It’s happened too often that when an international client is building a vacation home in Panama, the builder looks at the drawings and says, “Yes, we think it’s going to be $1,200 per square meter, or $1,500 per meter. You can hire us on that number. We are good for it.”
What normally happens next is that, during the construction phase, the builder says, “Oh, but we didn’t include this, or that.”
When you say, “It’s on the drawings that you bid on,” they say, “Yes, but we didn’t include it.”
What can you do when the company is already engaged and your project sitting half built? The client eats the costs.
Because, at that point, there is no way to squeeze the builder and say, “It should have been included.”
I have personally known people who ended up paying 35, 80, even 100% over the original estimated construction cost.
Sometimes it even seems to be part of the local strategy, to low-ball the original estimate to get the project and then start spiking up along the way.
This does not have to be the case for you. Let us be your architect in Panama because we understand the underlying reasons for these costly project detours. We have an architectural services process that ensures such detours will not happen to you.
More important for the long-term is that our project and design process yields a beautiful result. We have been recognized six times over at the International Property Awards. If you already live or are investing in Panama, we can also help you … with a better experience, safer investment and more comprehensive process.
We have several projects active in Panama right now. Because we are headquartered in Costa Rica, we do not do our usual design-build, but instead engage builders and tradespeople in the area. If you are available to meet in person, we will meet you in Panama.
If, like many of our international clients, it would be more convenient for you to meet via videoconference or even by email (we manage projects this way all the time), then we can do that, too.
As your trusted advisor, we will help you filter, vet and select your construction company; get proposals; and evaluate them. You will then have the best resources for that location on hand.
Read more here: https://sarcoarchitects.com/for-your-vacation-home-or-real-estate-development-let-us-be-your-architect-in-panama/