Building Your Dream Home in Costa Rica

If you have ever dreamed of living in paradise Costa Rica has plenty of opportunities for you to do so. If you want to build your dream home in Costa Rica chances are you want running water and electricity and you should know that the building process is much different than in the United States and standard amenities differ too depending on where you buy your property.

In the U.S. telephone service, electricity, cable, internet and hot running water are standard in new homes. Homeowners usually only pay a small fee to have the services connected to their home a few feet from the curb. In rural Costa Rica, however, electricity, cable, telephone, internet, and hot running water are considered luxuries by the locals and you will have to pay extra to have them brought to your home.

You may have to pay a premium for these services and to have them brought out to your home from the nearest location that has them; this can be up to few kilometers away or even more. You may have to pay for telephone poles and wires to be erected, electric transformers to be put in, and plumbing to be run especially for your home.

The United States has strict building codes when building new homes. Some places in Costa Rica have similar restrictions but many places do not. Keep in mind when buying real estate in Costa Rica that the further you are away from the city the more your building experience will differ from that of the U.S.

If you are using a local contractor in a rural location you must also be sure they are using the building materials you want them to and not low quality local materials. If you want special fixtures or materials not available locally you will have to special order them.