It just occurred to me today that the last article I wrote about my Casa del Lagarto Azul (Loreto Bay, Agua Viva Phase, Lot #25) was mid March when Clint posted up a video tour of our Nueva Chica home. I figured it was definitely time for another installment in our Loreto Bay home construction story.
If you recall, at the end of January we got an email with our CoSP (Certificate of Substantial Completion) attached signed by members of customer service and construction. We scheduled a trip for early March which was within the 45 day time period homeowners have to inspect the home and create a punch list of outstanding issues and items which need to be completed before the home goes into final acceptance. Once all issues are completed and confirmed by the homeowner, the ceremonial signing by both Loreto Bay representatives and homeowner is performed and at that magical moment, you get the keys to your home and all the responsibilities that come with it.
All pretty reasonable and smooth right?
In theory, yes. In practice, not quite so fast in Loreto, Mexico! We found out after we had booked our plane tickets that the utilities in Agua Viva were still being constructed and that our home which was in CoSP was hooked to temporary utilities. The situation was covered in the informative interview I had with Luis Amare, Director of Architecture and in a couple of posts I wrote in Club Loreto Bay.
Clint and I still had a wonderful time in Loreto Bay and were able to do an informal walk-through of our home and came up with a list of 40 issues which we was a combination of known and new issues. The biggest issues included the hook up of permanent utilities and replacement of the iron gate, which allows passer-bys to look right through the gate into our first floor bathroom, with an opaque wooden gate.
Later in March, after a good discussion with Scott Montell, Legal Counsel and Executive Vice President at Loreto Bay about the utilities issue and his assurances that it will be addressed in the coming several months, we agreed to do an actual CoSP walk through. Bill Doyle and the rest of the team at TCC Loreto stepped up to act on our behalf through the inspection since our schedules did not allow us to go down to Loreto for a second time in March.
Chris at TCC Loreto did a very thorough job reviewing our 40 issues and found another 43 issues. These 83 issues have been logged with Loreto Bay’s customer service as of March 26. TCC also performed a surface drainage test which checks to see if there are any drainage or leaks in the home. This test does not guarantee against leaks during a hurricane, however, it will find obvious leaks in the surface of the home. Thankfully the test came back negative for any leaks so far.
So far 13 CoSPs have been issued in Agua Viva phase based on the last update from Hector Morales, Director of Customer Service at Loreto Bay. One Certificate of Acceptance has also been signed. Since this update from Hector, many other homeowners have reported receiving their CoSP. It is an exciting time for those of us in Agua Viva seeing signs of the light at the end of the tunnel.
All of this is great news, but what is the status of the Agua Viva utilities hook ups?
Well, based on the last TCC Loreto newsletter (April 2009) the utilities in Agua Viva are coming along. I do hope eventually that Loreto Bay will provide an official update on this issue as well. In the particular area that we are located (Area 3 based on TCC Loreto’s categorization) sewage and water are in place. Electrical will be in by end of June and propane will be hooked up by end of May. The fiber optic connections seem like they will take a bit of time with connections being made starting end of July.
Of course, all good news is also tempered with not so great news. We also found out from Laurie at TCC Loreto that as of a couple of days ago, not a single item on our punch list had been addressed.
It will be nice if all the 83 items on our punch list are addressed and completed around the same time that all the utilities are hooked up.
Is this too much to wish for?
As Miss Nellie would say, “Quien Sabe!” As Jane Lurie would say, “Loni, do not underestimate Loreto magic.”
