Thread: Building a house. Plans and permits.

Good evening.

Have anyone experience with getting the necessary plans, building permit and all paperwork for building a house in Panama? What is needed, and what are good practical solutions?

Surprised no one is stepping forward with informations. I'm interested as well.

ok , in my case , all plans have to be drawn up by a local architect ( thats the law ) if you find a good one he /she will get everything done for you including a perk test if you are putting in your own sewage field system cost depends on the sq footage and design , i have no idea what costs are now .

We picked the contractor we wanted, he picked the architect, got all the permits and did all the paperwork as part of his bid.

becky7474. Have your bids come in? If so, what type of home are you building and what were your square foot costs? Thanks.

Hi!
Get references on builders and go and see their completed work!! I have seen friends get taken in because their builder had a book with "their work" - turns out they didn't do the work they just photoshopped (LOL)!! Also you can negotiate with the architect - basically their fee is 7% of the FINISHED cost including tiles, appliances, fixtures, etc. - so be careful on that note also!

Make sure you get your contract in Spanish and have your lawyer check it over!! There should be a clause with cost overruns, address changes in plans, and make sure you get some kind of guarantee on the finished product.

You should be down here during building to be on the site EVERYDAY for the full day!! I know other people that just showed up at the site from 1 - 3 everyday--they didn't know what time the workers started work or when they finished. That way you are doing your own accounting on paying the builder. Do NOT get ahead of what is owed!!

Your builder should get all your permits and go with them to get the permits and pay the municipality yourself. They should also handle getting your electricity installed to the property. We just went and verified that we owned the property to get our 25% discount on the first 600 KW only to find out that they had the wrong "cedula/pensionado" on the account.

We also lucked out with our builder/architect from Coronado. We ended up with 0% cost overruns, even though we know they went way over budget, and a 5 year warranty on the house including labor, materials, etc.

Mary
www.whypanama.com

Thanks for sharing information.
I belong to real estate and construciton organization. I work last 10 years in this sector . If you wanted any suggestion i will provide you. If you face personal own house problem search on internet you problem is easily solve.

First I found a good architect...made a contract with him, he got all the necessary signatures and handed the plans over to my lawyer...I photocopied the plans...my lawyer submitted the originals to get building permits (town engineer estimates cost of permits from reading the plans)...I took photocopies, interviewed, and got bids from 4 different builders before I found a good match...I drew up a contract with the builder through my lawyer for labor costs only...It was the builders responsibility to pay the plumber, electrician, roofer..etc...I personally went and bought all of the materials...we set it up so that after he finished a job, say the foundation, I paid him for that...when the walls went up, I paid him for that, roof, pay...holding a good amount back upon completion...I found this to be a useful method because I never got screwed on materials, and the materials are going to make the house happy...also talk to lawyer about getting tax exonerations and exemptions

That seems like a good approach. How did you determine how much would be paid for each step? I'd also be careful that extra materials don't get ordered and then "disappear". Are the architect fees lower if you are supplying the design? In some cases, it seems like they do almost nothing.