This week I am posting the final three articles in our series on building a home in Mexico, which will focus on the differences in the Mexican construction style.
One factor Mexico real estate owners will have to take into account when building a home is that construction techniques and styles are very different for homes in this country. Some are simple differences, others offer real advantages and a few are some tendencies expats will probably want to avoid. As in other cases, the items in this last category can best be avoided by working with an experienced builder who can coordinate the entire process.
Everything is Concrete
If an American or Canadian has built a shed or a garage, put an extension on their house, or even built a house, this experience will not resemble very much of what takes place building a home in Mexico. Here, there magic word is “concrete.â€Â Everything – except the land that the home is built on – is poured concrete with iron reinforcements or concrete block construction. The structure of the home will be concrete, the floors will be concrete, the ceilings and roofs are concrete (either poured using a removable support system underneath, or constructed with concrete beams and specially shaped concrete blocks,) and even items like kitchen counter, a bar, an island and closets may be concrete in their structure. (Some people have the “luxury†of getting these last items made of that pressed particle board they sell in international stores these days, or drywall!)
Of course, all of this concrete will be adorned in the finest of Mexican or modern style with stucco, ceramic tiles, wooden doors, brass handles and rails, aluminum or wooden frame windows or whatever the owner’s taste may be.
Although the whole process may be very different from what Americans and Canadians are used to, for the most part, this is good news. There are many Mexican concrete workers who are very skilled, offering high-quality work and finished products which they can produce relatively quickly and for good prices.
Prices of materials also tend to be very good, so the final result is that you get a very high-quality, solidly built home for a much lower price than what someone would get in their home country.
Tomorrow, we will take a look at the differences in how Mexicans see the process of completing, modifying or expanding on a home.
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Andy Welbourne, from London, Ontario, has been living in Playa del Carmen and working as a part of the team with Thomas Lloyd for 7 years. He has worked with many Canadians and Americans to assist in finding their dream home in the Mexican Caribbean; many of these clients have turned into great friendships. Contact Andy at (512) 879-6546.
The TOP Mexico Real Estate Network; “Mexico’s Leading Network of Specialists for Finding and Purchasing Mexican Properties Safely!â€
Si alguna vez has soñado con construir la casa de tus sueños este es el post para ti. Aquà revisaremos los primeros pasos a dar en un proyecto de construcción. Primero que nada debes saber que hemos desarrollado una página especial para proyectos de construcción (construye tu casa), en ella podrás encontrar entrevistas con ingenieros, arquitectos, asà como testimonios de personas que han emprendido con éxito proyectos de este tipo, además de catálogo de terrenos en venta, asà como guÃas y consejos prácticos. Todo para que cuentes con toda la información necesaria y puedas empezar a construir la casa de tus sueños lo antes posible.
Primer paso: Definir lo que queremos.
Es verdaderamente importante tener un panorama general de lo que queremos. Definir a grandes rasgos nuestra idea de proyecto, lo que esperamos a futuro. Es importante tener esta idea antes de aventurarnos a comprar un terreno. Si bien es cierto que podemos tener el terreno primero y realizar el proyecto de construcción en un futuro, es importante tener una idea general de nuestro proyecto.
Ideas generales de diseños, repartición de espacios, adecuaciones, ubicación, comodidades y necesidades especificas deben estar pre-definidas antes de empezar a considerar comprar un terreno. Tener que realizar cambios o adecuaciones a nuestra casa una vez terminado el proyecto de construcción podrÃa resolverse de inicio si sabemos con anterioridad lo que queremos.
Una de las grandes ventajas de los bienes raÃces en México es el de su alta plusvalÃa. Invertir en propiedades es una de las inversiones más inteligentes que puedes hacer. Los riesgos, en comparación a otra tipo de inversiones, son mÃnimos. Tu dinero se mantendrá estable, y si aprendes a comprar y a mantener tu inversión, las posibilidades de que ese dinero con el futuro se acrecente, son enormes.
www.topmexicorealestate.com, la empresa lÃder en bienes raÃces en México.Â
JacobWall says
Thanks for your input on contractors. I think this is an important point for those building homes in Mexico to consider! Better go with a slightly higher price but be sure the person will stick to what they quoted! I’ve heard the best approach is to get references so you know they’ll be reliable.
Playa Del Carmen real estate says
The worst part of building in Mexico is the contractor. Just about everyone that i know that has completed building a house in the riviera maya has had problems with their contractor. A lot of times they underbid the project to get you to say YES. Then they come back and tell you the price of this and that went way up so of course you have to pay additional. They make their money back with overcharging you for materials and overruns etc. If you call them on it or refuse to pay more? well then 99/100 times you will have a find another contractor to finish your project.