There is no buzzing lobby. No long formidable hotel desk. No jostling line of people waiting to check in and out. Instead, there is the Hacienda’s Concierge desk, set in the open-air reception terrace, amidst stunning Old Mexico architecture and looking out on the almost unbelievably beautiful azure waters of the Sea of Cortez. And, […]
Continue ReadingThere is a way to protect yourself from currency fluctuations that may increase the cost of your property. The worldwide foreign exchange market is huge, with average daily turnover totaling approximately $3.2 trillion. In this industry, around 95% of all currency transactions are purely speculative, with the majority of trades being made by banks and […]
Continue ReadingI think that it is time to cover some of the Spanish terms used in construction. There isn’t room in the space I have for this column to cover all the terms but perhaps a brief primer is in order. First, the proper term to use to address any worker is not “usted” but “tu”. If you use usted you send […]
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To Part One: Agreement to purchase Part Two: Buying the house Now that the house was legally mine, I had to make some important decisions about how I would go about restoring the property. Alberto and I spent two exhausting weekends cleaning the house with the help of some hardworking guys who took the rubbish away, cleaned […]
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To Part Two: Buying the house Part Three: Restoration: time to make decisions This is a story about my love affair with an old house in Mexico. It began in February 2004, when I did a road trip across Mexico and ended my journey on the shores of Lake Chapala. Exploring Chapala town one day, I […]
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To Part One: Agreement to purchase Part Three: Restoration, time to make decisions The first step on my journey to buy the Mi Pullman house had been achieved — the family had agreed to sell. However, the distance between agreeing to sell me the house and making the escritura was vast — I had no idea that the […]
Continue ReadingCogan’s Reviews Where the Sky is Born: Living in the Land of the Maya by Jeanine Lee Kitchel Enchanted Island Press, Hawaii, 2004 Paperback, 217 pages Available from Amazon Books: Paperback And also on Kindle from Amazon.com at $9.99 Here’s another of those ‘coming to Mexico to live’ books – but with a difference. It’s not concerned with […]
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(Disclaimer: All prices quoted in this article are accurate as of February, 2000. In addition, there are ALWAYS exceptions!) It is helpful for newcomers to Mexico to review the basics of property evaluation so they can determine a realistic value of existing homes and lots. The best way to compare the prices of several dramatically […]
Continue ReadingGood year for investment Business reputations Property as an investment Revival in maquiladora industry Power projects Walmart strides forward Low tech solution to city water woes DaimlerChrysler buses The housing boom – a special report More mortgages Low-income homes Luxury homes Single personal identity code? Tequila week Train to the airport? Mail boxes etc Popeye […]
Continue ReadingWe talked about this subject a few months ago, but recently we have worked with three cases of people being ripped off for their deposits on Mexico real estate. Two were deposits on purchasing a Mexico house, and one for a rental. These cases involved a total of $26,000 USD. In all three, the client […]
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