This is a tale of two customers who were just like you and turned their lives into amazingly fun, adventurous, and…Pura Vida!
Like you, each of these now-friends was hustling in their old reality. One was a tenured salesperson for over 25 years while she was an accountant, both successful and dreaming of what it would be like to go overseas. The other worked for the federal government for “too long” before he had enough and called me.
Perhaps, and respectfully, our lives were not so ordinary when we were “in it” and consumed with higher sales, better bottom lines and blind to other possibilities. I was there for a dozen years, yet also yearned for something else–something adventurous.
My first customers called me in 2009 and after lengthy introductions told me they were done with those lives. After years of contemplating what their new lives looked like, they focused in on Costa Rica.
At least they knew Costa Rica is not an island–good start.
I remember it so clearly: “John, we are only on a scouting mission and plan to rent for a year before we pull the buying trigger.” Yeah, yeah, yeah. They bought on their first trip after seeing a dozen homes.
Since then, they have never looked back. They’re now involved in various community events, such as church, local protection, and road committees, but they most enjoy sitting on their terrace every morning, watching toucans fly by and looking at breathtaking Pacific Ocean views.
They tell me often how extraordinary their lives are now and that they could never return “to that.” He reads and calls me often about investing ideas, while she is creating food concoctions that are getting raving reviewas on her Facebook page.
My other customer also bought a home from me in Ojochal in 2010. They acquired five acres with ocean views for the same price that just a bathroom would cost in Washington, DC.
The first call with him was boring to say the least–he had served in government positions for too long. I thought to myself that he and his wife were not the right candidates for Costa Rica. During our conversation, they focused on why they didn’t want to buy, how scary the thought of coming here would be, and on and on…
Two months later, we had our first “café con leche” at my favorite Pulperia. I think that was the line that hooked them. I didn’t even have to use bait!
It took one day and seven showings. By six o’clock that afternoon, we put in the offer, and its was accepted by the time we had our second café con leche.
Since then, life has been a dream for them. Scuba diving, cooking classes, neighborhood events, where everyone is invited (heck, they never knew their neighbors in DC), and watching whales throughout the year.
Guess what. I’ve just sold another home to them. They could not keep their secret quiet either, and their friends are following in their footprints.
Both customer stories are extraordinary. We talk often about how scared they were, how easy the process was and is, and how this was the greatest decision they ever made.
It could be you.
How do you define extraordinary? Let me help you find the answers.
