# Purchasing vs Building



## andrea333 (Jan 17, 2019)

Hello All,

Super excited in finding this forum! We are not currently living in Mexico, but planning on making the move by the end of this year. We are currently trying to figure out if we should build a home or buy one already build. Can someone enlighten me as to how easy it is to obtain building permits, how long it would actually take to have something reasonably small built and what the costs may run per square foot? I know this is a tall order, but I am assuming that many of you have had work done to your properties or even ventured in building your own homes.

Any information would be greatly appreciated


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

It's a whole different world here in the matter of buying or building. For one thing, there are no disclosure rules as in the States for buyers, and it's uncharted territory re finding the right builder.
My advice: Don't build. Have a very thorough home inspection and buy a pre-existing house.
This should save a lot of stress, which there will be plenty of in moving to a new country.

Welcome and best of luck !


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

I would second Lagoloo's comments: Building materials, construction practices, financing, contractors, laws and everything else associated with housing are different in Mexico. I think it would be wise to first rent a house, maybe similar in style to what you might want to build. Live in it for a while learning about how construction, plumbing and electrical are done in Mexico. Then if you still want to stay in Mexico and are still interested in building, you would start from a more knowledgeable position.
You don't mention how much experience you have in Mexico nor where you would be coming from. Living here is different than visiting for a week or two. I assume you have passed that stage before thinking about something as permanent as buying or building. The housing market in Mexico is not as liquid as in other places.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> I would second Lagoloo's comments: Building materials, construction practices, financing, contractors, laws and everything else associated with housing are different in Mexico. I think it would be wise to first rent a house, maybe similar in style to what you might want to build. Live in it for a while learning about how construction, plumbing and electrical are done in Mexico. Then if you still want to stay in Mexico and are still interested in building, you would start from a more knowledgeable position.
> You don't mention how much experience you have in Mexico nor where you would be coming from. Living here is different than visiting for a week or two. I assume you have passed that stage before thinking about something as permanent as buying or building. The housing market in Mexico is not as liquid as in other places.


Our architect in San Luis Potosi took care of everything. The lot was in a privada and had everything in place. We have been here 7 years in our house and saved about 1/3 the cost of one already completed, even a new one. It was such a pleasant experience compared to the house my exwife and I built in San Diego without a general contractor in the mid eighties.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

I forgot to mention the most basic thing that Tundra Green brought up: I'd advise you to neither build nor buy until you've rented long enough to become familiar with the various neighborhoods in the area where you want to settle. This can make ALL the difference. 
Also, selling tends to be very slow because of the lack of buyer-friendly financing. Finding an all cash buyer can take time.....lots of it.


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## andrea333 (Jan 17, 2019)

Tundra Green - We are moving from Ontario Canada. We have visited many parts of Mexico throughout the years and actually put an offer in on a house in Lake Chapala a couple of years ago, unfortunately it fell through and then personal circumstances kept us in Canada for a couple more years. Now its time to start looking again. We have considered renting first as you mentioned, since now we are thinking that maybe we would like to explore other regions in Mexico.

AlanMexicali - I am glad to here that you had a good experience with the building process. Can you tell me aprox how much it cost you per sqft?


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

The building permit cost and process, the costs involved in building, etc, can vary greatly depending on what part of Mexico you are, Andrea. There are areas where the going rate for a stone mason is 500 pesos a day, and others where it's 800. Joe boys, who carry things and mix cement might earn 200 pesos a day in some areas and 400-500 in others. So it's hard to give accurate info.
And a smallish house can mean different things to to different people. What construction methods do you want? Do you want state of the art appliances, or just standard Mexican ones? What kind of water system are you going to have, pressurized or gravity feed? Fancy granite countertops or tiled or cement ones? There are so many variables.
I did build my place from scratch and I love it. But it's not for the faint of heart, you have to understand Mexican culture, it helps to understand something about construction, and you have to speak at least basic Spanish, or you'll be quite frustrated with the process. Be prepared for it to take much longer than you were told, and cost more as well.
As others have mentioned, there is no disclosure here when you buy an existing house. So it might have just had a fresh paint job and look great, then 3 months down the road you see salitre (phosphorescence or rising damp) exuding from all the walls, the paint is bubbling off, and you realize you have a major problem which wasn't evident. Same with plumbing and electric.
And yes, you should rent for a while in various areas where you think you might want to settle. And stay for the summer. Most foreigners, even if they have travelled a lot in Mexico, have only been her in the dry months, not in the hot sweltering summers,. You need to know the challenges of the summers here, which also vary greatly by area.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

surabi said:


> And yes, you should rent for a while in various areas where you think you might want to settle. And stay for the summer. Most foreigners, even if they have travelled a lot in Mexico, have only been her in the dry months, not in the hot sweltering summers,. You need to know the challenges of the summers here, which also vary greatly by area.


Hot sweltering summers? Not in Mexico City, that's for sure, where the summer is the rainy season, bringing cool temperatures, along with the rain.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

What passes for "summer" here in the Lake Chapala Area is the month of May, where the 5000 ft.+ altitude keeps it bearable. Then comes the rainy season and the cooling. It's another story on the coasts. Very hot and humid most of the year, with some respite in what passes for "winter".
Mexico has many climate zones.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

At 5000feet and up in Mexico there is no summer challenge.. only in low land you have a miseable climate in the highlands summers are nice. It all depends on the altitude you chose to live.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

Yes, I should have said hot, sweltering summers and/or tons of rain. I am aware it's not super hot in the higher elevations. Most people who've been to Mexico on holidays or as snowbirds are only here in the dry season. I just suggest that anyone thinking of moving here permanently should experience what the weather is like year-round wherever they are interested in settling.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

yes people have to experience the weather all year round especially in areas where the weather can be extreme like on the low lands or from 1800 meters on up.I am in San Cristobal right now where it is miserably cold.. not extremey cold but miserable , some days have nice sunny afternnon when it is pleasant and like today there are cloudy cold wet days that are miserable. We are at 2100 meters, meanwhile I spent the night in Tuxtla yesterday and it was warm, too warm to sleep without a/C or fan.. You cannot imagine how different the climate can be in the same place at 500 meter and 2000 meter.. Onc eplace you freeze and the other you are too warm and that is in January.. In the summer the weather is cool but pleasant n San Cris before the afternoon rains then cold after the rain and in Tuxtla yo die from the heat and humidity and the rains refresh the day and can be pleasant..until it steams up again.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

I find that most Americans and Canadians have a very small range of temperature that they consider comfortable. They move to Mexico, saying they can't handle the cold winters up north anymore, then complain when the summer rolls around here that it's too hot. Lake Chapala area is touted as having spring-like temps year-round, yet on the Lakeside forums, they're all using heaters in the winter and fans and AC in the summer. Which doesn't seem spring-like to me.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

I am in Creel now in the Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon). At night it is below freezing and the hotel I'm in has no heat in the rooms, just in the lobby. Creel is at 2500 m. At the bottom of the canyons, it is around 30 C (86 F) in the afternoons. Elevation does make a big difference.


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

andrea333 said:


> Hello All,
> 
> Super excited in finding this forum! We are not currently living in Mexico, but planning on making the move by the end of this year. We are currently trying to figure out if we should build a home or buy one already build. Can someone enlighten me as to how easy it is to obtain building permits, how long it would actually take to have something reasonably small built and what the costs may run per square foot? I know this is a tall order, but I am assuming that many of you have had work done to your properties or even ventured in building your own homes.
> 
> Any information would be greatly appreciated


You've got some good questions, andrea, and folks here have provided some great suggestions: figure out where you want to live and try renting for at least a few months at different times of the year to make sure you really like it. I can only intelligently comment on where I've lived, more or less permanently, for the last three years-- on the coast of Colima. Like any other place in the tropical lowlands, it's lovely in the Winter, from mid Oct. through March, acceptable depending on ones tolerance for heat and humidity in April-June; and miserable through the Summer when most expats here bug out to the highlands or NOB.
As far as building vs. buying an existing home, that's also dependent on the place. We purchased a large ocean-front lot here 25 years ago incredibly cheap and built a small house five years later to use on vacations. Given that this area was almost entirely undeveloped, we didn't have the option of purchasing an existing home. Since then 4-5 kms. of beachfront lots have been bought and most have been built on, with costs going up and up along with the hassle. Recent NorAm retirees keep "finding" the town and typically they build their dream house but later find the area not to their liking, especially in the Summer. Or old-age related health problems cause them to move back NOB where treatment is more accessible. Their kids aren't interested in the place, so their erstwhile and little used dream house ends up on for sale with few buyers because everyone seems to want to buy a lot and build their own. The upshot is that houses eventually sell only after repeated price drops for little more than an undeveloped lot. Those interested can save a great deal of time and hassle by purchasing if you can settle for somebody else's dream. Welcome, and I hope you find what you're looking for.


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

As others have mentioned, answering the buy vs. build question depends on lots of factors; your ability to be active in the process and make decisions, timing of when you want to start and when you need to move in, availability of cash and a method of getting payments to Mexico, etc. And it is VERY good advice to spend at least a full year in a rented place to make sure you are happy in the area you first choose.

Costs do vary but I can give you a pretty good estimate for the area I live, the city of Colima. Here, residential lots in a nice, middle class neighborhood (not gated) run around $3,500 pesos per square meter. So, a 250 meter lot would be about $875,000 MXN (somewhere around $46,000 USD). Then, construction on that lot will be somewhere in the range of $8,000 to $10,000 MXN per meter, assuming you are using a general contractor. So, if you want a 200 square meter house, construction cost will be from $1.6 to $2 million pesos ($85,000 to $105,000 USD).

Of course, there are smaller lots and you can build a smaller house. You can find lots measuring 8 x 16 meters for close to $20,000 USD and build a house around 100 square meters for under $50,000 USD. The thing is, you won't save too much money by building if you use a general contractor. The main advantage there is that you get the exact house you want. So, buying already existing construction is going to cost about the same. The only way to reduce your costs substantially is to forego the general contractor and directly hire the people who do the construction work. But, that means you have to be directly on-site during the entire construction phase.


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## andrea333 (Jan 17, 2019)

Thank you Surabi, you provided me with very useful information. The Spanish part I have covered, as I am pretty fluent... I just don't get to practice as much as I would like to. The weather and climate is very important to me, as this is one of the major reasons I would like to move to Mexico and leave the cold Canadian winters behind. The sooner, the BETTER!!!!


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## andrea333 (Jan 17, 2019)

thank you as well dwwhiteside and perrppedorro, As I have mentioned, I am new and still learning how to use this site and if there are names attached to these user names I apologies for not using them.
I hope you all keep chiming in, as all this information is great!
Thanks again!!


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

masons make 200 pesos a day in CHiapas and a whole lot more in Quintana roo so to get the correct estimate you would have to know where you are going to build.


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## rmajijic (Jul 15, 2017)

Andrea333 if it's Lake Chapala you are interested in building in then you need to look at my Facebook Page Retire In Lake Chapala #buildinginlakechapala where I am currently posting on my progress on building here. There is lots of information on our website too in regards to building, costs, etc. PM me with your questions after reading and I'll let you know or just follow along. Building is not for the faint of heart!!


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