The Plot thickens, or the plot thins

[Jonh]

Current exchange rate, $500k Canadian is $380k US. Not far off for new house prices here.

[Daddy-YO]

Real estate, indeed property, is perhaps the principle difference between North America and Latin America. The great majority of citizens in LAm do not mortgage their future for a place to live. What looks like people camping out on the outskirts of damn near everywhere, over time becomes a semi-permanent shelter. And, if the family stays together as more kids come along, the place gets built up into something they can call home. Few rent.

It amazes me how little turnover of properties in downtown Leon actually happens. Places remain unoccupied for years, historic buildings with the stucco falling off exposing lumber & dried mud. Lots and buildings that NAm corporate calculus deem very valuable. It's puzzling for foreigner to try to understand, but it's clearly a different world, where money has a different meaning to most.

[bill_bly_ca]

So the Neighbours house sold Wed - Talking to him while shovelling the white Shit this morning the final unconditional offer was substantially over asking. The purchaser is a real estate agent and _says_ the house will be occupied by some Neiphiews attending school in town - Yea right - It will be made to rentals right quick.

It is mildly reassuring that the house could turn for a tidy profit quickly although we have no plans on selling before the ground is opened for one or both of us.


Even though we still have a short run until Turkey day 2021 a huge upset to the housing or stock markets could all throw that in the trash in a heartbeat.


Still have not seen the drawing yet - hope to get that all squared away this week so fellows can resume laying bricks.

[Jonh]

How hard is it to snap a cell phone pic of the drawing and text it to you???

[bill_bly_ca]

So here is the ongoing story

Drawings - 2 x 18x24 and a single 24x36 - All have blue stamps
Paper - one file folder of about 15 pages - all stamped as well

Appears to be building plans and site plans. He was being too unsteady with the video do get a real impression of the prints.

That cost C$600

City dudes - Clearing of permits (past present and they _say_ future) $600US All of the permits are done already in trust of the payment. We will see - BIL is OK with it and he has pretty good BS radar.


Now the fly in the ointment.

Our 2nd floor is fine _but_ only someone with a 2nd floor certification can do it. To do 2nd floors you just need to pay C$1000 and give examples of your work. Our fellow does not want to show his hand to the city/national Gov by revealing how much he has made. So we are out a builder for now.

Next tact is to stay with Jimmy, but have someone with a certificate take some cash in exchange for a signature.

Time will tell - but movement is happening after 3 weeks of being Limbo-ed.

I will see if Daniel can get me some e-copies sent.

[el duende grande]

For better or worse, you are convincing me to not build in Nic!
All we did back then was pay a few cords for the Syndicate to survey the lot and give the bombero a ride to check out the electric panel. they were more interested in the size of the house for tax purposes than anything else. Maybe an 80 meter 1-story house fell under the limits for more plans?
Is Nic getting modern(ish) or is Masaya just more picky?

[KeyWestPirate]

Still not anything like the grief building in the US.

[Jonh]

Still not anything like the grief building in the US.

Damn straight.

[bill_bly_ca]

Current exchange rate, $500k Canadian is $380k US. Not far off for new house prices here.

The place sold after a bidding war - We _think_ it sold for $510 ($377US)

60 Realtors toured clients the place over 18 days. 2 open houses.

Final offer was unconditional and by.... another realtor <sigh> It will be a rental for damn sure.

[bill_bly_ca]

BIL has a long weekend with his "Sweetie" (30 something Sandinista lawyer who works for the CSJ in Managua) so we have not heard a peep yet on the final stamps and all to get rolling on finishing the rest of the first floor that Jimmie is allowed to build.

We really want the first floor done before we arrive in April so we can hit the ground running (literally) on the arrangements for the second floor.



In other news to plot up on the island in Futt Buck Northern Ontario we received the tax bill for 2020 - I whopping $116 mighty Hudson's Bay Pesos.

[bill_bly_ca]

I guess my typing made my BILs ears burn....

Chilo just called - Papers are stamped, sealed and delivered.... And - Jimmie is certified to continue on the job - So onward to the remainder of the first floor before we get back there and "Upwards" (floor 2) after April 18

[Jonh]

Congrats!

[bill_bly_ca]

Chilo was just sent a video from BIL - Looks like they took up a collection and we are now in a gated community...

BIL was one of the two that welded it up..

The dropping part latches just off of our property

[Jonh]

That'll keep out the riff raff.

[bill_bly_ca]

That'll keep out the riff raff.

I give it a month before it is hack sawed off and behind a donkey, jingling down the street.

[bill_bly_ca]

So with all of the papers filled in, wiggled through, stamped and sealed it is time to start again.

Jimmi is happy and relieved as he was down to his last cord ...

This is for the 3rd wall of the main room of the first floow (13'x14')

With our trip canceled we will be doing a lot of face timing for wall 4 as it is kinda complicated in how the room will adjoin to the bathroom.

[bill_bly_ca]

Three more shots from today with Jimmi striking a pose...

[bill_bly_ca]

The main room is almost done One shot from inside the 13x14 room, the other from the garage door towards the room

The shot showing the side wall is where the rest room will be - About 5' wide to the door in the shot - Behind the shot is about 7' So it will be oblong.

[bill_bly_ca]

A short video on the room - Yes the room is done. Chilo is happy

The 1/2 finished room to the left of the room will be the rest room - it will be slightly oblong - abou 5.5 foot by the door that is steel framed and about 7.5 foot to the back.

The shower will be in the back and the toidy closer to the steel framed door.


Video

The next step will be odd as 1) Chilo is out of work 2) the spectre that out wire transfer places could be determined as non essential (not the service, but the stores in which the service resides) - We pay incrementally so if the taps are turned off we would leave them hanging. 3) BIL is getting scared to go out and about for material quotes and purchasing b/c of some preexisting conditions.

But also Jimmy is really in need of the work..

[Jonh]

Portrait mode

[bill_bly_ca]

Portrait mode

And you know I have tried to tell them, show them even - No good.. It just is..

[Jonh]

Lead floats, cork sinks.

[el duende grande]

I have told the relatives that the best way to send money to family here is to give them a debit card, (to a separate account if necessary) so the receiving relative can suck bucks out of any ATM when they get a message that money is ready. No go, they seem to like it that somebody has to go downtown, stand in line at money gram,etc.. Right now BDF is the only one without a service charge, but even the others the charge is $4 for a $500 withdrawal, cheaper than what I have paid for Moneygram.
I have not looked into pre-paid cards, but maybe they could be used and recharged from Canada?

One of the fears for those of us dumb enough to be here is that somehow, thru politics or chicomvirus, the greenback train will be derailed.

[bill_bly_ca]

It is gobsmackingly silly

Case in point - Our neighbours of 27 years put their house up Monday You can see my towers in the background .

The 980 sq foot is first floor - They do not count the basement up here even though theirs is finished - The road has been clogged to high heaven as people have filed in and out - I bet it will go for closer to 490K .

Oh yea - I seen the new slum lord - um er - neighbour and thought I would update this tangent.

Our _guess_ is that sold for close to $510K - The couple who owned went their separate ways. The husband to the telephone City (Brantford where Bell designed the Telephone) and the wife stayed in town in a rental. The closing was to be March 31 but all the goings on in the world extended it to 8th.

They appear to be South Asian in their Late 50's - We have not had a chance to introduce ourselves yet as their visits were fleeting. The first was probably less than 10 min where the put a door key combination lock on the door. The second was where the showed some (assumed to be Tamil students) clients the house, then the 3rd time where they showed a younger south Asian family the place before diapering as quickly as they arrived.

The did admire or admonish my antennas though.

p.s. There are a lot of Tamil students to our local community college (Conestoga College) which is a Publicly funded college where a large portion of tuition of Ontario students is subsidised by foreign students tuition.

[bill_bly_ca]

So after 6 weeks of crickets - some action.

Jimmy was hit with something very much like C-19 - But you know it could not be C19 because that is not happening here - He has recovered and ready to work.

Which is good as we have been able to amass some funds from side work Chilo did in the lock down here.

Jimmy called Daniel last week if he could come by - Daniel, who is a germ-o-phobe said Comer Mierda and arranged for end of this week to look the next stage over.

Chilo's side work ended yesterday, but he regular work started back up on the 19th