Introduction
[Richard Bexon]
Good afternoon, Alex. How are you doing? Doing well, Richard.
How are you? Good. It’s been a while since we got you on the podcast, but love to have you on here because I know it’s no BS from you.
I know you’ve upset a few people during your time doing home inspections and giving the truth, and not everyone wants to hear that.
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah, I mean, I wish that wasn’t the case here with upsetting people, but unfortunately, that’s how it goes sometimes. But yeah, I really appreciate you having me on.
Market Conditions and Business Trends
[Richard Bexon]
Not at all. Not at all. Well, Alex, I mean, international markets seem to be very strong at the moment and actually a little bit buoyant as well.
I still think we’re going to see some volatility, that’s for sure, over probably the rest of the year. But how would you describe how your work has been for 2025?
[Alex Stripe]
At the beginning of the year, we hit the ground running. I had a strong first quarter. The last couple of months, we see our traditional seasonal slowdown.
I think we’re still pretty much on pace to hit our numbers for this time last year. We’ve been operating here in Costa Rica for four years now. Every June, July, August generally sees a bit of a slowdown, and then it picks back up.
It seems to be the normal seasonal slowdown, maybe slightly less than previous years, but nothing too crazy.
[Richard Bexon]
OK. So I mean, on your front, but I mean, I always say it’s when you put a new business and you actually see that business kind of increasing, it’s not really predictive of actually what’s happening in the market sometimes. Because what I’m hearing is slowdown, it’s a lot quieter than it was the previous year.
But it sounds like your numbers for 2025 are exactly the same as they were, if not even better for 2024 than 2024.
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah, yeah, they’re pretty much on pace. I mean, we never do a ton of high volume. Unfortunately, I wish that we were able to build that up a little bit.
But we’re still hitting our numbers for previous years, and hopefully we’ll just continue to grow and get better.
[Richard Bexon]
OK, cool, man. I mean, what do you hear in the market? Do you hear that it’s pretty stable, better than 2024?
Things are slowing down?
[Alex Stripe]
No, no, I’ve heard a lot. Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of it’s slowing down. You know, we haven’t always had the best relationships with a ton of real estate agents here.
But of course, we’ve been able to develop some really good ones with agents. And the ones that we talked to have just been saying it’s crazy slow right now.
Home Inspection Standards and Regulation
[Richard Bexon]
So yeah. Are all home inspectors the same in Costa Rica?
[Alex Stripe]
I wish. No, I mean, that’s really what we’re striving for, right? You know, there’s no set standards down here.
So anyone can do a home inspection, and it’s going to vary from what they look at, what they don’t look at. You know, for me, I did all my training in the U.S., operated my business there in Denver for 10 years. We have a standards of practice that the inspectors are expected to follow in the U.S. There’s different societies of home inspectors, if you will. And they each have a standards of practice and what you should and shouldn’t be inspecting. And so we’ve kind of brought those standards down here, which way exceeds what is typically done down here. So yeah, when you’re hiring a home inspector here, you really have to do your due diligence, because not all are created equal and not all look at the same things.
[Richard Bexon]
I mean, basically, there is no regulation here on home inspectors. Anyone can become a home inspector. Yep.
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah. And, you know, it’s really challenging, because we hear so many stories from buyers after the fact that say, man, we wish we wouldn’t have even bothered with the home inspection. You know, they get what they seem is a really good deal.
The gal come in for 300 or 400 bucks, and then they basically just get like a WhatsApp message with like three items. And then after they move in, they find, you know, a leaking roof or a water heater that’s not functioning. They find out that the electrical wasn’t inspected.
And so now they’re just stuck with these bills to have to replace everything and never got a chance to negotiate or at least plan going in, knowing these are the repairs we’re going to have to make.
Inspection Scope and Methodology
[Richard Bexon]
Well, it’s funny that you say this, because I actually have a home inspection on Friday on a home I’ve developed, the one I’m actually in right now. And they’re actually bringing home inspectors in, but they’re bringing in electrical, mechanical and structural engineers. How is that different than what you guys would do?
I mean, give someone an idea of kind of, you know, I mean, I mean, there’s a guy down the street, and then probably on the other end, you have those engineers.
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah, so the engineers are specialists, right? So as home inspectors, I like to tell our clients, we are more like general practitioners. We’re knowledgeable in all the fields, and we know when something’s an issue and something’s wrong, but we’re always going to steer you to a specialist to fix it.
So that specialist in this case would be your electrical engineer, your structural engineer, and things like that. And those guys, you go way more in depth, way more. They enter the nitty gritty of things.
They tell you exactly how it should be fixed. They follow plans and say, this wasn’t built to the plan. This is where it deviates.
This is what’s necessary to correct. Whereas we’ll come in with more general information and say, hey, this isn’t done right. We don’t necessarily look at the blueprints or the plans and say, hey, this is where it deviates, but we’ll recommend that it be corrected.
Central Valley Market Trends
[Richard Bexon]
Okay. Where has most of your work been in the last 12 months?
[Alex Stripe]
That’s a good question. I actually relocated the business from Guanacaste to the Central Valley just over 12 months ago. So I’ve been boots on the ground here, really trying to build up my business here.
And I would say most of it’s been in the Central Valley. Of course, we still get pulled all over the country, but it has been surprising that, amongst talking with some of the real estate agents we work with, they’re seeing an uptick of people buying in the Central Valley when they have offices, let’s say Manuel Antonio and Guanacaste and all regions of the country. They’ve seen that their offices here in the Central Valley are actually amongst their busiest.
[Richard Bexon]
Okay. Yeah. I mean, it’s funny that you say that just because I was talking to some Central Valley realtors a while back, and they were saying that before COVID, it was like 10% foreign, 90% locals.
And now for them, it’s switched the other way, if that makes sense a little bit. So a lot more foreigners basically buying properties in the Central Valley.
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah. And that’s kind of what it was. It caught me by surprise.
I had a meeting with a prominent real estate agency here. It’s from to Costa Rica, and they’ve got offices all over the place. And their Central Valley office was, he said, is just crazy busy.
And it’s a lot of people that haven’t even necessarily been to Costa Rica, but they know they don’t want to live in the beach or the jungle. And so they want to buy property in a city, in a metropolitan area. And so they’re seeing a huge increase in an uptick in business in the Central Valley.
[Richard Bexon]
I mean, it’s a great place to live in because you can be at the beach in an hour and a half, or as I did fly in 15 minutes this morning to Manuel Antonio. But yeah, I mean, I love the Central Valley. I mean, it’s where I live with my family.
If I want to go to San Jose, I can. But I live in the mountains of Iberia. Life is great.
I have country life while being in the city to an extent.
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah. And I really enjoy it here too. I mean, like I said, I moved here from Guanacaste.
I enjoy the cooler weather, the amenities. I’m closer to downtown in the Savannah area, but not terribly far from Iberia. I think I could probably be there in 20 minutes.
But like you said, it’s just centrally located. We can get to the beaches relatively quickly. Access to all the big medical facilities, shopping, everything is nice.
And the weather is just a lot more fresh.
Property Types and Risks
[Richard Bexon]
What type of properties would you tell people to be wary of in Costa Rica?
[Alex Stripe]
Man, that’s a really tough question. One I would say that they should watch out for is anything with an HOA. And I say that just because if that HOA isn’t managed properly or they don’t have money in reserves, they’re not doing reserve studies, they can potentially walk into a huge assessment trap, right?
So they can buy this property not realizing, hey, everyone needs to now throw in $10,000 because the exterior and the roof has been neglected for 10 years. Condos and things like that, I would say are kind of the ones, just to be more wary of, I wouldn’t say stay away from because there’s definitely some ones that are really ran quite nicely. They keep the upkeep and they’ve got plenty of reserves and stuff like that.
But the beach towns and stuff, I’ve really run into a lot of condo areas where they’re not well-kept and then people start to dive into the financials and realize, oh, this isn’t good.
Realtor and Inspector Relationships
[Richard Bexon]
Yeah, it happens quite a lot actually. So I’ve always thought there is a conflict between realtors and home inspectors, okay? Meaning that like, again, if the buyer’s coming in and they’re buying from an agent and the agent’s recommending the home inspector, the home inspector has no fiduciary duty to really explain anything, right?
And if they don’t give a good report, the realtor might not use them again.
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah, that’s an ideal situation. Now, kind of what I run into is almost on the opposite end of that. And again, this is not for all real estate agents here in Costa Rica because we work with some really great ones.
But because home inspections haven’t always been traditional here in Costa Rica, I think when they start to see advanced reports, very thorough analysis of the systems, it can naturally create an issue with the buyers and the realtors, right? Because now the buyers are aware of these issues that have come up and the realtors now have to either renegotiate or the buyer wants to move on. And so sometimes the realtors don’t always want to recommend the most thorough home inspectors because it can create an issue.
That’s pretty natural really anywhere, whether we’re talking North America or down here. Inherently, the inspector is going to catch issues. And sometimes that can create obstacles for the real estate agent, right?
They don’t get closed. They don’t get paid unless that deal closes. So I understand that there’s an issue there.
But here it seems to be a little bit more so where we run into a lot of realtors that don’t want to catch the issues. Of course, again, a lot of them want that thorough inspection because they want the good reputation with their buyers because if they recommend a home inspector, then they don’t want to look bad when the inspector misses a bunch of items.
Due Diligence and Inspector Selection
[Richard Bexon]
I mean, what would be your suggestion to a buyer when using a home inspector? Should they use the realtor’s recommendation? Should they go for a third party that doesn’t have any skin in the game?
[Alex Stripe]
You know, it’s tough. I’m always of the trust but verify. So if your realtor gives you a list of inspectors, don’t rule them out.
Do your research on them. See if they have online reviews. Get sample reports from them.
Get pricing. Find out what tools and technology. Tools and technology really make a huge difference and separate the type of inspections that you’re going to get, right?
So we’re one of the only companies that I know here that use infrared or thermal imaging to help us identify temperature differences. That can help us to identify like potential plumbing leaks and things like that. We use a drone to look at the roof when we’re allowed drone access.
That really gives us a good overview. And then we’re introducing sewer scopes over the last several months. And I actually have a camera on the way so that we can keep that in-house because we’ve been subbing it out.
And the sewer, the septic scope really help give an idea of the condition of the lines that lead out to the septic tank. Because oftentimes we find a lot of issues with the lines weren’t put in. They’re not backfilled or supported properly.
So they start to crush where there’s blockages or just straight breaks in the lines.
Common Inspection Areas and Issues
[Richard Bexon]
So I was actually about to ask you in home inspections, what are the areas that don’t get enough attention? I definitely think the septic tank and sewer lines is one, right?
[Alex Stripe]
That’s a huge one down here. I mean, we’re starting to see a few more companies that have the cameras. I’m aware of three companies right now that have cameras.
Two of them are very, very cheap. They don’t give good picture quality or video quality. They don’t have like a lineal footage counter or a tracking device that tells you, hey, this is where the break might be.
One company does have that. And then the camera that we have on the way will have that plus a location device. So when we run into a block, we can even like run our tool through it or beep and we can put like a flag or mark it somehow.
This is exactly where the issue is. So that’s a huge one. And then one other one that we run into a lot when I see other home inspection reports is a lot of inspectors don’t really look at the electrical system.
And when I say the electrical system, they may have a receptacle tester when they go through and they plug into the outlets and it’ll tell them, hey, it’s wired properly or improperly, but they don’t actually take the panel cover off and look at the wiring behind the panel. And that’s a huge issue because that’s where we find a lot of issues where there’s either overheating in the panel, which we can use our thermal imaging camera to see the overheating. There’s what we call double taps or multiple wires going under the same lugs.
Undersized wiring going to breakers. So we find issues all the time in electrical panels. And if your inspector is not taking off the panel cover, they’ll have no idea what’s going on with the wiring.
And they can only tell you if the receptacles work.
[Richard Bexon]
Yeah, I think there’s very few inspections you’ve done for us where there haven’t been electrical issues. I mean, in one, we’re having to redo the whole electrical system. So, yeah.
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah, and it’s tough, right? I mean, that’s how the standards are sometimes down here. But one thing to keep in mind is Costa Rica actually adopted the U.S. National Electric Code, I believe it was like 2011. And so technically it should be done to the same standards as we see in the U.S. or North America. And in reality, the municipality here doesn’t come and verify anything. So it’s very often that we find that it’s not.
But some houses are done a lot worse than others.
Buyer Advice and Professional Team
[Richard Bexon]
Yeah, yeah. I mean, is there any other bits, any other advice you would have for people that are buying down here, getting home inspections? I mean, any tip bits that you give them?
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah, I mean, really the due diligence is the most important part, right? So having a great realtor on your side is obviously a good thing. But the attorney is the one who does most of the due diligence.
So making sure that you’re hiring your own independent attorney and your own independent inspector. And the best way to vet those professionals is getting referrals, recommendations for the home inspection specifically, looking at their sample reports. Again, asking tools, technology, experience, education, all of those things are really important.
Investment Philosophy and Final Thoughts
[Richard Bexon]
Cool. Alex, is there a part of Costa Rica that you think, I mean, well, I suppose, let me just ask my last question to you. You know, like if you inherited $500,000 and you had to invest it in business or real estate in Costa Rica, what would you invest it and why?
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah, that’s a good question. Every time you ask that, I always think about it. And it’s the first couple of times, I think I said, oh, I would just buy some land and build like a, you know, different cabins or cabinas and rent them out for income.
But honestly, now that I’m more, you know, involved in the business and we’ve been operating down here long enough and I’ve seen enough work, I think that the best thing to do would be to try to invest in some like trade schools down here. Because we run into electrical and plumbing issues the most. And if we can get properly trained plumbers and properly trained electricians, I think that’ll alleviate a lot of issues, you know, on new builds and on repairs for old builds.
But people just need to be trained and given the opportunity and given the right tools, technology and education.
[Richard Bexon]
Yeah, that’s an interesting one, man. I mean, I had that one before. Is there an area of Costa Rica that you’d be looking investing if you had to invest in real estate?
Just a lot of people are looking to invest in real estate. This isn’t a podcast. Is there an area or location in Costa Rica that you think, you know, it’s just ripe, that’s not one of these main areas like Tamarindo or something?
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah, I mean, obviously the beach towns are big for investment properties. You know, it’s a tough question. You obviously know the market a whole lot more than I do.
For me in particular, I’m with you. I kind of like the city and the mountainous areas. So if we could find an area that’s not right in the city, somewhere near Heredia where there’s open lots and you can build and develop there, I think that would be, for me personally, that would be a great spot.
[Richard Bexon]
Awesome. Well, Alex, it’s an absolute pleasure to have you on the podcast as always. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us.
And anyone that wants to get a home inspection done, we’ll speak to Alex. All of his contact details will be in the description down below.
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah, thank you, Rich, man. I appreciate it as always. And it’s always good to chat with you.
[Richard Bexon]
You too, sir. Have a great day.
[Alex Stripe]
Yeah, you too. Thank you. Bye.