Longevity in Costa Rica

Costa Rica has one the longest life expectancy of the Western Hemisphere and in Costa Rica the Nicoya Peninsula has the longest life expectancy. Why is this, could it be:

• The pace of life
• Dietary factors
• The climate which NASA describes as the best on the planet
• Low stress

Whatever the reasons the facts speak for themselves. Forbes Magazine published a recent article with some suggestions which you can see here.

If you would like to invest in Costa Rica and try out some longevity yourself have a look at our website http://www.costaricainvest.co.uk/

Have a look at Di Pacifico Dos, located on the gulf of Nicoya, then relax knowing that your investment is creating wealth naturally.

Debt for Nature swap

The Nature Conservancy borkered the largest ever debt for for Nature swap under the Tropical Foresty Conservation act in October soo7.

Under the terms of the deal, the USA has forgiven $26 million of Foregin Debt owed by Costa Rica, in turn Costa Rica will spend the equivalent amount preserving some of Costa Rica's must pristine tropical rainforest.

To read more about this Debt for Nature swap brokered by the Nature Conservancy click here.

If I invest in Di Pacifoc Dos, what are my exit strategies

One of the most frequent questions we are asked is "What are my exit strategies from and investment in Di Pacifico Dos?".

The great news is that you have a number of clearly defined exit strategies.

Harvest the trees and sell the land
For the majority of our investors they plan to wait untill the trees are mature enough to harvest and once harvested they plan to sell the land. We are available to sell the land should the clients wish but of course the clients can also sell the land through a local estate agent. The land is registered in the clients own name or in the clients own company (an SA) which comes with many tax advantages. Once a purchaser has been located and a price agreed the transfer of land by notary should take about 6-8 weeks.

Harvest the trees and replant
A number of our investors plan to replant trees on their land after harvest. Whilst they can certainly replant teak again, Melina is another option. The advantage of Melina is that it is considerably quicker growing than teak. Although the price is lower the plant to harvest cycle is 10 years. With teak the plant to harvest cycle is 20 years.

Harvest the trees and build a holiday villa for personal use
Approximately 5-10% of our investors plan to build a holiday villa on their land. Given that Costa Rica has the "best climate on the planet" according to NASA, what a great place to have your holiday villa.

Where is the major market for my land if I harvest the trees and plan to sell the land?
Costa Rica has become an extremely attractive holiday destination for Amercians and Canadians. It is just a few hours flight, stable and safe with a fantastic climate and magnificent beaches. No wonder so many American Celebrities have already invested there - Oprah Winfrey, David Hasselhof, Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson to name just a few. The 5th Annual Readers Choice Awards of Travel Weekly named Costa Rica the best destination in Central and South America. Right now land in Costa Rica is cheap and foregin land ownership is allowed and land title is clear. But the land won't be cheap for long! If you would like to invest in Costa Rica for just €6.45 per square metre and have the added advntage of teak growing on your land why not have a look at our website http://www.costaricainvest.co.uk/, this is our 10th development in Costa Rica and we like to refer to it as the jewel in the crown because it has it all:

• Great location
• Up and coming tourist area
• Pre cadastral prices
• Cadastral registration expected to be complete in 6-8 months
• 12-14 year old teak trees growing on your land

How are teak logs measured?

If you look at the various websites providing pricing information on teak logs you will discover various references to prices per cubic meter and prices per hoppus ton.

The hoppus ton is the older British system of measurement whilst the cubic meter is the newer metric system.

You can see a full explanation of the hoppus ton measurement system here and the conversion rate is as follows:

1 Hoppus Ton = 1.2727 CBT (Cubic Ton) = 1.802 Cu-Meter (CBM)

Some other common abreviations you may come across are:

FOB - Free On Board. A shipping term which indicates that the supplier pays the shipping costs (and usually also the insurance costs) from the point of harvesting to a specified destination normally the port from which the logs are shipped, at which point the buyer takes responsibility.

CIF - Term of sale signifying that the price invoiced or quoted by a seller includes insurance and all other charges up to the named port of destination.

CIP - Carriage and insurance paid to (CIP) terms include insurance and all charges up to a named place in the country of destination (usually the buyer's warehouse).


There is no current internationally accepted teak grading system with different teak log grading systems operating in different jurisdictions. Teak 21 was set up to advise on and try to put in a place a globally acceptable teak log grading system.

So armed with that information why not check out global teak prices and if you are wondering why teak prices have been increasing the answer is twofold:

1. Reduced supply, currently less than 5% of the world's teak comes from plantation sources with the balance cominng from Natural Jungle. Of course world opinion has rightly moved against the logging of our natural rain forests leading to reduced supply

2. Increased demand: demand for teak worldwide is increasing driven largely by huge demand from India and China.

In any market where supply reduces and demand increases this results in increased prices.

If you would like to see how you can invest in a booming property market with the security of teak on your land, have a look at our website wwww.costaricainvest.co.uk

News from Costa Rica

Where can I find out news about Costa Rica? There are a number of news sites and news sources about Costa Rica where you can keep up with relevant events and local news about Costa Rica:


Insidecostarica.com

Tico Times

A.M. Costa Rica

Topix.com is a good news consolidator for all sorts of news about Costa Rica from around the world

Onlinenewspapers.com gives a listing of all newspaers in Costa Rica here

EINNews.com again consolidates lots of news about Costa Rica here

If you would like to see how an investment in the Costa Rica, "the hottest real estate market on the face of the planet" (CNBC) can earn you great returns and be secured by teak growing on your land have a look at our website http://www.costaricainvest.ieor sned us an email and ask us about Di Pacifico Dos

Costa Rica to be carbon neutral by 2021

There has been lots of coverage about Costa Rica's ambitious plan to become carbon neutral by 2012. Using a combination of budgeting, laws and incentives which will promote biofuels, clean energy and hybrid vehicles Costa Rica aims as a country to be carbon neutral by 2021.


You can see articles by

• The world watch institute, vision for a sustainable world here
• Reuters here and more coverage here
• National geographic here
• National Public Radio here

Some interesting facts about Costa Rica:

• 51% of Costa Rica's surface area is now reforested
• over 30% is designated national park and protected reserve
• 78% of its energy is produced by hydroelectric power
• a further 18% of its energy requirements comes from wind or geothermal power

If you would like to see how an investment in Costa Rica can not only supoport this one of the world's great environmentally pioneering nations but also can earn you a 30% pa return on your investment have a look at our website http://www.costaricainvest.ie/ or sned us an e mail. An investment in Di Pacifico Dos will give you exposure to the "hottest real estate market on the face of the planet" and an investment secured by teak trees growing on your land.

Related articles: Costa Rica Bids To Go Carbon Neutral

The BBC news site has a very good country profile on Costa Rica. It gives a very good summary of Costa Rica and some amazing facts. Did you know that:

• Costa Rica enjoys the highest life expectancy in the Western Hemisphere!
• There are over 1,000 species of orchid in Costa Rica!
• Costa Rica is oftern referred to as the "Switzerland of Central America"
• The current prime minister, Oscar Arias, was awarded the nobel peace prize!

To read more about Costa Rica on the BBC News site, just click here.

If you would like to see how and ethically responsible, environmentally friendly investment can achieve yields of over 30% pa (CAR) have a look at our website www.costaricainvest.ie