Las Terrenas · Samaná Peninsula
Construction follow-up on the owner’s behalf: workmanship, invoices, schedule, coordination and handover with a written list of outstanding items.
You live abroad while your villa is being built or renovated in the Las Terrenas area. A deposit request or invoice arrives, but you cannot check on site whether the amount matches the work actually completed.
A change may be decided directly on site without a written record. A material listed in the quotation may be replaced by another. The announced schedule may slip by several months.
When the only progress update comes from the company carrying out the work, your payment decision relies on information supplied by that same company.
Stéphane Challet, French, based in Las Terrenas. More than twenty years in construction, including several years running my own metalwork company.
For a long time, I was on the other side: pricing, making, subcontracting and invoicing the work. Today, I work for you, the owner.
I have done the work with my own hands. In the workshop and on site: metalwork, decorative ironwork, aluminium joinery, steel and stainless steel. Mainly technical and high-end work, including luxury villas.
I read and draw plans. Trained in a design office using AutoCAD, I compare what has been built with the plans you approved, point by point. Beyond what is visible at a glance.
I know the numbers from the inside. I ran a company with up to eight employees. Quotations, schedules, site meetings, subcontractor invoices and disputes were part of my daily work. I know where a quotation can grow and a schedule can slip because I drafted and checked these documents for years.
Languages: French (native), English and Spanish.
You explain the situation and send the available documents: drawings, quotations, schedule, the invoice to be reviewed and photographs already received.
A simple written note sent by WhatsApp or email identifies the site, planned visit, documents to be reviewed, deliverable, price and any travel charge. Work starts when payment is received.
The date depends on the site location. For a one-off audit, I spend about 1 hour 30 minutes on site. I photograph the visible work, compare progress with the documents received and record discrepancies.
If I find an issue that may affect a pending payment or work that will soon be covered, I contact you without waiting for the report.
You receive a PDF with annotated photographs, the work observed, points to clarify or correct, and the review of the invoice or progress statement included in the agreed scope. A 30-minute telephone or WhatsApp discussion is included after delivery.
Each service includes everything in the previous one. An audit is often where we start; what follows is decided afterwards, never beforehand.
To clarify a doubt before paying a deposit or an invoice.
Paid in full when ordered, by bank transfer or card.
Request an auditFor an owner who cannot visit regularly.
Paid at the beginning of each month. No commitment: you may stop at the end of any month.
Discuss my siteFor construction or renovation, from the first quotation to handover.
A licensed professional is involved when a formal technical opinion is required.
Discuss my projectPrices exclude ITBIS (18 %). The Dominican-peso equivalent is indicative, based on the Banco Central reference rate, and confirmed when ordered.
Before signing
I review the detailed quotation line by line, check the quantity take-off and give you a written report before you commit.
You are not buying review hours. You are reducing the risk of paying for a missing, duplicated or overvalued item. A poorly checked quotation can lead to a 10 to 20% overrun on a project.
I am an independent third party, with no commission or link to local builders. Discussions are available in French, Spanish or English.
Small villa or renovation, works below 150,000 USD.
From 800 USD
Standard villa, works from 150,000 to 400,000 USD.
From 1,500 USD
Large villa or small hotel, works above 400,000 USD.
Quoted after review
Report delivered within 7 to 10 working days.
Personalised quotation within 24 hours of receiving the file.
Download this sample to see how visible work, items to check and an invoice are presented to the owner.
Villa Estrelle is at the flooring, wall plaster and suspended ceiling stage. Photographs, measurements and amounts must be added after an actual visit.
First discussion
