Expat Community > Costa Rica

BOOFTA
Joined 2015
Posts: 4

Help me unscramble my finances for the Rentista Visa? Please!?

2 years ago

Hello,

My family of four + dog is considering a move to Costa Rica after our oldest finishes first grade next year. We are 35 and 34 years old.

Currently we are self-employed Realtors of 10 years. We've lived abroad for a year once before (Netherlands) during which time I switched my work to fulfill Dutch self employment requirements, but Costa Rica's Rentista scheme seems quite a bit different.

In the Netherlands, I switched my business over to Realtor Support (managing paperwork for my colleagues on a fee basis) and am thinking about doing the same in Costa Rica, but am stumped on how the Rentista can be made to work with that. The work is 100% remote, but I am not currently doing that as selling houses is more profitable.

Currently we have a few different sources of income, so I'll just lay out what things might look like if we move, in case someone out there can help us find the best option given our situation:

For finances:
1. We receive $1500 per month in rental property income (100% remote, direct deposit)
2. Realtor Support business ($2500 - $5,000 per month depending on how busy I want to be). 100% remote.
3. We also have a referral business that should net us about $1,000-$2000 per month, averaged out. 100% remote.
4. My wife may look for remote work to utilize her Master's degree. Estimated $2000 per month
5. We have about $350k liquid (held in mutual funds, the rest is in real estate) that we could tap into if needed, though we hope to support ourselves on the aforementioned rather than touch our nest egg.

Right now, our paychecks are from selling houses and get funneled through our brokerage. If I switch to Realtor Support again, I am sure my brokerage could process those checks as well, which would show continuity of income over the past several years from a single source. I've heard you need to either deposit $60k in a CR bank account OR show an average of $2500 per month over a 2 year period to utilize the Rentista visa, which is why my mind has gone to this place.

I don't like the idea of plopping $60k in a CR bank account as our goal is to let our nest egg sit undisturbed for many years while we continue to earn our way, but this is an option if receiving a regular paycheck from our brokerage won't fly.

Given our finances and income sources, is it possible to apply for a Rentista visa if we have broadly categorized, remotely earned "Real Estate" income totaling $5000 - $8000 per month? Should we set up a business entity now and regularly cut ourselves $2500 checks starting now, so that, in 2 years we can apply with proof that it's a reliable source of income?

I know a peaceful life awaits--we just need to sort the money piece out in advance (which we didn't do so well the first time we expatriated, so we're being extra cautious now).

Many thanks!!!

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Help me unscramble my finances for the Rentista Visa? Please!?

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