# Negril.com Message Board Forums > Living in Jamaica >  Home Building in Jamaica..

## Highlander

Hi,     I have often pondered on the idea of buying a lot and building a house on it ... I am sure it is a Big undertaking..  Any boardies with the  experience care to share their story !! :Smile:    Thank You.

----------


## hippiegirl

I go to bed every night and dream about this. I wanna know too!

----------


## Rob

One of the most common initial problems we see is people not getting the title before building.

To find out more, please check out this Jamaican government website, National Land Agency:

http://www.nla.gov.jm

----------


## JohnNYC

Putting the land aside, what do you consider average building costs per sq ft, using readily available local materials?

----------


## Rob

John, 

It took me a while to locate the contractor who has been featured in the local press. He just told me that the price per square foot is us$90 per square foot. I can put you in contact with him. ( I got his card)

----------


## Dale Ann Carbone

My x-husband is a home builder in Jamaica.  He has been living there for about 12 years now and builds beautiful homes.  It was his dream years ago to be a builder in Jamaica and he followed his dream.  All his help are Jamaicans and he treats them good.  They learn from him and he learns from them.  I highly recommend him to build your home.  Contact Maura Watson Realty for more info.  Whitehouse and Negril Jamaica!!

----------


## rtitle

I'm buying land with a house already on it. Seems like less hassle. But either way is fine. I did previously look into buying a lot and building. Actually I was looking in a casual way for years before finding my dream property and going for it, so I looked at many options. 

Not specifically related to building a home, but one thing I found while looking is there are a lot of scammers. Especially if you are basing your search in a tourist town like Negril. Upon hearing you are interested in buying, *everyone* has a property to sell you. They don't necessarily own the property they are trying to sell though ...  :Frown: 

I wound up going through a realtor. That does limit selection, since a lot of properties are never listed with realtors, but it guarantees what you're looking at is legit.

Also for any real estate transaction in Jamaica, get a good real estate attorney. I can recommend one. Even if you are experienced buying/selling/building property in the US, it's really different in Jamaica. You need a good attorney to protect you.

----------

