San Pablo

About San Pablo:

San Pablo is district 1 of León Cortés Castro and covers just under 21 km². Besides the town itself it takes in the hamlets of Carrizal, Montes de Oro, Abejonal and El Rosario, and Cerro Abejonal rises behind the entrance to town. Route 226 is the spine of everything. Head north and it runs through San Antonio and La Cuesta toward San Cristóbal Sur and the southern edge of the San José metropolitan area; head south and you reach San Marcos, the head town of Tarrazú, within minutes.

Settlers from Guadalupe, in today’s Goicoechea, founded the town in the second half of the 19th century, Manuel Castro Blanco among them. The name honours the apostle and also Pablo Castro, Manuel’s father. A hermitage went up in 1879 and an adobe-and-wood school followed in 1880. San Pablo belonged to Tarrazú until the 1962 plebiscite that gave León Cortés its own canton; it became a villa in June 1962 and a city in December 1963. A few buildings from the early years survive, among them the Leiva family’s bahareque house, first registered in 1876 and kept close to its original state.

León Cortés is one of Costa Rica’s largest coffee-producing cantons, and San Pablo is where that money gets spent. The centre holds the Municipalidad, branches of Banco Nacional and Banco de Costa Rica, the EBAIS, the Colegio Técnico Profesional and the shops that supply the farms around it. The parish church of San Pablo Apóstol stays open around the clock. Late January is the busiest stretch of the year, with the fiestas patronales around the 25th and the Carnaval Pableño, a parade of bands and comparsas that has run for more than 25 years. Walkers know the town as the end of stage 12 and the start of stage 13 of El Camino de Costa Rica, the coast-to-coast route, and micro-mills such as La Chumeca open their doors for coffee visits.

In 2011, 4,209 people lived in San Pablo, more than in any other district of the canton. Most buyers are local families who want to be near the services, growers who keep a house in town while working land outside it, and people from the Central Valley with family roots in Los Santos. Lots in the centre are small and mostly built on, so new houses go up on parcels segregated at the edges of town. Condominio El Retiro, a gated lot development, is one example of that outward growth.

Houses in San Pablo:

Most houses are family homes on small town lots, many of them with three bedrooms and a modest footprint. In the centre you are paying for walking distance to the bank, the EBAIS and the colegio rather than for land. Anyone looking for houses for sale in San Pablo de León Cortés will also come across older homes built in adobe or bahareque. Those need a closer look: check the walls, the roof structure and whether the house has had any seismic reinforcement before you agree a price.

Land and Lots in San Pablo:

Close to the centre, land comes as town lots of a couple of hundred square metres split off from family property. At the edge of town, Condominio El Retiro has larger plots of 2,000 m² and more inside a gated development. Out in Carrizal, Montes de Oro and El Rosario, land mostly means coffee, and a finca is judged on its altitude and its recent harvests as much as on its size. Whatever you buy, the first two papers to ask for are the uso de suelo certificate and the water availability letter.

Rentals in San Pablo:

The rental market here is small and practical. Expect furnished apartments for one person, let by the month with water, electricity and internet included. Family houses for rent come up less often, so it pays to ask around in town. Renting for a few months is a sensible way to get to know Los Santos, and the drive down to San Marcos, before committing to a purchase.

FAQ:

• Is this the same San Pablo as San Pablo de Heredia?

  No. San Pablo de Heredia is a separate canton north of San José. This San Pablo is the head town of León Cortés Castro in Los Santos, so search for it and check survey plans under the full name, San Pablo de León Cortés. The two places share a patron saint and nothing else.

• What should I check before buying a lot carved out of family land?

  Many lots around San Pablo were split from family coffee land, and some of those splits were settled by private agreement rather than on paper. Make sure the lot is a legal segregation with its own folio real and plano catastrado, and check every registered owner and any liens at the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario). Ask the Municipalidad de León Cortés for the uso de suelo before you pay for a design. On a sloping lot, also ask what earthworks the municipality will require.

• How far is San Marcos de Tarrazú?

  It is 3.5 km south-east along Route 226, a short drive. That stretch has needed repairs after landslides, so drive it in the rainy season, from May to November, before you decide how much the commute matters to you.

• Where does the water come from?

  It depends on the lot. Some properties are on the municipal supply and others on a community water board (ASADA), so find out which one serves the address. Then ask that provider for a water availability letter, which you will need for a building permit.

• Can I rent before I buy?

  Yes, and in a market this small it is often the better first step. Furnished apartments are let by the month with services included, which gives you time to see the town through a harvest and a rainy season. Come in late January if you want to see San Pablo at its busiest, during the fiestas and the Carnaval Pableño.