| The popularity of condos in the booming Guanacaste | | | | area are getting in on the action. Discovering that |
| region in Costa Rica has spawned a new industry for | | | | condominiums make fantastic and affordable vacation |
| local residents and entrepreneurs. As the tiny villages | | | | homes while providing a viable source of income, |
| along the coast trade in their wilderness for billion | | | | people from all over the world are buying up condos |
| dollar investments, locals are trading old jobs for | | | | in the country. But managing a property when you |
| marketing kits and tool belts. In the wake of the | | | | are out of the country is next to impossible and |
| boom, property management services have been | | | | leaving your vacation home unoccupied for months is |
| springing up to satisfy the needs of absentee | | | | downright risky. Absentee owners can return to find |
| property owners who want to rent their homes to | | | | they've been robbed or even worse - that their |
| tourists as vacation properties. | | | | property is being inhabited by squatters. |
| Since development on the $400 million Peninsula | | | | Many condominium projects address this problem |
| Papagayo project began in 1997, construction and | | | | directly by providing property management services |
| real estate sales in Costa Rica's Guanacaste region | | | | as part of the deal at buy-in. Owners can enter their |
| have been on a roll. According to Costa Rica's Central | | | | property into the project's rental program and have |
| Bank, big business foreign investment in real estate | | | | their interests taken care of. Depending on what level |
| has nearly tripled in the past 12 months - most of it | | | | of involvement you wish to have, property |
| in Guanacaste. The majority of these purchases | | | | management companies will take care of everything - |
| represent investments in the tourism industry with | | | | from security to housekeeping. For a monthly fee, |
| large scale hotels, developments and existing tourism | | | | you can count on your manager to be your hotelier |
| businesses being snapped up by savvy entrepreneurs. | | | | with a complete package that includes marketing, |
| But not all investment in the tourism industry | | | | booking, cleaning, and maintaining the property while |
| represents big business. Individuals and families | | | | on site security removes the risk of unexpected or |
| attracted by the climate and natural beauty of the | | | | uninvited guests. |