We finally closed on our casita on March 7th and everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief because in spite of all the many problems along the way, it was finally over. I have been a real estate broker for 21 years and this was one of the most complicated transactions I've ever been involved in. Neither the buyer nor the seller spoke Spanish, neither attorney spoke English, every document had to be translated into both Spanish and English, and there were several serious mistakes made along the way. It was a miracle this closing ever happened, but it finally did and everyone was ecstatic.
Unlike a typical closing, we didn't get the keys right away. Banks close at 4PM and because we and our attorney spent five hours driving from Leon to San Juan Del Sur for the final walk-through inspection, then after an hour-long inspection during which one AC unit didn't initially work and then our "suicide shower" exploded, we drove to Rivas for the closing arriving around 1PM.
After much back and forth between the real estate agents, the escrow company, the attorneys, and the principals, all the papers were finally signed by 7PM Wednesday night but because banks close at 4, the funds couldn't transfer until the next day. We left Rivas Wednesday night and drove three and a half hours back to Leon arriving back at our hotel about 11PM. We spent all day Thursday and Friday buying appliances, furniture, supplies and tools in Leon.
Because the seller hadn't received his money on Wednesday, the seller's lawyer was given the keys on the 8th (the next day when the seller received his money) but his lawyer would not meet with us or our agent until the 11th. Making it worse, we didn't have a vehicle and by then we were 4.5 hours away in Leon. Rather than wait for the keys, we opted for "plan B".
Because every padlock and every door lock was old and worn and each had a different key (yes, 8 keys to the house), we opted to break into our own house and install new padlocks, door locks, and dead bolts. As it turns out, that solution was not only better, but it was also cheaper than waiting several days in a hotel until we could get the keys. Now we have all new locks and they are all keyed the same too! It is amazing how something as simple as new door locks with matching keys makes the house feel nicer. I digress...
So Saturday morning at 6AM we met our driver who took us, all of our belongings, and our beloved Meeko from Leon to San Juan Del Sur. We arrived about 11AM and took our newly purchased bolt cutters and cut the locks and gained access to our new home. We were a little nervous of a police encounter since we don't speak Spanish yet, but armed with Google Translate and copies of the closing papers showing that we own the house, we decided to risk it.
We had scheduled delivery trucks with furniture and appliances for that afternoon so we immediately began cleaning the house. It had been vacant for nearly a year and was not clean when the seller moved out so everything was scrubbed. Later it was scrubbed again, and then again. I am not sure it had been cleaned in years. By Saturday night we were "moved in" and we had a working fridge, washing machine, microwave, stove, gas grill, coffee maker, tables, chairs, and beds. Some items were new and others were purchased used from Encuentra24 (like a Nicaraguan Craigslist).
We spent the next few days cleaning and settling in. Did I mention the house was dirty? On the 10th we hired a painter and the next day the paint crew began painting the entire house (inside and out), the outside walls, and fences. They were done in three long days. Paint is expensive in Nicaragua, but labor is not. The entire paint job took a three-man crew three days and we spent under $2,000 (and nearly half of that was the paint).
We hired a man to come and service the air conditioners which hadn't been serviced in years. We replaced the screens on all the windows and doors. We hired a welder to fix the sagging gates so they now open and close properly. The three-man crew worked all day Saturday and provided the tools and materials and it cost us $100.
Of course, we have done much of the work ourselves. We replaced several electrical outlets and light switches, some plumbing fixtures, and we installed clothes lines (Nicaragua clothes dryer). We repaired loose hinges on the front and back doors, replaced interior doorknobs, cleaned light fixtures and replaced incandescent with LED bulbs, replaced the toilet seat and shower curtain, hung new string patio lights. We still want to replace the knobs and handles on our kitchen cabinets and a few other minor projects but our little casita is coming together.
By the time our pool is finished, we should be done with the rest of the projects so when we come back this fall we should be able to relax and explore this beautiful country.