How not to build on Isla Mujeres

Providing that you can find the land on which to build, buying land, and building your own home can make for a very good Isla Mujeres real estate investment. It can also turn into an unmitigated disaster, and we have many examples of that on the island, where the dream of building an Isla Mujeres luxury home, turned into a nightmare. The scenario has often followed a very familiar pattern; someone arrives on the island with very little local knowledge, they meet a "real estate agent" who has no office, no website, and no properties for sale. The so-called agent then takes them around the island, showing the prospective client properties that he has designed, built, and furnished for the clients, most of which were designed, built, and furnished by someone else. He then wines and dines the client but always manages to not pick up the tab. Once he has gained their confidence he then introduces them to his builder, who incidentally is responsible for most of the disasters and broken dreams on the Island. In the last case of which we are aware, although there have almost certainly been more since
the builder charged the clients $300,000 for a structure, which was later professionally valued at $150,000, and furthermore condemned as dangerous. During the building process the "real estate agents" helpfully suggested changes and modifications, of which the client was appreciative. Following this, the builder asked the clients for a further $100,000 to purchase kitchen and bathroom fittings and additionally the aluminum windows and patio doors. Once he had the $100,000 in his possession, he advised the clients that the $100,000, was in fact owed in extras. There the relationship ended but at that point, they had relieved the client of $250,000 over and above the value of the work. The builder and the person who calls himself a real estate agent work together, and these helpful changes and modifications were all part of the extras plan. The clients then consulted lawyers and were told they had a very strong case, not only a civil case but also the builder could be charged with fraud. However there was a problem and the lawyer advised them not to proceed because it would be a long-drawn-out process, extremely expensive, and probably to no avail because neither of these two individuals is Mexican and when it came near to the day of reckoning, the lawyer's opinion was that they would just leave Mexico. Fortunately, these clients were in a financial position to pay a reputable builder, recommended by Mundaca Real estate, to rectify all the faulty workmanship and complete the work. The safest bet for anyone who is not familiar with Isla Mujeres property is to speak to one of the three local estate agents on the island who unlike the aforementioned are honest and reputable. They are Mundaca, Remax,
and Pearl Real Estate. That is the best chance of getting your Isla Mujeres luxury home built just as you dreamt. It will also almost certainly turn out to be an excellent investment, the challenge these days is finding quality land with views.
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