Here are some of the frequently asked questions regarding the project. If you find you still have questions, feel free to ask them here or in any of the more specific threads.
FINANCIAL:
Q: If SOL doesn't raise the full amount for purchase of the land, will shareholders be refunded?
A: We are prepared for this scenario. We already have enough commitments from people to buy the first part and will continue to the second part once we have the funds for that. In the case that one or more of our members will step back from the commitment, SOL has already secured an option for a private loan which will secure the title for the first phase. So the worst case scenario we will only purchase the first phase and not continue to the 2nd.
In any way, anyone that will invest will still get their lot in Florestral!
**In the extreme un predicted case that we will have to borrow the money, the interest on the loan will be added to the community expanses.
Q: What happens to our investment if Florestral disbands/sells/etc?
A: Florestral cannot be sold without agreement of all shareholders (lot owners).
Q: What happens if the corporation of SOUL SOUND OF LIGHT S.R.L. goes bankrupt?
A: The “SOUL SOUND OF LIGHT S.R.L” company's only expenses are taxes and lawyer fees, these are included in the annual fee, so there is no reason it should ever get bankrupt.
Q: "The only purpose of the company is to buy the land and share its ownership." Vismay will hold 100 shares at the beginning, now in this first move there are 7 ppl taking 2 shares each, equaling to 14, therefore Vismay will hold 86 shares after that. Does Vismay put in the equivalent of 86 shares of money into the purchase? Or how is this attributed to?
Q: I'd like to have some transparency around the land purchase and price in general. What's the price of the land that is being bought now? Does anyone generate a profit from this purchase?
Q: What is the size of the total land being within the SOUL SOUND OF LIGHT S.R.L.?
A: The project has been envisioned and developed by SOL.
Total Price of the property (48 hectares) is 570,000$ for the total of aprox' 48 hectares (118 acres) To gather the funds for the project we are selling lots in the community. Since we cannot develop the land before the title is ours, we have decided to purchase it in two parts, this way we get the title for the first part early and can start developing it while we gather the funds to complete the purchase of the 2nd part.
The cost for the first part is 235,000$.
To give official ownership to the individual lots without the hassle and extra costs of registering them in the national registry, we are selling shares in the company that will own the property. 100 shares in total represent 50 possible lots of 15000 m2, two shares per lot. As people asked for a lower option, we offer a smaller lot of 750m2 for one share.
All funds gathered from selling the lots are invested in purchasing the land and the development of the community.
Apart from buying the land there are many expenses of land development, infrastructure (water, electricity, roads, clearing the forest etc..), communal structures, taxes, legal fees and so on. No money from the selling of the lots will go to private pockets as profit.
Not all 50 potential lots must sell, once the property is ours and basically developed we can consider whether the selling of the remaining lots is necessary or not.
So apart from the 10 hectares which are kept for SOL development, all the rest 38 hectares will contain the private lots and communal areas.
Deal structure with the owner: * Total price of the land is 570k$
The land will be split into 2 parcels.
For parcel 1, we will pay 100,000$ deposit upon signature and the rest of 135k$ in 6 months.
For parcel 2, we will pay 100k$ deposit in 7 months (from signing of contract) and the rest of 235k$ in another 9 months (16 months from time of signing).
From the point that parcel 1 has been paid, we can start our development.
Flow of incoming funds:
Pay first part.
Basic infrastructure for first part- roads, power, water & beginning of food forest.
Pay for second part.
Basic infrastructure for second part.
Expanded development & personal project fund.
Q: Are there any expenses that were made so far?
A: Yes. The expenses made until now include: 1. Oran’s salary 300$* 12 months= 3600$ 2. Opening the company: 600$
3. Lawyer fees 300$ 4. First payment to perma culture designer 1000$
Total of: 5,500$
LAND:
Q: What's the total size of the land that the SOUL SOUND OF LIGHT S.R.L. will purchase with this next attempt?
A: Approximately 12 hectares in the first part and 36 in the second part.
Q: "An area of 10 hectares will be also used in the future for projects of sound of light." please explain, how is SOL involved in this project? What's the total amount of hectares purchased with this deal, and how does SOL take part in that?
A: SOL (Sound of Light) is the organization that manifests into reality the visions and work of Vismay Amrit and Nicole Netaya with the help of many. SOL has envisioned & manifested everything that has happened until now, the music, the medicine, Florestral and now the expansion project. Until now it was also the body that cared for the land, built temples, and planted all those trees. In the future this body of SOL will continue to care for Florestral and will also expand with the school of medicine arts and other Spirit projects. For that cause, SOL will reserve 10 hectares of the property for development. All the rest of the property which is not private lots will be considered “community space”, open for the development of the community or private projects.
BUYING A LOT & LOT OWNERSHIP:
Q: Can you tell us more about the SOUL SOUND OF LIGHT S.R.L., what is the purpose of this Limited?
A: There are two kinds of corporations in Costa Rica, “anonymous” or “limited responsibility”, we chose “limited responsibility” by the advice of our lawyer (tax etc).
Q: The "promissory seller" is owned by Mr Boaz Matras, who is he? Was this ltd created for the purpose of selling the land of Mr Boaz Matras?
A: Boaz Matras is Vismay’s legal name.
Q: "This property WILL REMAIN REGISTERED AS ONE UNDIVIDED PROPERTY, OWNED BY THE
CORPORATION." the corporation being SOUL SOUND OF LIGHT S.R.L.? 100 shares are issued, some of them are being bought, the rest stays with Mr Boaz Matras until more people are buying in, is that correct?
A: Yes. The only purpose of the company is to buy the land and share its ownership. The property will remain registered as one farm.
Q: Do the 100 shares cover the entire land or only the first part of the purchase?
A: 100 shares will cover the entire expansion (phase 1+2) and refer to the space designated for the owner lots.
Q: "which according to the joint contract of community will be set up as a portion of land over the FLORESTRAL EXPANSION Project". Is there going to be another contract for the Florestral Expansion Project? If so, I'd like to see that.
A: I believe it refers to the “community members agreement” doc that we shared with you and will be attached to the contract. There will be only one ‘member agreement’ for all Florestral parts.
Q: "The total price to be paid for the SHARES is the amount of FORTY FOUR THOUSAND us dollars (USD$ 44 000.00)." what about the smaller lot sizes, how is that structured, organized and dealt with?
A:
1500 m2 = 44,000$ (early bird) 750 m2 = 33,000$ (early bird) Apart from the price everything else is the same.
Q: What are the rights of the buyer of 2 shares?
A: All the rights, obligations, regulations etc of the community are specified in the members agreement Doc, which will be further developed & extended in details, with the help of the community.
Basically you get the right to your specific lot and the trees on it, connection to green power, river water provided by the community, and the maintenance of the road to it. All the other perks and benefits of living in the Floresral community are very well detailed in the members agreement doc. Each lot owner has 1 vote, regardless of the amount of shares they have.
Q: When will you be able to share the land choices? Q: Is there a map of the lots that are available to choose, or does selection happen after purchase?
A: We have shared the approximate location of the first 7 lots. The exact coordinates of each lot will be determined after the road is made.
Q: My lawyer says that the contract is not so firm as it has no topographic data of my lot, how can I trust it?
A: The contract has the purpose of protecting you and giving you a legal proof of your purchase. The specific lots are not marked yet and therefore the coordinates do not appear in the contract, yet your right to the space is secured.
Q: Can you share some information about the law-firm AMBER?
A: The “Amber” law firm is the firm of our local lawyer who has been providing us with legal advice since Florestral was founded.
Q: I am assuming that if I purchase the property that it would be in my name and as I understand it, Americans can actually own land in Costa Rica.
Q: Can I get a title to my property?
A: Registration of the different lots by the National registration is currently impossible due to technical reasons such as access to public road, ownership of the lot will be registered by a signed contract with our legal attorney to ensure the legal rights to the lot within the Florestral community.
In the future, once we develop the land enough to declare the roads as public, individual registration will be possible if wished for by individual community members.
We have purchased and created the current Florestral this way, lots have been bought and re-sold within the community with no involvement of national registry (which also saves a lot of money for all parties).
Q: How many people have purchased lots so far?
A: There are currently 12 lot owners in Florestral. All spaces have been taken in the current Florestral for a long time, and just now the door has opened for new members due to this Expansion project.
Q: Will we be able to purchase the land outright first, and then working on building a bit later?
A: Yes. It is no problem at all to purchase first and build later.
Q: If I were to build a house and only live there part time, would I be able to rent/airbnb the house out to others when I am not there? Would people who participate in ceremonies at Florestral be interested in renting out the abode?
A: The answer is definitely yes to both questions, your property is yours to rent and there is always a demand for houses/living spaces/rooms so it shouldn’t be hard finding people to rent to.
Q: Is purchasing a lot with others allowed? In other words, is a lot allowed to have multiple owners/funders or is it a single owner per lot? If multiple owners/funders are allowed, can I ask/discuss in the Florestral Expansion Facebook group to see if someone else wants to purchase a lot with me? Or is there a list somewhere with people wanting to split the costs of a lot? How many people can share a lot?
A: Building and utility restrictions will apply per lot size (building size will be about 50% of lot size). Therefore, a small lot can support one household and a big lot can support two households. In case of communal living, with one big shared communal space and small privet structures, you can, on a big lot, build up to three small private structures that would support up to 6 people.
We do not have a list of people interested to share, but it was asked before and you can feel free to post it in the FB group.
Q: In the new member agreement I see: "Selling your lot is based on Florestral committee and SOL Foundation approval of the new member(s) to ensure adaptability to the community". Does this mean that if I ever decide to sell my lot, could I sell it back to Florestral or do I need to find a new member to purchase it from me?
A: Sound of Light Foundation cannot obligate itself to buy back the lots, all the funds collected are spent on the creation, maintenance and growth of our different projects. Having said that, in case you decide to leave the community for whatever reason, the Foundation will help you connect with interested parties we know of, and will publish the new availability in our different media channels.
The foundation will not intervene in the negotiation process or final price nor charge any percentage of the sale price. The foundation will only ensure that the new member is accepting, and in harmony with, our way of life and community.
Are there any exceptions to the three small houses and a community space for the big lots with people wanting to purchase them together?
Hi where I can find a map of the land ? we want to see with locations are available now
Thank you, very thoughtful and thorough!