So, a little bit over a year and a half ago, Tony and I decided, together with my parents, to invest in a small condo in a developing neighborhood in Mexico City. The construction was supposed to end in February-March 2008 and we were planning on renting it once we got it.
After finding out we had to come back to Mexico for a couple of years (long story) we thought it would be great to live in our own condo during our Mexican time. The place wasn't quite finished yet, but they promised us by July we would be living there.
In September, the place was ready to move in, but the builders had problems getting the paperwork needed for a sale (another long story). In each of the successive months we were told it would be done within days....
Finally in April 2009, we managed to get everything sorted out and sign the deed. Here's where the second part of the adventure begins: brand new condo, should be simple enough to move in, but no.
We spent a couple of weeks getting estimates for window treatments, closets and services such as internet, tv, etc... trying to have everything done before moving in in early May. Here's what's happened:
The Services Adventure: This I thought was the easy one: call the cable company, transfer our internet and tv service to the new address. They did the transfer contract and assured me 3 days later the service techs would come. Then talking to the next door neighbor I find out there's NO WAY to get such service here because the closest pole is too far away and they won't install a new pole. So I call the cable company back and ask them to check the address of the building: "Oh, you're right, no service there!" Thanks a lot! I then had to return to the office and cancel the contract.
I then move on to alternative options. For tv service we picked one of the 2 choices of satellite service. They said it would get installed within a week... it's been 11 days!
For internet (the important one since Tony relies on it a lot for his work) we hired a wireless service advertised as reliable and efficient and for which we could get the modem right away. It sounded too good to be true... and it was! The thing works awful and Tony's had to go over to my parents' house to work! So we come to the last resort, go to the evil side and hire the national phone company, which forces you to have a phone service in order to have internet... We're still waiting on them to call us and let us know when they will install the phone line so we can go to their office and pick up the modem. Wish us luck!
The "Quirks" Adventure:As with every new construction, one is expected to find some details that need to be corrected. We've had several "issues" to address, but here's my favorite so far.
After installing our washer and dryer, the plumber and I found out the hard way that the pipes didn't work: the patio got flooded when testing the machine. He checked the drain and it seemed fine so he said the problem was in the pipes below (which run on our downstairs neighbor's patio). I called the construction company and they promised the architect would come the next day.
After waiting all morning, instead of the architect we get the guy in charge of minor repairs who checks the drain and comes to the same conclusion my plumber had come to: "Oh, they need to send in a plumber!" No kidding!
Two days later the plumber comes, checks the drain, and, you guessed it, comes to the exact same conclusion: "This is in the pipes below. I need material, special tools and permission from the neighbor."
Finally the next day the pipes get fixed. Was it that hard, really?
The Closets Adventure:This one has given me nightmares! Our condo, which is 500 square feet so it needs good storage solutions, comes without closets. They sell it to you as "that way you can get them in your personal style." I just think they're cheap!
So we needed nice closets in the two bedrooms and we also wanted to improve the storage in the kitchen and build a custom cabinet in the living room. We hired a very serious looking company and their architect was very nice and made a project we were excited about.
We had to wait 3 weeks to get it, but he said installation would take a day and then we'd be all set.
Last Thursday their secretary called to tell me they would come by first thing in the morning. After several phone calls complaining about the time, the workers finally showed up at 2PM! After an hour of unloading and filling every single square inch of the place with material and tools they got to work. There were only two guys working and 5 hours later they had started on both closets but were very far from finishing and had not even looked at the living room or kitchen.
Saturday they came back and worked the entire day, but were still not done.
Today they were supposed to come at 9AM and again got here at 2PM but SWORE they will be done today. We shall see!
I cannot describe how upset I am at this whole situation. In addition to how long this is taking them and how invasive it is (pretty much turning the whole place into a workshop, with no protections while drilling, cutting wood, painting...) I am still not convinced I like the results. They keep saying it will all look great in the end, but I am still waiting for the magical moment they're all promising.
All I really want is to have a nice orderly condo in which to chill... is that too much to ask?
