This is the eighth part about the (slow) conversion of the land I bought in Guatemala and my new life here, you can read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 and Part 7 if you missed them.
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Last day of the year, it is time for a little recap on the house costs. We spent a LOT of money so far, just to make it barely liveable. Well, it is better than liveable, thanks to BF’s relentless efforts to always fix stuff, move furniture around and try to optimize things. As long as the roof stopped leaking and the house was reasonably clean, that was enough for me. We put such effort into fitting the first plastic protection on top of the thatched roof for example, that I didn’t feel like upgrading to the transparent roof in months. Now that it is all fixed, I am happy the house looks much better, but really, I don’t feel like doing much on it until the other room is finished. So BF is working for two, with the handyman and I am focusing on developing the 90 acre piece of land that came with the house.
The small square is the house plot, the big one the future development with the village streets to the East
A few of you asked about that land, and how come there was so much of it. There were actually two pieces of property on the sale. One is the 22000 sqft lakefront plot where the house is, and the new room is being built. This plot is for us to live on and where I plan on starting a small guest house next year. The other piece of property is a 90 acres land that is on the other side of the road, about 200 yards from the shore of the lake. It was used so far to breed cattle. I thought about bringing my calves over there, but would have to pay for a cowboy and to fix the perimeter, as animals could escape. So I decided instead to try and develop the land. It borders the village on the East, the road on the South, and two other ranches to the North and West. This property will be divided in smaller plots, around a third of an acre, for residential property. I am starting to market it early next year, and hoping to start a nice development for people looking to live close to nature and enjoy the sun all year round.
So far, the big land has not generated costs. It had very high pastures and we were looking for a farmer to put cattle there, but as it is not yet the dry season, everyone has pasture. We ended up giving it for free to a guy who put 50 heads of cattle, so that they eat it all and we can walk around properly. At the moment, we have pasture at chest level!
This kid is 12 and almost buried in pasture
In exchange, this farmer will also clean the perimeter. We got rid of most of the fencing, in exchange for keeping the barb wire, a few guys did it for free, and we now have a lot of wood that can be used for the works on the big room. We also sold the cattle scale that was on the land for $1300, and bought a boat motor and a few pieces of furniture that weren’t included in the house price for the same money.
Now on to the house costs:
Company creation and running fees: $1900. Most of it was to register a limited company of which we each hold 50% of the shares. It also includes land registry, $200 to change owner on the leasehold for the beachfront land (you can’t fully own lake and seaside property since the 1950s), and $22 monthly accounting fee.
Works on the beachfront land: $8975
Includes electric work $300
Mosquito net for all windows $100
Palm tree leaves to fix the roof $150
Water pump and pipes $400
French bowls field $300
Temporary plastic roof cover $50
Building the entrance wall $840
Entrance door $440
Building a wall to split into two bedrooms: $420
Building materials for the new room $2450
Workers on the room $1800
Excavating the land for the new room $375
2000 wooden sticks and delivery $350
And a $200 a month full time handyman.
Plants and animals: $180. Buying 10 hens at around $10 each and some seeds for the garden.
Life: $2750
Includes our food costs, quite high at the beginning to stock the pantry, bed sheets, a deep freezer, blender, electricity, gas for the car and for cooking, going out and travel.
Under $700 per person and per month, this number should go down with time. BF went to Guatemala City and did a big Christmas shopping with enough wine, cheese, olive oil… for months. We don’t find those products here, or at a steep price.
Electricity is $20 per month
Gas about $100 per month
Cooking gas $5 per month
Food, I should really join Mr CBB on his grocery challenge as I have no idea what exactly went into food, since most grocery receipts include some house stuff like buying tupperware, bed sheets or kitchenware.
Misc: $1300 We bought the previous owner a boat motor and a couple of household items that he didn’t include in the sale. It was weird because he left three beds, a fridge, oven, desk… but wanted us to pay for $5 plastic chairs. The motor is worth $2500 new and has barely been used so we mostly bought that.
Total out: $15105
Total in: $1490. Main $1300 from the cattle scale. We sold the plastic roof cover that cost us $160 for $110 after one month of use to a neighbor with a leaking roof. No profit here but at least we got some money back to spend on the new transparent roof. We also got back the $80 deep freezer repair from the shop after much complaining and threatening to take it directly with the owners (our friends, that we would never bother for $80, but a little bluff goes a long way).
Quite reasonable to make a house liveable, start building a new room and live for two months. We put $10K each and have about $5K left on the company account to front the costs of the new room and start the architect on the land development before I need to sell my cattle or bring more money from Europe.Â
What feels like we are spending a lot is we are constantly making checks to people, for material, wages, and paying things little by little.
As far as progress is concerned, the works were stopped for about a week around the holidays and have now resumed. The stone walls of the new room are being built.
stone walls of the new room
The bowls fields was inaugurated with our Christmas game, it is fun to play, even though the field is not perfectly flat, and a good icebreaker.
petanque fields
On the animal side, the rooster is still weak but alive, after his almost deadly fight with the turkey. The poor turkey is not tied by the beach so that he doesn’t bother the hens, maybe in a few days he can be free again.
We are fencing the property, both for our security and the animals’. There used to be a path right across our garden and we don’t want people to just walk around uninvited. The house still isn’t safe, as the windows have nothing but mosquito nets, and we don’t want curious eyes to check our belongings.
The garden is growing nicely, and benefiting from a new automatic watering system. Now every time the water pump is on, the plants get watered. Fastest growing are garlic and melons, I am trying potatoes too, basil looks like a lost cause, although I have three little plants inside that have taken off.
And after spending the past few weeks talking about the disgusting critters that sometimes pay us a visit, meet our new resident snake!!
here is its tail
it goes all around the house
eats an elephant
and here’s the head, reaching for an apple!
How is your week going? Do you like my snake? Enjoy New Year’s Eve, all the best to you all!!
The snake painting is so cool! How long will you stay in Guatemala or is this an indefinite move? Glad the rooster is doing ok!! Have a great NYE Pauline!
I don’t know how long I’ll be there. Statistics of my life so far say 2/3 years, it may be more, no idea really. Have a lovely new year’s even Catherine!
I love you elephant eating snake!
I think the rooster will be fine eventually, he probably just feels a little emasculated after losing his fight with the turkey.
I hope so, its neck is still weak and he doesn’t carry its head well, it may be a broken nerve or something but from where he was a few days ago, barely moving or breathing, there is so much progress I am really optimistic. Almost NY on your side of the world, have a great one!
Le Petit Prince! At least that’s what I assume inspired the elephant inside the snake. =) Love that book.
Sounds like you guys are certainly accomplishing a lot with your money, though reading it gave me flashbacks to when we bought our house and we spent about $15K and a LOT of hard work to get it in shape since we did it all ourselves.
Yes, I love Le Petit Prince! Some people say Guatemala is just like its asteroid, with two main extinct volcanoes and one extinct one.
Improvements were really, really cheap, getting a transparent roof for $500 totally changed the house for example. Most of the big spending is going into the new building, but DIY goes a really long way with very little.
LOL @ the snake eating an elephant.
It’s pretty amazing how much work you’ve gotten done for such little cost. I’m sure it does feel like you’re spending tons of money but it’s nice that their not checks for $3,000/each and only for amounts in the $100s.
Have a great New Year!
I know it is very cheap for so much work, I need to get perspective back. My heater broke in my UK flat and I am expecting a $500 bill just to change a couple of part, what that money would get me here!!
The posts about your property always puts things in perspective for me. On Saturday we spent over 10 hours mudding, sanding, priming, painting, (and subsequently cleaning the mess we made in the process!) our living Room and kitchen wall that previously had wood covering it. It felt like a huge project (and I still think it was) but in comparison to the massive project that you and your BF took on, it was a relatively small undertaking. I think you are going to profit nicely on this project and all the effort will be worth it. I would love to take on a similar development project some day. Will you be renting out the property once it is developed, or selling it?
It was a big project! Cleaning the mess is the most annoying part but you must be really happy with your beautiful living room now. I am planning on renting the house as a guest house or maybe as a whole if we are away traveling, and then selling the plots on the big land for people to build the house of their dreams.
I LOVE the snake, I love it! Happy New Year Pauline! I wish you all the best!
Thank you so much, Happy New Year to you too!!
I love seeing the updates. It really looks beautiful and peaceful!
hank you Holly!
What is the symbolism behind the snake and the elephant, Pauline? Beautiful progress. Perhaps I can convince the boy to invest in some of those sub-plots with me!
It is from a childrens book called The Little Prince from Saint Exupery, relating to chilrens’ imagination. Where the adult only saw a hat from a drawing the Little Prince did, the kid went on to explain that it was a snake who had eaten an elephant. You can see the drawings here
Having the snake wrap up the house is a reminder of the Mayan houses who used to feature fierce animals as a symbol of defense and strength. Except our snake is friendly!
That is the world’s happiest looking snake!
How is my week going? We just arrived back home from visiting family around the midwest, so it’s back to work time (finally!). I feel like I’ve been away forever. Ready to roll into 2013 (but first a little adult beverage fun tonight….).
Of course it is a happy snake, it has just had an elephant for lunch! Welcome back home, I hope the driving and partying tonight will still let you start 2013 full of energy! Happy New Year Joe, all the best for you and your family.
So you are working on becoming a residential developer? Will you sell the lots and let people worry about finding their own builder or will you have builders build showhomes and then sell them to local residents?
I don’t know why, but I thought you were building a lake side resort for tourists on your 90 acres. I must have missed read that before you moved there.
Happy New Year Pauline! Enjoy the fireworks tonight!!
There are two projects, the lakeside land that is pretty small and that I would like to turn into a guest house for short term rental, and the 90 acres for residential development. I would let everyone build their own house but offer recommendations of builders that I have hired for my house and am happy with, since it can be daunting to build around here. A couple of friends may invest in building homes to resell, which would be good too. Here is to a productive new year!
That snake would seriously freak my mother out. She hates snakes, even drawings of them.
Be careful not to over-water your basil; it tends to be picky of it’s water needs. While you can get away with automatic watering for a lot of food plants, basil is going to want individual attention.
Thank you for the basil tip. I read they don’t like water on top of their leaves so I put them in front of the house with the flowers instead of the garden patch. Happy New Year!
I like the snake! Any particular reason you decided to paint it red? Glad to hear that Rico is recovering slowly but surely.
You have accomplished quite a bit wihtout having to spend a fortune. I’m looking forward to seeing how the project develops 🙂 Bonne annĂ©e 2013 Pauline!
Bonne année K.K.!!
Happy New Year Pauline!
Thank you Mackenzie, Happy New Year to you too!
Man oh man every time I read these posts I’m like what it’s over. I want to read more. I love the photos, it looks awesome. The costs seem like they keep adding up but you have alot for your money and I’m pretty sure you will see some gains from all your hard work. How long does it take you to drive to the city to shop? Is there small shops around your house? Do you find many people wanting to move to Guatamala to start a life? Oh, and yes come join the grocery game challenge. The first post for 2013 is up now! P.S- Is there lots of creepy crawlies around? lol.. Happy New Year Pauline! Mr.CBB
Thank you Mr CBB, happy new year to you as well. The city is about 20 miles away and we have a very thirsty car that uses about $20 of gas so we go at most once a week. The nearby village has basic shops with eggs, beans, flour… and the drinking water gets delivered to our door. I hope we don’t shop this week, and I’ll post my shop this weekend. About the creepy animals, I killed the first scorpion of December yesterday and haven’t seen a snake in weeks, since we cleaned the house and changed the rotten palm roof it has been much much better.
Love ‘the snake who eats an elephant’ – The Little Prince is one of my favourite books. House is looking good, Pauline (you may have found a customer here) :).
Thank you Maria!
Wow I got tired just reading that! And I thought I was busy! 🙂 I like the snake by the way-adds a touch of charm for sure. Really enjoying this series!
thanks, Happy New Year!
I love the snake. I’m glad to see the house is shaping up well so far!
I really enjoy all the photos you’re putting up. It really brings the blog post about house construction to life!
Thanks Alex, glad you like it!
The snake is great. I love reading about this. I think my daughter may end up like you. She just spent Christmas break in Honduras and is talking about returning in May for a month and living there in the future. Keep up the updates.
Thanks JT! I am glad your daughter enjoys the area too, it is really a wonderful part of the world.
Hi Pauline,
J’imagine que vous parlez Francais.. Je m’appelle Armand Boissy et je vis moi au bords du lac Atitlan.. Just en face de la montagne qui a inspire Antoine de St Exupery pour son serpent qui mange un chapeau..
Interessante aventure… Pour le terrain de l’autre cote de la route que vous pensez subdivisez quel titre de propriete vous avez… Titulo con finca, folio or derechos de possesion..
Si vous souhaitez vous echapper au lac… vous etes les bienvenus.. je peux vous preter un petit appart.. Au plaisir
Armand
Bonjour Armand!
Oui c’est une finca avec titre de propriĂ©tĂ©, une petite partie (5%) est en Ocret car a moins de 200m du lac, qui restera en terrain commun aux rĂ©sidents. Vous etes en face du cerro de oro de l’autre cotĂ© de la rive ou du meme cotĂ©? C’est mon coin prĂ©fĂ©rĂ© du lac. Merci pour l’invitation! Faites-moi signe si vous passez par PetĂ©n.
TItre de propriete excellent… Oui je suis a Santa Cruz La Laguna.. juste a cote de l’hotel Laguna Lodge… Si tu veux que je te promeuve ton projet n’hesite pas a me le faire savoir… Bonne journee
I love the look of that stone wall, well done with the build, it really looks great!
I wanted to know about how far are you from centro dos La maquina retalhuleu? I’m only asking because I am headed out next year to live for a while but I am looking for land near that area which is where my husband is from. Also, I wanted to know how do you have a bank account in Guatemala? Do you have to be a citizen of the country or how does that work? Can I just use my USA account and get ATM withdrawals @ the city? I’m just all nerves because going to live at another country seems just something impossible but I imagine it to be somewhat like Mexico? I say this because my parents are from Mexico and we travelled quiet a bit when I was younger. Please help me and lead me to the right person to contact about buying land and a home?