On Day Three of her Costa Rica real estate adventure, Boston accountant Kristine Gorman gets even closer to fulfilling her dream of retiring in our country. On Days One and Two of her trip to Guanacaste, Kris and her family stayed in Playa Flamingo and were very close to making a formal offer on a home on a condo in Tamarindo Beach. To learn more about Kris and her expat mission, read our previous article about Kris’s first two days here.

The words below were written by Kris; The Costa Rica Star has slightly edited for grammar and style.

Day Three in Tamarindo Beach

Day 3 started off with a great morning of Costa Rica coffee and the beach. Although we are currently in the green season, there was no rain this morning and so we hit Playa Flamingo for a few hours before meeting up with our realtor. The sun was HOT and the water was more than refreshing. Only 2 hours on the beach and we had our fair share of a sunburn.

After a light lunch we headed off to meet with our realtor and make an offer on the condo we fell in love with. This is our goal: To own a condo in Costa Rica that we can also rent if needed. The condominium Sand Dollar is located smack in the middle of downtown Tamarindo, right across from the beach.

We made a generous offer to the owner, but the only issue is this: Back in the United States we built a house. The house sits on 2 acres of land and should appraise for much higher than it does. The problem is that the housing market in the U.S., although much better than before, is still not optimal and so values are not rising as fast as they should. Couple that fact with mortgage banks being VERY stingy and strict with lending or evaluating appraisals for fair value. We built a house 3 years ago and the equity still is not where it should be.

And so we made an offer in Tamarindo Beach with a significant down-payment and three years of quarterly owner-financed payments and a balloon features at the end. There are not a lot of owner-financed properties in Costa Rica [Author’s note: We beg to differ], and no banks will lend to foreigners [Author’s note: They will, but it is a difficult process].

So we now we wait and cross our fingers. We should know something sometime tomorrow. After much anxiety and anticipation, we headed off for some much-needed cocktails. We met a gentleman from Toronto who has been here for 18 years in Nosara and invested in a gorgeous eco luxury community by the name of Bellazo. In our three days here we have met so many expats. Expats from Idaho, Toronto, Australia and beyond. We want to be here and look at the beautiful sunsets every day. Pura Vida! Wish us luck!