[ Post a Response | THE TEPIC AND NAYARIT, MEXICO JOURNAL ]
Posted by Cuyler Salyer on 2/27/2008, 11:03 am, in reply to " House hunting in Tepic. A moving experience."
Message modified by board administrator 2/27/2008, 4:40 pm
Alice is the expert!
Alice has it down to a tee. I just have a couple of additional comments to make.
1. When searching for a rental (and do rent before buying). Think Amenities, Amenities, Amenities. Why, well life is different here, slower than NOTB, parking is scarce excepting at the major Super Mercados and new Mall so you will be walking a lot. Hey, and that’s a good thing, just look at Sr. Cliffardo and you will see the specimen of a trim, fit Gringo as he walks often over 5 miles a day (his choice). Also you will be using taxis a lot ($2.00-2.50 $USD each way most common fare), or kombi’s even cheaper. Tons of cabs in town. You will want most of your daily needs to be a quick walk of your home – excepting maybe the Super Mercado. Actually you don’t even have to have a car down here, it’s just more convenient, but many people rely on public trans.
2. Most Gringos make a mistake and rent or buy a house too big for the two of them just because they can as it is a lot cheaper here. Bigger houses will cost you more maintenance, more maids, etc. Cde. De Valle seems to have a lot of the right sized houses for retirees, but other neighborhoods do too.
3. Careful about buying into a Condominium down here or a home in a development that has significant homeowner’s fees. If you do, check out very carefully all the neighbors, and if they are all current in their maintenance fees to the Association. This country is ruled and run by emotion not logic – just a fact. People often buy out of excitement, move in and then later when any kind of financial pinch occurs, they just stop making the maintenance fees or home owner fees. That can leave you out of needed services that you are paying for.
A for instance. We know of a nice older condo development on the water in Mazatlan. Well they elevators have been out of service for several years, as they don’t have the money to fix them because numerous “Mexicano” owners have not keep current, some owing more than a year in back maintenance fees. We lived in one of the most very pricey, prestigious development in Northern Baja California before, that many of the lots to buy; you have to pay more than the price of the lot in back “homeowner’s fees” in order to transfer the property into your name. Some owners haven’t paid any since they bought over 10 years ago.
4. Selling is harder and takes typically a longer time here. Depending on the market and the Economy, you might sit on your home for 1-3 years before it gets sold! Although there is more and more financing becoming available for housing down here you typically pay a higher interest rate than in the states.
Mexico is coming off of an economic culture of paying all cash for housing – excepting INFONVIT housing. Here most employers have to pay those INFONVIT Taxes of 15% of an employee’s wages – for their future housing. There are plenty of loans for those little $20-40K $USD equivalent little 850 sq. ft. – 1000 sq. ft. little houses for the workers.
Alice is dead on with her comment “...People with mucho pesos usually want new houses. No highway will ever be special enough to make Tepic a big tourist destination...”.
5. Buying a lot and building your dream home? Well, I can personally tell you that construction down here is not for the feint at heart or no recommended if you are suicide prone – it will put you over the edge! I’d say a pretty good rule – if you are over 65 years of age you won’t have enough energy to keep up with the frustrations.
6. Buying in the future will most likely be a very good investment here after the expected bottom in the World Wide Implosion from the Housing Bubble, probably around 2010-2014.
Rent first, get the lay of the land, culture and learn what you like and don’t like, then buy.
In all likelihood there is going to be a new North American Union. George W. talked about a meeting towards that in New Orleans later this year with the Presidents of Canada, Mexico and USA in his State of the Union Speech. Mexican property values after the bottom should improve significantly maybe even more than in the USA as Mexico’s Fiscal House is in a lot better shape than the USA right now – Federal Deficit wise. It would be a good hedge against the continuing World Wide increase in Inflation.
