Cravan vs Cravan

New house construction in Costa Rica can be a real challenge to a person from the United States. The Costa Ricans, by nature, have a very relaxed and laid back attitude. Hence, you cannot expect the kind of efficiency and time keeping abilities that is very common in the United States. This article talks about a few points that will come handy when you plan to construct your dream home on the Costa Rican soil.

The first step to constructing a house in Costa Rica is finding the right place to buy. If you would like to be in a place where everything, ranging from a toothbrush to quality health care, is accessible in just 15-20 minutes, then, you need to consider buying a plot in one of the populous places in Costa Rica. If you are fine with staying in isolation, away from the hustle-bustle of the city, then you can consider the some area on the beach which is a good 2-3 hours drive from the city center.

Once you decide on the plot on which you plan to set up construction, the next step is to draw up a plan for construction. You need to find a good, reputed architect who can draw up plans in sync with the Costa Rican standards which are much different from the American standards. The plans that you design has to be signed off by the architect. The architect needs to obtain building permit and all the other necessary permits to start construction.

The primary challenge to begin constructing a house in Costa Rica is finding a good trustworthy builder. You cannot choose a builder blindly by just taking the suggestions of the locals. This is because the way locals prefer their houses to be constructed and the way Americans would want their house constructed are very different. So, just because “ticos” (natives of Costa Rica) hold the builder in high regard you cannot just recruit him.

The builder should be very fluent in English and Spanish. He/she should have sound knowledge of English so that he/she can communicate with you and understand you clearly. Since the laborers who do the actual work of construction are native people, the builder needs to have a good hold on Spanish too so that he/she can speak clearly and understand the laborers.

An American also needs to be knowledgeable about the other aspects in Costa Rica which are different from America. Unlike in the United States of America, the electrical wiring of the houses is not properly grounded in most cases. Hence, utmost care has to be taken during the phase where electrical wiring is being established for the new house.

The amount of voltage supplied to each house in Costa Rica by the government is just 120v or 15amps. This can come as a total stunner to most Americans since they are used to running electrical appliances which consume more power. They would not be able to do the same in Costa Rica.

One of the most important facts during the construction of a new house in Costa Rica is to ensure uninterrupted communication between you and the builder. It is a very bad option to stay in the USA when your house is being constructed in Costa Rica. You will be in for a surprise, rather shock, when you come to Costa Rica to see the way your house has turned out to be!

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