New Friends, Epic Hangovers, Build Updates...
Last Wednesday I made arrangements to walk a home constructed by the new builder I met with, directly with the client - he (Ed) had offered as much on the builder's Facebook page. His home is WAAAAY south by Playa de Sala, about a 40-minute drive. If you have been following our adventure, the builders we have met with to date have been at least one of the below:
1. Astronomically expensive - or, worse yet, "Cost Plus" - meaning you don't know the cost of your home until it's built;
2. Flightly - no true tie to the island, or potentially involved in some shady actions;
3. All talk for free food - multiple meetings at dinner where we get stuck with the bill, yet no actual forward progress;
4. No secure staffing plan and/or sub-par finish work.
Ed gave me nearly 90 minutes of input on the building company, what he would do differently (only answer: ship in Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint. Local paint here is garbage), and overall a pretty glowing review of the company. His concrete home is, I would estimate - around 3,200 sq ft and was built in under a year, off-grid.
Our next step is the builder has arranged another client meeting in about 10 days for us, when the client is on-island. Both of these clients have completed multiple projects with the company, and that says a lot!
In my last Amazon order, my breadmaker arrived. I've never owned one, but Nathan's family has - and he raves about fresh-baked bread. Naturally, there is another flour shortage on the island, but I had enough bread flour on hand to make a sourdough starter! I plan to bake my first loaf in the machine today. In COVID times, I tried activating a starter from the 1800s I bought on etsy...I made one loaf that was about 8 pounds of density and scrapped that plan. Hopefully, the machine makes it error-proof!
I am also working to raccoon-proof our home - they love to get on our roof and poop on our stairs. Our cameras catch 1-5 most nights rolling across our patios. I bought sonic repellers and was given the advice to hang metallic ribbons, so that they avoid the area. I deep-cleaned the stairs with a power washer and also did our patio to remove the water heater rust.
That night, we had no hot water. Apparently, there is a "reset" button on the heater. I thought I heard a "pop" when I was running the power washer, but it continued to work so I didn't think any more of it. The reset button worked, but it again popped over the weekend, UGH.
Friday we went to Happy Hour at Coco's Loco, across the street from our neighborhood. Kevin, who I interviewed for my Live and Invest Overseas Feature, was guest-bartending there, and he makes delectable rum cream - so I asked him to bring some for us to buy. We met some great people at the swim-up bar - they live here AND are our age! - and were headed to trivia afterward. Stan, the owner of Coco's, is a doll - he made the rounds and was delivering complimentary shots. We went home, put on dry clothes, and headed to Trivia. We had a grand time, laughed our asses off, and after more complimentary shots, suddenly realized it was almost midnight! We headed home, I can't remember the last time we stayed out that late in Belize!
Saturday was....rough. Like, Vegas-caliber hung over, didn't want to move. Didn't want to eat. Of course, it was a gorgeous sunny day - we had planned to go visit the cats at SAGA/take some donations, and then paint our wood fence. Neither of those was close to attempted. Around 5, we ordered delivery from SandBar - their new app is legitimate! You can place your order (instead of having to call), see where your order is in the process, pay, etc. SandBar to the rescue!
Naturally, Sunday saw rainy conditions and overcast skies. Nathan cleaned out our bodega, we have been kind of just tossing piles in there, so he has it more organized now. David had told us the ground-cleaning crew had been out at our land all week and would finish on Sunday, so in the afternoon, we drove out to Secret Beach. I honestly don't think they have been back there since I last met Jimbo, the foreman, two weeks ago today; the big stumps were still there, huge piles of DRY branches (so clearly not freshly-cut), etc. We took some photos and videos and were surprised we haven't been asked to send the balance we owe.
Crispy branches that have baked in the sun.
A real-life reminder of why you NEVER pay in full until the job is done! In reality, they have probably completed exactly half of the work we contracted them for, so in our eyes, if they ghost us (which seems to be the case), we're not out cash - and our builder when we choose one can complete the balance of the work.
We have the final draft of our home plans, I'll have a virtual meeting with our architect, Alex, this week - there are a few things I have questions on, and a few electrical tweaks to make, but overall, we should be ready for a building permit application next week! FINALLY!!!
I also have two video interviews for Live & Invest Overseas to film this week - a long one that is the last piece of my Feature assignment, and a shorter one that will be part of a series.
Enjoy your week!
Sharon