NOTE: You can view more pictures showcasing these beautiful developments on CasitasForSale.com.

I cornered Randy Berg, the developer of several projects in the Central Valley and the popular “Casitas projects” and was able to ask him a few questions that had been bothering me since I took a tour of the projects near Jaco a few weeks ago.

Marcel Evans: Hi Randy, appreciate you taking the time to answer a few questions that have been bothering me.

Randy Berg: No problem, Marcel.

Marcel Evans: The main question that has been on my mind ever since I visited your casitas projects over on the pacific is this: how in the world can you sell them so cheaply? Everyone on staff asked the same thing and virtually everyone I talk to says that there must be some kind of catch. No one else can seem to match your prices!

Randy Berg: Well, there`s a story behind our Casitas. About three years ago, we knew how difficult things were in real estate markets… not only in Costa Rica, but everywhere. Everyone was crying the blues from realtors to builders and almost everyone in the tourism industry. I decided that I would downsize one of our homes in a development we owned, knock the price way down… and offer financing.

Marcel Evans: What happened?

Randy Berg: We were overwhelmed. I must have had 50 calls the first day.

Marcel Evans: So… that was the start of the “Casitas projects?”

Randy Berg: Well, not exactly. See, we owned that project outright. If we wanted to move forward we had to figure out how to acquire more land. I am not a rich guy and the banks weren`t lending and investment money had dried up. So we went directly to the landowners themselves.

Marcel Evans: So, you had them finance you?

Randy Berg: No. Most landowners wouldn`t trust that they would get their money and we ended up joint venturing with them.

Marcel Evans: How did that work?

Randy Berg: We did all of the development, the construction and the sales… the landowners just had to put up the land. The sales proceeds were usually split 50-50.

Marcel Evans: So, then the landowners also got a piece of the construction money?

Randy Berg: Well, that was another issue. We wanted to make the prices as attractive as possible… so we downsized a typical house to a little less than 1000 sq. ft. to keep the price down… and we made no profit on the house whatsoever. The only profit we made was in the land.

Marcel Evans: You built the houses for nothing?

Randy Berg: Yes.

Marcel Evans: OK, let me get this straight. You got half of the profits on the land and made nothing on the houses?

Randy Berg: Yes.

Marcel Evans: Yikes… and you are still in business? How can you afford to do this?

Randy Berg: Well, lets put it this way… the realtors in Jaco wouldn’t touch us in the beginning. After all, we were selling Casitas, “little houses”… I mean, these guys were used to selling $500,000 houses. It took them about 3-4 months before they realized that our casitas were the only things selling on the coast.

Marcel Evans: What else makes your Casita projects different?

Randy Berg: Each project has a fantastic location… from Hermosa to Herradura to Agujas (next to Punta Leona), Atenas and San Ramon (coming next) and one more unnamed at this point. They can command great rental pricing because of the location and because they have amenities like landscaping, common area pools, ranchos, and more… as well as 24/7 security. So they made a fantastic investment and obviously, because (as you say) we build for nothing so people are getting instant equity because of the zero building markup.

Marcel Evans: Are you offering financing as well?

Randy Berg: Yes, up to ten years.

Marcel Evans: I can see why your projects are selling now.

Randy Berg: The only real problem we have is that too many people assume that our projects and homes are poorly built because of the low price. They’re wrong and we invite people to come and look because we actually use the same type of material as Los Suenos uses in most of their construction.

Marcel Evans: I can attest to their quality. And I can also tell any of the readers of The Costa Rica Star that the value is definitely there. Thank you for taking the time to describe exactly how the Casitas projects work and why they are such a great buy.

Randy Berg: You’re welcome.

For more information about the Costa Rica Real Estate developments offered by Randy Berg and his team, use this contact form or call them at the following numbers:

Local: (506) 2643-2691
Toll Free International: 877-284-6843
www.CasitasForSale.com