Need a house in Costa Rica

When looking for a house in Costa Rica there are a few things to consider.

• Are you going to have a live-in maid?
• Do you have ample yard area for children or pets
• Is it on a busy street?
• Do I need a protected development?
• Does it have adequate security?
• Does I need a garage or carport or either?

Believe it all of these are related to the same thing….Security. Security is VERY important in Costa Rica because petty theft has been on the increase over the last few years.

If you have a maid and some type of security you are probably going to be okay.  Probably I said.  Nothing is 100% as you should know.  If you are on a busy street or a quiet community, the bad guys can find a way to get into your home if you haven’t taken every possible effort to secure your home and property.

Even when you have done this, you can still be robbed.  Take for example our experience in February two years  ago search, we-were-robbed on this site, to read more about it.  We lived in a protected community, a full-time maid, had an alarm, we even had a couple of big dogs and we opened the door and escorted a burglar through out house so he could pick and choose what he wanted to take.  Read the article for more details on our experience.

Now I didn’t mean to sound so negative above.  Kind of got on a roll and couldn’t stop myself.  Where I intended for this post to go was in an entirely different direction.  I guess that will be a post for another day.

If you take care and use some wisdom, look for a place with security and if possible in a protected community, you should be just fine.  If you try to take short cuts on security, you will be the victim of robbery.  This much I can guarantee.

Living outside of the “gringo area” does not protect you, living in the country or outside of the city does not protect you.

If we are not the ones, find someone to direct you to a place where your family AND your belongings are safe.

Little side note….insurance in Costa Rica does not cover stolen items for the replacement value or anywhere near that.  Most people do NOT have insurance on their household items because it costs less to replace than it does to have the insurance.