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.
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