subject: How to Rent Your Apartment or Home In Costa Rica [print this page] How to Rent Your Apartment or Home In Costa Rica
Owning rental properties in Costa Rica is a good investment due to low property taxes and the low cost of labor (maintenance). Of course, to make money, the property has to be rented as often as possible.
Here are some ways to get your property out there:
1. Yard/window signs. These are great for people in the same area as the property. Neighbors may know someone interestested, etc. However, many condominiums have bylaws that prohibit their use.
2. Brokers. There are some brokers that work with long term rentals. However, the commission is typically the 1st month's rent. This amount to 8.33% on annual basis. One advantage to working with a broker is you do not have to show the property yourself. They may also be able to help screen clients, although this is not always the case.
3. Classifieds. La Nacion is probably the only place worth having a classified ad in Costa Rica. It is the country's most widely read newspaper. However, classifieds in La Nacion are very expensive and only text.
4. Online. Online advertising is the direction that smart owners are going for cost reasons and distribution reasons. Online advertising reaches the global market. So many tenants in Costa Rica are from other countries and are searching for a place to live before they arrive.
Here is some more information about online advertising that may be of use:
The most effective way to advertise online is to find a site that is getting found by other people. Seach terms that a potential tenant might search: Costa Rica rental homes, costa rica apartments for rent, etc. What sites are coming up near the top of google?
Next you probably want to consider what the site offers. Lots of pictures are great. Craigslist.org only allows four pictures. You want to have eight pictures up.
An easy to use database is important as well. Location will always be of most interest to a potential tenant.
How often do you have to be on the site to keep your listing found? Many craigslist users are now on the site every two days because to "update" so that their listing stays near the top and gets inquiries.
You may want to consider specialty sites that were built for the Costa Rica rental market.
ForRentCostaRica.com recently came online. Phase I includes Costa Rica long term rentals and Costa Rica commercial rentals.
The site was developed with an eye on the important details about a property. Each listing has space for 8 pictures so you get a good idea of how the property looks and feels. There is space to fill in a monthly utility estimate and what type of security is on site.
You may want to consider listing your property on multiple websites as you can probably do three or four websites for the cost of one weekend of classified ads.
