A CFIA-licensed architect who designs, permits and builds it with you.
Projects start at $350,000 USD
Recent design proposals, from the first 3D model to the renders our clients approved.
Deep sloped roofs and long horizontal lines shade the glass. A double-height great room opens to the garden, and the pool terrace becomes the family’s outdoor living room.
Pacific coast, four levels on a steep lot
Designed for a lot most builders would pass on. The house steps up the slope on a compact footprint, every bedroom gets its own terrace, and a rooftop deck looks over the bay.
Mountain and jungle setting, raised on piers
Lifted off the ground for airflow and drainage, and wrapped in a covered veranda for the rainy season. Inside, a double-height living space with high windows stays bright and cool.
Pacific coast, infinity pool and roof terrace
A modern villa organised around the sunset, with an infinity pool deck on the ocean side and open-plan living that slides open to the terrace.
Most problems in a Costa Rica build start before construction: a design that runs over budget, a plan that ignores the slope, a permit held up by a missing water letter. Because we design and build, every drawing is checked against real costs and permit rules as it develops.
We visit the lot with you or for you, order the topographic survey and soil study, and check zoning, access, setbacks and the water letter.
Floor plans and a first 3D model shaped around the views, the sun, the breeze and how you will live in the house.
You walk through the exterior and key rooms on screen and approve the design there, where changes cost nothing.
Architectural, structural, electrical and plumbing plans to the seismic code, signed by our architect, with a budget from the same drawings.
We register the plans with the CFIA and file the municipal permit with the land-use certificate and water letter. Then we build.
Deep overhangs keep sun off the glass and water off the walls. Rooms face the prevailing breeze, with high windows that let hot air out.
Structures follow Costa Rica’s seismic code, in concrete, a hybrid or a steel system, finished in coastal-grade materials that resist rust, mould and termites.
Steep, rocky or jungle lots start from the survey and soil study. Pools, solar, water tanks and septic are designed and permitted with the house.
Fees are set by the CFIA’s official schedule, as a share of the construction value.
| Service | CFIA rate | Applied to |
|---|---|---|
| Schematic design (anteproyecto) | 1% | Estimated construction value |
| Construction plans and specifications | 4% | Estimated construction value |
| Detailed budget | 0.5% to 1% | Estimated construction value |
| Inspection during construction | 3% | Final construction value |
Because we design and build, you are not paying one firm to design and another to redesign for the budget. You get a written design quote before any work starts.
Source: CFIA, Arancel de Servicios Profesionales de Consultoría para Edificaciones (Decreto Ejecutivo 18636-MOPT). Permit, plan registration and insurance costs are separate.
Your plans are registered with the CFIA, then the municipality issues the permit. In Playa Flamingo and most of the Guanacaste coast, that is the Municipality of Santa Cruz.
Not sure a lot will get a permit? Our land consulting checks it before you buy, and the consulting fee (not surveys or soil studies) is credited to your build if you go ahead with us.
You do not need drawings to start. A short brief is enough for us to check the lot and send you a written design quote.
Its location, the registered survey plan (plano catastrado) if you have one, and photos or a video of the site.
Bedrooms, guests, staff, working from home, and whether it is a full-time home, a second home or a rental.
A pool, the views to keep, a garage, solar or a guest house.
A construction budget range, so the design is priced from the first sketch.
When you want to start building and when you want to move in.
Only engineers and architects who are members of the CFIA can file construction plans for a building permit. Look up the architect and the firm in the CFIA directory before you sign a design contract.
Ask who will design the structure to the Costa Rica seismic code, who will inspect the work during construction, and whether that inspection is in the fee. Under the CFIA schedule, inspection is a separate 3% of the final construction value. When we design and build, it is part of our work.
“We have had a great experience with Decentra. Their follow up skills are impeccable and they are a one stop shop for all phases of your build.”
“I engaged with Sean and the owner Sergio to obtain building costs for a residential project in the mountains of the Central Valley. I found them to be very welcoming, informative and accommodating.”
You can bring a design from abroad, but the construction plans must be signed and registered by a professional licensed with the CFIA (Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos) before the municipality will issue a permit. We can adapt and register an outside design, or design the home from scratch.
Professional fees follow the CFIA's official fee schedule, which is set as a percentage of the estimated construction value: about 1% for the schematic design (anteproyecto) and 4% for the full construction plans and specifications, with separate rates for budgeting, inspection and site direction. We give you a written design quote before any work starts.
Design-build. The team that designs your home also engineers, permits and builds it, so the design is priced and checked for buildability at every stage instead of after the plans are finished.
Yes. Structural, electrical and plumbing plans are part of the construction plan set, and they are designed to Costa Rica's seismic code.
Most homes take a few weeks for the schematic design and 3D renders, a few more for the construction plans, and then the CFIA registration and municipal permit. Timelines depend on the municipality and on how quickly decisions are made, and we give you a schedule at the start.
Yes. You review a 3D model and photorealistic renders of the exterior and key rooms before the construction plans are drawn, so changes happen on screen, not on site.
Yes. Many Costa Rica lots are sloped. We start from a topographic survey and soil study, and design the foundations, access and retaining around the land you actually have.
No. Most of our clients live abroad. We work over video calls and WhatsApp, share models and renders online, and visit the site for you.
Yes. Pools, terraces, outdoor kitchens, landscaping, solar and rainwater systems are designed with the house so they are permitted and built in one project.
Yes. Our land and construction consulting checks zoning, access, water availability, slope and soil before you commit, and the consulting fee is credited to your build if you go ahead with us. Surveys and soil studies are paid separately.
It depends on the size of the home and how quickly decisions are made. Design and permits together usually take a few months before construction starts. We give you a written schedule with the design quote.
Look up the architect and the firm in the CFIA directory. Only CFIA members can file construction plans for a building permit. Our architect, Sergio Cerceño, is CFIA licensed.
The anteproyecto is the schematic design: floor plans, elevations and a first 3D model, billed at 1% of estimated construction value under the CFIA schedule. Construction plans are the full architectural, structural, electrical and plumbing set used for the permit and the build, billed at 4%.
Not usually. The CFIA schedule lists inspection during construction separately, at 3% of the final construction value. When we design and build your home, inspection is part of our work.
The fastest way to reach us is WhatsApp. Or send the form and we reply within one business day.
Projects start at $350,000 USD
Message us on WhatsAppDecentra Homes
Award-winning custom luxury homes in Costa Rica, built in any construction system. Land, design, permits and construction by one team.
Projects start at $350,000 USD