[pbush]

Time to start building in the Racquet club.

Since we started this jouney 4 years ago and had to put things on hold we have house plans but no builder.
The Builder/architect is not doing custome home any longer.
Any recommendations thumbs up or thumbs down on a builder or general contractor that you would trust builder if you were not there 24/7?

[Peter]

If you e-mail me privately, I can recommend a couple of builders and a couple to avoid like the plague. mexicanseahorse1948@yahoo.com Peter

Time to start building in the Racquet club.

Since we started this jouney 4 years ago and had to put things on hold we have house plans but no builder.
The Builder/architect is not doing custome home any longer.
Any recommendations thumbs up or thumbs down on a builder or general contractor that you would trust builder if you were not there 24/7?

[Shira]

I highly recommend Beto. He stepped into a house that was being poorly built by a crooked builder and saved it and its owners. He has done a lot of work for people I know and they have all been satisfied. He has only one crew so he is on site at all times and his cost is reasonable and honest. If you want his references and a contact number let me know and I will send it to you.

[Wheels]

Time to start building in the Racquet club.

Since we started this jouney 4 years ago and had to put things on hold we have house plans but no builder.
The Builder/architect is not doing custome home any longer.
Any recommendations thumbs up or thumbs down on a builder or general contractor that you would trust builder if you were not there 24/7?

I would highly recommend Mario Ramirez Rochin from Ajijic. He does excellent work at a very reasonable price. Most important he guarantees his work. He can be trusted 100% even if you are not living here full time. I think he is a perfectionist.
You can ask him for references. His customers love to show off his work.
He is native to Ajijic. his cell phone is 045 331-347-2814 or email him at mario_constru@yahoo.com.mx
I forgot to mention he also speaks English. You will not be disappointed.

[Intercasa]

I have 2 questions.

1) There is one guy that advertises or used to who will build a home on your lot for around $40,000US. Has anybody used him?

2) What is the cost to build a home. Perhaps people can give anecdotal experiences of how much they paid and how many square feet.

Obviously all projects are different BUT it will be a learning experience to see costs and perhaps those that feel their costs were out of the median range could offer some explanation why. Also time frames would be great!

Thank you in advance.

[Charles & Ruth]

I have 2 questions.

1) There is one guy that advertises or used to who will build a home on your lot for around $40,000US. Has anybody used him?

2) What is the cost to build a home. Perhaps people can give anecdotal experiences of how much they paid and how many square feet.

Obviously all projects are different BUT it will be a learning experience to see costs and perhaps those that feel their costs were out of the median range could offer some explanation why. Also time frames would be great!

Thank you in advance.

I am bumping this to the top. Intercasa has some really great questions. I, for one, would love to hear from some of you who have gone before us who are thinking of building in the area.

Thanks Intercasa
Ruth

[tobyjug]

Why would you ( if you could that is) build a "house" read shed, on a lot worth say 80,000 usd...lots in the Raquet Club are now sell for over 100usd sq mt!!! come back time for the RC, which has best views, and amenities for lowest fracc fees around..

[Charles & Ruth]

Why would you ( if you could that is) build a "house" read shed, on a lot worth say 80,000 usd...lots in the Raquet Club are now sell for over 100usd sq mt!!! come back time for the RC, which has best views, and amenities for lowest fracc fees around..

Either I am reading this post in a drunken stupor OR the poster is. Which is it? What is the post trying to say?

[Shira]

For the life of me I cannot even begin to imagine why people come here and feel they need to build their dream house when there are so many houses on the market at the present time. They know nothing of the lack of standards, construction or the anything goes attitude of the builders who have recently come into the business.
Because a builder speaks English, which is a prerequisite for many newbies, they thiink the contractor must be good and honest. NOT!!! It just makes it easier for them to sell you a bill of goods.
In the past five years the quality of most construction in the area has taken a nose dive. In this small area how many true maestros contractors and skilled laborers do you think you will find? The new contractors hire anyone who can tie their shoes by themselves. Skill is not necessary.
Yes there are a few very good contractors who are fair and honest but not many. This is a contractors' market and the ability to take advantage iof people who know nothing is immense. When things go wrong you have almost no recourse. There are cases winding their way through the courts where obvious fraud and deception was practiced on unsuspecting clients and it will take years if ever to be adjudicated. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were taken from the contractors pigeons and will never be recouped.
Some people have hired civil engineers to watch their homes going up and it did not save them from disaster.
Of the many people I know who have built, there are very few who have had trouble free satisfaction. Some of them may still be in a bad situation and not know it as the cost cutting of mixing the concrete and other things that don't show up right away may haunt them later.
Build if you must and I wish you buena suerte.

[Shira]

oops. duplicate.

[Ajijic]

On a side note: only 3 lots sold in total in Racquet Club since Jan 2007 via mls.

[Intercasa]

Well, a few years ago you could build a home to your specs and save $100,000 at the same time. Why pay more to have a home not the way you want it? That was the reasoning of many.

[cosalamx]

On a side note: only 3 lots sold in total in Racquet Club since Jan 2007.

Can you detail the origin of your "information"?

[tobyjug]

On a side note: only 3 lots sold in total in Racquet Club since Jan 2007.

And how much did they sell for?...

[AmyLee]

Either I am reading this post in a drunken stupor OR the poster is. Which is it? What is the post trying to say?

Perhaps a “seller” or both?

[sharpeassoc]

I think the area may be suffering from “the death of craftsmanship” which is also plaguing the US. I read an article last year written by I can’t remember who, extolling the “craftsmanship” in the construction of homes in the area. The article did say, “even though the walls may not be plumb or the floors level, the detail in the concrete work is pure craftsmanship”. I reread it. I always thought craftsmanship included: plumb walls, level floors, correct wiring, non leaking roofs, correct concrete mix, correct plumbing, paint not cut 20 to 1 with water and on and on. I don’t know what it actually costs to build a home here but I’m guessing under $30.00 per sq ft. I realize amenities drive the costs up but still, what are amenities here, are standard fare NoB. Labor costs here are almost not a factor. Where we lived in South Louisiana, building costs range from $100.00 per ft to $250.00 per ft depending on the area. Where my wife is from in central Mississippi, building costs are around $38.00 per sq ft for the average home. Material costs are near the same and labor varies slightly, so what’s the deal? Even though quality of construction is declining in America, the homes still tend not to fall apart like they do here. They are built to code which helps. I have had some work done on our home here and watched other homes being built and basically all I can do is shake my head. The lack of knowledge and all the shortcutting is epidemic. Basically, throw up some semi-braced incorrectly mixed concrete and cover it with some fancy tile, granite or marble and you got your amenities. Then run electrical lines, plumbing and drains through concrete that is going to crack, no roof flashings and you got built in repair and service costs for years. While there are good contractors here, how do you get one? Even if you take the recommendation of a friend, who knows if you will get the same crew. I know several people who were very disappointed by using a recommended contractor and ended up with an awful job. Depending on where come from NoB, housing costs here can be a real bargain or totally outrageous. We looked at quite a few houses before we bought one and no matter what we were told, they were all fixer uppers to me. I wondered how a house could be built in 2002 and be in the shape they were when we looked at them in 2006, now I know.

[Mainecoons]

Amen to Sharp's post and more. We have one of those houses bought at a stiff price and needing quite a lot of repair and modification to fix lousy design, inferior materials and workmanship. I think there are two problems here, one of which is that many of the materials available here are decidedly inferior to those available NOB. You can't blame the contractors for that one.

The other one is simply that people here are not trained properly in construction technology. Things like understanding proper pipe sizes, electrical service design, roof engineering, drainage, etc., are greatly lacking. We hired a highly recommended contractor and then he has to be constantly supervised and instructed in how to do the work properly.

We are helping a friend look for a house to buy and I can concur with Sharp that basically everything we've seen has serious defects. Having the experience we do now, I would definitely recommend doing one's house hunting during the wet season as that is when the problems really show up. It seems that there is little understanding here that the house needs to be built to handle the heavy rains and dampness of the wet season, not the very benign dry season.

All this falls in the category of reminding one that this is NOT NOB, it is a foreign country and one that is still modernizing. So you deal with it as best possible and grin and bear the rest.

[Ajijic]

The last two posts are excellent and reality. Building costs have to be extremely cheap based on labour about $3 an hour, no basements, single payne windows, no two car garage, no insulation (in Canada: R20 in walls, R30 in ceilings, and R12 in basements), tiles floors, no high efficiency heating and air conditioning, no bathroom fans, no plumbing vents, no electrical ground fault receptacles in wet areas, little if any window and door trim, no building codes, etc. Then they throw in granite counter tops which here are not that expensive and people go ohhh and ahhh. Finally the price per sq ft quoted includes all covered areas such as balconies and porches. Typical homes on avaerage here sell for about $100 a sq ft. for total area including balconies etc not just heated space. In Ontario, Canada in many places about $140 a sq ft in a well designed subdivision with all the amenities mentioned above and a home built to standards many times what one finds here. In fairness to the "trades staff" their is no formal training nor the education upon which to provide relevant know how and a basis upon which to build these skills.

In addition many homes built on filled land not well compacted with minimal footings.

I do have a friend who loves Brisas and is now building her 3rd or 4th house there using the same builder. Having met him and seen his work I will say he may not be typical but he is very good for this area. Aso, Brisas is very stable as no fill to establish the development. If you want to see scary go up from Salvador's on Revolucion to top and follow the Hernandez R.E. signs for open house of a new development of townhouses with 30 and 40 ft retaining walls selling for well over $120 a sq ft including balconies and there will be condo fees.

No wonder mls sales for past year has averaged 17 homes per month.

I am definitely NOT saying do not come. I am saying be well informed, rent if possible and really know what you are doing in buying property here. Get to know the various areas, the culture, pros and cons and then with eyes wide open as they say decide if and where you want to buy. Look beyond the surface and do not hesitate to take someone who has bought here before or rented to help guide you. As you can see nearly all on this board have much to share and willing to do so. This is a beautiful place to live. smiles.... John

This post has been edited by Ajijic: 28 August 2008 - 11:21 AM

[slobo]

The last two posts are excellent and reality. Building costs have to be extremely cheap based on labour about $3 an hour, no basements, single payne windows, no insulation (in Canada: R20 in walls, R30 in ceilings, and R12 in basements), tiles floors, no high efficiency heating and air conditioning, no bathroom fans, no plumbing vents, no electrical ground fault receptacles in wet areas, little if any window and door trim, no building codes, etc. Then they throw in granite counter tops which here are not that expensive and people go ohhh and ahhh. Finally the price per sq ft quoted includes all covered areas such as balconies and porches. Typical homes here sell for about $100 a sq ft. for the "enclosed" space. In Ontario, Canada in many places about $140 a sq ft in a well designed subdivision with all the amenities and a home built to standards many times what one finds here. In fairness to the "trades staff" their is no formal training nor the education upon which to provide relevant know how and a basis upon which to build these skills.

No wonder mls sales for past year has averaged 17 homes per month.

Very true, hopefully 99.9% of the boomers will decide there are better values elsewhere. Anywhere else!