Written By Christina Rodriguez
If you are looking to build a new home in the Rio Grande Valley and want a high quality, energy efficient home consider calling Dalila and Raul Perez of Caltia Construction in Mission, Texas. Caltia Construction values excellence and has been building homes in this area since 2006. They started building homes for family members while he was managing an automotive component manufacturing plant in Reynosa.
Raul graduated with two degrees from ITESM – Tec de Monterrey – one in mechanical engineering and the other in electrical engineering. He also comes from a family of builders. Dalila graduated as CPA from Universidad de Monterrey UDEM. When choosing a name for the construction company, they wanted something unique and they searched for words from the Aztec, Mayan, and Olmec languages and ultimately chose the word “caltia” which means “builder” in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire.
AEP Texas High Performance Homes / Energy Star® Program
” A new home or apartment that has earned the ENERGY STAR® certification has undergone a process of inspections, testing, and verification to meet strict requirements set by the US EPA. AEP Texas High Performance Homes / Energy Star® Program certified homes and apartments use significantly less energy than typical new homes and apartments while delivering better comfort, quality, and durability.
Across South Texas (Corpus, RGV & Laredo) we have over 50 Builders and 1,000 homes. In RGV we had 18 Builders and about 350 homes. We have three awards: Single (home) highest kW savings, accumulated (all the builders homes) most kW and Path to Performance (new builder to the Program). Only Caltia Construction has won the Single Home Highest kW Savings Award 3 times in the Rio Grande Valley.”
The ENERGY STAR® program encourages construction companies to go above and beyond current building codes. Caltia construction was one of the first builders in the Valley to enroll in the ENERGY STAR® program. He has found a way to build within the ENERGY STAR® standards and keep the home price competitive. The reason Raul chose to build energy efficient homes is because he wanted to find a way to “truly measure the quality of a house.” Not only from the result, or what you can see in the home, but “on the stuff that you cannot see.” In this way, Raul can show buyers a certificate that proves the quality of the homes he builds.
Homebuyers typically judge a house on what they can see – the quality of the workmanship in the tile, walls, painting, and more. What is behind the walls is not something you can see for yourself when touring a new build. Raul feels that the only way he can prove that his homes are better than the rest is through the ENERGY STAR® program.
Caltia Construction has received many awards for their homes over the years and is the only company in the Valley that has received the ENERGY STAR® AEP Texas High-Performance Homes – HIGHEST kW SAVINGS AWARD three times.
2013 – Caltia Construction built a custom home for a family who asked for a great quality home. Raul didn’t originally plan on entering the home into a contest, but once the home was completed everything fell into alignment and they were able to enter. Not only did Caltia win the 2013 AEP Texas High-Performance Homes HIGHEST kW SAVINGS AWARD, it also won BEST OF SHOW, Best Kitchen, and Best Home in its price category from the Parade of Homes by the RGV Builder’s Association.
2015 – The second Caltia Construction home that won was custom built for someone getting ready to retire. The home was built within budget and again, was not intentionally built with an award in mind. At the end of the year this home got selected to be the recipient of the AEP Texas High-Performance Homes HIGHEST kW SAVINGS AWARD.
2016 – Caltia built another custom home, this time a single-family rental home and again was not intentionally built with a contest in mind. It won the Best HERS Score of 50 Award and the Best Home in its price category from the Parade of Homes by the RGV Builder’s Association.
2019 – This third time now one of Caltia’s spec homes built at Las Villas del Rio on Shary got selected as the AEP Texas High-Performance Homes HIGHEST kW SAVINGS AWARD.
Raul suggests that first time home buyers consider investing in rental properties such as a fourplex. He recommends you live in one unit and rent the others to help pay your mortgage and build equity. Veterans can do this through their VA loan with 0 down, others can get an FHA loan and pay 3 to 5% down. After a few years, you can build a single-family home and use the original property that is bringing in money as collateral for the new loan. This is still a home loan.
If you build a home first and then want to build a fourplex it becomes a commercial loan and you pay 25-30% down plus a higher interest rate. He says this is the perfect investment for those working in the oil fields, medical, or border security that way if you need to relocate you left behind a property that pays for itself.
Four reasons to buy a 4-Plex before your first home.
1. Home values are high – Home values have been rising. A low inventory of houses for sale has led to a dramatic increase in home values.
2. Interest rates are low – Interest rates are typically under 4%. Your rate will depend on multiple factors – your down payment amount, your credit score, and your debt to income ratio.
3. There are tax benefits – Rental real estate typically has more tax benefits and the interest is tax deductible.
4. You have monthly cash flow potential – What can be better than other people paying your mortgage while you build equity? Any extra money can go towards paying your debt, bills, or savings for a down payment on your next house.
Caltia Construction is currently building Apartments 4-Plex on their new Las Villitas private Subdivision. Shary Rd between Mile 4 and 5, within the City of Mcallen and Sharyland ISD.
Same great quality on homes and apartments.
Call Raul Perez at 956-997-7777 or visit
www.caltiaconstruction.com
