We offer two model homes. Casa Canopy, in Playa Grande, costs USD 890,000 turn-key, lot included, and is delivered in about 12 months. Forest House can be bought as plans from USD 20,000 or turn-key from USD 595,000, with delivery in 8 to 10 months depending on the lot. Turn-key covers the finished house, its equipment, fence and landscaping.
What is a model home, and how is it different from a custom design?
A model home is a house we have already designed, drawn and costed. You start from a finished project instead of a blank page, so the months of design and change rounds are mostly behind you.
A custom house takes at least 4 months of design before the permit drawings are ready, and 5 to 9 months in total to reach the building permit. With a model home most of that design time is already spent. What remains is fitting the house to your lot and your program, and taking it through the approvals.
The trade-off is choice. A custom design answers one lot and one family from the start. A model home answers a type of lot and a type of family, and we adjust it where the site asks for it.
What do Casa Canopy and Forest House cost, and how long do they take?
Casa Canopy is USD 890,000 turn-key, lot included, with delivery in about 12 months. Forest House starts at USD 20,000 for the plans and USD 595,000 turn-key, with delivery in 8 to 10 months depending on the lot.
| Casa Canopy | Forest House | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | USD 890,000 turn-key, lot included | Plans from USD 20,000 · turn-key from USD 595,000 |
| Delivery | About 12 months | 8 to 10 months, depending on the lot |
| Area | 300 m² living area on a 739 m² lot | 250 m² of construction |
| Levels | Two | One |
| Bedrooms and bathrooms | 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms | From 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms |
| Location | El Escondido, Playa Grande | Your lot |
Casa Canopy is one house on one site. Forest House is a design that can be built on different lots, which is why its price and delivery time are given as a starting figure and a range.
What does turn-key include, and what is left out?
Turn-key means we hand over the finished house with the equipment it needs to work. You receive it ready to live in, apart from loose furniture and your own appliances.
| Included in turn-key | Not included |
|---|---|
| The finished house, built to the permit drawings | Loose furniture |
| Air conditioning, extractors and pool pump | Personal appliances |
| Perimeter mesh fence planted with limoncillo | Earthworks and retaining walls, priced separately for each lot |
| Landscaping |
Earthworks and retaining walls deserve a separate line because they do not grow with the size of the house. A flat lot needs little; a steep one can need a lot. We price them after seeing the site.
Should you buy the plans or the turn-key contract?
Buy the plans if you already have a builder you trust or want to manage construction yourself. Choose turn-key if you want one team responsible from permit to handover.
Plans
The Forest House plans start at USD 20,000. They are a permit set: architecture, structural and electromechanical drawings, the same set a condominium committee and the CFIA ask for. You hire the builder and manage the contract. We can adjust the plans to your lot before you submit them.
Turn-key
With turn-key we take the house through the approvals and the construction, and hand it over finished with its equipment, fence and garden. For the scope in the table above you have one contract and one point of contact. Our construction and site supervision service covers this stage.
Can a model home be adapted to your lot?
Yes, within limits. Forest House can gain or lose rooms, and we turn it on the lot to open the views and control the sun.
Its plan is two crossed volumes: one holds the social and service areas, the other the bedrooms. That arrangement gives privacy toward the street and opens the living areas to a private garden, and it keeps working when the house is rotated or when a bedroom is added. Because it sits on a single level, circulation has no steps, which suits every age and people with reduced mobility.
Slope is the main limit. Forest House is designed for flat or gently sloping ground. On a hillside the structure and foundations grow, and in Tamarindo and Playa Grande a hillside house costs 2,500 to 3,000 USD per m², against 1,500 to 1,800 on a flat lot. Casa Canopy takes the opposite approach: its main level, with the kitchen, living and dining rooms, terrace and pool, sits at the top of the house to catch the view, and the lower floor follows the terrain.
How long does a model home take to reach the permit?
Less than a custom house, because the design is done. The approvals themselves take the same time.
If the lot is inside a condominium, the committee reviews the full permit set, which usually takes 3 weeks to a month. The CFIA review has a term of about 30 days, and the municipality of Santa Cruz takes 2 to 4 weeks. Above 300 m² of construction the Ministry of Health also reviews the plans. In Costa Rica that area counts every covered surface, so covered terraces and the pool count too.
Water is the step to check first. The ASADAS of Playa Grande, Matapalo and Avellanas are not issuing new availability letters, and without that letter there is no permit. Before choosing a lot for Forest House in Tamarindo or Playa Grande or Puerto Viejo de Guanacaste, confirm who supplies the water.
What we've seen on our projects
- Casa Canopy, Playa Grande. The lot is surrounded by forest, two minutes from the beach, with views of Almendro Hill and part of the sea. Putting the main level on top gave those views and privacy to the rooms used most, and let the house sit on the ground without reshaping it.
- Forest House. The crossed volumes came from a request we hear often: a house on one level where the bedrooms are away from the social areas. Keeping it to one level also keeps the structure simple.
- Käza House, Puerto Viejo de Guanacaste. The Käza villas share one design. The upper floor takes 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms, so each buyer chooses the program without redrawing the house.
Is a model home cheaper than a custom house?
Usually, yes, in time and in design cost. Construction cost per m² is similar, because it depends on the site, the finishes and the structure, not on who drew the plans.
Our working range for a house in Guanacaste is 1,500 to 2,500 USD per m² of construction, before design fees. Forest House, at USD 595,000 turn-key for 250 m², falls inside that range, with landscaping, fence and equipment included. For a custom project, design fees are calculated on the estimated construction cost and quoted per project; the Forest House plans have a fixed starting price.
Where a model home saves most is in the months before construction. There are fewer change rounds, the budget is known before the permit, and the builder prices a finished set of drawings. On the Flamingo and Potrero coast, where costs run 2,000 to 2,500 USD per m², that certainty is worth as much as the price.
Frequently asked questions
- CFIA, Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y de Arquitectos de Costa Rica
- Municipalidad de Santa Cruz, Guanacaste
- Ministerio de Salud de Costa Rica
- ASADAS, asociaciones administradoras de acueductos comunales
