contact us if you are interested in real estate for sale in costa rica near Samara and Nosara on the Pacific Ocean

Al is really the visionary behind this project. Two years ago he sent most of us an email entitled "Paradise Found" and sketched out his initial idea. He visited Costa Rica for the first time in 1993 on an adventure/fishing trip with three amigos, and after having experienced the best trip of his life, vowed to return. In 2004 with his wife Deena accompanying him, he-revisited CR and began his quest for the ideal property on which to fulfill his vision of a community in harmony with nature and the local culture.

Al’s strengths are his big-picture vision, personable nature, marketing savvy, and his uncanny ability to make the right real estate investments. He is also recognized for his unyielding drive to see projects large and small through to completion.

Al is looking to Costa Rica to provide the next chapter in his life - not only for business, but also for a special place for his new family (twins Coleman and Owen were born to Deena and Al in April 2006).

Deena is terrific - she is smart, energetic, and entrepreneurial. Deena is in the corporate training business and is currently doing executive coaching. Both Deena and Al come with a lot of business skills to move this project along, but perhaps their best skill is the art of friendship.

According to Ray, Darlene is the smartest person he as ever met. Darlene laughs at the idea, but you know, it doesn't hurt to have smart people around on a project like this.

Both Ray and Darlene own small consulting/training companies. http://www.pssi.biz. Ray's niche is enterprise project management and has had a wide diversity of clients ranging from NASA to the US Secret Service, from IBM to the City of Las Vegas. He has also worked extensively in residential, commercial, and government construction project management. Darlene's company creates event-like training programs for large companies like Pepsi and Bank of America. (Darlene's son Benjamin was a little perturbed to discover that Coke products dominate all the shelves in Costa Rica and is determined to change that.)

When they are not traveling they hang out in Tampa with their son Benjamin (age 9) and dog Spirit.

Ray and Benjamin just came back from the property. "Ben has always been one of these kids that likes to get off the beaten trail, spread his wings a little and explore," say his parents. Costa Rica, with everything new and natural, and the remote mountainous location of this project are perfect for him. Ben has already drawn extensive tree-house designs for the perfect place in one of the large trees down by the river. His concept is that the tree house could be a place were we can view the wildlife coming down to the river to drink, and maybe a place put up a hammock and spend the night.

One of Benjamin's favorite expression is something we have all been saying is "There are no rules in Costa Rica! It is like the Wild West!"

Keith is a salesman for Automatic Data Processing (http://www.adp.com), and although we would all like to take the credit, when it came to making this deal work, his expertise helped us keep perspective and led us in the right direction. In his part time he rehabs and then sells property. So far, he has rehabbed 15 homes in his off time hours! This energy and his expertise is going to be valuable on the project.

In addition, Keith has direct experience doing community development and charitable work in third world countries. There are some plans to help some of our neighbors like the small school a kilometer away, but we are expecting that his expertise will help guide much of our involvement. One partner said this about Keith, "He is always up, optimistic, has nothing to bad to say about anyone, you can count on him."

Currently Keith is a Master chess player with at ranking of 2020 (that is quite good if you follow the game). After college he lived for 3 years in the British Virgin Islands and after securing residency he became eligible to represent the BVI in international tournament. This summer he returned (without winning but with a respectable showing) from a tournament in Spain. Keith has a picture of himself in the Pamplona Bull Run frantically running with a rook in each hand with a rather large bull hot on his heels.

Wayne is a real hands-on guy. We have all of these pictures of Wayne from the different trips to Costa Rica, and they are all of him catching the fish, cracking open the coconut, climbing the water falls, conducting an experiment, and in this one, drinking the beer.

Wayne is experienced in construction as a lead carpenter for a custom home builder in Bucks County PA and Princeton NJ, and as the design engineer and project manager for PSE Engineering. Victoria owns a financial planning firm (http://www.lincolninvestment.com). Together they have three children Madeline age 9, Ian 4, and Gavin 2. Wayne left engineering to become Mr. Mom and remodel a recently purchased home.

We all have our reasons for being involved in this project, Wayne explains it this way,

The second reason we are involved in the project is we want to expose our children to as many other cultures as possible. The people in this rural area of Costa Rica are wonderful and my family looks forward to making many new friends.

Alan Benner the master mind of this venture has been my good friend for 38 years!

Finally, my bagpipes are going to sound great from the top hill at Finca Las Brisas.

Mark is the general contractor on the team and has extensive experience in residential, development, building and is highly respected in the high-end Philadelphia remodel business (Janiczek Homes LLC). Mark is an initial investor and construction/development advisor on the project.

(In the picture Mark is standing in front of the ultra-light flight he took over the property this past July while we were all staying at the Flying Crocodile http://www.flying-crocodile.com.)

The Baxters reside in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., near Detroit. Brad is an entrepreneur and founder of several small companies including a product development and engineering firm and a pet care product company with manufacturing near Madison, Wisconsin. Brad’s company, Automated Pet Care Products, Inc. manufactures the “Litter-Robot™”self-cleaning kitty litter box. Brad has also participated in design and engineering projects in the automotive, medical and consumer goods industries. His expertise is in product engineering, manufacturing and materials. Brad was raised in Wisconsin and has a BSME from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Margaret is senior vice president managing operations and international activity for an automotive trade association based in Troy, Mich. with offices in Washington, D.C. and Tokyo. She has a BA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and an MA from Middlebury College in Vermont. Margaret was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Ohio and Michigan. The Baxters have three daughters ages 5, 10 and 14, and are active in the local community and schools.

Brad initially learned about the Finca Las Brisas project through a business contact. Brad trekked to Costa Rica early on in the project, assisting with surveying the property, hiking numerous days on the property and spending time with FLB members reviewing the vision of the community. After visiting Costa Rica several times and introducing Margaret and the girls to the natural beauty of the Samara/Nosara region, Brad began to think long-term about being part of the project and investing in the property and the self-sustaining vision for Finca las Brisas.

Brad says: “For me, it’s not so much about the sun and the surf, it’s more about the pristine setting, the amazing natural beauty, the peaceful pace of life, and the engaging and warm people in the area. I was captivated from the first moment I set foot in Costa Rica.” At the same time, the Baxter girls are most excited about being able to spend time near the ocean with all of the amazing sea life and scenery. Surfing and body-surfing are must-do activities for the kids. Brad and Margaret have tried their hand at surfing as well, but, like a lot of mid-westerners, don’t exactly have the hang of it yet. Costa Rica’s predictable climate, fabulous scenery, and wealth of bird, plant and animal life make every visit a new adventure.

Initially the Baxters plan to make Costa Rica a vacation destination, and look forward to sharing the experience with friends and family. We are very pleased they have decided to become part of the Las Brisas family and we look forward to many fun years ahead with this adventurous and fun-loving family.

Dave has been a friend of another FLB resident for many years and we first contacted Dave when we had questions about our initial property survey and the various surveys for the master plan. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering and owns a surveying company in Greenville, SC. With the housing industry being what it is these days, Dave decided that rather than potentially watching his company slowly bleed out his savings during these challenging times, he would instead invest now for his future by purchasing a lot within the Finca Las Brisas community. As he puts it – “I feel like I have a lot more control over my destiny in Costa Rica, particularly in a community like Finca Las Brisas where everything I need is there, including a group of very dynamic people.”

A very likable, easy going, and funny guy, Dave really gels with the “tranquillo” pace of life in Costa Rica. He just seems so at home here – almost like he lived in the country all his life (he is currently taking Spanish lessons so he can assimilate even faster). Dave is also now certified and getting into setting up PV or photovoltaic renewable energy systems. Another one of Dave’s interests is that he enjoys playing guitar and singing a wide range of songs. Following in the Finca Las Brisas tradition of giving back to the local community, on his last trip he gave one of his guitars to our workers, who were thrilled beyond belief.

As Dave put it: “It’s just another way to relax on the finca, and what better way than to listen our neighbors performing their traditional Spanish folk songs – life just doesn’t get any better than this…as the Ticos say Pura Vida”.

Dave is an incredibly positive, open, and reliable person - traits that are very common among among our community members. We really look forward to plenty of thought provoking conversations with “Modz” and some moonlight serenades up at the community center…

Susan MaClean and her husband Millard Powell will soon be moving to the finca full time with their two young children Jasmine, 2 and Gabriel, 3. Susan is a singer/songwriter, potter, and teacher. Millard is a firefighter, paramedic, and has lots of experience working on organic farms. He will be helping set up our organic vegetable farms and maintaining our thousands of tropical fruit trees. The couple and their two young children plan on calling Costa Rica home full time by September. They will be building a home on the finca soon thereafter.

Susan wrote, "We are so thrilled to be moving out of this concrete jungle into a Real jungle where we can be connected with the earth and our neighbors, living together in true community! Our little ones are excited, too; they mention Costa Rica almost every day. Gabriel keeps saying, 'The howler monkeys are missing us, Mommy.'"

contact us if you are interested in real estate for sale in costa rica

a few finca las brisas community members