Las Olas Ecuador development

Seems like someone reads minds around here.

I'm going to go in early April - returning mid April.  Will be happy to respond back to you.  I plan on taking lots of elevation pictures as well.  If there's something in particular you want to know let me know and I'll inquire or look for it.  If we buy and build I'm sure I'll be down there a few more times this year.

Cheers

highplainsdrifter wrote:

I'm going to go in early April... taking lots of elevation pictures as well.  If there's something in particular you want to know let me know and I'll inquire or look for it.  If we buy and build I'm sure I'll be down there a few more times this year.

From what I’ve seen posted on this forum, there has been no indication to date of any above-ground construction having taken place at Los Olas.

Las Olas buyers were given access last year to a website that allows them to see updated images of the work on the project.

cccmedia

cccmedia wrote:

highplainsdrifter wrote:

I'm going to go in early April... taking lots of elevation pictures as well.  If there's something in particular you want to know let me know and I'll inquire or look for it.  If we buy and build I'm sure I'll be down there a few more times this year.

From what I’ve seen posted on this forum, there has been no indication to date of any above-ground construction having taken place at Los Olas.

Las Olas buyers were given access last year to a website that allows them to see updated images of the work on the project.

cccmedia

You are right cccmedia, owners can interact in a private Facebook group.

Otherwise, Las Olas Ecuador publishes a monthly newsletter since September 2015 (http://lasolasecuador.com/las-olas-newsletters/) and updates are provided in the news section of the website (http://lasolasecuador.com/updates/).

You can also follow the project on social medias:

https://www.facebook.com/LasOlas.ecu/https://www.youtube.com/c/lasolasecuadorhttps://plus.google.com/+Lasolasecuador

I will post again once "above-ground construction" is started.

MariaPiaBlog wrote:

Well, I can do it. But if you do it yourself, you can see that I have nothing against the project. The only thing that I wish is that they tell people things straight. With so many people talking about it, is super easy to find these things and what is about.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid … mp;theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid … mp;theater

If I were to buy something I would hate have to pay for something that does not exist or is against the law.

This is a Google Earth view of the "Playas de Pajonal" before any work was done.  If you go on Google Earth and hover your mouse on the areas indicated by the drawing in your Facebook message, you will see that the height of this area is between 8m and 15m.  If you put your mouse over the beach... it's one meter.  Unfortunately, your source is wrong.

I think highplainsdrifter can indeed add a lot to the conversation that has heretofore been only conjecture and speculation.  At least I don't recall hearing from anyone with his credentials in all the posts to date.  I'm eager to get his input.

However, I agree with SawMan about the true risks.  While the QUALITY of contruction is crucial, the true risk is in the QUANTITY of construction.  Will there be enough backing to keep the ball rolling or will the project meet with stoppage after only a few units are completed.  Even if those units are of primo quality, I'm guessing that wouldn't matter to you if you own one and the prospects for continuing the project seem dismal. 

Seems that the conversation is still stuck on the improbability of the project meeting all of it's promises.  Moreover, it seems that will be the theme for some time. The only way that will change is with concrete (no pun intended) results. 

I will say the latest posts from the developers show some pretty nice infrastructure being placed on the golf course proper.  That is encouraging.

The law says that Ecuador owns ALL beaches. That is a fact.

#LasOlas itself has posted pictures of the "private beach" that they advertise.

Since I don't plan to invest anything in the middle of nowhere, I'm not interested on arguing with anyone.

You shall do your homework when investing anything.

MariaPiaBlog wrote:

The law says that Ecuador owns ALL beaches. That is a fact.

Just doing a quick search I found that you are correct, the Código Civil of Ecuador Art. 604 states that the use of beaches (and roads, plazas, bridges etc.) belongs to all inhabitants of Ecuador.  I'd post the pertinent Spanish text but I've been scolded for that, it's not allowed so I am told, so here's the link:

http://www.scpm.gob.ec/wp-content/uploa … bro-II.pdf

I'm only responding to this in an attempt to clarify - not to argue anything or to make too fine a point of something.  I'm not interested in participating in this discussion thread for such reasons, but to contact others, like myself, who are or may be investing in Las Olas and wish to share experience and knowledge.  With that being said...

On the subject of the 'private beach' .... I don't think it's the intent of the developers to imply that they own (i.e., privately) the area of the beach that is below the high water mark that is, by Ecuadoran law, public.  I spoke with them by phone several times over the past few days as we have been conducting contractual matters, as well as making travel arrangements for my site visit to Los Olas and they have said to me that the land above the high water mark is Las Olas - not the part that is below the high water mark.  Note that I'm not trying to speak for them - it's just something that I happen to know and so I thought I'd pass that along to the discussion thread. 

Regarding progress on development and building, they are just started building their first housing units.  The video on their most recent newsletter (or somewhere on their site) shows a little hovercraft video of construction activities.  If you pause the construction hovercraft video at different points you can correlate a number of recent, civil developments on the site:  plats that correspond to Vista al Mar VM1A-6A, VM1B-4B, etc., and the Las Playas plats, and others in between, and corresponding elevation and grading, as well as the roughed in golf course. 

Knowing how these constructions projects work, they'll build a few houses initially, then substantially more (say double the initial amount) until they're up to construction pace to meet a sustained demand.  That'll happen pretty quickly - say in the next 6-9 months.  That's typical for higher end construction (i.e., high $ per square foot/meter). 

Like I said, I'll be down there in about a month's time and would be happy to find out something physically that I can.  Someone asked if s/he thought they'd share detailed financial statements - I wouldn't ask something like that - but I will ask about their business model and it's sustainability - I'm comfortable doing that.  I'm sure I'll take lots of pictures but I don't know if there's a way to post them on this forum - I'm new to this forum.

sleepmaster wrote:

I think highplainsdrifter can indeed add a lot to the conversation that has heretofore been only conjecture and speculation.  At least I don't recall hearing from anyone with his credentials in all the posts to date.  I'm eager to get his input.

On Las Olas Ecuador YouTube Channel, you can find a testimonial of a buyer who's a railway contractor in Canada:

https://youtu.be/toGmFzmo06M

He might not be skilled in house building, but I assume he is in ground work, soil compaction and grading...

highplainsdrifter wrote:

On the subject of the 'private beach' .... I don't think it's the intent of the developers to imply that they own (i.e., privately) the area of the beach that is below the high water mark that is, by Ecuadoran law, public.  I spoke with them by phone several times over the past few days as we have been conducting contractual matters, as well as making travel arrangements for my site visit to Los Olas and they have said to me that the land above the high water mark is Las Olas - not the part that is below the high water mark.  Note that I'm not trying to speak for them - it's just something that I happen to know and so I thought I'd pass that along to the discussion thread. 

I'm sure I'll take lots of pictures but I don't know if there's a way to post them on this forum - I'm new to this forum.

Yes, Las Olas "private beach" is a manmade beach built within the boundaries of the Las Olas property.  In front of that is the "public beach" where everyone is free to enjoy.  We spent our Saturday afternoon there three weeks ago, plus we were also there last Sunday (on the public beach, in front of Las Olas property).  We spent about three hours both times and saw no one else.  That's the reality of that coastline, you will rarely see other people.

The first time I visited Las Olas back in November 2014, I posted this message on this thread: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … =3#2281829 which also include pictures I took.

That was before my wife and I decided to buy a property at Las Olas (then a 2nd and 3rd one), move to Ecuador, and eventually join Las Olas team.  Since I'm no more "neutral", I prefer to stay away of the conversation and let people make their own opinion. I will only jump in, like I did this week, if I can bring additional information people are looking for.

Highplainsdrifter's opinion will, of course, be valuable for all the potential buyers and observers.

yulrun wrote:

We spent about three hours both times and saw no one else.  That's the reality of that coastline, you will rarely see other people.

Probably be that way for years.  Enjoy your solitude!!

Hi everyone.  Just joined the thread regarding Las Olas.  I've read through many of your posts and have previews the project web site.  On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being very low probability, and 10 being very confident in the probility) how would each of you rate the probability of the course and homes being completed within the next 2 years?  Thanks for your feedback.

RetiretoEquador wrote:

Hi everyone.  Just joined the thread regarding Las Olas.  I've read through many of your posts and have previews the project web site.  On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being very low probability, and 10 being very confident in the probility) how would each of you rate the probability of the course and homes being completed within the next 2 years?  Thanks for your feedback.

You might better ask what are the probabilities of a long term dependable water supply.

I have the greatest faith in the las Olas team. I would give it a ten without the time restriction. I am impressed that they are taking extra steps to ensure the integrity of the project. Nothing is being done in a slipshod rushed manner. Hence i am pleased that there have been slight delays as they have ensured a quality outcome.

Thanks for your reply.  Have you or do you plan on making a purchase there?  Are you currently a full or part time Ecuador resident? 
Thanks

We did purchase three years ago and have been down to Bahia three years in a row for over a month at a time. we love the city, and the las olas community has been very welcoming. We plan on spending six months a year there when our house is completed.

I believe it is worth pointing out that member grammajan has five posts on this forum, all of them in this thread. And all of them praising the developers of Las Olas.

Until yesterday, grammajan's last post was two and a half years ago, 06 August 2013 21:01:18 post #13. At that time grammajan said:

-   "we purchased the rights to a beachfront bungalow there, but have great faith in its development. Our property will be ready to move in to in about two years after the infrastructure is built. We do not work for the developer,"

It is now 2016 and there is no indication that said infrastructure exists, or that grammajan has a house in Las Olas to move into.

Just sayin'.

Having once spent five years planning ,designing but unfortunaytely NOT building an 18 hole championship course in Canada, I would say Gardner one has hit on a most VALID concern.
No Water ; No Grass !

Has anyone responded to your post

Yes.  It seems that there are two very different sides to the story.  Some have faith that the development will succeed while others are convinced it will fail.  We're still very interested in Ecuador but have become more focused on other parts of the country - probably Cuenca.  Our sons' family are interested in joining us and would want to be near an English speaking school.  Do you have any input?

Ceibo valley golf course will be seeded in Paspalum, a type of grass specifically designed for seaside usage that can be watered with brackish water.

This has been discussed previously on this forum.

Again, I'm inviting people to contact the Las Olas team and visit the property on site if you have any interest in purchasing.

You can find new pictures of home construction on Las Olas Ecuador Facebook page.

yulrun wrote:

Ceibo valley golf course will be seeded in Paspalum, a type of grass specifically designed for seaside usage that can be watered with brackish water.

This has been discussed previously on this forum.

Again, I'm inviting people to contact the Las Olas team and visit the property on site if you have any interest in purchasing.

You can find new pictures of home construction on Las Olas Ecuador Facebook page.

Of course one does not water people with brackish water.  So when will (did?) the actual home construction start?

If you are at or near retirement age (or more specifically the age at which you intend to occupy your home in Ecuador), Las Olas is NOT for you, in my opinion.  This project is already three to five years behind original plans and is not progressing at a measurable rate.  Conservatively, if all goes well this project is 5 to 7 years from being in a condition in which you would begin to want to live there, unless you like incomplete infrastructure and possibly questionable utilities.  Get the artist's rendering out of your mind - if it ever achieves that state it will be at least 7 - 10 years from now.  Besides, do you really want to bet your remaining years in this mortal world that you'll remain healthy and alive long enough to enjoy your home?  There are existing, ready-to-go options elsewhere posing no (or at least a whole lot less) risk of losing all your money and, more importantly, all of your remaining time. This project is for someone around age 50 willing to gamble a bit on what it will be like when they're 60 or so and ready to retire.

Sounds like good advice Sawman.  Thanks.

Sawman
That's an excellent bit of foresight. In my personal situation I was never capable of purchasing but was more interested in a place to take up golfing again. The fact (as I understood it ) that golfing was for home owners only, was not a very 'welcoming' attitude, in my opinion. I don't envy the owner's struggles to maintain, finance and build such a massive project. Seems a bit of 'overkill' to me . Is the potential 'market' really available in such a small country. Ecuador has so many other amazing interests for re-tiring folks.

Lonecowboy wrote:

Sawman
That's an excellent bit of foresight. In my personal situation I was never capable of purchasing but was more interested in a place to take up golfing again. The fact (as I understood it ) that golfing was for home owners only, was not a very 'welcoming' attitude, in my opinion. I don't envy the owner's struggles to maintain, finance and build such a massive project. Seems a bit of 'overkill' to me . Is the potential 'market' really available in such a small country. Ecuador has so many other amazing interests for re-tiring folks.

I understand.  The Las Olas type golf compound is marketed to expats wanting to live outside their home country but want to minimize contact with locals and stay as much as possible in the perceived comfort and security of their fellow Americans / Canadians.  It's location supports the isolation they believe their buyers are wanting.

SawMan wrote:

Lonecowboy wrote:

Sawman
That's an excellent bit of foresight. In my personal situation I was never capable of purchasing but was more interested in a place to take up golfing again. The fact (as I understood it ) that golfing was for home owners only, was not a very 'welcoming' attitude, in my opinion. I don't envy the owner's struggles to maintain, finance and build such a massive project. Seems a bit of 'overkill' to me . Is the potential 'market' really available in such a small country. Ecuador has so many other amazing interests for re-tiring folks.

I understand.  The Las Olas type golf compound is marketed to expats wanting to live outside their home country but want to minimize contact with locals and stay as much as possible in the perceived comfort and security of their fellow Americans / Canadians.  It's location supports the isolation they believe their buyers are wanting.

According to Wikipedia (better than nothing), there are over 30,000 gated communities across the US.  You don't need to be an expatriate to prefer living in such community.

If you want to know who Las Olas Ecuador's owners are, there's an infographic on their website.  One important point, I think, is the fact that they visited on average 10 countries, and over half of them lived in a foreign country before.

I've been living outside of my home country for 9 years now, so I can talk with experience.  "Blending with the locals" is a nice concept.  How many newly immigrant friends do you have in the US?  I mean, people who arrived on US soil within the last year?  Well, that number is probably the number of local Ecuadorian friends you will have once you move here.

I'm not saying it's like that for everyone.  If you speak Spanish, if you've been traveling all over the world, etc., it easier to get friends with locals, but at the same, they have their own friends and family and most of them don't really care about foreigners.   The biggest reason why you will make local friends is usually because you share the same passion (fishing, golf, birdwatching, etc.).  So it's also why you usually end up spending time with other expats because you share the same reality, the same culture, similar values, education, etc.

Up to now, people from 10 different nationalities bought at Las Olas.  That's pretty open-minded I think.

Did the earthquake cause any damage to this project?

Since there is nothing at Las Olas, apparently no damage was done.

But our very thoughtful and well spoken member here may be gone for good.  No words can convey my deep sorrow for their losses.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/wor … e29655818/http://lasolasecuador.com/eathquake-ecuador/https://www.expat.com/forum/profile.php … mp;lang=en

gardener1 wrote:

Since there is nothing at Las Olas, apparently no damage was done.

But our very thoughtful and well spoken member here may be gone for good.  No words can convey my deep sorrow for their losses.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/wor … e29655818/http://lasolasecuador.com/eathquake-ecuador/https://www.expat.com/forum/profile.php … mp;lang=en

Yes, it is very tragic. Suppose it would be difficult to continue living where the great losses occurred.  Hope we do hear from him on here.

Thanks for asking. My daughter and I are committed to make our family dream happen and we will be back at Las Olas in July or August. This is our home.

Work continues on site with the building of the first three houses and three more should start soon. Platforms, retaining walls, roads, nothing moved and despite a small pause to let workers help themselves and their families, everybody is back and commited to make Las Olas a great place to live.

yulrun wrote:

Thanks for asking. My daughter and I are committed to make our family dream happen and we will be back at Las Olas in July or August. This is our home.

Work continues on site with the building of the first three houses and three more should start soon. Platforms, retaining walls, roads, nothing moved and despite a small pause to let workers help themselves and their families, everybody is back and commited to make Las Olas a great place to live.

me and my wife are very sorry for your loss Mr Laflamme and congrat for keeping your dream come through, Las Olas, we are sure, will become a great place to live

Daniel

Condolences to Pascal, aka Yulrun, for his losses.

Our longtime member moved with his family last year from an island in the Indian Ocean seeking to realize a dream on the Ecuador Coast at Las Olas.

cccmedia in Quito

Thank you cccmedia,

My daughter and I are safe in Canada along with our family, healing both physically and mentally...

Ecuador was a family dream and we will be back soon to pursue this dream.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Pascal aka yulrun

Hello compadres,

I've been meaning to post something from my trip to Ecuador and to Las Olas in particular but wanted to wait until some time had passed since the earthquakes and also did not want to be insensitive at a time when the country was dealing with the devastation and loss.  I traveled there from the 9th to the 16th to April, leaving on the evening of the 16th of April after the earthquake.  I was near Mindo when the earthquake struck on my way back to Quito to return home and so experienced some things but not nearly what they experienced on the coast.

I spent a little over two days in Bahia de Caraquez - or near it - as that is where the Las Olas construction is taking place.  After that I spent time seeing different areas of Ecuador.  During my time in Bahia, I spent my entire time from Sunday to Wednesday with the Las Olas team (as I'll call them) and some of the suppliers they work with in the area.  My background in this is principally civil / structural and environmental engineering as that is what my formal doctoral studies were in.  I also met with the developers and had the opportunity to discuss with them some of the question that have been raised on this form (so thanks to all of you for some of your ideas) like:  what's the business model for the development; how are the sales progressing compared to what is needed to complete the entire development; what is the time frame for the whole development; what were their motivations in selecting Ecuador and this area in particular, and things like that.  I also discussed details about the design of the homes in this particular area of the country - meaning a seismically active area, what were the concrete specifications they were using, what are the design loads the foundations are intended to meet, what is the production schedule for home construction - in general.

David, Pascal, Dean, Mandy, and others from the Las Olas development team provided detailed answers to all of my questions - at least where details were in keeping with the nature of the question.  Their interest in developing Las Olas is to produce a development that is second to none in the areas that they have identified as being the defining characteristics of the development:  architectural design; sustainability; ecological imprint; responsive to the customer community; and other factors that are described on their web site.  I don't know what their internal sales goals are, but there is a great deal of external interest in the properties at Las Olas and that was evident from the information that was being handled in their offices during my visit. 

On my first day with the Las Olas team, I actually spent much of the Day with David Maksymuik, one of the principal developers of Las Olas.  David showed me around the site and in particular, I had asked to see the golf course and the different properties at the development.  David showed me everything - I mean nearly every hole on the golf course, how it was designed to play.  We even played a couple of holes that are near completion.  We also toured some of the different parts of the future developments and I was able to get a better idea of the vision for the development of Las Olas - and not just the particular area that I had come to see.  If you enjoy golf - that course will entice you and break your heart both at the same time.  Though in all honesty, they are designing it to be played by people of all skill ranges... However, I could see some shots on the course that would just beg to be played with an eye toward 'risk taking' that - for me - would probably just end in disaster... The back nine is nearly done and I'm going to go back later this year to play it.

I can say that there is a great deal of construction activity at the Las Olas site.  The foundations of the first homes were being readied and I imagine that they have probably been poured by now - though I would not be able to personally confirm that.  They are taking a measured approach to home construction after all of the civil work that they have done at the site - it is really a tremendous amount of earth movement that they have accomplished and laying out of the home construction sites.  The are proceeding with the first home construction sites to verify all of the engineering analyses that have gone into the design and not to rush any parts of it.  That makes sense because after they finish the first 3 or 6 homes, then the rest will go up rather quickly in comparison.  They also use specialized construction teams for the Hormi-2 construction materials - not local "maestros' (or whatever the correct term is for journey-men carpenters is).  These are people who are certified by the Hormi-2 company to construct homes using these materials and only they will be doing this construction until they have trained the construction teams at the Las Olas site. 

From an engineering standpoint, I was very satisfied with the foundation design and concrete mixtures that they are using.  The foundations are over-engineered by several factors over what are needed for the homes (i.e., loads).  It was clear to me from my meetings with the design team and the concrete company (yes - I actually went to the concrete company's offices and inspected their materials, met their engineers, looked at their mixture calculations, toured the site and inspected all of the elements of the concrete mixture, saw where they did the slump tests for the concrete for the Las Olas site, etc.) that you can afford to over-engineer in Ecuador because it does not cost you any more.  For me, that's important in an area that's seismically active. 

Following the earthquake, my wife and I were understandably concerned about the seismic stability of any home in the Bahia area.  So, I conducted some seismic analyses of the Hormi-2 construction materials (which are being used by Las Olas) using published data from the USGS for the M7.8 Earthquake on April 16, and Seismic test results of an Emmedue, two story full-scale model house (the material that are used to build the Hormi-2 materials used in the Las Olas homes) conducted by the ENEA research Institute in Rome in 2008 (this test report is available on the Emmedue web site).  The results of the test of the whole building test place the peak ground acceleration at the mid-point of a Category VIII Earthquake (the peak of the April 16 earthquake) using the USGS  Instrumental Intensity scale (Modified Mercalli Scale).  This is equivalent to a Severe earthquake with moderate to heavy expected damage to "Resistant" structures.  These tests were repeated many times at the maximum peak ground acceleration with no damage observed to the two story model house.  With the foundations that they are using at Las Olas and the test results from ENEA, the seismic stability of the Las Olas homes looks very good and is in keeping with the use of modern, modular construction materials.  Obviously, there is a lot more to the analyses, but that's the condensed version.  You can email me if you want a copy of my analysis.

From viewing the posts on this forum, it's clear that what information I can provide will be useful to some and less useful to others - I'm not trying to influence anyone's decision.  Everyone's looking for something but we all decide a little differently.  What satisfies one person will not satisfy the next person.  So, I've just provided some highlights.  If you have a question, just ask me - I'd be happy to answer.  I'm not selling Las Olas - that is the job of their sales team.  I'm interested in networking with others who are interested in sharing information about the area and what they are thinking.  For my wife and I, that transitions to something of a different activity now since we have decided to purchase and build.  We'll probably be more interested in where to buy furniture in time or whether to bring it from America - things like that.  But we intend to use our home in Las Olas in the coming years as a spot to launch other vacations and tours of South America from.  We'll probably be there part time in the coming years as my business permits unless I can figure a way to manage my business from that far south ...  though it might be intriguing to bring a business to Ecuador...

The staff of Las Olas were gracious to me during my visit and I found them to be very forthcoming.  I arrived with a list of questions - like a typical engineer - and I worked through nearly all of them.  They were gracious in getting me all the information that I asked for.  When it came to engineering, they were even open to suggestions - if any.  That was pretty remarkable, although I didn't have any, because they had already been very thorough in their own engineering work.  For me though, it was nice meeting their engineering folks and knowing that they actually have them.  Their architects have done a pretty great job too.  For being such a small organization, I was impressed with their efficiency and candor.

I ate meals with them every morning, lunch and dinner.  They didn't miss an opportunity to spend time and ask questions of me - which I was intrigued by. 

Finally, I could not complete my 'trip report' without extending my heartfelt condolences to Pascal and his family.  They were and are truly committed to their dreams.  My thoughts and prayers have been with them and will be with them during their own rebuilding - God Bless them and all of the people of Ecuador who have suffered during this time.

Nicely stated!  Your report was very detailed. I'm flying out on 5/27-6/1 to buy a condo in Las Olas. It will only be me eventually moving there. It will be interesting to see the area and if there are any issues with the earth and material.

Greg

Thanks - I'll be interested to hear also how things are looking from your perspective.  Have a nice trip there!

I actually think that Sawman is quite wrong.  It's one thing to say things based on reports of others, from reading and responding to others in a discussion thread, and things like that.  It's another thing to actually visit, ask questions of the developer and sales team, present them your situation, needs, and find out if or not it is a fit for you.  A particular development such as Las Olas may not fit your needs but I think that's something that's worth finding out for yourself.  Another person on the discussion thread just mentioned that he will be traveling there soon and you may be interested in contacting him to see what his experiences are.  If you do need somewhere today - then I do agree with Sawman - keep looking for something existing.  But people will be moving into the Las Olas development later this year and the developers are preparing for that.  To say something is 7-10 years out based upon no first hand knowledge is simply perpetuating a sentiment that is being shared among a limited group of pessimists at this point.  However, there are other developments in Ecuador - I've looked into those as well and so should anyone who is serious about finding what is best for them.  Good luck in your search.  From my limited experience in exploring the country it's amazing and there are options if you need a place today.

This is probably the best post I have read on this blog.  It will be years before you will have all the amenities they are advertising.  However, if they do have documented water sufficient for the development then it still will be livable for those who enjoy the course.  But noisy. 

This is a very big project.  I have heard investors have spent $12,000,000 at this point and if they can build and close the 100 homes they have sold that will be probably another $10,000,000 in cash flow that is freed up to keep the project moving along.  The question I have is if it takes four months to build 3 homes, how many can they seriously do in a year (can they accelerate that production schedule).  And of course, will the homes have water, sewage treatment, electricity (appears relying on solar for a bunch of that), etc.

One 90 foot well wont do it that is for sure.  Bandon Dunes uses 80 wells for their 4 golf courses and it rains quite a bit there also.  Lots of unknowns and the project website doesn't seem to address all concerns which worries me.