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Donjulio
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Posts: 376
Registered: 5-19-2009
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| Quote: | Originally posted by UnoMas
I know that times are tough down there right now and labor may be a little cheaper, but materials have become more expensive. I built my home in 2000
and did all plumbing, electrical, and painting as I have been in the construction business for 35+ years and wanted it to be to the standard I would
be happy with. There are many variables that come into play and your interpretation and the contractors may be completly different. So in saying that
the bottom line is that when you pay in advance or the contractor runs out of the money you have paid he will walk and you will be standing there with
no real recourse unless you want to spend truck load of money to recover much less. So do your home work on the person you hire, get as much legal
documentation as you can, make sure all employees are covered with insurance (if you have to go and pay it yourself). If you have someone working for
you that is NOT insured and happens to get injured on your job you will pay this person until they are able to resume work. I would expect to pay $60
to $80 dollars per Sq. ft. for the construction you have described, anything less refer to above.
[Edited on 2-4-2010 by UnoMas] |
Great advice. And make sure social security is paid and documented for all the workers too. That will come back and bite you later if you don't. That
goes for hiring a contractor too. You still have to make sure he is paying social sercurity for his guys on a regular basis.
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k-rico
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Location: Playas de Tijuana
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If you have someone working for you that is NOT insured and happens to get injured on your job you will pay this person until they are able to
resume work.
That goes for hiring a contractor too. You still have to make sure he is paying social sercurity for his guys on a regular basis.
How would I do that?
This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to forget the whole idea.
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BajaGringo
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He can bring you the receipts in exchange for being paid.
I continue to advocate that you shop around not just based on price but personal recommendations from folks who have lived in the area a long time. A
good contractor with a long work history of happy clients will do right by you as well...
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UnoMas
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k-rico,
Not trying to freak you out on building in Baja. It is a very different process than building in the U.S. but with knowing what you are getting into
does help and can be an experience of a life time as long as you throw out all your expectations of "how they do it back home". Just be careful not to get more invested than the work that has been preformed, make
sure someone is covering the insurance and be there when the work is being done. You can build real cheap if you break all the rules and there isn't
any problem or accidents but it will catch up to you if you ever sell by what is manifested, so keep that in mind as well. Good luck and if I can help
in anyway just shoot me a u2u.
UnoMas
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oxxo
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UnoMas you are correct on every point in your post. I provide construction management for gringo clients in Mexico and your experience mirrors mine.
| Quote: | Originally posted by UnoMas
It is a very different process than building in the U.S. but with knowing what you are getting into does help and can be an experience of a life time
as long as you throw out all your expectations of "how they do it back home". |
Very true. The building process in Mexico is nothing like the process NOB. Too often clients have unreasonalbe expectations because that's the way
it is done at home.
| Quote: | | Just be careful not to get more invested than the work that has been preformed, |
I learned this hard way on one project. It cost me a bunch of money out of my pocket. But that experience makes me better at what I do now.
| Quote: | | make sure someone is covering the insurance |
Very true. If that is not true, you will have to cover the insurance out of your own pocket as an additional job cost.
| Quote: | | and be there when the work is being done. |
This happens time and time again. You must be on the job site every day, all day long. The minute you leave for a short period of time, you run the
risk of the job grinding to a halt. I left for a week one time with specific instructions on what was to be done while I was gone. When I returned,
nothing had been done that week - everyone had gone on vacation.
| Quote: | | You can build real cheap if you break all the rules and there isn't any problem or accidents but it will catch up to you if you ever sell by what is
manifested, so keep that in mind as well. |
A very important point. If you dont manifest the job with appropriate facturas, you run the risk of paying huge Mexican capital gains taxes when you
sell.
An additional point. Mexican contractors love to switch materials that have been agreed on. Last summer, I spent two days working with a client to
pick out the materials for their remodel. I made a list of materials. I signed it, the client signed it, and the contractor signed it. When it came
time to install bathroom tile, a different tile was on the job site. I asked the contractor what was happening. He said he thought the client would
like this better. I said no, that is not what we agreed on. He said the client will like it better and he will take it out if he doesn't. I said
no, we were going to install what everyone had agreed on. And that's what happened. This scenario has happened time and time again on my projects.
Yes, you can do it less expensively if you do it yourself, but you run the risk of frustration, unmet expectations, delayed project completion, and
additional expenses not in the budget.
Suerte
[Edited on 2-5-2010 by oxxo]
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