Roatan Insights © March 2002
News from the Honduras Bay Islands and North Coast
March 2002
By Pierre Renaldo, The Coastwatcher©

EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT THE WEATHER

I’m going to stick my neck out here and declare that the rainy season is about over. We may have some early morning showers off the Caribbean but for the most part the long daily drizzles and torrential downpours are history.

When our weather is nice, you can’t beat it anywhere. The winds cool us during the evenings and the sun gives us a warm fuzzy feeling all day long. Even when the hot weather arrives, I find it much less oppressive that the scalding humidity we had during summers in Florida.

I really love this time of year, because things start to get very lush, new growth, a million shades of green, subtle pastels on the sea grapes and other new budding plant life, the wonderful and spectacular cloud formations on the horizon.

It makes me giddy and being a sunrise freak I’m sitting in the solarium at first light, with my trusty camera, a steaming cup of wonderful Honduran coffee, waiting for that once in a lifetime something special that I know will happen almost every morning.

The freshening breeze cools and soothes my skin, I deeply inhale the fragrance of morning; drifting sea-spray rainbows add visually to the delights of the beginning day. Our resident pelican dives in a deadly plummet from high in the atmosphere, surly his outstretched neck will break on impact, but not so. First the awkward splash, then he surfaces, shakes his huge beak skyward and gulps down the prize.

A great gray heron floats toward the small cove to the east, as a lone man-o-war bird glides high on the rising morning currents, effortlessly heading seaward on a vigil that may last for weeks, even months. A flight of white egrets flutter past, low over the water’s surface; the reflections makes them look much greater in numbers.

C’est la vie. This is my world!

TOPIC OF THE MONTH

The logical orderly movement of materials and manpower to and through a third world construction project is a monumental task. I have seen some disastrous situations, even laughable and comic antics, that individuals have brought onto themselves and in altogether too many instances by finding that magic price that nobody else in the wold has ever discovered. A real sleeper offered by local unqualified persons representing themselves as “contractors”.

The “astute” recipient of these services smirks and pats himself on the back, ready to proclaim to the world how proficient and worldly he is in the construction process.

None of them ever really save any money or time. They never tell anybody the true story unless their wonderful solution skips the island without finishing the job and the poor slob has no choice but to admit he has been taken to the cleaners Honduran style.
The results of his efforts are now for sale at outrageous prices, hoping to dupe some unknowledgeable sucker into relieving him of his mistakes.

I remember Ross Perot saying that he surrounds himself with, the most knowledgeable people. To that he attributes his success.

LOGISTICS:
WHAT DOES IT MEAN ON A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT, ESPECIALLY ON A THIRD WORLD ISLAND?

The following is an excerpt from my book:
”How to Build Your Dream Home in a Third World Paradise”. It is available as an e-book and can be ordered at www.roatanet.com
Just go to the book page.

The basic idea of logistics is how to get materials and manpower to the construction site in the proper sequence and how critical that flow of materials is to the scheduling of a project. If you have manpower standing around waiting for the “next boat” you are in deep dodo.

The problem is getting materials to the site so that they are already there when needed and the temporary storage (short term) of that same material until it is essential to the fulfillment of the work sequence. If too early it is in the way and if too late the construction schedule is negated. Now that’s a mouthful.

It may occur to some that bringing all or most of the materials to the site at one time would eliminate the problem of logistics. But the construction sites are frequently too small or otherwise restrictive to bring in too much material in advance. There are several other reasons that make this idea impracticable and potentially costly.

Theft (very high potential without a watchman.)
Pilferage (very high potential)
Misuse/abuse of materials (extremely high potential) Imagine having 20 foot 2x12’s being cut up into 2 foot blocking when they were scheduled to be floor joists.
Deterioration of materials especially in tropical climates (extremely high potential)
Poor/difficult access for essential vehicular traffic (positively terrible)
Damage to materials (extremely high potential)
Added labor for relocating materials stored inconveniently (very high probability)
Unsightliness and confusion caused by the overcrowded conditions (nobody can ever find anything)
Dangerous working conditions caused by overcrowding; many accidents are caused by having too many things in the way on a construction site.)
Difficulties in effecting good housekeeping on the construction site (This is one of my pet peeves. Poor housekeeping creates a poor working environment and stifles productivity.)

The smooth flow of materials is essential to the success of a project. Planning for timely delivery is a much more demanding job on a third world island where everything must be brought in by boat. There is no fixed tariff on boat transport so unless you are familiar with a particular boat or captain your costs could vary greatly.

Getting things from the mainland is much more difficult than most people imagine, if they have even considered the magnitude of the problems inherent with unreliable and/or spasmodic boat schedules. In addition, there is the arrangement necessary for getting things from the point of purchase to the boat dock, next to the island, then to the construction site.

Costs escalate due to the transportation expenses involved from point of origin to point of use. Be sure that all transportation requirements are adequately represented in your construction budget and that they are not add-ons that will be over and above the contract price and come out of your pocket.

There are several distinctively different transporters involved in every item brought to the island. Let me reiterate so you are made aware.

International shipping company. Materials ordered from any country other than Honduras. This will entail the aduana requirements and your aduana agency (Customs Broker) if you use one. (Highly recommended)
Domestic ground transportation from point of origin to local shipping company on the North Coast.
Domestic boat transport from a mainland port to Roatan.
Trucking from the boat after it arrives on Roatan, to the construction site.

Either you or your builder will be responsible for finding the boat your materials have been shipped over on and then getting a local hauling contractor to load it and bring it to your job site. We are most often not notified by the people from whom we bought the materials, as to which boat or on what day the items will be shipped. This is just part of the non communication attitude prevalent in the Honduran business community.

You will need to learn to anticipate the shipping schedules and the likely boats that will be bringing your cargo. We have learned to recognize most of the regular carriers that call on the island. We begin looking at the various docking areas as a matter of habit every morning when we are expecting a shipment.

There are no warehousing facilities for leaving cargo until it is convenient for you to pickup. There are may docks that all the boats use as the docks space becomes available. So you rarely ever know exactly where your cargo will be waiting even if you know the name of the boat on which your shipment is to arrive. It could be someplace in Coxen Hole, Mt. Pleasant, French Harbour or Oak Ridge. There is no organized docking procedure, docking assignments or priority, and there is no Port Director to coordinate anything, or tell you where to find your cargo.

The forgoing would seem to support the argument for gathering everything you need to build a house and getting it all to the building site at the beginning of the work, so you don’t have to go through this much hassle. It would be wonderful but the risk of loss is much too great, and it would be a logistical nightmare.

Let’s take another look at that definition, now that we have a little better grasp of what logistics will mean to your particular building program.

Logistics:
The definition

The procurement and maintenance of materials, facilities, and personnel. Then my addition to this wisdom. Getting them all to the place where they are to be utilized, on time and in the sequence they will be needed.

That word sequence is the most important part of the entire definition. Because if something isn’t there at the time you need it, then the unused materials that are on site become a useless inconvenience. You cannot use items c and d until a and b are in place.

Anything delivered out of sequence is a clutter on the building site. It may have to be moved ten times before it is put in place, thereby creating an unnecessary risk in moving, storing, potential loss or damage, and it may be the cause of an accident. Would you install wall to wall carpeting in your house before the drywall was finished and the paint was applied to the walls and ceilings?

Three important things to remember for resale value.

There comes to mid the old cliche` about the three most important things to consider when purchasing real estate: Location, location, location.
Borrowing on that wisdom I will stress my own play on that cliché`, when planning and designing the building(s) and the site: Resale, resale, resale.

Plan the site to create the most perfect picture. The memory of a well planned site lingers with people for a long time. If you ever decide to sell, one of them may be your future buyer.

Blend the house to the land, no matter what the terrain. Make it look like it grew there. Put the land and house to highest and best use. Take maximum advantage of everything nature gave the land. Add your own contours, berms, hills and valleys to give extra flair to your picture.

Be style conscious. Never settle for plain vanilla. No matter how large or small it’s going to be, make your home a winner. Use color cleverly to enhance the best features. Highlight beautiful entrances and doors. They will all work to make your house memorable.

Case History:

I took a house on trade when I first started in the construction business. It was on a corner lot and the bank appraiser said it would probably be a slow mover because corner lots were not popular. I had hardly re-entered the door of my office after putting up the for sale sign, when I received a phone call.

It was from a man who said he loved the looks of that house. He had been passing by it for years and he told himself that he would buy it if it ever came onto the market. He had always liked the setting and the lines of the house, especially the big bay window.

Two hours after I had put up the sign I had a cash buyer. And the man had never been inside the house! He bought it because he liked the way the exterior was styled and the way the house was oriented on the lot. You just never know.

Common Pitfalls
and Unfaithful Promises.

There are so many areas of questionable behavior and misinformation when doing business in the third world that I think it would be good to review some of the more blatant and common forms of deception and the labyrinthine mishaps that are normal everyday occurrences.

It may be repetitious but if I can make you aware, then you will be alert and avoid the pitfalls that so often entrap newcomers and sometimes the old timers who are not paying close attention.

Following are the areas of exaggerations, assumptions, omissions, outright lies, unfaithful promises and oversights/mishaps (some intentional) that can cause budgets to be shattered, well planned ventures to go haywire and fill lives with disappointment. All categories are very important.

Electric Utilities:

1.)What you see is not necessarily what you get. Power lines can be privately owned on Roatan. Also, it is common for developers to install power transmission lines to their own developments and just because they pass along other peoples land does not give those people any rights to connect to or otherwise utilize this electrical source. The developer may grant usage for a fee or monthly charge, or may refuse to let anyone ever connect to his electric utility lines.

2.) Transformers and power poles can be privately owned. The owner usually will allow others to hook up to his pole/transformer for all or a portion of his expenditure. However, he is not obliged to allow you to hook up to his facility and there is nothing you can do to force him.

3.) Relocation of Reco transmission line structures and guy wires. This can turn into a very costly situation, if for any reason you should desire such relocations. They are not free. They do not happen quickly. Should you desire such moves, go directly to Reco and get the potential costs first hand. Even this may take some time and possible expense. Never believe anybody who tells you it is easy and/or free.

4.) Meter locations and underground service entrance. You can request the meter to be close to or on your house. However Reco will have the final say in this decision. They usually require the meters to be at roadside for the convenience of meter reading. This sometimes results in extraordinarily long service lines from the meter location to the building. Any resultant power drop is on your side of the meter, not theirs.

You may even be required to install a pole or two if overhead service is used, or long expensive underground conduit and wire for below ground installations. It is your responsibility to maintain all lines between meter and house. You also must pay for the meter.

5.) Promised Future Electrical Service. Future is the catchword here. It can mean anytime in the next fifty years or even longer. Reco has been promising electrical service to the East End of the island for many years, but they lack the generating capacity or the money to make the promise a reality. Even when they put things in writing you may have to wait a long time for it to happen.

Infrastructure:

1.) Promised Future Roads and Rights-of-way. There it is again. The word ‘future’ should be in blinking neon lights. It is the word most often employed in scams. There are many subdivisions on Roatan where the developers have made no provisions whatsoever for road rights-of-way. They divided the lots without any thought about whether or not people would have to travel across other persons private lands to access their own property.

2.) Site Access. Unless there is a road with a dedicated right-of-way to your property, then access to your property is at the pleasure of those whose property you must cross to get to yours. If you do not have a legal easement across these properties you could be prevented from accessing your land. I know of several situations on Roatan where what is believed to be public road is actually on private property.

3.) Common Driveways. This is another area of potential problems. Do not rely on the word of others as to responsibilities for initial installation and future maintenance of any common facilities. Insist on written agreements signed by all users and how the costs for initial installation and maintenance will be handled.

4.) Paving. This process is almost always left to the individual(s) who will be affected. Some developers may put in duel concrete strips on steep slopes, but most often the residents will have to pay for road paving. Some areas are inaccessible during the rainy season without pavement or without four wheel drive vehicles.

5.) Community Water and Wells. There are many types of community systems on the island. You may have to pay a monthly fee, or have metered water if they are privately owned. Some community systems do not charge for water but you will be expected to contribute to maintenance costs. Wells sometimes have very high salt or other undesirable content in the water. You should always try the water for yourself to make sure it will be suitable for your purposes.

Make certain you will be allowed to tap into the community system and that the pressure is sufficient to reach your property without any mechanical assist. Know the source of the water and if it is sufficient for year round service. Also be aware that you will be expected to contribute to maintenance of water lines, pumps and electrical requirements including electric utility bills for any equipment necessary to the operation of pumping water.

6.) Future Amenities and Utilities. Verify any promise of future amenities and utilities. Become aware of the people who will be responsible for delivering these improvements. Do not make any contribution until you are satisfied they are legitimate. Do not commit to land purchase based on a promise of future anything. Verify if, when, and by whom these promises will become reality. If you are convinced, then act accordingly.

7.) Public Domain. The beaches are owned by the public. No private property extends to the waters edge. Anybody can walk the beaches.

8.) Property Taxes. You will not receive an annual property tax bill. It is your responsibility to pay the taxes when due. Contact your municipality to find out when, where and how to pay property taxes. You may jeopardize your ownership by not paying property taxes. Taxes on property here are not a financial hardship as they are miniscule.

9.) Road Maintenance. Most often the residents of a subdivision or community will have to contribute to the maintenance of roads leading into and through their own communities. The municipalities rarely get involved in any road repairs except on the main arterial paved road that runs from the west to east, about half way across the island. There are two municipalities with jurisdiction over the paved road: Oak Ridge and Roatan (Coxen Hole).

10.) Trash Pick-up. There is regular trash pick-up in the Coxen Hole jurisdiction. You may institute service to your house by paying your required charges at the Municipal Building in Coxen Hole, or paying a bribe to the driver. If there is no trash pick-up where you will be living you will have to find a private contractor to remove your trash or carry it to the dump yourself.

11.) Boat Docks. Getting permits for new boat docks is very difficult since the inception of the Ecology Department a few years ago. They will inspect the proposed area of construction and shuffle your application around for a few months or years before they say no.

11.) Septic Tanks and Drain Fields. There are no public sewer systems or waste treatment plants on the island as of this writing. There are a few private disposal systems in use at resorts.

You will have to install a two or three compartment septic tank. The municipalities have plans available for free, that describe their recommendations for installations of individual sewage disposal systems. Be sure you install one that will work in your situation.

There are many different conditions you may encounter. Rock, shale, ironshore, heavy clay and swampy conditions will need special considerations. Seek professional help if in doubt. If you are going to have a well, be sure that your septic system is adequately distant from your water source. Also be sure that your well is not located close (75’ minimum) to a neighbor’s septic system.

12.) Paying for materials in advance. There are many instances when you will have to pay for things you want in advance. If you don’t pay up front, the materials will not be ordered, processed, etc. Quite a dilemma. There is no guarantee that you will get your materials but if you are astute and diligent you usually will.

There are no consumer advocates to go to bat for you in Honduras if you make a big mistake.

Don’t be suckered by a third grade mentality con-artist. The third world abounds with them, and they are plentiful on Roatan.

___________________________________________________

PRESIDENTE MADURO NOW IN OFFICE

Like the guy falling from the 99th floor said as he passed the window washer at the 42nd floor, “So far so good.”

Our new presidente has taken up the gauntlet on crime in Honduras and promises the most diligent crackdown in history. He is putting thieves in jail. The jury is still out as to how long they will be kept there.

Many who have gone before Presidente Maduro have promised the same things. Also, as before, people believe, and perhaps we will be lucky with this outstanding individual. He is receiving very high marks after slightly over a month in office. I for one believe that change, while inevitable, can usually be for the better. I have good feelings about the future of Honduras with President Maduro at the helm.

He inherits a bankrupted Republic of Honduras. It will be a gigantic challenge. God speed, Mr. Presidente. It certainly would be great news to all of us if he sold Hondutel to a reliable, caring entity that would have the resolve to clean up that huge mess.

___________________________________________

After over 45 years in the construction industry I have officially retired. I will continue to offer consultant services as long as I remain on the island, such as plan review, field inspections and assistance in helping you in planning your project(s).

I am pleased to announce that my book

“How to Avoid the Pitfalls: Building Your Dream Home”

is now available in print. Your can order it through your favorite bookstore or from my publisher, 1stbooks Library. Just click on:
www.1stbooks.com/bookview/8418

In addition to “Red Dog Chronicles”
www.1stbooks.com/bookview/6521
already in print,

and my latest novel “Ironshore”,
www.1stbooks.com/bookview/9189

the supernatural thriller about Roatan and the Cascade Coast, based on actual events, has been released for print and will be available in mid-March. I have had exceptionally good reviews on this novel, so I am sure those of you who are curious about Roatan and read it, will be thoroughly entertained. I know it will peak your curiosity about our little slice of paradise. As outlined above you may order according to the foregoing instructions.

A ROOM WITH A VIEW:

The spectacular Ironshore Coast of Roatan

As I commented at the beginning of this issue; that room is my solarium, part of the third level of my house. Thought it breaks my heart I must part with the place I liked the most of any place I have ever lived in my lifetime.

This is not a voluntary act but I need to be with my dear wife who has suffered the loss of her kidneys to a very rare disease. She can not return to live here even after she receives a kidney transplant.

My house is for sale, as is my business. The house is directly on the shore of the Caribbean Sea with 300 feet of ocean frontage. You can see the mountains on the North Coast on clear days, and the never ending beauty and activity of this exciting coastline. I will have digital photos available via e-mail soon for anyone interested.

The business is well established, an easy walk-in for a single person or couple, who do not want the hassle of trying to figure what kind of a business to start up when they come here, and then try to get it up and running.

I have received countless inquires over the past few years and now I can offer a going, profitable enterprise, with a postal box clientele base(30 box holders as of this writing) and the islands number one pet supply store. We have it all, the best pet foods, medications, toys, collars & accessories. Established purchasing arrangements with supply houses in the U.S.A. plus long time relationship with our local shipping company insures stable prices & continued products availability.

Interested parties may request additional information by asking. Just click: elouis@globalnet.hn

You must include your full name, physical address and phone number I will not respond to anonymous inquiries.

As of March 1, 2002 the exchange rates are:

U.S. Dollar buy rate $1 = Lps 16.3

Roatan exchange, Dollars to Lempiras
$1= Lps 16.1090

That’s it for March

Ciao
Pierre

By Pierre Renaldo, Mountain Coastal S.A,. General Contractors, Construction Management and Construction Consultants.