Scott Cutter, Broker/Owner of 2Costa Rica Real Estate, shares his amazing journey into the luxury real estate business, the favorite parts of his job, and the unique lifestyle he leads with his family in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. Scott along with managing partner and brother, Todd Cutter, won the ‘Best Industry Networking’ award at the 18th Annual Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference this past October.
How did you get your start in real estate?
When I first came to Costa Rica, after a short stint "surviving" working odd jobs around town, I got into a managerial position as the GM of a luxury boutique hotel here in the Manuel Antonio. The hotel was the premier luxury boutique hotel in the area and we had the good fortune of hosting high level executives, investors and visionaries who were exploring the Manuel Antonio area and Costa Rica in general. These were the early days of the tourism boom here and just the beginning of the real estate gold rush which took place globally but was especially robust here in Costa Rica in the years from 1998-2008. In my role as a GM I had the opportunity to meet and share with many of the hotel guests and restaurant clients who were falling in love with the area and who were fascinated to have a young (yes… I was young once), bilingual, North American here building a life and career. I had the opportunity to share with many high end clients my passion for Costa Rica, the warmth of its people, the incredible values which are available here and the amazing development and transformation which was and continues in this country making for some amazing opportunities. While I was making a good living as a GM, I began to notice that the clients whom I was sharing hours of dialogue with, inspiring with my story and the potential here, were calling a local real estate company after our casual dialogues and in a matter of hours, were contracting purchases, investing, etc. The local realtors were making a robust living with these sales, helping clients make fantastic returns as well as acquire some amazing lifestyle and legacy properties and it began to dawn on my that a GREAT DEAL of the real estate sales work here which involved educating clients on the country, culture, people, investment environment, government, etc. I lacked the technical and market knowledge regarding what was for sale, but realized that this was information that hard work and study could easily procure and that my experience, language and people skills were already in place for a transition. I was given an opportunity at the company where I had been referring clients to move into a sales role and took it earnestly.
What path has your career taken?
I worked for the independent real estate office where I got my start for several years and was fortunate to have made several of the largest sales in the areas history and build a robust career in a short time frame. Much of this was fortuitous timing with an amazing market place and I hope that at least some portion of that good fortune was due to my work ethic, focus on my clients and guiding them toward best practices for their investments and goals here. There were some changes in ownership at my place of business and as I matured as a realtor and professional I began to take note of aspects of the manner in which business was being handled, the manner in which I felt the agents were being treated, and clients being managed which were less than optimal. I was continuing with great success in sales, built a spec home, got married and had a child on the way and with the birth of my daughter realized what I had been feeling for quite sometime... I was not happy and proud of the way I was doing business, but was staying because there was always another commission pending and didn't want to walk away from the money. With this moment of clarity, I left the brokerage firm I was working at and joined with my brother and now partner Todd Cutter to start 2Costa Rica Real Estate. Todd had built an online travel agency here in Costa Rica and was enjoying a successful growth and also found himself with a large portfolio of travel clients who were so impressed with his communication and attention to detail in planning experiences here in Costa Rica, that they looked back to him for advice into real estate. For years, we would speak each night, venting our frustrations about how we thought our colleagues could improve, do better business, lacked integrity, ethic, etc. but our lives came together at this point and we decided we would become partners and build 2Costa Rica Real Estate. Todd was living in San Jose and took on the role of building our Central Valley offices and I took on the role of building coastal offices. I was fortunately to quickly bring in our top Broker, Scott Williams from the onset who has been an integral part of building our coastal brand, business and success. Over the years, we have been approached with all the major brands and flags, but have opted to remain independent and have focused on building a national presence and have earned a reputation as the most knowledgeable, professional and honest team anywhere in the country. We know have 4 offices and cover most of the country and are growing in our scope of services including consulting, project development, vacation rentals, and more.
Why is your company successful? Likely the easiest and shortest answer…
1. Our people… we are NOT just putting agents in desks and playing a numbers and volume game. We only bring in team members who are the best of the best, whose personal levels of excellence match our professional commitment to integrity.
2. We built a real estate company not around SELLING, but around educating and GUIDING our clients. We are partners in their searches and partners with our sellers in their goal of selling. we align our interests and focus on honesty, experience and transparency.
3. We treat every client and all of our neighbors, colleagues and the local population with respect and dignity.
4. Each and every team member truly LOVES Costa Rica, loves helping investors learn about the pros and cons of each area and the market place here and this passion comes through in our work.
What are your favorite parts of your job?
We are charged with an AWESOME responsibility and opportunity… Helping people and clients make, what is for most, the single biggest investment decision of their lives. Sure we have some great clients who can spend six or seven figures without much thought but for most of our clients, we are their conduits to a new lifestyle, new country, experiences, culture and investment environment. Most are entrusting my team and I with decades of work, sacrifice and savings. This is an enormous undertaking but one which both my team and I accept with enormous gratitude and recognition of the sanctity and enormity of responsibility. Like most things in life, big tasks and responsibility are rewarding when managed properly and there is NOTHING more special than seeing the faces of our clients’ families, sons, daughters, grandchildren, parents and friends experiencing Costa Rica, the properties and the beauty after a purchase. Our job is to make other people’s dreams come true! Who else can say that!
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
First and foremost… family. I am married to an amazing woman, Gisella Alvarado Flores, who was born and raised here in Quepos and whom I am celebrating my 10 year anniversary with this April… We have two beautiful daughters, Liana Rosalina Cutter, who is 9 and Mia Isabella Cutter who is 6. I love living here as I get to spend a lot more time with them than I would living a more linear lifestyle in the USA and enjoy taking my kids to school, having lunch with them daily, and being home early to share in sunsets and their lives. I love to exercise, surf, run, triathlons, mountain biking, and exploring the rainforests in which we are blessed to live.
For more information on 2Costa Rica Real Estate, please visit www.2costaricarealestate.com.