I just bought a small lot near Cabarete that I want to build a small vacation home on. I am hearing that in order to get a decent quality house, I need to spend $500 USD per sq meter. For a 200 square meter house, this is $100K....quite a bit when you factor in DR wages at $100-$500 per month.
Am I being quoted high because I am a foreigner? I realize that material costs may be higher than here in North America, but it still seems high. I don't want to overpay if I don't have to. If I have the plans for a house along with a material list, can I get some of the construction stores to quote me on what it might cost?
The construction company wants to charge 8-10% of total costs for their fee. Is this typical?
Would I be better off getting one of my DR friends to phone a construction company in say, Santo Domingo that would be more aggressive on pricing? Can anyone recommend an honest and good builder to me?
I hear a lot on this board about investing in real estate...but is anyone actually building these days? Or is everyone holding onto vacant land waiting for the price to rise. I've been watching some of the real estate sites for the houses that they list to sell....and some of them (i.e. above $250K) sit there for a long long time.....except oceanfront....for which there do not appear to be too many listings.
Thanks for all comments!
Am I being quoted high because I am a foreigner? I realize that material costs may be higher than here in North America, but it still seems high. I don't want to overpay if I don't have to. If I have the plans for a house along with a material list, can I get some of the construction stores to quote me on what it might cost?
The construction company wants to charge 8-10% of total costs for their fee. Is this typical?
Would I be better off getting one of my DR friends to phone a construction company in say, Santo Domingo that would be more aggressive on pricing? Can anyone recommend an honest and good builder to me?
I hear a lot on this board about investing in real estate...but is anyone actually building these days? Or is everyone holding onto vacant land waiting for the price to rise. I've been watching some of the real estate sites for the houses that they list to sell....and some of them (i.e. above $250K) sit there for a long long time.....except oceanfront....for which there do not appear to be too many listings.
Thanks for all comments!