Comments from our clients

TESTIMONIAL FROM DAVID AND PAMELA HOPKINS, FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA

When we started getting serious about semi-retiring to Costa Rica, we contacted several realtors to set up appointments to see property. All the realtors were courteous and helpful, but in the end we decided to do business with CR Realty.

Randy, Rhonda, and staff were not only helpful in helping us find the right property at a price we could work with, they were also very helpful with legal and social matters. We not only wanted to know about real estate, we wanted to know about lifestyle changes, banking, acceptance, etc. They helped us find an attorney we could trust, as well as helped us with our long-distance business transactions. Their patience was unending….Although we had read about Costa Rica for two years prior in books and on the internet, we wanted to get honest opinions from people we would get to know. We were very impressed with the variety of real estate they showed us too. It was difficult to choose exactly what we wanted, however we did find a lovely piece of property which is just perfect for us. We look forward to semi-retirement and to furthering our friendship with Randy and Rhonda.

Sincerely, Dr. David and Pamela Hopkins This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Hola,

I would like to recommend Rhonda and Randy to anyone who is in the process of buying a property in Costa Rica. I don’t have much money, but I had been looking for a nice affordable beach property for many months when I saw their web site.

I wrote a email, and I was impressed with their knowledge, and how devoted they were to help me find the right property. I cannot count the number of emails we exchanged before I go there, then they took me to different places to see the property I would prefer, then once I chose, they took care of all the paperwork stuff for me to have the house I wanted. I was in Costa Rica only for a week, and without their help, I couldn’t have get all things settled in such a short time.

As I say to people I know: If you want to buy something in a foreign country, you have to do your own research, and double check everything, but eventually you will have to trust someone. Rhonda and Randy proved me they were people I can trust, and my experience of buying with them as my agents has been nothing but fun, thrill, and a very profitable vacation for me.

Jocelyne Bégin
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MORE COMMENTS FROM OUR CLIENTS

My wife, Barbara, and I have been in Costa Rica for awhile now. Before we ever arrived, we had been in contact with several realtors, along with CR Homes, looking at properties online and asking questions. But we always found ourselves coming back to CR Homes. There was just something about CR Homes we seemed to connect with. Also, Randy’s Information page was most informative and, as we quickly learned, very factual.

From the moment we arrived in Costa Rica Randy and Rhonda and the folks at CR Homes had been more than helpful in providing information and arranging showings of properties and homes. We told them what we were looking for and they took that information and showed us what they had that seemed to fit our criteria. In the process we were befriended and assisted with things we might have never thought of. Some other “agents” might have taken advantage of us “gringos” but Randy and Rhonda, having been there themselves, knew what it was like for us being in a new country with no knowledge of how things “work” here. We found kindred spirits in Randy and Rhonda, a rare thing to find even at home among lifelong friends.

We had anticipated spending many weeks, even months, looking for what we had in mind but on the second day out, we were taken to exactly what we had pictured in our mind’s eye as the perfect property. We knew it as soon as we stepped out of the car but Randy and Rhonda did not pressure us to “close the deal” in any way. Quite the contrary, they advised us to look around and to take our time in making a decision. After all, there is a lot of variety here in Costa Rica. They put their full resources at our disposal for any questions we might have and even advised us on some things we might not have thought of. We were treated like family.

Bottom line: Randy and Rhonda and the folks at CR Homes made our first contact with Costa Rica like coming home. Their generosity and hospitality along with their knowledge of the market and the way things are done here gave us a sense of having found folks who genuinely care about us having a successful and rewarding experience in our “great adventure” move to Costa Rica.

Thank you Randy, Rhonda, Charlotte, Jeff and Margo. You all are great.

- Chip & Barb

When I started looking online at property in Costa Rica, I naturally got swamped with offers by countless real estate “operators” with offers of everything from beach-front to tropical rain forests. So, when I came across a reference on a web page by a guy named Randy Berg warning of unscrupulous realtors (“dealers in dirt,” my realtor father used to describe them), I emailed Randy, and so began an email relationship during which I felt more and more certain I’d hooked up with an honest person. I’ll admit, at that point, it was mere faith in my own intuition that made me so comfortable dealing with the Bergs. When I finally was able to come to Grecia and stay for just one week (curses!), even my intuition couldn’t have predicted how warm an embrace we were given (my entire party of four) by these two down-to-earth people. With Rhonda giving us the grand tour of their beautiful home (and later spending the day setting up bank accounts and corporate identities for a lovely couple we knew from the same hotel who were in the process of purchasing property), and Randy introducing us to a wonderful coffee, sandwich and pastry café in town and then, after spending a little time getting a sense of what we were interested in driving us all over the place to some exquisite pieces of property. The week more than convinced that relying on my gut feeling was, once again, the right thing to do. I felt so comfortable with what Randy and Rhoda told and showed me, that I am now in the process of purchasing a beautiful 5-acre tract of coffee. (Trusting the I’m an honest man too, Randy lent me the money to pay the lawyer to draw up the papers…) One of the considerations in deciding in such record time to purchase this piece of land — in addition to its remarkably low price — was the thought that Randy and Rhoda would be neighbors.

- Michael Kroll

Dear Randy & Rhonda: I would like to express my appreciation for the excellent customer service your company provided me in the recent closing of my new home in Grecia. My home purchase was made seamless with your guidance through the Costa Rican system. I think anybody buying real estate in a foreign country have reservations but with your and Rhonda’s real estate knowledge, influence, people skills, professionalism and tenacity it made the process painless and resulted in a very positive experience. I appreciated your candor and insistence on my speaking with all the professionals such as the lawyers, architects, builders and local businesspeople to allow me to make a prudent decision. I am extremely happy with my new home and look forward to many happy years in Costa Rica. Please feel free to use my name as a reference and express my sincere gratitude to your entire staff for their exceptional efforts.

Best Regards,

Roy Scruggs

I was in Costa Rica two weeks ago and was referred to Randy by the owner of a local B and B. I had been to the Guanacaste area and had spent the last three weeks travelling throughout the country trying to make a determination if my wife and I really wanted to live in Costa Rica AND whether or not we could afford it. Quite honestly , we had talked to five other real estate people who basically blew us off when we told them we had less than $50,000 to spend. One simply laughed and told us to go back home. Randy came to the B and B, spent time with us, took us to visit his home overlooking Grecia in the mountains. He showed us various properties in the area, showed us how much things cost to build here and even helped us find a rental. We have not bought yet but basically have told Randy and Rhonda to find us a piece of land so that we can build on it when we come back in April. We cannot communicate how grateful we are that they spent time with us and showed us that it is possible to live here for a lot less than anyone else would tell us. If any of you come here with a chip on your shoulder or have doubts about what is possible here, just ask or spend time with Rhonda and Randy. They were great.

Having just returned from my first visit to Costa Rica, and having spent a whole afternoon with Randy showing me the Central Valley around Grecia, I have to say that he could not have left a better first impression. Direct, honest, easy-going, open to any questions, patient, and giving, he drove me to his home (amazing views, a great place), and then to several properties for sale in the area, meeting some of his Tico friends along the way. The properties he showed me were beautiful. Somebody here is surely going to buy them, if they’re lucky.

What Randy, Rhonda and team are doing is making it possible for many people to move to CR in an affordable, much less stressful way, and that’s invaluable. Many of us, I believe, would not be able to do it without such help (I wouldn’t know where or how to start), so that’s quite a service.

Some of my quick thoughts to those headed down:

–Go to a map store (or look online) and pick up a high-quality, detailed map of CR before you go. I found this one helpful: http://tinyurl.com/6cmpq

–Be prepared to get lost a few times anyway, as the roads are of course not named or marked well, except for the major ones; when lost, just go with the flow. You get to know an area by driving it, then turning back and retracing your steps.

–Allow for twice the driving time as you would normally expect, and then you’ll usually be pleasantly surprised, as it usually doesn’t take that long to get where you want.

–You can see a great deal of CR in even a week’s time, if you’re willing to drive it, and you can get an initial feel for various places quite quickly, even in a few days, if you’re open to it. Grecia, for example, is indeed a great little town, with a really friendly square in front of the church, and good food.

–For first time visitors, depart and arrive with realistic expectations. Don’t expect to find only an eden of beauty. Of course CR is a relatively poor country. If you’ve been to the Caribbean islands and seen some of the real towns there, you’ll have a better idea how some of CR looks: a little poor. Either you’re comfortable with that or you’re not. I think in time most people who initially aren’t, do get comfortable with it. But not all people will. –Plan to stay in the Central Valley (if that area interests you) long enough that, if Randy and Rhonda’s plans have to change, you can change, too. Be flexible and you’ll get plenty of time to accomplish what you wish. Allow enough time to hang out there on your own, too, to see how you like it when alone, not just when you’re being shown around by the CR-Home folks. Explore on your own, of course.

–Go into food and other shops just to see what they have, even if you’re not buying anything. If you’re moving there, eventually you’ll depend on those shops.

Overall, I really want to thank Randy (I wasn’t able to meet Rhonda, as she was out of town) for all of his help. He’s busy, indeed, but he gave me plenty of his time and his attention, and showed me around all afternoon in what was a really nice and also productive time. I certainly feel great about working with him and the CR-Home team. I feel very lucky to have found them. Without them, CR would not be nearly as accessible — plus, I can already count Randy as a friend in CR.

Finally, I have to say to Bob — I’m sorry I didn’t get to call you! I was supposed to give Bob a ring when I was in the Parrita area, to see some land around there, but I was having such a great time travelling around CR that I ultimately didn’t have enough time to do that. I did love all of the Pacific coast that I saw, though, and certainly plan to see more of it next time.

Thank you again to Randy and CR-Home! They’re doing great work down there, helping people realize a dream that would otherwise be much more difficult to attain. My first trip was excellent. As I was driving toward the CR airport I was already figuring out when I could return to see and learn more. It’ll be as soon as I can!

- Jeff