Some expats find that mortgages can boost income

By: Garland M. Baker B.

Exclusive to A.M. Costa Rica

Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated. We are currently preparing a comprehensive update. Sign up for our Alerts to be notified as soon as the revised content is live!

Some expat retirees in Costa Rica are giving mortgages to others to supplement their retirement incomes.  Generating a nice extra sum is possible if ones finds the right debtor because interest rates are high in Costa Rica. Finding the borrower is easier than it was in the past because numerous services are providing credit information on individuals and companies here. Mortgages are easier to collect now, too, if the deal goes amiss, than they were a few years ago. 

Balloon mortgages tend to be the financial instruments of choice, with interest rates ranging from 6 to 12 percent on the principal.  Some lenders even charge more in some situations because they can get away with the practice. 

How to get access to U.S. movies on TV the easy way

By: Garland M. Baker B.

Exclusive to A.M. Costa Rica 

Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated. We are currently preparing a comprehensive update. Sign up for our Alerts to be notified as soon as the revised content is live!

Expats living in Costa Rica would love to watch U.S. movies, shows, and sports on their home televisions. Hotels and bed & breakfast owners would like to offer the same to their guests. Travelers would like to access their favorites from home while visiting the country.

An article July 1 outlined how to use a VPN, a virtual private computer network, to accomplish this goal. There is another way, and for many, a simpler means to unblock U.S. sites like Netflix, Hulu plus and HBO GO to name a few. 

This system is not secure like a VPN, but it offers great benefits. It can be applied to almost any smart device or any router in a network.  What does this mean?  It means that any device connected to the network can access the unblocked content.  In other words, at home, changing the DNS on the home network unblocks all the TVs and any other connected device. In a household, the adults can be watching a movie on Netflix while the kids are watching cartoons on Hulu plus.