Well does anyone care

Looks like I failed to keep up this blog, and no one noticed,  especially me!  2016 was an amazing year in Mexico, and so much happened.  I will consider updating this with my latest adventure!  Real Estate discovery tours!

Other home options in Cabo San Lucas

Condos in Cabo San Lucas

            While staying at the timeshare, we took three day trips to look at other options for homes.  They range in price from the low $200,000 to $1.2 million. 

            The first trip was to the Ventanas,http://www.ventanasresidences.com/engl/residences/index.html. I met the agents down at the wharf and they were eager to show me around.  They gave me an extended tour of the four phases of the development.  Including both individual homes and condos.

            The first phase was completed and did not have any vacancies.  The other phases were in a range of construction. 

            It was in exploring these that it occurred to me, that I would clearly want a corner unit!  The price was a bit higher, however the extra windows seemed critical. 

            These appeared to be built with the goal of meeting the low end of the second home market.  The views were fantastic, and the amenities were excellent, including the clubhouse and pool.  They were well located, just above Home Deport, with a short drive to downtown and the beaches.  One of the phases was also tucked up to the hillside leading to the mountains.  There were trails, so you could mountain bike from the Condo. 

            The following day we went out to Copala.  This development was very much under construction, with no condos available for viewing.  The clubhouse was completed and was very well appointed.  The prices started around $350K.

            The views were going to be amazing with golf course and ocean views.  Like the Ventanas, there were homes available in the development.  However these were very high end, reaching toward $1mil.  

            This development was on the Pacific Ocean and there was absolutely no swimming.  Location was about 45+ minutes to the airport and 10 minutes to downtown. 

            The company that was developing these units had developed the near by resort of Pueblo Bonito, which had an excellent reputation.  For me however, I wouldn’t consider buying or putting money down on a place I couldn’t step into and see the views. 

            The third trip was to the Villa La Estancia, which was located directly between our timeshare resort, and a sister time share resort.  There were fractional and full ownerships available.  It was located on the famous beach.  The prices went up over $1million for the penthouses.  I was told that they provided a solid return as a rental.  Which makes sense, since it really felt like a high end hotel.  The homeowner’s fees were silly expensive, so expensive that I blocked the numbers from my mind. 

            In the end, if I was to buy a condo in Cabo San Lucas, the Ventanas would have been my first choice due to location, and price.   If money was no object then the Copala homes might have won out.  Not sure about not having a swimmable beach nearby, maybe a deal breaker for some. 

Time Share experience in Cabo San Lucas.

            Here’s the link to the deal we got: http://www.bookvip.com.   It’s an all-inclusive and at a very reasonable price.  Be prepared for sensory overload.  You must participate in the 3-hour presentation to get the deal.  They say it is 90 minutes, however, it’s three hours, period!  Here’s a tip, be prepared to say no, and don’t agree to buy something because “we just wanted them to stop pushing us”!  

            By the way, it’s now called vacation ownership.  It wasn’t for us, however it is a reasonable way to get an annual 7-day vacation in the tropics. The annual cost is about $700 a week, not all-inclusive.  The buy-in price, at the presentation, started at $30,000, and quickly dropped to $15,000.  And if you are considering this option, please look at the secondary market, where folks are just trying to walk away from their annual dues.  Our friend down there has 8 separate units that he bought for $10 or less.  He used them two weeks at a time and would come down from Eugene every four weeks or so.  Now he owns a home, in Cabo San Lucas and lives there full time. 

            The resorts are beautiful with good management.  The beach was lovely, however we quickly tired of locals attempting to sell everything to us, including drugs.   We saw a turtle laying eggs, and the next day another nest was hatching! There was evening entertainment along with the buffet, which got old after the first few nights.  Our room, a studio, had a great view. 

             The town of San Lucas is geared for a younger crowd.  It was filled with bars, and overpriced restaurants.  I imagine, someday our adult children may enjoy the town. 

            There are parts of San Lucas that are geared for the affluent.  In between the two large timeshare hotels was a partial/full ownership building.  Units where going for over a million, and in my opinion, it would be like buying an apartment in a hotel.   However, since you can rent it out, I was told that you can receive a 10% return on you investment annually!  A million can buy you a beach-front villa, however, you would have a great deal more responsibility, and not likely rent it like a hotel.

            Overall, I would recommend doing the vacation ownership presentation, and take advantage of the all-inclusive deal of five days on a beach.   While we were staying there we went on a couple of property tours of some condo developments.  I found them to be excellent and will give you more info in the next post. 

Todos Santos! Close but no cigar!

            There were cigars available, as wells as yoga and mountain bike guides!  The town is about 90 minutes to the international airport in San Jose Del Cabo.  They are building a new highway that will cut off 30 minutes.  It sits overlooking the Pacific Ocean with deadly beautiful beaches.  It appears that many of the beaches in southern baja, especially along the Pacific have a dangerous under tow and steep drop offs.  

            There is some pavement going through the middle of town, however most of the side streets are dirt and sand.  I stayed at the Historic Todos Santos Inn, for sale by the way.  Four stars, really, including the sushi. 

            Regarding the real estate market, they are behind the curve, yet closer to our norm than everything I had seen on my journey to date.  That is to say, that when I met with a broker who works for the largest local office, he was spending his time entering the firms properties onto the multiple listing service(mls).   It appears  a brand new real estate practice for the area. 

             During the evening I spoke with a woman whose property had been on the market for a couple of years, she had no sign in front of her home and no mls listing, so unless you spoke with her or her broker, you might never have seen the property.  It sounded like a beautiful historic home, she was asking 1.1 million.  I found my review of the local property prices here to be high.   And it appears the market is still depressed.  It’s an artsy, town with a new age feel, so imagine as the market rebounds this area will recover well.  There was also a great sense of community as they rallied in support for hurricane relief.  I must also mention there is an annual music festival in January. 

            As I have learned, everything in Mexico is negotiable.  And my personal experience supports that you can bid and the owner will accept an offer and amount significantly less than her asking price.  I am getting ahead of my self, and will write about our adventures in finding Casa Indya in future blogs.  

Loreto, stop for breakfast, stay for a lifetime!

  

            Half-way down the southern state of Baja, on the east coast, the lovely town of Loreto.  A fisherman's mecca! I had breakfast when I first pulled into town at the Mission Hotel.  Great Internet, Starbucks and a great omelet covered with hollandaise!  For the three nights stayed in Loreto, the occupancy was 10 percent full at best.  It was December and this was a four-star hotel with an amazing view!  I stayed at El Tiburon, Liz the owner was great!

            The Malecon is only about a half mile long.  All remodeled in 2012.  There were numerous opportunities for commercial property to be had.  Including empty lots, half finished buildings and a no longer operational disco.  There is also the marina with its primitive slips.  Curiously, on Sundays a Princess Cruise ship comes through this town. 

            I met and talked with three realtors.  Jill is an expat who runs a small hotel, an art gallery and sells real estate on the side.  She sold three houses last year.  Randy sold 4 million dollars worth with his partner.   He seemed to have the most listings. 

            There is no multiple listing service (MLS) so if you want to see property your agent must first pick up the keys from the listing agent.  Since there were no lock boxes, the listing agents were often at the house to open the door.  Also, there were commercial and residential lots available everywhere. 

            There is remodeled airport, however there are only 5 flights a week, which is about 400 incoming seats a week.  This is a major problem for the commercial side of things.

            I spoke with a local who has worked with others to build his own gated retirement community.  He pays $4000 a year for services including security.  They built homes on land they rent, not own, therefore they could lose it at any time.  This individual advised me that I should only invest in Mexico what I am willing to walk away from because in the end I am a gringo.  One guy I met, has been trying for ten years to get title to the land he paid for.  These are more examples of individuals that have left their brains at the border

            South of the Airport, there has been a great deal of development.  Loreto Bay has beautiful homes, condos, and a hotel with golf course.  I met with Jesus and he gave me a tour of the condos.  There are some great deals here.  HOA fees were very cheap; units were beautiful with great views.  Occupancy was just over 50% on the 48 units.  Nearby, is the Loreto Hotel, which sits on a beach with truly epic views.  As the sun was setting, there was not another soul to be seen.  Again the occupancy was about 10%. 

            Further south, another 15 miles, is another new development still under some construction.  The Villa Del Palmar, a time-share resort that has its own private canyon and bay.  The service was fantastic and the amenities were superb.  However, the food in the buffet did not match up with its surroundings.   Managing a restaurant capable of serving hundreds, yet actually only serving 60 meals a day, is fraught with nightmare logistics. 

            The entire infrastructure is present with good roads, utilities and a marina for this area to become the next hot spot.  For the past 15 years, folks have thought this area was going to take off.   Numerous individuals and corporations have spent millions.   Along with the lack of airlines providing service, two of the major factors contributing to the lack luster interest are the world economy and history of drug violence.  I have seen no indication that the drug war has affected this area.  Despite all the efforts, this area may never take off due to its remote location and weather issues.  I understand it gets uncomfortably hot for most of the year.