volcano
Nomad
Posts: 348
Registered: 3-5-2007
Location: Cave Junction, Oregon and Boca Del Salado area, Ea
Member Is Offline
Mood: always pining to be there
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building permits and other questions
I'm going to be building next year on the East Cape half way between San Jose and La Ribera. I have many questions, as We will be doing our own
building since contractors are in too much demand to deal with our tiny little project.
Questions: cost of permits....is it a percentage of the projected house value?
Turn around time on the permit application?
What will be the cost range of a palapa roof, frame and fronds to go over a 20' x 20 structure?lots of other questions but will start there.
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
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Permit cost is based on total square meters of covered construction, both inside & out. I can only speak for turnaround time in La Paz, from
application to completed permit, it's approximately one week from submittal....IF ALL your little duckies are lined up in a straight line, beaks
facing front & center, tails facing aft & with every feather in place.
HOWEVER........BEFORE you start ANYTHING (including clearing the land) you need to make sure you've satisfied ALL the local requirements...the things
that nobody volunteers to you! If your property abuts a road, you are required to get an alignmento (they come & put markers on the corners of
your property along the road which reflect the setback from the road that you can actually build anything, i.e. perimeter wall, etc.). THEN you have
to have a four-point survey done, marking your true property boundries. You also have to have an Invironmental Impact Study done. If "they" tell you
you don't need it, ask "them" to put it in writing....because there's a $100,000 peso fine for building and/or clearing the land without a completed
EIS.
There's more piddly stuff, but these are the bigger ticket costs & they MUST be completed & submitted as part of your building permit
application. You also have to take a copy of your PAID property taxes (predial) & proof of no liens (libradad gravamen, which I might not have
spelled correctly, but is phonetically correct!)
HEY!!! NOBODY said getting to the point where you can start to build is easy!
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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In the Ensenada area, if you are out of the city-services grid, trash pick up etc., it is considered rural and building permits arn't required. Is
it the same down there?
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oladulce
Super Nomad
Posts: 1625
Registered: 5-30-2005
Location: bcs
Member Is Offline
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I would suggest finding a local Mexican architect or "ingeniero" to draw up your building plans and submit them to the local municipio for approval.
He'll know what they are looking for at the Obras Publicas office and will know the staff which will be a huge time saver for you. Paying him to draw
up your plans and get the stamps for you will not usually cost much and you'll be sure you get the official stamps you need. You don't need a
fancy-schmansy Cabo architect, ask some local people for references.
As LL in LP says, there's a whole lot more to the permits and applications and there is no check list for the well intending gringo to go by. That
can be the very frustrating part because there is no central source of information.
There are local municipio laws and state laws, and there can be federal requirements depending on the location of your property.
For some of the permits (not the local basic building permit), the bank that holds your fideicomiso has to file the applications on your behalf
because you are only the beneficiary. This process adds addtional time as well as the fees that the bank charges for this service, and the cost of
obtaining a Poder Especial (power of attorney), notary fees etc.
If you plan to use Mexican helpers at all, be sure to register the workers with the social security office or you can get in to deep doodoo. If you're
caught without the S.S. for your guys, they can close down your project and you'll incur penalties. This also gives the officials an excuse to start
looking for anything else you might have overlooked or neglected to do.
Another note about the challenges of building in rural areas- you'll need lots and lots of time if you plan to do this all yourself.
1. WATER ! When your water runs out your building will come to a halt. I don't know where the water delivery trucks come from for your location,
but you may have to stop everything to drive in to San jose to find the water truck guy and schedule him to come out. Then plan on him not showing up
as scheduled due to flat tires, breakdowns, daughter's birthday etc. Planning ahead for your construction water needs will save you time in the long
run.
2. Building materials acquisition and Delivery-
A Palapa seems like a simple building project but can be more difficult to organize and locate your materials than stuff you buy from the hardware
store. This requires time to ask around about sources of palm for your posts and the "Hojas" (leaves). This may require some trips to the mountains or
ranchos where these items are located. Then you'll need to find someone to deliver them. Refer to the water delivery comment above and the same
applies to building materials delivery. Your stuff will almost always arrive later than you were told, so you can't be on a tight construction
schedule.
Better yet, find a palapa builder to deal with the materials and building even if you do the rest of the building yourself.
Palapas are not cheap but you'll be happier if you let a "professional" handle this part of your construction if this is the roofing material you
really want on your house, (and you want it to last through a few storms). We just had a palapa work area built off our garage but we're not in your
location so I imagine the costs would be different and wouldn't be very accurate for you.
Other occurrences-
A delivery truck breaks down on your property and you have to stop and drive the guy back to his rancho is pick up his brother who will borrow a
friends truck to drive out and tow, or get the truck working.
You're out of gas for the generator and have to drive in to town. Then the Pemex will be out of gas and you'll either return to the east cape or spend
the night in line at the gas station.
Sometimes these situations add to the fun of your Baja building project but if you're trying to make some progress while your down on a brief
vacation, it can be a pain in the butt that you have to be able to laugh about or it will give you an ulcer.
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13048
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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SOOOO true Oladulce...excellent advice...a note on palapas, DO get a palapa guy to make it as they know when to cut the fronds (moon has to be right)
so they last. Check around as prices really vary. Building in baja is an exercise in patience indeed...have lots of tecates on hand.
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