About the Property

Rare opportunity to live ½ mile from the main entrance of the Monteverde Cloudforest.. No more building will be allowed this close to the reserve! Animals in the yard. Modern Conveniences. Turnkey, Fully Furnished. Great for Retirees, or Air B&B,New On Market!

Our house was built in 1985 by a Canadian non profit, and sold to a local family for a very reasonable price. It started as a very simple stucco over masonry house, with two tiny bedrooms. There was no city water, and water was supplied by a cistern. Cooking was done on a wood stove. The windows were all wood framed, and only a couple of them could be opened. Over the years, there had been two small additions to the house. The first was a new masonry kitchen with a concrete floor, and a ceiling open to the rafters and metal roof. The second was a frame bodega or storage and utility room.

When we purchased the home, the house was still quite rustic. But we knew that the house was built to North American standards. Plus, there was a modern fuse box, and a septic tank, By this time the city water was also connected. The water was an important detail. It is extremely hard to get a water permit this close to the Monteverde Reserve. It would be hard to get one for new construction. This is still true. The area closer to town has grown up. Water is a precious commodity.

There was also a phone line installed. Until recently, you could wait two years for a telephone. Now the wait is only a few weeks.

We had the basics, and we set to work getting it in shape. It was a labor of love, and at times a source of frustration as this gringo couple set out to renovate a home, less than a mile from the Continental Divide in a Quaker Community.

We closed on the house, and brought some contractor friends down from New Orleans. We also hired some local guys to lend a hand. On this first trip, we worked for two weeks, and got the home somewhat livable. We painted the entire interior and exterior. We removed the wooden wall from one of the bedrooms. Taking out this wall, created an L shaped space. The old bedroom became the dining room, the other large area became a combo living room and kitchen. The corner of the L was where we placed the kitchen.

We saved the wood from the old wall, and used most of it to install a ceiling in the old kitchen. We were converting that room into our master bedroom. We purchased laurel tongue and groove tableta and finished the rest of the ceiling with that. We did some cosmetic cement wall repair and laid a ceramic floor. There was an old countertop that was covered in soot from the wood stove. We had it milled, and found that it was a beautiful slab of Guanacaste wood. This was varnished, and it remains there today. We completely wired this room as well. All the windows were caulked and weatherproofed.

We installed a hot water heater, and ran hot water lines to the kitchen and bath. The bath was quite small. So we installed the vanity in the living area. This has actually worked out well. We always have friends staying with us. Having the vanity out of the bath, means that someone can shower while others brush their teeth, shave, etc.

Our local guys also dug out a short driveway, and laid the concrete for that. It getting to be about time to repave this driveway. They also laid out the switchback sidewalk. At first, we just laid flagstone on the ground. The cement and flagstone walkways were done later.

We had also purchased some of the furniture in San Jose. This includes the antique dining room table that is still there, along with the desk and bookcase in the master. Over the years, everything else has been replaced.

This was all on the first trip! Over the years, we have done a lot more. Here is a more or less complete list of improvements done over time:

-Installed flagstone sidewalks and large flagstone patio, with a small wall

-Built a closet in the master bedroom.

-Added a roof over the patio, along with a cement table and benches

- Installed underground wiring for the lighted sidewalks (It gets dark up here!)

-Installed a new larger circuit box.

-Completely rewired the house with Romex from the US.

-Recently rebuilt the kitchen in Ceramic tile, with a high end three bay sink from the US.

-Installed a hot tub! Which means we also had to install a second circuit b0x and a separate cable and pole from the street. In December 2015, we installed a brand new pump, maintenance heater and electronic controls. The components were purchased from SpaGuts.com, in the US. The primary heater is a little older, but seems to be going strong. This heater is made in Costa Rica and is relatively inexpensive and easy to replace, when the time comes.

-Replaced the three front windows of the house with modern aluminum windows with screens. We replaced the jalousy windows in the small bedroom at the same time.

-Reroofed, and added two skylights in the living area.

-Installed ceramic tile in the bath. Installed Italian porcelain floors in the small bedroom and main living area. We thought we were buying ceramic. Our installer was a little perturbed with us. Apparently this stuff is hard to cut. But it sure is nice!

-New septic tank and drain field.

-Installed a security box for small items (passport, tablets, camera, etc)

-Completely rebuilt the bodega walls and roof. It was falling in on itself. We only kept the concrete floor.

-The house also has phone service and high speed wireless.

-The house is turn key, and fully furnished. All kitchen appliances are included, as well as the tico style washing machine in the bodega.

Of course, we have done some decorating and maintenance over the years. Some of the pictures above are old. These were all taken at different times. For example, if you look at the kitchen, you will see a decorative border at the top of the walls. This now extends throughout the living area.

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