Monday, June 27, 2011
Dear Reader,
“Our goal is to build the home of your dreams, not ours.” Pacific Lots
If you're looking for a second home overseas, you've probably got a picture in your mind.
A picture of your perfect dream home.
You know what you want... the style, the layout, the views, and the quality of the finishings.
There are two ways to get this dream house. You can try and find a ready-built home that comes fairly close to what you want. That's always going to mean compromise, remodeling...and still not getting your perfect dream house.
Or you can build your own house, and get exactly what you want. If building your own home sounds like a challenge in a foreign country, it's nice to know that in some places, you get a whole lot of help.
Let's take Pacific Lots in Costa Rica. This private community has a dramatically beautiful setting in Costa Rica's South Pacific. Lush green forest cloaks mountain peaks that fall sharply to meet a pristine sandy coastline. The sapphire-blue ocean rolls white-capped waves up onto deserted beaches, dotted with coconut palms and pieces of driftwood. More than two thirds of the land in this part of Costa Rica lies in protected national parks and reserves. It's the great outdoors at its best...ideal for swimming, surfing, sea kayaking, sport fishing, bird watching, hiking, zip lining...or rocking in your hammock in the afternoon sea breezes...
A small cosmopolitan group of expats offers Italian and Indonesian cuisine...crusty French baguettes...smokehouse chicken...champagne, Brie, Cuban cigars, Swiss chocolate...espresso in the coffee shop and pizzas straight from a wood-fired oven. Pacific Lots made many of these businesses possible. With more than 150 homes built in the community already, these little restaurants, stores and cafes have a ready-made clientele on their doorstep.
Home sites in Pacific Lots offer mountain or ocean views....and sometimes both. Prices start at $40,000 for mountain views. There is no build requirement or timeframe. You can take as long as you like perfecting your dream house...and only build when you're ready to do so.
When you are ready, Pacific Lots has a range of services, including architecture, design, engineering and construction. Custom construction runs around $100 a square foot. That covers design, permitting and engineering...handcrafted tropical hardwood kitchens, doors and windows...and regular updates on the progression of your home.
Pacific Lots has its own woodshop producing the kitchens, doors and windows...and they have additional workshops that make granite countertops, wrought iron gates and railings, and even vinyl coated windows. They can customize pretty much any piece...and control standards throughout the build process.
Even though you have some design guidelines for the outside of your home (Pacific Lots is a private community) custom construction gives you great freedom. The finished homes vary widely in layout and style.
One couple used large windows to frame their stunning mountain views (which looked like a Chinese watercolor) to complement the Oriental style interior. Another owner added a huge, deep swimming pool, as he likes to dive.
Most owners include a lot of outdoor living space in their home. That's because you'll spend more time outside here. The weather is warm and sunny year-round, and you'll use every inch of any terrace, patio and deck you decide to build for barbeques, socializing, and relaxing. And a swimming pool (although an additional cost) is a worthwhile outlay if you like swimming or lazing poolside in the tropical afternoons...
So, there you have it. Building your dream home overseas is easier than you thought... in Pacific Lots, at least.
If you'd like more information on the available home sites in Pacific Lots, and their custom construction, please contact Steve Linder here.
Margaret Summerfield
P.S. You can also meet Steve in person at International Living's Live & Invest conference in Costa Rica this August. Click here to find out more about the event—and how you can save $200 if you register before July 25th.
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