of misinformation being disseminated about Costa Rica and in particular about real estate and construction… and to simply tell people to “be careful and do your homework!”
One reader said that I had to have “the world’s biggest ego” to believe that I could see things that other couldn’t or wouldn’t take about….my response: “doesn’t take a big ego to realize that there is a lot of junk being peddled in Costa Rica AND a lot of misinformation being passed on”…Frankly, if you talk to almost anyone living in Costa Rica, they will tell you the same thing. The Costa Rican real estate market is set up without any rules and regulations because , quite frankly, the government cannot afford to police all actions. Thus, no MLS, no comparables, no rules and the real estate market in Costa Rica is a case of “anything goes”.
So…why don’t you hear more about the fraud and misrepresentation which goes on here? Simple…Costa Rica has some of the world’s most severe libel and slander laws. Which is why you don’t hear about specific developments or real estate companies being slammed. Larger developers know how to use these laws to ensure that there is NO negative publicity resulting about their projects. Oh sure, once in a while, in chat rooms or forums there may be negative feedback about certain projects but even that doesn’t stay afloat long.
I had another potential buyer that was just here last week write and thank me because his thoroughness resulted in the realization that the developer he was talking to had NEVER put in infrastructure in any of his projects. DON’T BELIEVE PROMISES THAT CANNOT BE BACKED UP.
A lot of criticism of the ad simply was that my ad was negative and self serving. Well, it was definitely attention getting…which was the intent. I did want to ensure that people read the message and I also said that “if the ad helped one person stay away from a development or a purchase which was fraudulent…then the message had been worth it.”
If the method of the ad itself got in the way of the message or if I offended any of you…I apologize as that was not my intent. My intent was pure and simple: to create an awareness that the beauty here and the representations here are not always as they seem…so simply do the due diligence yourself that you would not always have to do yourself back home. Pretty simple, huh? Well, maybe too simple.
One last thing…a blatant pitch for my company. Read our website if you get a chance…there is a lot of good stuff there and I like to think that what we do helps an awful lot of people…and if you look hard enough you will find a lot of testimonials on our site as well.
My wife and I moved to Costa Rica over five years ago and our little company has grown by leaps and bounds because people , at least for the most part, like ( we think, anyhow ) to hear the truth and don’t always believe the fast talkers and the promises that always “seem too good to be true”. We love our adopted home here and are proud to show people where and how we live because we think that we are representative of an awful lot of people who are seriously considering Costa Rica. We didn’t come down with bags full of money and we like to think that we have adapted pretty well and understand , at least “pretty well”, how things “work” here.
And we are the first to admit that Costa Rica is not for everyone…but everyone should have access to the facts BEFORE making a decision to move here…not after…that’s one reason we have a list of “10 things that the Costa Rican Board of Tourism doesn’t want you to know” on our site. Take a look at it….some are eye openers…and you should know these facts .
All this being said…Costa Rica is a great place to live…for us…and with the good , the bad, and the ugly.
Thanks for putting up with my ramblings and hope that this ad makes you think AND take a look at our site….www.cr-home.com
Randy and Rhonda Berg
Phone: 011(506)444-8716 Toll free number available upon request
E mail: randy@cr-home.com
Click here for our main page or use the menu on your left to explore Costa Rica
