San Isidro

About San Isidro:

San Isidro covers just under 9 km² between San Ramón city and the cantons of Naranjo and Palmares. Concepción and Naranjo lie to the north, San Rafael and Palmares to the south, Naranjo and Palmares again to the east, and the central district and San Juan to the west. Three national roads cross it. Route 1, the Bernardo Soto stretch of the highway, links it with the Central Valley, Ruta 135 runs from San Ramón through San Rafael and San Isidro toward Atenas and Palmares, and Ruta 169, the short road from San Ramón to Palmares, passes through on its way to Buenos Aires and La Granja. The San Ramón–San Isidro bus, with an extension along Calle Ramírez, starts running at six in the morning.

Besides the village centre around the Ermita de San Isidro, the district takes in the barrio of Progreso and the settlements of Bajo Ramírez, Fernández, La Guaria and Varela, all under postal code 20207. Day-to-day life leans on the city: shops, the hospital, the market and the banks are a few minutes down the road in San Ramón. Drinking water comes from the ASADA San Isidro, which has been named among the best community water boards in the country, while La Guaria has its own rural aqueduct association. Out toward Naranjo the land is still coffee, and a walking route from San Isidro to the Cerro Espíritu Santo follows farm lanes between the plantations.

The village stands at 1,140 metres, about eighty metres above the middle of San Ramón, and the ground keeps rising and falling from there. An old local theory holds that the Espíritu Santo, San Isidro, Tremedal and Quinto Cerro hills were once a single ridge running through what is now the city, until the land slipped and left the flat where San Ramón was built. The Piedra de San Isidro still sits on that crest, reached by a path off the road before the Ermita or, with an easier climb, by the street beside the school that leads to Buenos Aires. That relief is the reason most lots here have a view, and also the reason many of them need cutting, filling or a retaining wall before a house goes up.

At the 2011 census San Isidro had 4,478 residents, about 500 per square kilometre, which is dense for a district outside a city centre. Most households run their lives out of San Ramón, and Route 1 puts the Central Valley within commuting reach. Local buyers mostly want a lot of a few hundred square metres to build a first house, paid in colones. The view lots, the gated condominium and the larger quintas are what gets marketed to buyers from outside the canton, and the bigger properties are usually priced in dollars.

Houses in San Isidro:

Houses in San Isidro are mostly family homes on small and mid-sized plots. A typical new build is a three-bedroom, two-bathroom block house of around 115 m² on a lot of less than 200 m², while on Calle Fernández an alpine-style three-bedroom house stands on 850 m². There are also small two-bedroom houses sitting on close to a thousand square metres, where the land is worth as much as the building. When you compare houses for sale in San Isidro de San Ramón, ask which side of the district the house is on, because a few hundred metres decide if you can walk to the bus or have to drive for everything.

New Developments in San Isidro:

The Condominio Veredas del Cedro is the district’s gated project, three kilometres from San Ramón centre with the bus stopping at the gate. Lots run from 250 m² up to around 1,000 m², inside a perimeter wall with private security, a children’s play area, a basketball court, green areas and fibre-optic internet, and many of them look across to the town and the mountains behind it. Owners pay a monthly condominium fee, and finished three-bedroom houses inside the project have also come up for sale. Before you sign for a lot in a gated condominium in San Ramón, read the condominium rules and add the monthly fee to your sums: the security and the ready services are paid for every month.

Land and Lots in San Isidro:

Most of the land offered here comes as building lots of 240 to 650 m², many of them sold on the strength of the view over San Ramón centre. Larger parcels of around 5,000 m² come up as well, sold as land to develop. Before you choose among the lots for sale in San Isidro, stand on the lot and look at the slope, not only at the view: a steep frontage can turn a cheap lot into an expensive build once the earthworks and retaining walls are added.

Mixed-Use Property in San Isidro:

Because San Isidro is so close to the city, a few properties combine a home with a business. One quinta of just over 6,000 m² has a main house, a separate apartment and a pool on mixed-use land, and another property joins a family house, three short-stay units, a bakery, a shop and a restaurant. At La Cima, parcels of over 6,000 m² with views are sold as commercial-residential land. With this kind of property, check the land-use certificate for the business you actually plan to run, not only for the house.

FAQ:

• Is this the same place as San Isidro de Peñas Blancas?

  No. San Isidro de Peñas Blancas is a village in the Peñas Blancas district, at the far northern end of the canton on the road toward La Fortuna and Lake Arenal. This San Isidro is the district on the edge of San Ramón city, postal code 20207. Listings often just say “San Isidro, San Ramón”, so check the district on the plano before you arrange a visit.

• How do I get from San Isidro to San Ramón centre?

  The condominium sits three kilometres from the centre, and most of the district is a short drive away. The San Ramón–San Isidro bus covers the district, including an extension along Calle Ramírez, from six in the morning. Ruta 169 carries on to Palmares, and Route 1 takes you east toward the Central Valley.

• Which water board will serve my lot?

  Most of the district is served by the ASADA San Isidro, but La Guaria runs its own rural aqueduct. Find out which one covers the exact lot and ask that board for a water availability letter before you make an offer. Without it, the municipality will not approve a building permit.

• What should I check when a lot sits near the Naranjo or Palmares boundary?

  San Isidro borders two other cantons, and sellers tend to write “San Ramón” for anything nearby. The plano catastrado tells you which municipality actually issues the land-use certificate and the building permit, so read it before anything else. Then confirm title, liens and that the plano matches the registered parcel in the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario), and on a sloping lot ask the municipality whether the setbacks leave you enough flat ground to build.

• Which communities belong to San Isidro?

  The district includes San Isidro centre, the barrio of Progreso and the settlements of Bajo Ramírez, Fernández, La Guaria and Varela. Concepción and San Rafael are neighbouring districts of the canton, not part of San Isidro.