Paradise Lost : Baja Dream Home Turns Into Nightmare for Couple

Robert Steinert leads a visitor through the sun-drenched patio of what he had hoped would be his “dream house,” just a few strides from the inviting white sands of Baja.

“Isn’t this beautiful?” asks the retired Glendale credit executive, his gesturing hands encompassing the broad coastal panorama. “But, you know,” he adds in the husky voice that betrays his native Brooklyn, “something like what we’ve been through can really beat you down . . . It can really take the wind out of a guy.”

And how!

Steinert’s two-story, three-bedroom retirement home, situated in the coastal community of La Salina, halfway between Ensenada and Rosarito Beach, has become his personal nightmare. While many of the thousands of U.S. homeowners in Baja California experience some problems, Steinert’s appear to take on legendary proportions.

Gas from a propane tank exploded on the day Steinert and his wife, Alice, moved in almost a year-and-a-half ago. She suffered second-degree burns and Steinert, a heart patient, was blown across the room.

Since then, things have just gotten worse.

Steinert says he has spent about $15,000 to replace the original roof, wiring and plumbing and make other repairs. He blames shoddy workmanship by the Mexican contractor and architect. The contractor and architect charge that Steinert has failed to live up to his

contract and owes them $25,000--that’s on top of the $36,500 Steinert says he has already paid them.

Because of the ongoing dispute, Steinert says, armed police officers once arrived at the house, whisked him to the district attorney’s office in Ensenada, threatened him with jail and attempted to extort money from him. They wouldn’t even allow him to go to the bathroom, he says. The arrest was prompted by a criminal complaint filed against Steinert by the contractor; the criminal complaint has since been dropped.

But Steinert is still embroiled in a complex civil lawsuit involving claims and counterclaims by Steinert and the builders, who are seeking to collect the $25,000 allegedly owed by Steinert. After a court appearance in Ensenada last week, Steinert said, court officials attempted to seize his car--as collateral to guarantee his return for future court dates. Despite his lack of knowledge of the Spanish language, Steinert has become versed in the sometime Byzantine complexities of the Mexican legal system.

Sour Taste in His Mouth

“As much as I love Mexico, as much as I love the people here, this has left a sour taste in my mouth,” says Steinert, adding that he has spent about $9,000 in legal fees. “This has turned into a fiasco. I’ve got a lion by the tail, and I can’t let go. I’m boxed in, and I’m playing in their ballpark.”

The builders, on the other hand, maintain that Steinert is refusing to live up to the terms of his contract.

“We’re not trying to persecute Mr. Steinert. We only want the money that he rightfully owes us,” said Mario F. Best Moreno, a civil engineer who was the contractor for the home and is also the sub-director of the Centro de Estudios Tecnologicos del Mar, a technical institute in Ensenada.

“Mr. Steinert has caused us a lot of trouble; he doesn’t seem to want to pay what he owes,” said Jesus Cardenas Arroyo, the architect, who was interviewed along with the contractor at Best’s office in Ensenada.

Even Steinert agrees that his experience is atypical, and that most of the thousands of U.S. citizens who own homes in Baja are relatively content. Through promotional campaigns and other efforts, Mexican officials anxious for foreign investment work hard to lure U.S. citizens and allay the fears associated with investing hard-earned savings in a foreign country.

“The disgrace is, one bad case and it makes us all look bad,” said Sigfredo Pineda, manager of the Tijuana Tourism & Conventions Bureau. “Most Americans are very, very happy living here. Some may have problems, but that’s a minority.”

Stereotypes Reinforced

But Steinert’s problems reinforce all the most negative stereotypes.

Patrick O’Brien, a longtime friend of Steinert’s from the Los Angeles area, said, “I told Bob he was crazy to invest all this money in a house down there.”

Americans living in Baja also have run into problems regarding ownership of the land on which they’ve built their houses. Because of Mexican law, foreigners generally cannot own land outright near land or sea borders, but must instead obtain long-term leases. The validity and terms of the leases have led to numerous problems for Americans living in Baja.

The builders of Steinert’s house say the trouble is of his own making. They attribute the increased costs to changes ordered by Steinert. They say they are unaware of any problems involving the original roof, wiring and plumbing--all of which Steinert contends he has had to replace. Finally, they say the explosion of the propane tank in March, 1986, on the day Steinert moved in, was the fault of an independent contractor hired separately by Steinert.

“I’m concerned that Mr. Steinert’s comments could be interpreted in a way that could hurt tourism,” said Best, the contractor, who said he welcomed the opportunity to tell an American reporter his side of the case. “We’ve had dealings with other Americans and never had the kind of problems we’ve had with Mr. Steinert.”

Steinert, acknowledging that Best is a “nice guy,” nonetheless calls the contractor and the architect “absolute thieves.”

They describe him as a trouble-maker.

Clearly, there is no meeting of the minds here.

For Steinert, the “nightmare” had its origins in his long-held dream to retire in Mexico, where he and his wife had vacationed for almost 30 years. A few years ago, he says, he signed a long-term lease on a half-acre plot in La Salina, a largely American enclave of vacation homes topped by the high-tech television antennas ubiquitous along the Baja coast. In September, 1985, Steinert contracted with Best to build the two-story cinder-block house. The contractor was recommended by a mutual friend.

‘You Expect Some Problems’

There were some delays and cost overruns, but Steinert (“You always expect some problems”) says his real difficulties began March 22, 1986, when the house was declared ready for occupancy. Excited about the prospect of finally moving in, Steinert says he and his wife, Alice, both of whom are now 61, arrived at the residence early that day.

“It was a beautiful morning,” Steinert recalled, still smiling at the memory. “We felt pretty good.”

Not for long. When they attempted to turn on the stove to heat up coffee, the place exploded. Someone had failed to hook up the propane tank to the stove and the volatile gas ignited.

“Suddenly, my wife is on fire and I’m blown across the room,” Steinert recalled. “It blew out every window upstairs. Sounded like an atomic bomb.”

His wife was treated at the hospital, but neither was seriously injured.

That was only the beginning.

That same day, Steinert says, Best informed him he wanted to talk about some money still owed. Steinert figured it was “maybe a few thousand dollars.” It wasn’t. The tab: $25,000.

“I said, ‘You must be out of your mind,’ ” Steinert recalled.

Best says it is Steinert who is somewhat off base. Because of Steinert’s many changes, the contractor maintains, the house is almost twice as large as the one called for in the original contract.

“Naturally, if a house is double in size, it’s going to cost more,” Best said.

The Problems Mounted

After he moved in, Steinert says, the problems mounted. He says the first rain brought a disturbing discovery: Water ran from the roof directly into his living room. Apart from replacing the roof, Steinert says, he learned that the wiring was inadequate and that new plumbing would also have to be installed.

A few months after he moved in, Steinert says, the police officers arrived at his house and forced him to accompany them to the district attorney’s office in Ensenada. A friendly lawyer helped get him out of that jam, Steinert says.

But the legal morass drags on, consuming the hours Steinert had thought would be dedicated to a leisurely retirement in what he calls an “idyllic spot.” In his current civil suit, Steinert says he is seeking $50,000 in damages from the contractor and architect. The court case could drag on for some time.

Meantime, Robert and Alice Steinert are attempting to enjoy their hoped-for dream house as best they can. Both say their health has suffered.

Would he do it again?

“To tell you the truth, if I knew we were going to have all these problems, probably not,” Steinert said, perched on his patio as the sun burned bright above the blue Pacific on a recent afternoon. “We thought we had it made here. Instead, it’s really beat us down into the ground.”