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An important factor is the condition of the house. This relates back to the general appearance of the home and those important first impressions.   With this month’s edition I want to touch on some issues that are somewhat maintenance-related however they come up during the process of selling a home. As a real estate […]

It seems last month’s article regarding our electrical bills touched a lot of people here in my reading audience. Thank you for you kind comments and questions. I wanted to expand a little more regarding electricity use in this month’s article. One of the questions I received several times was how to determine the quantity […]

For many newcomers, the water distribution systems here in Mexico are different from water supply they are used to in the rest of North America. In the case of a typical home in Canada or the USA, the municipal water authority will supply potable water from pressurized water pipes under the street in front of […]

The objective of writing this column is to act independently and discuss the typical property ownership/maintenance issues and real estate concerns for existing and perspective homeowners here at Lake Chapala. As a Canadian Civil Engineer who has worked here at Lake Chapala in the local construction business and real estate industry I have in the […]

As I write this month’s article, I am sitting beside a wood stove in a cabin by a frozen lake in Ontario. So this article’s topic becomes very tangible and important, especially because I want to keep my fingertips warm. Although, typically we rarely need them and only use them during the coolest nights of […]

Ever considered the base on which your house is sitting. Yes, there is a foundation between you and the surrounding soils. In general there are stone foundations bound with mortar mixture to help keep the rocks from slipping past each other. However, consider a little deeper the issue at hand, on what soil is the […]

For the average new homebuyer, there is nothing more horrifying than the thought of buying a home with a septic system. This hidden, underground system seems to conjure up thoughts of backyards flooded with human waste or worse; backed up toilets. A septic system is typically comprised of a tank that collects all the “black […]

It is there above us, protecting us from the sun, the wind and the rain however; generally we are not worried about our roofs until we see water leaking through it. Typically, roofs here at Lake Chapala are constructed using the boveda construction technique where red bricks are arched between steel beams and the top or exterior […]

Once the rainwater drains off the roof, where is the water going? After two strong rainfalls in Guadalajara, I was up on my father-in-law’s roof last weekend to help a contractor from Chapala clean and reseal his roof. Typical of many older roofs, it showed peeling sealant, a missing base coat, mold- and mildew-stained tiles, […]

Last month’s article stirred up some questions from some homeowners that I thought we could address in this month’s issue. Aljibes (underground water cisterns) are a critical link it each homeowners water supply. Whether you have a roof tank ( tinaco) or a water pressure system, the initial quality of the water that finally arrives at your faucet […]