I have mixed feelings when it comes to building in Costa Rica.

Why?

I have been to Tamarindo.

Tamarindo is what happens when people don't really care about anything other than making a profit.

It's becoming a concrete jungle and drugs and prostitution are rampant.

I see Costa Rica as a wonderful place and would hate to see it go down the drain due to economic seduction.

We are now in an era where green construction becomes a widely known term and one of my partners specializes in it.

As the real estate market cools off a little bit, more and more projects are coming up in the outskirts of popular vacation spot such as Playa Carmen and Santa Teresa. There is lots of vacant land that the owners are willing to sell and from what I see, that is where the future is. Not killing the charm of the land while finding ways to provide nice homes to those who seek that exact charm and peace is a challenge we are confronted with daily, but we now have a great team showing us that it is very possible.

You don't need to ax down hundreds of trees to create value for your property. You can create enough space to build a beautiful home and I urge all land owners to do just that rather than allowing themselves to be talked into levelling the property they have purchased.

Costa Rica has a bright future and I'm proud to be a part of it.

If you have any questions regarding green construction or building in Costa Rica, feel free to make a comment. Responsible building will keep the value growing. There have been plenty of bad examples of foreigners coming here with the intent to make a profit and leave, but I'm pleased to say that more and more of the incoming real estate and construction professionals are actually residents here who care about the community and will defend its rights to remain the wonderful place that most of the areas we service are.

The problem is that there are celebrities such as Leonardo di Caprio who buy property here and show absolutely no concern regarding the environment in order to get their new estates built. I will have more information on my http://www.costaricaunplugged.com/costa-rica-blog coming up about it soon. Leo is supposed to be an environmentalist, but so far he hasn't put his money where his mouth is.

Mike Dammann