Nick Halverson Costa Rican Update

April 10, 2007

Below are a few thoughts after my most recent trip down to Costa Rica
I returned from my latest trip in early April. I was supposed to be back onMarch 30th, but due to the number of guests and clients we had in town I stayed for another ten days. My two week trip turned into a 3.5 week trip. My wife came to visit with me as well for a week of the time which was great. We went on several tours together and watched some amazing sunsets. (the photo to the left was after we went snorkeling and dolphin watching with Ballena Tours. It was a great tour!) She originally was very skeptical about traveling to Costa Rica - now she's planning her third trip here in nine months!

The South Pacific region of Costa Rica continues to explode. We have told you over the last two years that now is the time to move to buy some real estate down here. I'm going to say it again. Now is the time to buy!

The big investors and their deep pockets have just started to move in. We know that Ross Perot's group was down in March looking at a $25 million piece of property. We have heard that the big hotel chains are now looking down in the region in advance of the new international airport that is scheduled to open in three years. The hospital is still on track and scheduled to open in August in Cortez. The Costanera Highway is being completed from Quepos to Dominical. All told, the government has, or is in the process of, investing approximately $70 million in the immediate region.

If you have ever thought about buying in Costa Rica, quit thinking and start acting. Let Paradise Brokers help you along the way. Simply provide us your budget and your key decision criteria and we will find several pieces for you to look at. Once you decide, we can close that same day with our support staff.

We always encourage clients to not take our word for it and do their own research. I've provided a couple of resources for you:

• The U.S. government says Costa Rica was one of the top 5 real estate investments in 2006 (the other four were not even in North-, Central- or South America).
• According to Business Week (March 26, 2007, page 129), "The global real estate boom... is just getting started."
• "Many savvy investors are making double or triple digit returns in just a few years with low risk" (bestsyndication.com)

NOTE: Given that it is tax time, please remember that the Costa Rican property tax is only 0.25%.

Pura vida!

Nick Halverson

Paradise Brokers - COO