Some, but not as much as you think. It's silver, so reflects a lot of light. And doesn't let any light through. And it cools from the air movement. Metal roofs aren't the problem that northerns imagine that they are. They make for quick cooling and simple airflow. This region has millennia of engineering experience at making places stay cool naturally that in the north we've mostly lost by brute forcing cooling via AC and insulation. The houses are warm without AC, but they aren't hot like people imagine.
I think it would be best to get an outdoor grill and cook outside since the place is so small and has no air conditioning. You could get a stand alone sink like the one outside for the kitchen, a refrigerator, a table for prep space and a rack of inexpensive shelves to hold dishes, pots and pans. Totally reasonable for the price. I loke this house except for the open roof. 👍
Late to the party, but what you showed is an easy fix. Long-term fixed rental lease, concrete board to complete walls, dry-wall to create/seal ceiling, a/c problem fixed, extend the back, creating a kitchen, and laundry room, and still have a small but efficient backyard. Front of the house, simple, follow the next door neighbors lead. Personally, I would rent and do upgrades, but as I said, I would need a long-term rental lease, 5 to 7 years.
If you were looking at that long of a lease, definitely the best value is doing it yourself. Easy, cheap and you get what you want. On a short lease, 1-3 years, definitely better to pay a little more per month and have a place that is already done that way. Doesn't cost that much more.
Pretty neighborhood. The price is so low…I guess you could paint, maybe a drop ceiling so it could be air conditioned ? In SE Asia, they often do very basic outside kitchens so they aren’t heating the already hot house… has potential for someone on a tiny budget. Not sure if it is every house but our first house here in Matagalpa had that type of ceiling and in March-May that tin ceiling made us feel like we were in an oven. Maybe it was just our house…. Great video, Scott !
I'm going to be looking for something like this to come back and forth from Costa Rica. My question is this though and hopefully it doesn't sound rude. Would the owner expect you to rent his/her $120/mo house and then spend $1000 putting up drywall, building fences, doing yardwork, installing a ceiling... etc? It sounds like the house is unfinished and more work needs to be done to it. Thanks again for the killer videos and info!
I'm commenting to follow this thread... Great questions. How much can/should you do to fix up a rental like this, or really any rental of a similar mould? In fairness Scott talks about it as soon as he gets in there. Weird dynamic. Rent someone's property and then need to spend 1000s to make it livable. Beautiful street!
Well so this is totally livable to a Nicaraguan. The open air means it stays cooler for people with fans. It's lower cost than something more finished. Nicas use home to store things, eat and sleep. Little else. So expat ideas of how finished a house should be often don't make as much sense locally because we assume we'll be home doing things in the house more often than a Nica would likely do. So we focus our resources differently. Because of that, getting the best deal can often mean going for a lower rent, but making more improvements to the house.
I would use a Camp Chef-style camping stove to cook on, and a table for food prep. I lived in a MIL apartment for a while when I was in college. The tiny kitchen against one wall of the living room was perfectly adequate. Not something you'd want to create a full Thanksgiving dinner in, but good for every day cooking.
It will all depend where you are. But keep in mind ALL "normal" Nicaragua houses are wide open. The assumption is that you have fresh air 24/7. And we don't regularly use screens here. So the roof having openings is unlikely to make a difference in that way. Some areas have mosquitos, some have basically none. My house is wide open. As are most. The colonials have no roof in the middle, 100x more open than this house with the raised roof. This is more enclosed than the average in the country.
There are reasons for it. Even if you do tiles, you need zinc under it. We have tiled roofs at some properties and they are very expensive to maintain compared to the zinc.
It's funny I'm watching another video and you answer...that's great..I don't know about there but filling in the top edge with foam or something similar is not too hard...I've put in 2 mini splits so that is also pretty straight forward
This PARTICULAR unit is not for sale (AFAIK), but to have one like this built brand new in this development should be $16,000 USD. That includes the lot.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog Wow! I can't wait to get up there and start looking around. Costa is nice but it's expensive. I'll be in SJDS in about 3 weeks for an extended period. First time not just doing a border run. Your videos are really great Scott. Thanks again
Nicaragua has great electric. We have seven AC units, a huge volume water pump that can turn our gardens into fountains, electric heated showers, SO many TVs and computers, air fryer, microwave, drier, three fridges, you name it. Zero electric issues.
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I would think the metal roof would make the inside heat up despite the air flow 🤔. I need my air conditioning, so the roof is a no go.
Some, but not as much as you think. It's silver, so reflects a lot of light. And doesn't let any light through. And it cools from the air movement. Metal roofs aren't the problem that northerns imagine that they are. They make for quick cooling and simple airflow. This region has millennia of engineering experience at making places stay cool naturally that in the north we've mostly lost by brute forcing cooling via AC and insulation. The houses are warm without AC, but they aren't hot like people imagine.
I think it would be best to get an outdoor grill and cook outside since the place is so small and has no air conditioning. You could get a stand alone sink like the one outside for the kitchen, a refrigerator, a table for prep space and a rack of inexpensive shelves to hold dishes, pots and pans. Totally reasonable for the price. I loke this house except for the open roof. 👍
That's quite standard. Cooking outside is normal. We have a huge grill, pizza oven, and smoker all outside ourselves.
Thanks Scott
Finally!
Late to the party, but what you showed is an easy fix. Long-term fixed rental lease, concrete board to complete walls, dry-wall to create/seal ceiling, a/c problem fixed, extend the back, creating a kitchen, and laundry room, and still have a small but efficient backyard. Front of the house, simple, follow the next door neighbors lead. Personally, I would rent and do upgrades, but as I said, I would need a long-term rental lease, 5 to 7 years.
If you were looking at that long of a lease, definitely the best value is doing it yourself. Easy, cheap and you get what you want. On a short lease, 1-3 years, definitely better to pay a little more per month and have a place that is already done that way. Doesn't cost that much more.
Show more, love the neighborhood. Might I also suggest doing cost on furnishings 🎉
Pretty neighborhood.
The price is so low…I guess you could paint, maybe a drop ceiling so it could be air conditioned ?
In SE Asia, they often do very basic outside kitchens so they aren’t heating the already hot house… has potential for someone on a tiny budget.
Not sure if it is every house but our first house here in Matagalpa had that type of ceiling and in March-May that tin ceiling made us feel like we were in an oven. Maybe it was just our house….
Great video, Scott !
Yes, very easy to customize if you want to start cheap and make adjustments yourself.
I'm going to be looking for something like this to come back and forth from Costa Rica. My question is this though and hopefully it doesn't sound rude. Would the owner expect you to rent his/her $120/mo house and then spend $1000 putting up drywall, building fences, doing yardwork, installing a ceiling... etc? It sounds like the house is unfinished and more work needs to be done to it.
Thanks again for the killer videos and info!
I'm commenting to follow this thread...
Great questions.
How much can/should you do to fix up a rental like this, or really any rental of a similar mould?
In fairness Scott talks about it as soon as he gets in there.
Weird dynamic. Rent someone's property and then need to spend 1000s to make it livable.
Beautiful street!
Well so this is totally livable to a Nicaraguan. The open air means it stays cooler for people with fans. It's lower cost than something more finished. Nicas use home to store things, eat and sleep. Little else. So expat ideas of how finished a house should be often don't make as much sense locally because we assume we'll be home doing things in the house more often than a Nica would likely do. So we focus our resources differently.
Because of that, getting the best deal can often mean going for a lower rent, but making more improvements to the house.
I would use a Camp Chef-style camping stove to cook on, and a table for food prep. I lived in a MIL apartment for a while when I was in college. The tiny kitchen against one wall of the living room was perfectly adequate. Not something you'd want to create a full Thanksgiving dinner in, but good for every day cooking.
That's a great idea!
Commonly people do something like that. grilling in the back patio.
with the breezy roof would bugs and mosquitos be a problem? I would like the fresh air
It will all depend where you are. But keep in mind ALL "normal" Nicaragua houses are wide open. The assumption is that you have fresh air 24/7. And we don't regularly use screens here. So the roof having openings is unlikely to make a difference in that way. Some areas have mosquitos, some have basically none. My house is wide open. As are most. The colonials have no roof in the middle, 100x more open than this house with the raised roof. This is more enclosed than the average in the country.
Why zinc sheet roof? They don't use other kinds of roof tile(tejas)?
There are reasons for it. Even if you do tiles, you need zinc under it. We have tiled roofs at some properties and they are very expensive to maintain compared to the zinc.
Great Video, however are prices still about the same a year later or are they going UP or down or pretty much the same?
what little view we have we've seen no changes. which when coupled with inflation means houses are cheaper.
It's funny I'm watching another video and you answer...that's great..I don't know about there but filling in the top edge with foam or something similar is not too hard...I've put in 2 mini splits so that is also pretty straight forward
@MrFrodo1111 oh yeah. not hard to "fix"
Sorry, I may have missed it but how much would this house cost to purchase? Thanks Scott
This PARTICULAR unit is not for sale (AFAIK), but to have one like this built brand new in this development should be $16,000 USD. That includes the lot.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog Wow! I can't wait to get up there and start looking around. Costa is nice but it's expensive. I'll be in SJDS in about 3 weeks for an extended period. First time not just doing a border run. Your videos are really great Scott. Thanks again
Would the electric handle an air fryer and microwave? And a fan?
Nicaragua has great electric. We have seven AC units, a huge volume water pump that can turn our gardens into fountains, electric heated showers, SO many TVs and computers, air fryer, microwave, drier, three fridges, you name it. Zero electric issues.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog Sorry, I wasn't very clear. I meant that particular house. Thanks!
Do you mean community garden when you mentioned the "public garden?"
Gardens are ornamental here. Not food gardens like in big US urban areas.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog maybe I will start one up in Matagalpa. 🤗
I think you'd find little interest. That's a very uniquely North American thing.
Finally!