An update on building our house in Belize. While in Belize for 3 weeks we had meetings set up with several Building companies, Architects, and Contractors. We found out a lot of information that I know I had not considered for a build in Santa Elena. The good news though is that we have started the process with an Architect to get our dream house turned into a reality.
We met with an Architect the second day we were there. Raymond was prepared for all the information I on the other hand was not. He went over what proper permits we needed to get from the Belize government. Gave us information regarding what type of windows to use especially for the weather. Metal vs wood vs concrete for the shell of the house. Talking in great detail about positives and the negatives regarding all three styles of homes.
Surprising enough though a pool would be reasonable in the budget so I was happy about that one. We discussed the finishing’s for the home and how we could ship items in for the house for a reasonable cost if we could not find anything there that we liked. He advised that not only was he an Architect he also was a contractor and builder and they could do all the work if we decided to choose them. He also advised if we decided to go with someone else we could hire him to watch over the build if we could not be in the country when they began building. I was a little overwhelmed leaving this meeting.
Over the next 3 weeks we would talk to more people. We ended up meeting several more contractors on a whim and we absorbed as much information as we could. I will go into more detail on other visits in more blogs to come. Even though some of the companies we visited were not for us. They certainly could be the company for you.
Right now we have hired an Architect. It was not the first one we spoke to. Raymond has had several discussions on what we wanted for our home. He is now working on a design which we hope to approve soon. What does this mean? Once this is approved from us they need to take it to the government for approval. When this comes back we sit down and discuss which contractor we go with as there are two in the running at this point.
We are excited to get this started. So far both contractors are on the same page as we are wanting to keep as many trees on the property and not disturbing our Mayan Mound. Both contractors have been to the land and can visualize what we were thinking. We cannot wait to head back and spend more time in beautiful Belize. I’m already missing it and we have only been back in Newfoundland for little over a week.
