An American Retiree in Jamaica Tells A Story:

Part 1:
Buy A House - Don't Build By John Casey
www.jamaicans.com/articles/americanjamaica/buy-a-house---dont-build-part-1.shtml

Part 2:
www.jamaicans.com/articles/primearticles/buy-a-house-dont-build-part-2.shtml

Should you decide to be your own general contractor you would need to be very knowledgeable in all aspects of the building trade. Further, you would need to know all of the existing building codes relating to each of those trades. Also, you or someone you trust completely would have to be on the site 24/7 to ensure all your building materials didn’t disappear.

Even if you hire a contractor you would have to be on top of the daily operations to ensure the material being used is required for the building codes and the quantity needed. I know of several instances where the wrong size fabricated steel was being used which resulted in the removal of the incorrect steel and the reinstallation of the proper steel. What has happened in instances like this is the contractor orders the wrong size steel and pockets the difference in cost without the owner’s knowledge. Checking the quantity of the materials needed is also important. There are contractors who will say you need a certain amount of material when in fact less is required. These excess materials often end up in the contractor’s own yard.

Cost of building an current example of a "proppa house", with swimming pool, in Great Bay (Treasure Beach) by one of the area's most trusted and best builders: J$40,000,000 (US $476,190)...unfurnished!

LINK: Sunday Observer: \iTo Build or To Buy}
www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/To-build-or-to-buy_8561297}

Tashoy Holness:..."I see a lot of persons building but having to stop because they don't have money here to do this, and there to do that"

The advantages of building a home... are that persons can design and build exactly what they want; If owners have the time and knowledge to oversee projects, they can control costs by being their own contractor; and it is possible to build in phases based on the availability of funds.

But the disadvantages of building a home... are that building plans must be commissioned and approved; one must seek a building permit/approval from the relevant Parish Council; sometimes it is difficult to identify a reliable contractor; there is always the possibility of escalation/price increases; construction insurance is usually mandatory for most lending institutions; and many persons are subject to extortion and the theft of building material in Jamaica, and therefore have high security costs.

Michael Archer (former president of Incorporated Masterbuilders Assoc. of Jamaica/IMAJ):
...there are uncertainties in building because of the volatility of the cost of steel and lumber, influenced by oil prices. This, against the background of what he believes is a buyers' market for real estate, made his recommendation come easy.
"For the average middle- income person, I'd recommend that they should probably buy rather than try to build,"
Based on the market today, my sense is that there's a certain amount of softness in the market, which would mean that there are schemes on the market now done by reputable developers that I would suspect provides great value for money.

Sam Catling, CEO of Magwall Jamaica:
Typically, our research indicates that the cost of building a home (in Jamaica) will cost somewhere between $10,000 to $12,000 per square foot...
We can cut back price by more than half for somebody who wants to go out and build their own homes, going to the local hardware store and buying the block and steel and other finishing materials.

In america nowadays there is such a thing as the internet, by this i mean, anyone who has had a bad experience with a vendor can now go on line
and relate their experience, usually under the vendors name, most professionals are listed here
so one can just google them, and find out what they been up to, also get reputable references, no reputable person is going to risk their reputation by reccomending a bandoolo, perhaps such a thing could also work in jamaica, put bandoolo out of business,
be carefull however to tell the truth and only your own experience, doccumend everything or you may find yourself facing a lawsuit

While on the subject of building, does anyone have an idea what's the cost of a lot of land in the area stretching from the the Treasure Beach Hotel to the Frenchman Church.

By "Lot", i meant one-quarter of an acre. It would be nice to have a home in that area.

I have an excellent builder who honest, timely and experience.
Contact me and I will give his contact info.

Hi Fred could you put your contact number

Thanks

$40,000 Canadian Dollars