TalkBaja.com » Baja Mexico Forums » Building your Baja dream home

MitchMan, I bought a lot in Los Barriles in 06 and want to build on it this year. You mentioned that you have built on the East side of BCS. Can you share your cost per sq. ft. I will be on site using my 38 years of construction experience to keep things on track. Did yo use the cost plus fee or a lump sum contract.

Thanks,

Ciscokid

You might want to send mitchman a PM or resubmit the post to address the general forum community in lieu of one individual...

One more thing you may want to do since you've had 38 years of construction experience north of the border...........buy a big, big jar of tranquilizers. It will help you unlearn about 30 years of your experience. You'll need to do that or the stress of what you're about to go through will gitcha.

Cisco, if you are looking for a realistic budgetary figure, it would be helpful if you provided some parameters on the type of house. Not unlike the USA, cost per square foot varies greatly.

If you don't take Dennis's advice on the tranquilizers, (wish I'd been on drugs during our experience) at least temper what you think the value of your experience is, other wise more than likely you will be very frustrated.

Based on my personal experience, the following will save you money, heartache and the need for a psychiatrist, IMHO...

1. Be on the job site all the time
2. Speak fluent Spanish
3. Have printed examples of what you want specific details to look like
4. You buy ALL the construction materials
5. Contract the job stage by stage and not the entire house at one time
6. Provide an ice chest with cold Tecate in the late afternoon each day

You be right on BG...wish I had known you 4 years ago.

Mitchman's website:

http://www.Baja-Lots.com

which somewhat addresses your basic question....but I've personally found much of the information to be outdated or inaccurate for the La Paz area. IMO....there's better current information available if you do as others have suggested & expand on the size/quality/finish detail level/on-grid/off-grid, etc.

Contractors who are willing to sign a fixed price contract are few & far between ( I know of ONE that works in the area) & with just cause....rarely is a presupuesto/quote/bid totally inclusive; they always forget something(s). Your years of experience should help a lot in reviewing the thoroughness of bids if you're fluent in Espanol, or can get a bid in English.

Whatever you do, don't pull a weed on your lot unless you have a completed Environmental Impact Study in hand! The fines can be $10K USD equivalent! Beware of any builder who tells you you don't need one....or who wants to clean your lot before you have final approval!

Here are some of the reasons I prefer to buy the materials myself and contract a home building project in stages:

1. It gives you much greater control over the project
2. It allows you to adapt / make changes without being heavily penalized
3. It keeps your builder in check as you can comparison bid each stage
4. You are the one to make the material quality decisions, not your builder
5. You can build on your budget / cash flow

Another important point that many don't understand - building your home on a contract bid for the entire project will probably be padded an additional 15-20% more than before, in today's market.

Why? Dollar:Peso currency fluctuation

Even if the builder quotes you in dollars, they can lose. When the dollar went to 16:1, many of the building materials went up in price 60% to match the exchange. Even though the peso has dropped back down to 13, material prices have not. Builders all fear today that will happen again and they will be stuck with the difference.

I hope to start my 2,400 sq. ft. one story flat roof house constructed out of Insulating Concrete Formwork with my Architect/Builder this fall. I have discussed a Cost of Work Plus fee contract with him. We would jointly buy the material and select subs. He has quoted me a cost of $123,000 including the cost of the ICF but hasn't provided a written estimate.

I'm thinking $50 to $60/ sq. ft. is reasonable if the design is kept simple with medium grade finishes, a daily presence and tight control of the money. And yes a bucket of cervesa frio ant the end of the day's work.

Building is never an exact science and less so in Mexico. Working to form and keep a bond between you and those building your home will go far to get through the inevitable problems.

A case of beer a day goes a long, long way to make that happen and pays for itself in the long run.

Not only keeping a bond but keeping your builder close as in by your side I've found is very important. My guy in La Paz sticks to me like glue when I'm in country but trying to get answers from him when I'm back in the States is problematic.

That is where it is good to have a local friend who can act on your behalf, communicate with the builder and take / send photos...

When I was last in La Paz in November my Architect/builder discussed a cost of work plus fee with a guaranteed maximum cost with shared saving. I have used this contract vehicle in the US and find that it gives flexibility to the Owner and incentive to the Contractor. Any comments?