Progress Report

November 28-Dicember 3, 2005  // CONSTRUCTION LOG #60 

Contact phone numbers

Internet Phone:
New York 315-279-6711 // Toronto 416-907-5758

Costa Rica:
Cell 506-305-3965 // Land 506-282-4142 Ext. 101

NOTE: our land line in CR has changed;
we are now integrated into the compound network.

Pictures: seven pictures 106 / 122 / 123. 

CONSTRUCTION

Weather: The weather continue to be "perfect"; the dry season is definitely here.

Unit 106: The exterior of the building in virtually done - some little bits and pieces are still being worked on. Unit 106 A is occupied. 106 B is very, very close to being occupiable and by this time next week, should be. Units 106 C and D should be finished the following week. Painting has started in C and so has floor tile. 106 D will be carpeted except for bathrooms and the kitchen. All the ceramic work has been done; painting, doors and cabinets remain.

Units 121, 122, and 123

121: the ground floor block walls are in place and the collar tie is ready for pouring. This next week will see the 2nd. floor structural members put into place, the subfloor finished and the installation of the rough-in plumbing and electrical work.

122: the sub roof is on and all structural stee work has been finished. Boarding of the interior and entrance way ground floor has started. The exterior shell will begin to take place.

123: The ground floor ceiling has been boarded and taped and the first white coat is on the ground floor. The remaining structural steel work is being finished. We've started to build the entrance way.

The area around these three units has been cleaned up and the beginnings of landscaping -rocks and some plants- have been relocated. About half of the walkways have been installed.

Units 117-120: The terraces on three units are now finished as is the tiling and grouting in two interior floors.

Units 101 and 102: We have the design right now with the exception of one things which I'm still considering.

Electrical System Up grade: We continue to wait for ICE's approval on the transformer.

Walkways and landscaping: We ran out of tile we were using to cover the cement sidewalks. I've found other near matching tile but have had to wait for them to be available. We will begin to focus on paving the west roadway. Hopefully, we can get this done before the Christmas break.

Cabletica and TV / Internet Service: Cabletica has installed the splitters. People can now have their own package of services.

Storage Lockers: The area between 113 and 114 is officially designated for recreation area. In conversations with purchasers, they seem to prefer the creation of storage lockers. We've drafted a plan for that and will proceed to poll the purchasers to determine their will. This will involve some changes to the shareholders agreement and some legal work since it represents a change. Also, the cost is greater than we had committed to in building recreational area so this issue has to be dealt with. All in all the building would be about 1,100 sf. housing 26 lockers and interior access for most of those lockers.

Marketing: Lita continues to be the biggest distributor of brochures. Unfortunately, she hasn't seen any results. I'm having more brochures printed and am purchasing more acrylic stands.

A group of investors interested in purchasing multiple units have confirmed their arrival for early December. This group will be followed by another client.

I'm also exploring web site optimization and a classified ad campaign in N. Am. media.

We've had an usually large number of inquiries and requests for DVDs-perhaps because the weather is getting cold in N. Am.

Next Project: Beach property near Puntarenas: As of writing, we haven't heard back from the developer / landowner. Regardless, we've decided against it.

We have been re-approached by the agent of the land near Los Jardines that we like. Our main problem was that it was too large for us. I appears he is now willing to consider dividing it into thirds and giving us an option to purchase over the next several years. We've again walked it and are again seriously considering it.

Having said that, we are also looking at other property to confirm, if for no other reason, that this is best for us and our target market.

However:

For the 2nd time in row, we had a very large invoice from our main building materials supplier-Constru Plaza. The owner had invited me to his beach home previously but I had a commitment so could not attend. However, we wanted to meet and talk with him-we are one of his best clients and he does a good job by us. I said we would give him his check after we've finished dessert. He took Paul, our site superintendent and me along with our wives to Tony Roma's. While a number of useful issues were discussed and which we will be followed up on, he did mention a big demand for industrial storage / industrial condominiums in the Santa Ana area. This is very familiar territory to Paul who has built hundreds of these in years past. We'll think about it-building these is a no brainer - they are basically shells.

Lastly: on Thursday we saw two hectares (20,000 M2) or about 5 acres located a short distance off the highway on the Santa Ana side of Ciudad Colon. In all, it's about 7 minutes from Los Jardines. It is basically flat land and is an overgrown, untended coffee plantation. Over the years, the owner cut all the minor trees but has left a large number of magnificent trees such that there is a virtual canopy covering probably 80% of the area. On one side of the property is a HUGE canyon (and subsequent magnificent view) an on the opposite side is what appears to be an all seasons stream. This is a beautiful piece of property and it has captured our imagination. We can see our homes nestled in under these towering trees, is a quite, shaded enclave of manicured gardens. Our current thinking is that we will make an offer on it. We've asked the site superintended to make a few inquires and next week after my return, we'll probably have a meeting to test the waters.

Other: The feasibility study: It's on-going; I'm awaiting the results.

Useful Websites on Costa Rica

http://www.therealcostarica.com/default.html
http://groups.msn.com/CRLeBoard
http://www.arcr.net/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CostaRicaLiving/
http://welovecostarica.com

OUR LIVES

This has certainly been a better week than last. Three dinners out didn't hurt to lighten us up a bit. The resolution of two issues, deposit of one house and the closing of another also helped. There were two unpleasant issues which I had to deal with-one supplier has been dogging it; I had to beat him up a bit; now I wait to see if he got the message-his employee didn't so I moved up the chain. The future management of Los Jardines is becoming a bit clearer. We've still got the transition to go through but some issues are falling into place. This relieves the stress level a bit.

Friday morning we went with friends to an orchid sale. I was hoping to buy a number but the prices weren't that great.

Lita and I took a look at our December calendar and realized we have few periods to escape to Granada, Nicaragua, so we are going today and returning on Tuesday morning. A $10 bus ticket, coffee wood grill chicken, a loaf of fresh San Francisco style sourdough bread, a chilled bottle of dry, white wine, a 7 hr bus ride, and three movies later we arrive in Granada. There we will go to a new hotel we spotted last time, and for $22 per night we will be located near 50 restaurants, and a number of places where I know the margaritas are superb! I've still got some 40 places yet to try out. .and yes, we will return to our favorite steak house.

Brian, Lita, Hugo and irreverent Vicka, the pigeon toed parrot.

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