Fellow seekers of the elusive dream:
In early August 2008 my wife, Barbara, accompanied me on a property search tour of the Jaco Beach area of Costa Rica. For the previous five years, we had been actively scouring the Baja Peninsula of Mexico from Rosarito to Cabo, the western coast of the Mexico mainland, from San Carlos to Puerto Vallarta, and Panama, from Bocas del Toro to Panama City, in search of that perfect second home which was directly on the beach, in a safe and relaxing environment offering vast and varied amenities, and immersed in a culture of friendliness, down home informality, and wonderful street side restaurants and shopping within walking distance or a short cab ride from our new seaside retreat. Being from Las Vegas, both my wife and myself were intimately familiar with the overdone, the ostentatious, and the completely absurd and phony side of life. Upon the suggestion of a friend, and the fact that our search had seemed to always come up short for one reason or another, we decided to investigate the central Pacific coastal area of Costa Rica.
At home in Las Vegas I had the good fortune to be referred to a Realtor by the name of Mr. Brian Smith, a Philadelphia area native expat, married to a lovely Costa Rican lady and living in Jaco for a number of years. The referral (from a young woman in LV) pointed out that Brian was a former schoolteacher both in the U.S. and Costa Rica and that he is an excellent communicator and would answer all my questions. She assured us, Brian was not a “salesman” but rather an educator who could facilitate our finding exactly what we were looking for and assist in researching any issues or questions Barbara and I might have. I left the meeting with my new “friend” with the best of intentions of calling Brian in the next day or so to introduce myself and to let him know we would be coming to Jaco the following month.
One could not imagine my surprise, when the following morning my telephone rang and a very pleasant gentleman on the other end introduced himself as Brian Smith. He indicated that he would be happy to make any arrangements from lodging, to transportation, to property inspections, to recommending some great restaurants and really cool things to do on our visit. I explained that I was already committed to meet another real estate agent who I had run across on the internet (something I had neglected to tell my new friend in Las Vegas), and Brian said, “no matter, I still want you and your wife to have the best experience possible, so let me assist you in securing some reservations.” If not obvious then, it would become blatantly obvious in the next 24 hours that Brian was the only contact we needed in the whole country.
I explained what type of accommodations we preferred, and within 30 minutes after hanging up with Brian, a young woman called me from the hotel to let me know she was holding a room for us and to confirm the dates we would be staying. When I asked if she needed a credit card to hold the room, she replied, “No sir, that won’t be necessary. Mr. Brian Smith says he has spoken with you and has vouched for your sincerity. If he says you’re good for it, we know you’re good for it”. I guess I was sold on Brian, right then and there. I know I was impressed. Nevertheless, I continued with my original agent, who I had contacted through the internet. Brian understood from the outset that I had already made a commitment to look at some properties with this other agent, whose name I cannot now even recall, yet Brian continued to follow up with me making certain that I ask the other agent to show me this or that property. Not once did Brian ever speak unkindly about the other agent, or selfishly in his own self interest. He always only wanted to make certain that my interests and preferences were the only consideration.
Upon my arrival and wasting 3 days with the original agent, I called Brian and informed him that I had terminated my relationship with the other agent and asked if he had some time to spend with us. Although his calendar was full, he somehow managed to spend a couple of hours with us each day for the next four days. Brian was very knowledgeable about various projects, properties, developers, builders, their history, stability, reputation, and community involvement in this area. During our time with Brian we learned more in 7 or 8 hours than we had in the past 3 days. We learned about everything which might interest us from Hermosa Beach to Nativa and everything in between.
Saving the best until our final day in Jaco, Brian had secretly been negotiating a behind the scenes listing of the perfect property for us with financing parameters which everyone had told me would be impossible to acquire. Simply put, Brian had not wanted to unnecessarily raise our level of anticipation only to be disappointed, if he was not successful in being able to put together the perfect deal even before he showed us the perfect property. We still cannot believe Brian successfully negotiated a transaction whereby the seller took back owner financing on the one year old 5th floor fully direct ocean front condominium at Acqua Residences in Jaco.
This is a shining example of listening to his prospect, understanding wants and needs, and knowing how to effectively communicate and negotiate a great deal. Given my experience with Brian’s professionalism, patience, dedication, understanding of the marketplace, human psychology, and motivation, I would not only recommend Brian’s services above those of any similar professional with whom I have ever dealt, but I would not even consider ever engaging in another real estate transaction in Costa Rica without being represented by Brian. Brian also surrounds himself by the most competent team of professionals, from attorneys to interior designers, with which I have ever had the pleasure of working. If one simply wants the absolute best in professional, unbiased, and competent representation, he can do no better than Brian Smith.
Pura Vida,
Perry Walton
Las Vegas, NV
ESCAZU