Canadian Couple with Remote Finca
 Description of Real Estate
75 hectare farm, steep hilly terrain, approx. 1/5 flat or gently sloped cow pasture, 2/5 primary jungle patches, 1/5 steep hillsides, & 1/5 areas on hilltops; wildlife includes howler and titi monkeys, abundant birds & small mammals; domestic animals include 55 cows (rented by owners to local farmer for $1.25 per head per month for grazing privileges), and 5 horses (4 came with the place, and one has since given birth). No one living there; the 20 year old son of the neighboring campesino family which owns the cattle "keeps an eye on the place" when he goes there every day to work the herd.
Location and Ease of Access
Off of SW (Pacific) Costanera Highway, approx. 5 hrs. from San Jose by car, decent roads all the way to turn-off from highway (pot-holed pavement from San Jose to Dominical, then good flat gravel); 4 wheel drive required on long-abandoned access "road", a.k.a. cow pasture, for 1 k., then passage through steeply embanked stream (which can be impassable during rainy season in any vehicle short of a Humvee).
Borders and Fence Line
Boundaries equal approx. ¾ kilometer on each of 4 sides, for total border circumference of 3 kilometers (1.9 miles). Terrain straddling the fence-line ranges from flat cow pasture to 45 degree sloping primary rainforest.
Condition of fence: 3-strand barbed wire, rusted and rickety at best, with gaps of up to 20 meters where the posts had long-since collapsed, causing the wires to be buried under organic debris. The good news: the existing fence did cover most of the border circumference, in many cases going right through the middle of large trees which are clearly at least 20 years old. One-quarter of the fence was in dire need of repair, mainly in areas which, predictably, were steep, jungled, and far removed from inhabitable areas, while the rest of the fence required minimal or no immediate work.
Past, Current or Potential Problems Identified by Owners
None. The purchase and closing went smoothly, thanks to the seller's bulletproof title documents; no squatter conflicts have been reported on or near the land, and the general area is not known to have systematic or frequent squatter cases. Although nobody lives on the farm, there is nothing much to steal, and the owners relied on the neighbor's son to keep a general eye out.
Services Selected by Owners
- Standard Land Patrol Package
- Special Services, consisting of fence rebuilding/repair and sign posting
Reasons for Selection
Because they were expecting to be too busy in the next year to be able to visit Costa Rica more than once, the owners opted for 3 Land Patrol inspections, each to be performed three months apart during the seasons when they would be unable to come. Their reasoning: they felt uncomfortable knowing they might have to leave their valuable (and beautiful) finca unattended for up to 8 months, especially since their original plan had been to visit 3 times annually.
Even without any known "red flag" of some kind of threat or danger to their land, they worried that if some crisis did arise, their otherwise helpful neighbors might delay forever in getting word up to them in Canada, given the neighbors' 3 mile walk (or bike ride-no buses) to the nearest phone, and the (to them) daunting complexities of calling internationally.
Mr. Barrantes' company carried out the 3 Land Patrol inspections, as scheduled. The first entailed walking the entire circumference of the property, photographing every segment of the border along the fence-line. This took his service rep an entire day, due to the rough terrain, even after having hired a local farmer earlier to clear a path beside the border in the many sawgrass or jungle-obstructed areas.
Results
After receiving the initial Land Patrol report made from his first inspection, including the standard Assessment which pointed out the weaknesses in the fence, the owners signed up for fence repair & sign-posting.
Mr. Barrantes hired a trusted local to repair or rebuild the fence, as needed, and to post "Private Property--No Hunting" signs (in Spanish) every 25 meters as he worked his way around. The necessary materials were supplied to the worker, the mandatory (and very important for liability purposes in case of accident) employee insurance policy purchased, and a deadline agreed to, which would be the week before the next scheduled Land Patrol inspection. That way, the path re-cleared by the man as he worked would facilitate the Land Patrol inspection hike, while also allowing a close assessment of the freshly-done work.
The second and third Land Patrols went smoothly. Backed up by digital photographs, Mr. Barrantes was able to report that the entire property was now securely fenced and posted.
Land Patrol Visits
Per our clients' wishes, the three Land Patrol inspections to be done included only the standard package: all necessary clearing of foliage, followed by an inspection on foot along every inch of the property's borders; detailed digital photos of same; interviews with pertinent neighbors (or caretakers, etc.) to probe for potential trouble; agreement with some of them to have them call or contact us here in Costa Rica in the event of any problem; and, within 48 hours of each visit, generation of a detailed report covering all the agreed-upon bases, plus an assessment of potential threats, if any, and a Special Assessment.
The total price: $225.00 per visit, for a total of $675.00 for all three visits, everything included. Currently, the cost would be closer to $300 per visit.
Fence Repair and Sign-Posting
The entire fence and sign operation included 300 meters of new barbed wire, 2,000 clamps, 75 hand-sprayed metal signs, and nails. Whatever posts needed for the fence were taken from fallen limbs on the property to save money.
The total price: $475.
Note: because the second Land Patrol visit was scheduled to take place shortly after the fence work was to be finished, Mr. Barrantes was able to combine the regular trip with an inspection of the fence job, thus saving our clients money by avoiding an extra all-day hike around the land. |
