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Name: PAUL CHANEY (via rlt) MessageThere is an organization called Understory that promotes sustainable forestry and timber certification (certified as sustainably produced). They have a furniture project in El Carbon, which I think is in Olancho. The project trains local people to make furniture for local consumption and for export. They are geared up to make tables and chairs, but I am assured by Scott Landis that they would welcome opportunities to make whatever that you want. Scott's contact in La Ceiba is an Italian named Felipo O'delgato. Scott Landis' email is: scottl@ttlc.net Name: Brian Blackwell MessageBrian and Diana Blackwell are now offering their services to Roatan property owners. They are available to assist with storm clean-up, inspection, video documentation, security, maintenance and landscaping concerns. You can work out an individual plan based on your temporary or on-going needs. Please contact them at paradise@globalnet.hn for more information. They reside just east of Big Bight but are willing to accept jobs anywhere on Roatan. These folks are extremely hard working and reliable. They can take a lot of the risk out of your project and will be very reasonable about costs. In fact, their troubleshooting and oversight is designed to prevent avoidable expenses. Feel free to contact me, kristin.kallsen@gte.net, if you would like references from current customers. Name: Brian Blackwell MessageDiana & I have just completed our last leg in dealing with the importation/duty process. DANG!!! I am still AMAZED! Keep in mind that we came in WITHOUT residency status, so we can only supply one type of importation process, which was an eye opener. To start, we arrived with our container on the "Bay Island Express" with Jackson Shipping (of which Diana & Thunder does NOT recommend, I found it to be interesting and I will send the story to you when Diana gets it all on the puter). Our truck and trailer came a month later so our importation process came in stages. We went to the 'referred' broker to work out our customs duties. I went to the broker with a peice of paper with some items and prices scribbled on it for the container. The broker translated it into spanish and took it to customs for presentation. All they wanted to know was if EVERYTHING was used.Whether it is or isn't the answer is YES. Then they surprised me. They wouldn't accept it. Bad news huh.? NOPE! I was claiming my stuff for $4000.00. IT WAS TO MUCH! We had to go back to the brokers and reduce the price. My broker did this by just cutting my appraisal in half. We presented it again to customs, again they asked if it was ALL used. Again the answer was YES. They approved it, I paid my duty fees, they put all the legal government stamps on the paperwork and off to Jacksons I went. This took 2 days. The truck and trailer arrived a month later, few days before the hurricane. Jackson is REALLY backed up on shipping vehicles, so you may have to rent a car for awhile or just plan to ship you vehicle before you ship yourself. We presented all the legal titles and documents for the truck & trailer and went home. This process takes a little longer, as they have to run 'checks' on everything to make sure it's not stolen. During this process, Mitch arrived so time frames have been altered. Anyway, I have a unique custom built dump truck, so customs could not find it in thier "Blue Book". After a few days of stalling on behalf of Customs, I pointed in the Blue book as to what make and model it was. I claimed it was worth $4000.oo, the book showed a value of $2,200.oo. So they assest me 25% duties of the Blue Book price. The trailer is another story. I claimed a value of $8000.00on the trailer and insured it for that. When I went to customs, I was prompted to a lower value of $4000.oo by a friend and of course, IT WAS USED! Customs molled it over awhile. NOPE, not good enough. It's worth to much. Lower the price to $3000.oo. Welllllllllll, no argument from me. I came back a few days later to pay the duties for the trailer but was informed prices had changed. OK, what now? I was politely informed the trailer price had been lowered to approx. half of the $3000.oo. GREAT!!!! I was & am still surprised at the process that I was in so much fear of from customs. This process is completely the opposite of what I had been hearing about. I dunno, maybe it was fate, maybe luck, it sure as hell wasn't my 'good looks'. Maybe it was because I brought something that can be extremely useful to the island, so they cut me some slack. I'll probably never know. What I DO want everyone to know is something VERY important that I had never heard ANYTHING about; CUSTOMS ASSES'S <sp> YOU EVERYTHING that you paid to bring your stuff in to Honduras. Customs includes the frieght charges, what you insured EVERYTHING for, the taxes, EVERYTHING! So in short, the more expenses you incure for shipping things over, the more customs includes in the total cost for duties. This was a real SHOCKER! Of course you only pay a percentage of all of this, but it all adds up quickly. Now Jackson Shipping. I found these folks to be very helpful and accomidating. They were pleasent to deal with and no hassles. As I mentioned before, they ARE backlogged on shipping vehicles and they did tell me this once I arrived on the docks. I had special circumstances when I arrived and I explained them to Michale Woods at the office in Roatan. I brought my trailer (my portable bodega) so that I could store my supplies in it once on Roatan. My trailer as mentioned did not come down till some time later. Jackson DID NOT charge me storage or rental fees while my gear sat idle in thier container on the docks in Roatan for almost 2 months. In fact, when Mitch showed up in the backyard, I put everything back in it that I had taken out prior to the storm. After the storm, I once again removed some of our supplies for the casa and put the remainder in my trailer which presently is still sitting on the docks, free of charge (I hope). Now for the last step. Some of my stuff was damaged (due to the shuffling of truck & trailer for protection from the storm) into the warehouse, which I appreciated. I also had some things (stereo, ropes, misc.) stolen from the inside of the truck. I filed a claim and am waiting to hear the results. I'll keep you posted on this.
Brian, Diana & Thunder Hikes, Bikes, Boats & Breakfast Roatans Only Eco-Adventure Tours amphibious low-impact sustainable recreation Temporary office East of Big Bight (at our sign) Name: Lorenzo Dee Belveal (via rlt) Message================================== Ralph wrote: > Obviously we are all required to pay taxes, but I wonder, as an absentee > owner, should I expect to be contacted by the local municipality as to > the amount and due date? ========================
Ralph and Listerines: You should go to the Cabildo in the municipality in which your property (s) is listed. Take your document and survey plat with you. Find the Catastro Officer, who will enter your land description, payment schedule, amount of levy, and any easements, liens, etc. into the public record. Then s/he will collect the first tax from you, which establishes the payment scheldule for time and eternity (same date in each succeeding year thereafter). Pay your taxes yourself. Personally. Save the tax receipts forever. Once this initial registration and "entry" procedure has been carried out, you can have a totally trustworthy surrogate pay your taxes in future years. This, provided you can find such a paragon of virtue on your side of the Pearly Gates. Regards..................Lorenzo
Name: (via rlt) Message
Property taxes don't run much--mine is $50 per year. But no, you will NOT get a bill. In case you haven't heard there is little or no mail service in Honduras--especially not to the USA. You must go to the municipality, with deed in hand and pay them. Be prepared for it to take awhile for them to even locate he records on your property. They are kept on paper--not on computer. They are due each year in Jan--can be early paid in Aug. I pay mine 2 years in advance. I hear differing opinions about what happens if you don't pay them--but for $50 I don't want to find out. Take your deed! Without it you can't even find out how much you owe. Best I can tell you is it is sort of like the IRS here in the states. Your responsibility to find out how much you owe and when it's due. And then to get it paid. No one will "handle it" for you. Name: Warren Post (via rlt) Message
Dear Ronnie and List, > DKE said he learned non- > Hondurans have to pay a fee or tax on property they inherit. So do Hondurans. My (Honduran) lawyer tells me there is no difference in tax treatment in such cases. "My" property, for example, is jointly owned by my wife and myself, so that when one of us dies, the survivor has to pay inheritance tax only on the 50% owned by the deceased. > ...for you folks already living in Honduras, how do you handle > your bill paying, like credit cards and transfer funds to a Honduran bank? By this I assume you mean paying bills you left behind in North America or wherever one comes from. After much damage to my credit caused by the very things you foresee, I finally eliminated all out-of-Honduras obligations I had. I never could solve the problems. > We have an account at Futuro and at Banhcreser. Both banks have accounts with > a bank in Florida. We know we can have another bank do a wire transfer of > funds to the Florida bank and they will wire it to the account at the Roatan > bank. Is there any cheaper way than wire transfers that works? Yes. I opened a dollar savings account at my Honduran bank with a check I wrote myself on my checking account in the U.S. The bank whined that it would have to hold it for four weeks; I reassured them that it was fine. I later made a token withdrawal, but only after I was assured by the bank that my check had cleared, and simultaneously made a deposit (again, my personal check) in the same amount as my withdrawal. I repeated the process enough times, and schmoozed enough with a few big shots at the bank, that I eventually came to be regarded as a good enough risk to cash my U.S. checks without wait or hassle. Before you set this up, make sure the Honduran bank you select won't charge you excessive "cobranza" fees for collecting on your check. Banco de Occidente just zinged a Rotary Club project account here over $160 to cash one check. We are now closing our accounts with Occidente. If you absolutely must use a wire transfer, however, most banks in the U.S. can wire funds to many Honduran banks directly without the additional expense of using a Florida intermediary bank. Check with your favorite U.S. bank, and while you're at it ask them what their wire fee will be. I've seen fees vary widely from bank to bank, from $15 to $75 per wire. Also make sure the receiving (Honduran) bank won't try to charge you a "receiving" charge for the wire. BANCAHSA does this, and maybe others. Hope this helps, Warren Name: David Evans (via rlt) MessageAt 06:14 PM 10/8/98 -0500, Ron & Lidia Thompson wrote: >>I have found that citronella oil, mixed one ounce to one quart of water, >>shake well and spray or wipe, will keep furniture and floors bug >>free...(SNIP) I don't know if you can find it in Honduras...I was >>first introduced to it on St. Kitts many years ago... > >You can get it on the island but I'm not sure where. Dian at Bite on the >Beach uses Citronella mixed with baby oil as a sand flea repellant. Maybe >some near West Bay Beach could ask her where she gets it. > >Ron T.
Ron...You can also bring Citronella Oil with you...any Drug Store in the U.S. normally carries it or can order it in a day or two's time from HUMCO...they are out of Texas, but have warehouses all over...comes in 1 oz., 2 oz., and 5 oz. bottles, and I have been told that Hardware stores can order it for you by the gallon and 5 gallon size...I'm getting so old I think twice before buying green bananas...God knows what I would do with a 5 gallon bottle of citronella oil! All the best....dke
Name: David Evans (via rlt) MessageAt 10:20 AM 10/8/98 -0500, KRISTIN KALLSEN wrote: > Any termite experience or expertise out there?
Kristin...one thing for sure...there are zillions of termites all around your finca...but don't get the idea that you, or anyone else for that matter, will ever wipe them all out. The Cahune palms (Corocito in Spanish, and really African oil palms brought in by the British in the early half of 1700s, are favorite places for the species of termites that build exterior nests above ground...my guess is you are being attacked by the sub-terranian types...I am always amazed at how quickly they can find a freshly cut fence post or a log just cut a few weeks before...especially if that log is Gumba Limba...as part of your education, why not go to the north of you front door a little into the bush...mark off a two meter square around you, and count the number of DIRRERENT species of insects you see...forget the lizards, birds, bats, and whatever, and just stand quietly and count the different kinds of insects...then factor in another 100 or so that you don't see, and you'll have a rough idea of why you are going to have to live with these guys rather than exist bug free. I have found that citronella oil, mixed one ounce to one quart of water, shake well and spray or wipe, will keep furniture and floors bug free...Citronella oil comes from a grass found native to S.E. Asia...smells a lot like lemons, and is hated by termites and ants, and in a weak solution I find it very effective against mosquitoes as well...spray it on my hat and boots all the time, and except for a determined tick or two, I seldom am bothered by insects even though I am often in deep bush up above you on Ruby Lee Ridge. I don't know if you can find it in Honduras...I was first introduced to it on St. Kitts many years ago...only drawback is that many people, my wife especially, hate the smell and say it gives them a headache...you'll also see that it must be constantly reapplied, and the spray bottle must be constantly shaken to keep the water and oil in solution, but boy does it work! It is the fastest way I know of to drive fire ants from your property...hunt out their nest and pour a half and half solution all over the nest...they are outta there! Now if you are interested in all kinds of beetles or a huge variety of beautiful moths, take a walk due West from your place and come on up Mariposa Road to Casa Promesa one early morning right after dawn. The security lights draw them all night long by the thousands. No one can look at that wonderful variety of insects and not be moved...either scared out of their wits or in awe at what Natural Selection can do. If you want to replace "Natural Selection" with "God", you'll still be in awe! Oh, and by the way...don't be fooled by the term "treated lumber"...termites don't give a hoot...in time they'll eat it anyway! Just keep your eyes opened for those tell-tale little tubes...if you find them, break then open, douse the ends with citronella oil, then backtrack to where they are coming out of the ground...may be many yards away...then attack that nest with vigor...but you'll be surprized how the word is out and how fast other colonies will be building little tubes up your walls and under your floors. Wood is beautiful to build with, and there are houses on the island from the turn of the century and before, long before there was treated wood, but they do take constant care from termites as well as wood lice, and all the other of Nature's cellulose chompers. All the best...dke
Name: David Evans (via rlt) Message>Dear Hondo1'ers > >I have been on this list for quite some time and have not heard any >mention of squatter's rights! >Is it really true that you can loose your property to squatters, and if >this is true, >how does an absentee land-owner prevent this from happening? >Ralph Ralph: This is indeed true...you must keep someone on your property you trust, such as a caretaker, or you must have a trusted person check the property at least monthly, and believe me, speaking from experience, a whole town practacially can grow in a month's time...he , your guardian, must be willing to go to the authorities and have the squatters removed,...this will cost you money, and I once sold a very beautiful piece of land because my "caretaker", the police, and "squatters" went into business at my expense. I came down unexpected once and discovered that whenever he needed a little extra cash my "caretaker" would talk to a few of his buddies, who would move in on my property, build a few bush lean-tos and drag an old used refrigerator on it to fill with ice and sell cold frescos, and then notify other friends who were the police to come and "run them off"....all, of course, after notifying me, and later presenting me with the bill for protecting my property. I am certain Mr. Dee will answer this post, so I guess this is enough from me....all the best...dke
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Courtesy Stanley Marrder