No license, certification or registration is required. Sound strange? I hope to shout!!
Absolutely anyone, who connects a property seller with a buyer gets paid up to 5% of the sale price. Easy schmeezy, loosie goosie, kinda weird but oh whatever.
One of the problems with this little real estate system is that it converts so many connections, friends, neighbors, doctors, bus drivers, taxi drivers, waitresses, bank tellers, and oh so many more people - into your new friendly real estate pusher.
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| A friend of a friend led us to our favorite property yet. |
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| Zory, my lovely hairdresser in San Vito just happened to have a house for sale. |
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| Any time, any place - the most unexpected people might walk up to you and say they have a friend/neighbor/relative/boss with a wonderful property for sale. |
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| Even the wonderful bamboo growers have real estate leads - as does the banker. |
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| . . . and as does Fredrico, the lottery ticket salesman. |
And it makes logical sense, really. Consider how attractive it is to have no special skills or licensure but being able to make $5,000 on a $100,000 sale. Pretty attractive to ANYONE. Enough to transform a friendship into a business relationship in a flash.
Considering Costa Ricans rarely make over $1,000 per month and usually much less, the thought of making 5% on a real estate sale is HUGELY attractive!! A total Windfall!
At the bottom level of this, it turns us into a walking, talking dollar sign - degrading our very sense of our own humanity. We'll be really glad when the day comes that we can tell the Costa Rican world, "No, we're NOT looking for property." That'll separate the opportunistic from the sincere.
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| Fulvio's property has a sweet lemon tree. Time for a snack. Our next door neighbor's introduced us. (Have you ever had a sweet lemon?) |
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| Chema is a living breathing Renaissance man, living in a cloud forest, promoting organic sustainability, and selling a few hectares. |
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| Chema built his house by hand with local materials. |
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| Dr. Walter's house was amazing. The rental house he offered was not. |
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| Sincere, well-groomed, down-to-earth. This dude can sell anything. |
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| Valley of the Horses. Welcome to the neighborhood. |
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| Starr is always ready to search in new directions. |
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| Eduardo really knows his neighborhood - and lots of properties for sale in it. |
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| Find the real estate agent in this picture. Oh don't worry, he'll find you. |
What's up next? Man have we been busy!!!
We're pulling it together but don't want to say too much until we know more.
That is such a great story, and I can totally understand your frustration of being seen as a "dollar sign" rather than the lovely people you are. I have had similar experiences when traveling and I know that can make you a bit cynical, but it is easy to understand the other side of the coin and you explain it well. By the way, you never told me that you were leaving or why you were leaving. You are missed Golda! I see that your web site is still active, but no new entries. Did you just give up on the US or the Fluoride fight or both? Greetings from Lotte.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if it's sad or funny.. I'll go with funny! I guess if people realize you're looking for property, they'll see you with a big $ sign in your forehead. Weird feeling, I bet! Good luck!
ReplyDelete- Joao
I've enjoyed every blog posting, but this one was especially entertaining! I know a trip to your adopted country is in our future. We are not traveling this winter but sitting tight in P.T. taking care of loose ends, leftovers from the last 5 years of extended family matters, remodel, boat projects, and trips to Cambodia where our daughter has been living for 4 years. Past fishing season was again excellent, and the Seahawks won the SuperBowl. Who could ask for anything more! Take care of yourselves...
ReplyDelete