 Our Real Estate Crew
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Tim Woodruff
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TIM WOODRUFF was born and raised in the Republic of Panama. He first met Brice deGanahl when they were both students at the Lawrenceville High School in New Jersey. Their paths crossed again at Tulane University as undergrads. Tim went on to graduate from Tulane Law School in 1984, and worked as an attorney for seven years in San Francisco, California. He is also licensed to practice law in Florida. In 1994, he and Brice bought, and started planting trees on, Finca San Buenas, as noted below. In late 1996, Tim moved to Costa Rica full-time, to focus on real estate, reforestation and related projects. Later that year, he and Brice founded Land Assurance Corp., a real estate, reforestation, and eco-development business. Tim was married in Dec. 2006 to a Costa Rican, Rosario Araya. His hobbies include studying history, writing, surfing, and yoga. |
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Brice deGanahl
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BRICE DEGANAHL is from New Jersey but has spent the most time in New England. Between 1980 and 1985, he studied music at the New England Conservatory of Music while earning a Mechanical Engineering degree from Tufts University. After graduating, he wrote engineering software for several firms, and started his own software company. In 1995, he sold his flagship product to Computer Associates. Meanwhile, between 1992-94, he and Tim Woodruff extensively researched -- in the library and in the field -- the viability of tropical hardwood reforestation. In 1994, they turned to the Costa Rican real estate market and purchased Finca San Buenas, which they started to reforest later that year. After repeated trips to Costa Rica to recreate, buy real estate, and manage the new plantation, Brice moved there permanently in 1996. His hobbies include computers, reading, teaching English to local students, and a whole lot of surfing. |
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Mathijs Decoz
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MATHIJS DECOZ is a native of Holland. Mathijs graduated from Hogeschool Midden Brabant with an engineering degree in sustainable technology. Mathijs speaks English, Spanish and Dutch fluently and is conversational in German. He was the first agent hired by Land Assurance after Tim and Brice, and has by far the most experience in real estate in Costa Rica. He also has a strong interest in reforestation and tree farming. In 2006, he has started to help us implement reforestation jobs for ourselves and our clients. |
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Alberto Sandoval
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ALBERTO SANDOVAL began working for us as an electrician for our development properties and as a farm finder, or scout. This may sound like an easy, fun job, but it is the core of our business and we take it very seriously. Alberto quickly proved himself to be of the highest quality character and after telling us he couldn't speak English showed us he actually speaks it very well. Although he is doing well as a realtor, he continues to work on his masters' degree in mechanical engineering at the University in San Jose (with a specialty in industrial power applications). |
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Marcel Pfister
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MARCEL PFISTER was born in Germany and raised in Switzerland. He worked in Switzerland and Canada from 1970 to 1981 in the travel business. After that he worked for various international corporations selling and marketing investment products including real estate. He speaks fluent English, French, German and can converse well in Spanish and Italian. He has both his Swiss and Canadian citizenship but now resides here in Costa Rica. He has purchased his own real estate here and has been studying the South Central coastal real estate for years.
Marcel is now working with Land Assurance on a part time basis, continuing to service our clients and sell real estate for us out of his own home office. |
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Rosario Araya
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ROSARIO ARAYA has been with Land Assurance since the summer of 2006. She is from Alajuela in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. In June 2007, she graduated from law school in San Jose, and is now pursuing her notary's degree at a university in San Isidro. She currently works for LA on a part-time basis as our in-house legal advisor, personnel manager, and accounting supervisor. She and Tim Woodruff were married in Dec. 2005. Her hobbies include swimming, yoga, and reading.
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Cindy Moya
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CINDY MOYA started working for Land Assurance in August 2007 as receptionist/secretary. She had previously been the receptionist at a local hotel, where she discharged her duties with admirable aplomb. She was born in the mountains of San Isidro del General, and came to live on the coast at the age of seven. She currently lives with her parents in a town close to Dominical. She speaks English quite well, and excels at accounting and computer work. Cindy's hobbies include bicycling and volleyball.
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Jairo Carrillo
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JAIRO CARRILLO came to work at Land Assurance over two years ago. He is from Tinamastes, a town about half way between Dominical and San Isidro. Previously, we had hired him as an independent contractor on a small bridge building project, where he did a very good job. His duties now include driving all over the Southern zone, paying salaries; bringing supplies to the workers; supervising ongoing projects, including small construction jobs; buying materials; and getting bids from tractor owners, and aqueduct/electricity installers. He often logs over 1,000 kilometers a week. Jairo is a family man. He and his wife have an adorable baby girl, aged 4. His hobbies include computers and spending time with his family.
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Liandro Herrera H.
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LIANDRO HERRERA is our plantation foreman. Born on Finca San Buenas over 50 years ago, he has been a farmer all his life, and knows the local terrain better than anyone. A keen observer of nature's symbiotic ways, he is living proof that much holistic wisdom still exists outside the realm of scientific publications. Liandro undoubtedly represents the most important part of our team. None of our reforestation plans could succeed without the hard work, dedication, and support he and other local folks contribute, working under scorching sun and rainstorm alike - in the field, where it really counts. Apart from his salary and benefits, Liandro owns a partnership interest in the plantation business.
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Our Special Attendants (humor)
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Tibet (the fearless)
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| Before Yoga |
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After Yoga |
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This is our fearless protector Tibet who came to us with Nayarit and two other siblings at age 5 weeks. The poor creatures were abandoned but now serve on our staff with pride and confidence. "Tibbs" has Buddhist leanings -- hence his name -- and is accomplished at the art of meditation (he can fall asleep on his feet). He has totally mastered the "down dog" position in yoga. |
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Nayarit
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Nayarit, Tibet's sister, is the Land Assurance sentry by night, and official greeter by day. If someone comes she howls a greeting; if no one comes she tends to howl anyway. |
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Scampi
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Scampi is the matron of the Land Assurance pack. She is the sweetest mutt in every way except her odor. She loves to roll in dead fish and we are doing our best to dissuade her from perfuming herself with them. |
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Negro
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Negro came to us an impoverished, skinny, flee ridden and timid wreck. With just a flee bath and a few good meals, he has changed to this good looking chap. He always has a smile on his face. |
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Lucky
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Lucky came to us on loan for a weekend and the owner never returned. He's now the oldest of the clan and is, in the words of Shakespeare, "as faithful as a cocker." |
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Mr. Coffee
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And finally, our tireless helper who never complains, never argues, always works at the same steady pace, and never, ever runs out. |
Land Use Mission Statement
- To provide our clients with superlative service in every respect, based on our experience, knowledge and integrity
- To work as hard as we can for every single client to help them achieve their dreams
- To ensure that all parties we deal with are treated in a fully transparent and ethical manner
- To help our clients and the public understand, respect, and follow the principles of sustainable land use
- To provide individual opportunity, personal satisfaction and rewarding challenges to all employees
- To offer accurate and up-to-date information, skilled analysis and sound real estate advice
- To continually explore new ideas and technology, to make the selling and buying of real estate safer and easier
- To give back all that we can to the wonderful people of Costa Rica and their great country
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Land Sales in 2006/2007
In 2006 we got up to eight full time agents, including Brice and Tim. It was a great year sales-wise, even as prices have continued to escalate in the region, in anticipation of much-needed infrastructure coming in soon. But it was not until 2007 that we began to witness a real sea-change regarding infrastructure, both financial and physical. Banks for the first time began to offer good financing terms to foreign clients here. In addition, an international airport for the region was decided upon, the gravel road from Quepos to Dominical was prepared for imminent paving, the huge marina in Golfito started to be built, and ground was broken for an 18-hole golf course in the area.
Land Sales in 2005
Land Assurance closed on over more than $10M worth of properties in 2005. It was a good year. As of 2006 we had six full time agents as well as a new office manager/secretary, and a number of workers in the field, for a grand total of about 20 full-time employees (along with another 20 seasonal workers).
Land Sales in 2004
2004 was very productive for the side of our business that markets and brokers the sale of eco-real estate. During that calendar year, we helped our clients find and safely close on over twenty choice properties (not counting pending option contracts and other future deals).
Many of these sales consisted of fincas over 100 acres, with the smallest a lot of 2 acres. All but one had great ocean and mountain views. They all had in common streams or rivers; natural water springs; cleared land to reforest; areas of primary or secondary forest; abundant flora and fauna; and last but not least, reasonable selling prices! The grand total of Costa Rican real estate sold through our office that year came to over 1000 acres.
In every case but one, the sellers had the publicly registered Costa Rican real estate titles to convey to our purchasers. It goes without saying that proper titles are a key issue when buying land. After all, as any Costa Rica investment handbook will warn, you should never consider buying from an owner with only possession of, and "private title" for, a piece of land. Right?
Well, not always. That rule applies to novices, for whom it is indeed very sound advice. On the other hand, if you know what you are doing, you can buy untitled land at lower prices without much risk. The strategy is to make the closing contingent on the current owner getting public real estate title within X period of time. It is not hard to find owners with rock-solid legal rights to the Costa Rica real estate they live on. Factors include: that he or she has lived there decades, paid taxes on it, farmed it, has registered survey, or plat map, and that no one else claims it.
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Recent Reforestation
We were hired to plant trees on four Costa Rican properties in 2004, on another four in 2005, and on three more in 2006. Total number of tree saplings planted by the end of the rainy season for each year has exceeded ~50,000. We are fast closing in on a lifetime total of over half a million trees planted -- and we are just warming up!
The majority of the different species were native to Costa Rica; and many are on the government's endangered or threatened (with extinction) list. They include:
- terminalia amazonas (white oliver), planted in mixed stands with its two closely-related companion species;
- swietenia macrophylla (mahogany);
- dalbergia retusa (rosewood);
- cordia alliodora (laurel);
- astronium graveolens (goncalo alves);
- aspidosperma Spp. (peroba rosa);
- and over a dozen others.
The only "exotic" (non-native) species we planted was a small minority of tectonis grande, or teak. This fast-growing, highly esteemed hardwood just so happens to grow superbly in plantations here in Costa Rica.
Note: on the one hand, it is our practice to champion the use of native species to all our clients. We think they are more eco-friendly in plantations, as well as likely to be at least as valuable as teak, over the long run. However, we will plant and manage teak for clients, upon request. We believe that we can plant and manage teak stands in a way that remains true to our core philosophy. That requires that the plantation be truly sustainable, which in turn requires that the applied methodology help restore the soil over the long run. It's not so simple with teak, for many reasons, but we do believe we can manage it ecologically.
Of the jobs we have done in Costa Rica, most have had some teak in the mix. One of the teak-less projects was a pure reforestation play - which we loved executing. The owner wanted to bring back the natural forest, and had no intention of ever harvesting or even culling a single tree.
We also provide ongoing management of reforestation projects by referring clients to a well-known local reforester in order to save them money.
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How to contact us
Click here for our Contact Information
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