Client Story: From 'What's Possible?' to Closing Day

Kindred Consulting Costa Rica

Mark and Susan had been talking about Costa Rica for three years. They had done what most interested buyers do: googled it, watched YouTube videos, joined expat Facebook groups, and saved a folder of listings that ranged from $150,000 condos to $800,000 beachfront villas clearly outside their budget.

Two questions they could not answer from research: 'Can we actually make this work financially?' And: 'Where do we even start?'

A friend who had gone through a similar process referred them to Kindred Consulting Costa Rica. They booked a discovery call.

The Discovery Call

The first conversation lasted about an hour. Jennifer asked about their goals: a property they could use two or three weeks annually, generate positive rental income otherwise, and potentially retire to in seven to ten years. Budget approximately $275,000. Pacific coast preferred.

Jennifer also asked about their US financial picture and how Costa Rica rental income would interact with their returns. They hadn't thought about that at all. She walked them through the basics and explained that the US Tax Attorney would build the detailed picture as part of their five-year model.

The Five-Year ROI Forecast

Within two weeks, Mark and Susan received their personalized forecast. The model identified a 3-bedroom property type in the Guanacaste coastal corridor, projected $31,000–$36,000 in Year 1 rental income, and showed positive cash flow from Year 2 onward after financing service — using a 35% down / 65% US conventional financing structure.

The forecast also showed that the leveraged scenario produced a higher five-year return on invested capital than all-cash — because leverage amplified the ROI while preserving capital.

'That was the moment we got serious,' Mark said. 'We'd been assuming we'd need all cash. The financing changed everything.'

Property Selection, Due Diligence, and Closing

The broker presented six curated properties. Mark and Susan flew to Costa Rica for a week-long tour. They identified two serious candidates. Full title due diligence ran on both. One had a minor, resolvable encumbrance; the team negotiated a purchase price adjustment to account for resolution costs. The other was clean.

Financing qualification ran simultaneously with legal review. The ownership structure — a Costa Rican SA corporation — was determined by the US Tax Attorney and Costa Rican attorney jointly before the purchase agreement was drafted.

Eleven weeks from discovery call to closing day. Insurance in place. Místico Rentals activated

before their return flight. First rental booking arrived within 12 days of listing.

Two Years Later

The property is performing slightly above the five-year forecast. Mark and Susan have visited three times. The US Tax Attorney filed the first FBAR the following spring. The Costa Rican CPA handled the local rental income filing. Jennifer checked in quarterly.

They are currently in preliminary conversations about a second property in the Southern Zone —using equity from the first purchase as part of the capital strategy.

'We own property in another country and it basically runs itself,' Susan said. 'That was not what we expected. That was everything we hoped for.'

JENNIFER KINDRED

Email: jennifer@kc-cr.com

Office: +1-830-265-4818 / +506-8518-4062

WhatsApp: +1-830-613-4531 / +506-8518-4062