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Try contacting Russ Oro in Ojochal. He maybe able to get you hooked up with his service. russ_oro@yahoo.ca
Although they are not building our place, I was impressed with:
ING. ELOY VIDAL
CONSTRUCTORA NAVARRO Y AVILÉS, S.A.
T +(506) 2276-3235
F +(506) 2276-3236
We too are currently under construction and have seen some reduction in prices. We are building a house and a B&B (totaling about 6,000 sf under roof) 30 minutes south of Dominical. Although prices are beginning to come down, it does not appear to be as dramatic as Scott is seeing in the central valley. Block, cement and copper have come down and wood is going up. We have been planning this for nearly five years and unfortunatly during that span the cost of construction in the south pacific had nearly doubled from $65 to $130 per sf. Since I am an architect, our place is a bit different and therefore a bit on the higher cost end. We got two hard bids from Tico general contractors (one was from San Jose) and another cost plus offer from an american builder. We ended up going with the american builder since we felt the prices would begin to drop versus the hard bids certainly included some potential price escalation to protect the contractors as back in September, the prices really had not responded to the global economic situation. It appears now that we will be saving a substantial amount over the two hard bids. Hopefully prices will come down more in the south pacific to reflect what Scott is seeing. At this point we expect to come in around $100 sf. If anyone is interested in seeing our progress pictures and it is ok with Scott I will post a link to them.
I would think you could find exactly what you want between Uvita and San Buenas. elevation would be maybe more like 1200-1800 ft but temperatures there at that elevation is comfortable.
I too am an architect and about to begin construction on our lot in CR. As mentioned, you would not be able to practice as an architect but could start a firm, hire Ticos and manage the firm only. Architect’s fees in CR are supposed to be governed by the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros Y Architectos and is 10.5% of the estimated construction costs. With that said, our architect did not charge us that amount, but a lesser percentage of what turned out, a much lower estimate of construction than the actual. I did all the design work and he did all the permit drawings and engineering. In addition, he will make weekly inspections as we will not be there full time to look after construction. I would recommend him too. Best of luck.
How far south of Domincal? We have property in Coronado and one of our neighbors maybe able to help if you are as far down as we are.
For those of you bashing TV in general (which is in many cases deserved) may have never seen House Hunters International. We watch it all the time. Great show. Love it when they show Costa Rica, which from my experience was twice so far. We want more!
Give the lady a break.
The hospital is for real. I saw it last time we were down in June. It looked almost done and is decent size, all one story. Can’t tell you anything about services it will offer but it is 35 minutes South of Dominical right on the Costanera. About 10 minutes from our property!
