On the third installment of Kristine Gorman‘s real estate adventure in Costa Rica, she runs into a snag in her plans of acquiring an investment property in the Gold Coast beaches of Guanacaste. Still, the Boston accountant persevered and is now one step closer to her goal of retiring in our country with her family.

You can read Part One here and Part Two here.

We traveled to Costa Rica with a plan of purchasing a vacation home that we could derive rental income from. We spent several days looking at many places from Playa Matapalo to Playa Flamingo to Tamarindo Beach. We finally fell in love with a two-bedroom condo located right across the street from the beach in Tamarindo. A beautiful place to vacation and a great opportunity for some rental income as we transition into our next adventure…moving to Costa Rica permanently.

As I have indicated before, we needed some owner-financing since no bank in Costa Rica will loan money to a foreigner [Author’s Note: It is extremely difficult but not impossible]. We waited several days, and to our disappointment our offer was turned down. Feeling heartbroken and dejected, we figured we would continue our search, but then our realtor emailed us news about another condo unit in the same complex was for sale. Luckily, the owners, as we were told, were eager to sell and would consider owner financing.

We traveled back to Tamarindo to look at the place. Although it was not as up-to-date as the previous condo unit and needed some cosmetic work, the price was ideal… and so was our enthusiasm of working with a clean slate. So we made an offer.

Waiting… Waiting is the hardest thing! Anxious to hear if our offer would be accepted, we had to head home. We have all heard the stories about driving in Costa Rica, and they are all true! Driving in Costa Rica is nothing short of a death wish, yet we had to get to Liberia. Traffic! Have you ever encountered a Costa Rica traffic jam? It consists of standstill traffic for about a mile to let a Tico rancher on horseback herd his cattle up the road. This is no joke.

Two days being banck home in New England and we finally got notice that our offer was accepted with some owner financing! So I am happy to say that in due time we will be the proud owners of a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo across the street from Tamarindo Beach! A dream come true and a step on the right direction. You can live the Pura Vida!