Coldwell Banker Tamarindo Costa Rica — Local services in Tamarindo

I could write a whole book on my adventures so far in Costa Rica and owning property, but I will try to keep this review focused on just one very important element that led to the wild success I am experiencing now. I am not exaggerating when I say Dan Williams is by far the most amazing realtor I have ever worked with.

My family and I took a spur of the moment trip down to Costa Rica for the first time (during the COVID pandemic no less) to get away and decompress for a bit. Trusting the name "Coldwell Banker" and having a good initial conversation with Dan, we scheduled a tour of a few condos and homes to satisfy our curiosity regarding owning a place in Costa Rica. With a few questions regarding our goals for the property, budget, and size, Dan built a list of properties and away we went. With absolutely no pressure and all the fun of a shopping expedition, Dan took us through the different properties and a bit of the neighborhoods. He gave us good feedback on the pros and cons of each, shared personal experiences where it made sense and made us feel comfortable with the overall experience.

Well, we fell in love with the town and with a few of the places we toured and decided to embark on the wild adventure of home ownership in another country. Over a few beers (Dan ever the professional - having an espresso), we talked about the units we liked, what the total cost would be and how the next few steps would unfold. I left the conversation excited, educated and slightly nervous (because does anything ever work out exactly as planned??). Well, it went better than expected or imagined. Despite it being in another country with another language and myself being comparatively ignorant, it was the easiest real-estate transaction I have ever experienced.

Dan had the whole thing, start to finish, handled. He gave us a few options regarding legal teams he recommended, helped us understand property laws and taxes, transferred bills, negotiated (and renegotiated) with the current owner and their realtor and held everyone accountable to the timeline and the deliverables. He even suggested a wonderful property manager that I am now working with to renovate my property and get it listed so it is used while we are not there. I never needed to fly back (woe is me - I would rather be there than anywhere right now). My only responsibilities in the whole process was to understand the contract, send the money and sign.

If you are even considering a similar adventure, there is one piece of advice I will stress more than anything. Find yourself a good team. One that works in your best interest above anything else. If you call Dan, it is literally the only phone call you need to make. Everything else is done outside of that one conversation. I plan on making another purchase in the area shortly and I will be working with Dan and his team again (if they will have me 🙂). From all of us here, state side, thank you, Dan,...

Let me tell the story of how we came to own a little slice of paradise in Langosta, Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

It was a Saturday in December, 2024. We were casually walking through town, stopping and shopping, grabbing a bite to eat, then had an ice cream to finish off lunch. Right in the middle of town, we happened across the Coldwell Banker office. The window posted some of their for sale properties, and we looked them over and hadn't noticed anyone inside, until she tapped on the window and motioned us in.

That's when we met Katy Benveniste. An ex-pat from Hawaii. She talked about living and working in Costa Rica for the last 4 years. She talked about what she and her husband Larry, also with Coldwell Banker, have learned about living in Costa Rica, and the ins and outs of owning property, banking, paying for utilities, paying taxes, accessing healthcare, and all of the things that one would consider daunting and overwhelming, especially if you don't speak Spanish! To hear her describe it, it actually sounded DOABLE!

We spent the rest of the afternoon with Katy showing us properties. The next morning she called, excited because something had just been listed within the hour, in a gated community that never has property for sale! This particular property rents as an AirBnB when the owners, also Americans, arent there, and it had just been rented to AirBnB customers for the next 5 days. Katy was able negotiate showing it while the renters were out for the day. We loved it and made an offer on the spot!

We had to leave CR a few days later, and Katy was able to introduced us, long distance, to a legal team to help with the purchase, a management company to help set us up to also use the property as an AirBnB when we arent there, and helped us in advanced of our return to CR with banking needs. We came back to Tamarindo in February, 2025, to close on the property, and Katy spent several days with us, accompanying us to the bank to set up our accounts, to the property management company for introductions, to the attorneys offices for legal counsel and to help set up an LLC for our AirBnB business, and even took us to lunch!

We would never have considered buying in Costa Rica without Katy. She made the impossible possible. We can't thank her enough for showing us paradise.

Thank you, Katy. Thank you, Coldwell Banker. Thank you, Langosta and...

It would be difficult to overrate the experience which we had with Melissa Smith, one of Coldwell Banker's real estate agents, who is based in Tamarindo. We made our second trip to Costa Rica in January, 2017, during which we confirmed our positive first impressions of this country and its people during a previous visit. We walked into the CB office on a Friday and met Melissa, the agent on duty that day. Although we had no appointment, she made time for us to determine our parameters for a possible second home/investment property in the Tamarindo area. Her many years living there made her not only extremely knowledgeable about Tamarindo and its surrounding areas, but we found her to be extremely hardworking, forthright, and honest in all matters, as well. The following Tuesday, Melissa showed us a number of properties, all of which were of possible interest, given the information we had provided to her. We decided to make an offer that same day on a beautiful, open-concept condominium in Marina Real, Flamingo, CR. Because we were scheduled to fly back to the U.S. the next day, Melissa arranged an appointment for us the next morning with Juan Carlos Cerdas, an excellent local attorney who handles many of her clients' real estate transactions. In accomplished English, he thoroughly explained the process of purchasing real estate in Costa Rica, and professionally prepared the offer for the property. All other matters were consequently handled via e-mail with Melissa and Juan Carlos to arrive at an agreement with the sellers, and to complete the due diligence process for the property. Both Melissa and Juan Carlos were extremely responsive to all of our inquiries and requests during this period. The entire process was incredibly smooth and seamless from beginning to end. We returned to Costa Rica on March 4 for a final walk-through and to close on the property. This morning, on March 12, we returned to the U.S., feeling so fortunate to have found this wonderful property, and to have had Melissa as our agent. It is almost incredible to us that in just the short time that we've been in Flamingo, we have met so many great people who now comprise our as-yet small community of friends, among whom we are happy to count Melissa Smith, without whom all of this would not have...