Building a house on a purchased land in San Clemente

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@Wayneo11

Try CONSTRU2plus,they use HORMI2 panels
I think it's very good and safe.

They have a office in Manta.    JPM

Thanks will check into it

HI:

I know several builders in the area north and south of Manta.
I helped a Canadian family get a house completed last
year in Puerto Cajo, about 60k west of Manta.

I am a designer/builder moving to Ecuador from Minnesota.

Sincerely,

JAMES SKALSKI

Oh, my email address:  jamesskalski@mac.com

Thanks,

JAMES SKALSKI

@ JAMES SKALSKI > Thank you for offering your help here. I also advise you to get registered in the business directory > Housing & building contractors in Ecuador.

Thank you,

Priscilla 

Jim Skalski wrote:

HI:

I know several builders in the area north and south of Manta.
I helped a Canadian family get a house completed last
year in Puerto Cajo, about 60k west of Manta.

I am a designer/builder moving to Ecuador from Minnesota.

Sincerely,

JAMES SKALSKI

Perhaps compasses from Minnesota function poorly on the equator....but I think 60k west of Manta is a goodly distance out into the depths of the Pacific ocean. Sponge Bob territory, if you will.

LOL

You were there Gardener.....Is there really that much going on North and South of Manta? Builders.....hmmmm?

I saw a lot of partially started foreigner subdivisions near/on the beach with some graded unpaved streets, maybe a house or two, advertisement of coming construction and lot sales. No signs of activity.

I didn't see services of any kind. It looked that water and utility access could be extremely questionable. No markets or stores, nothing around, nothing at all.

It seemed to me that there really wasn't the infrastructure to support these 'developments'.

It is really pathetic. Do these North American developers even think about infrastructure problems? Are they just counting on the naivete'  of people who are willing to hand over money and think  they are going to retire on a beach in paradise.

Be very careful with building contractors in Ecuador.
When you agree to a price for a unit or work or for the whole building, be sure you hold back 20% to be paid at completion.
Do not pay an equal weekly amount for progress.  They will tell you they can finish in 12 weeks, want payment in 12 equal payments, and the end of 12 weeks, your project is half done and they say they need more money to finish.

We always contract that we buy all material and we set construction milestones.  When the milestone is met, we pay an agreed to amount.   Let the contractor determine the milestones and how much he wants for each  one.  First get the total job price agreed to then ask him to break it down to the price per milestone amounts.  You will get resistance but do not fall into the trap. 
You have to write a contract and pay only for progress, not for time.  If you contract on time, they will start the job with 8 people the first week, in two weeks, there will be three people working, and the contractor wants the same amount of money.  When you are in Ecuador, you will see a lot of unfinished buildings.  This is the reason.  It is the way the contractors do business.  They give you a low price, get the job, and then take your money every week until you run out of money.  I recommend you work out the details and then get an attorney to write the contract.  It may cost you $100 or more but when you are spending enough money to build a house, it is a wise investment.

Good luck with your project.
Fred Johnson

FredJohnson wrote:

Be very careful with building contractors in Ecuador.
When you agree to a price for a unit or work or for the whole building, be sure you hold back 20% to be paid at completion.
Do not pay an equal weekly amount for progress.  They will tell you they can finish in 12 weeks, want payment in 12 equal payments, and the end of 12 weeks, your project is half done and they say they need more money to finish.

We always contract that we buy all material and we set construction milestones.  When the milestone is met, we pay an agreed to amount.   Let the contractor determine the milestones and how much he wants for each  one.  First get the total job price agreed to then ask him to break it down to the price per milestone amounts.  You will get resistance but do not fall into the trap. 
You have to write a contract and pay only for progress, not for time.  If you contract on time, they will start the job with 8 people the first week, in two weeks, there will be three people working, and the contractor wants the same amount of money.  When you are in Ecuador, you will see a lot of unfinished buildings.  This is the reason.  It is the way the contractors do business.  They give you a low price, get the job, and then take your money every week until you run out of money.  I recommend you work out the details and then get an attorney to write the contract.  It may cost you $100 or more but when you are spending enough money to build a house, it is a wise investment.

Good luck with your project.
Fred Johnson

Excellent advice.

Indeed,... there have been many threads about the convoluted ins and outs of building in EC. Be very cautious not only of the EC contractors but also offers of "help" from other North Americans who may or may not have experience building in the Third World.

Also, don't really know your background but first factor to consider in remoter locales is access to water, electricity, sewer, roads,  shopping etc

I went trough that and keep working on building my new home on the beach.
If everything goes ok, I will be able to recommend this contractor.
I have been posting the progress in a blog, if you will like to check it out.

How to build a home on my own lot