Who can we trust?
How can we get a complete and accurate quote to finish the house?
Will this quote change when we purchase the property?
When will the house be completed?
When we complete the house, what is a realistic selling price?
Is the Mexican neighbourhood safe and could we sell to a foreigner or Mexican?
We are going to be here for a while answering these questions.
We meet to discuss the costs of finishing (cabinets, doors, floors, painting etc.) and fixtures. They are not prepared and give us a few preliminary figures. Scary! We agree to meet again tomorrow.
We have had to switch rooms for 2 days as our wonderful apartment was previously booked. We do not have a kitchen now so we have been eating at small place nearby. The coconut shrimp with mango sauce are fresh, crisp and the best I have ever had. I am addicted. The seating is outside and by a pedestrian road that has a parade of people, dogs and even chickens. Joanne says that she will not eat there any more if I say “Why, why, why?” one more time when a chicken crosses the road. When we return to our old room two days later the owners had placed a plate of fruit in the room apologizing for any inconvenience to us. How nice is that!
We meet again , to get the final figures for completing the house. We receive a written contract and the figures for building and the pool are right but the finishing and fixture are much higher than previous. The builder will rework the figures again and get back to us on Monday. We take the contract back to the room as it requires a great deal of clarification and rewriting as the translation program that they are using is not so understandable. This is Mexico and things are definitely slower.
The place of interest is in a Mexican neighborhood high on the hill that surrounds Zihautanejo. To get to the property requires driving up a maze of steep narrow streets. We have only been driven there and really have only a vague idea of how to get there. To satisfy our fears and concerns about the area, we decide to find the property and walk the neighbourhood. On the contract is the legal description of the community, street, number and lot, we also have a photo of a finger pointing to the house on a map.
It is Sunday and yet another beautiful day. It is obvious that the cab driver, who assured us that he knew the property before we got in, has no clue. After asking many people, he manages to get us in the right general area as we have found a recognizable house. We decide to continue on foot. The problem is that no one knows or uses street names; directions are given using landmarks or well known houses. Our quest soon becomes a community project and we have been joined by small band of kids. As we walk up and down the hill, people come out of their houses. Children are sent to bring anyone that speaks a word of English. Groups of adults point in different directions and have loud and animated discussions. We are finally successful. The house is just up from the school, it would have been easier if we had remembered that, however we have now met many of our neighbours. Joanne clicks flower shots along our quest.
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