At Vivienda Housing and Mortgage Corp. we build and finance affordable low cost housing for working families in Costa Rica and elsewhere in Central America. Approximately 30% of the population in Latin America lives in sub-standard or slum housing. The demand exceeds supply!

There is a world wide housing crisis that is particularly severe in developing countries. UN-Habitat, a United Nations agency, reports that developers would have to build 4,000 houses per hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for 20 years, to just satisfy today's demand. Our solution is a unique humanitarian real estate approach to the problem. We pre-sell lots and affordable low cost homes to North American and European purchasers, for profitable resale to local working families.

Purchasers agree to a 3 to 5 year property management period, which means that Vivienda Housing and Mortgage Corp. can build and sell between 6 to 10 houses for every house pre-purchased. In 2006 we built 496 homes, in 2007 and 2008 we built 1,000 homes a year, and in 2009 we are on track to build another 1,000 homes. Our goal is to build as many homes in Costa Rica as we can, and to repeat the process in other countries in the region for similar results.

North American and European purchasers of affordable low cost homes are able to earn capital gains every year they stay in the program, based on the re-sale of the homes they help us to build. This is important, because it means our projects are not only a humanitarian real estate success, but also financially sustainable. Land lots and humanitarian real estate offer first rate security to North American and European purchasers in our program. Everyone involved benefits. Please read the background information to find out why you should get involved, earn capital gains and help to make a difference in the lives of others. Click here to see a description of our socially responsible process for investing in affordable low cost housing.

Vivienda Housing and Mortgage Corp. is thrilled with the fact that Costa Rica's Nobel Peace Prize winning President, His Excellency Óscar Arias Sánchez, has inaugurated two of our affordable, low cost housing projects. The first time was on December 22, 2007 in the Desamparados neighborhood of San José, Costa Rica. The second time was on October 10, 2008 in the sugar cane town of Cañas. Costa Rica's government has identified the affordable low cost housing shortage as a national priority. The La Nación newspaper reported on November 6, 2008 that there are 157,000 slums that need to be eliminated. That number does not include what we call sub-standard housing, which accounts for a further 130,000 homes in urgent need of replacement. Simply put, demand exceeds supply!