Building in Baja - To Build or Not to Build Part I
Also See To Build or Not to Build Part II
Building a better Baja is not always that easy. While it may seem cheaper in some ways down here for construction (labor) there are many costs that add up and if not careful you can end up with crap for a lot of money. I did!
The amazing thing was that after living here for
more than 10 years I knew about the problems and the rights and
responsibilities of construction.
I
hired what I thought was a friend who is a converted (nationalized Mexican)
"Gringo". I thought he was going to supervise the work of his Mexican
partner only to find in the end
that he washes his hands of it all and says that he was only responsible for
referring him to me. Well that is not what I thought I had done. I thought I
had contracted him. I even have my first receipt filled out and signed by
him on the construction company that he now says is not his.
Although I can prove much of what happened and have all of the receipts (facturas) and dates I will have to pay for it all, because I believed him when he said we wouldn't need a contract. You NEED a Contract! There is not much a lawyer can do with out one, even if you can prove your case with witnesses. Verbal contracts do not exist or at the very best they are very hard to enforce. If you listen to the advice I just (l)earned (big lesson) you want a contract with penalties for being late, over budget, or lack of quality.
This works for you in two ways, the contractor will be less likely to screw up knowing that you have a contract and if you need to, it can be enforced much quicker and easier than without. The other document he recommends is a Presupuesto )(bid or estimate). You want to be sure the bid contains the materials and labor for all construction as well as the quality of the materials, the structural
specifications
if need be and the finish on the work. The latter I put in because in my
latest job I found there is great latitude in what someone might call a
finished concrete floor.
You need to specify everything for the finish, plastering, tiling, painting, electrical and plumbing.
After this there are two specific things that don't seem to get done properly down here very often. That is YES you NEED a Building Permit and YOU are responsible for the payment of Seguros (workers compensation insurance). Look to future articles here in the BajaInsider.com for more information on how to obtain these documents BEFORE building and avoid hassles and multas (fines).
All
of this doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't risk building in Baja. It just
means that you do your homework and fill in all the blanks, cross the "T's"
and dot the "I's" as you really should do in any country. I will be
providing BajaInsider.com in the future some example contracts and bids that
can be used. As in the States, for example, they do have some regular
"boilerplate" clauses that can be can be cut and pasted to create a fairly
strong contract.
Just remember the more you specify the less left to guess if there is a problem in the future. You may also make use of an Abogado (lawyer) to create these. In the future we will try and recommend reputable lawyers. Of course many of us know that list may not be that long. It is hard to find good lawyers but I have a trick in La Paz that I use. I have found a lawyer who works for the government prosecuting lawyers and she seems to know who the truly good (not always expensive) ones are.
I will continue this series as I learn more through my own saga and report it here in the BajaInsider.com so you can be the first to learn from my mistakes.
Happy building and please
contacts us with any BajaInsider.com information
you may have concerning the life and lifestyles of those living in the Baja.
Click here to Visit their website
Or Call:
Baja California Real Estate & Consulting
Cabo San Lucas • Las Vegas, NV
(702)-953-8756 or
Cabo San Lucas
624-143-4327
Continue to
"To Build or Not to Build II"
"To Build or Not to Build III"