Latitude Sol - Live it Now.

Dreaming of a Second Home in Mexico?

Stephanie — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:40:56 +0000

It’s fascinating to watch the growth of real estate development across Mexico. Donald Trump has a project in Northern Baja, new luxury developments are sprouting up from La Paz, Baja California Sur, to the west coast of mainland Mexico, including Puerto Vallarta, and east to the Caribbean and Riviera Maya.

And the rate of luxury real estate development is astounding. With gated communities and resort developments along every coast, there are an increasing number of real estate developments and amenities for people to consider when thinking about a second home in Mexico.

Who’s buying?

As you would expect, there has been an increase in international real estate transactions from U.S. and Canadian buyers, but Mexico is also experiencing strong interest from buyers and investors throughout Europe as well.

Where are some of the hotspots in Mexico?

If you’re looking for the amazing waters of the blue Caribbean, some of the best snorkeling and diving in the world, Mayan ruins and ceynotes, check out the Riviera Maya! If you’re looking for a dry, desert experience along the Gulf of Mexico with great golf, sea kayaking, sailing and fishing, then definitely check out Baja California and the Gulf of Mexico. And then if you’re interested in a mountainous, tropical experience with some of the best sailing, diving and golf, by all means check out the west coast of mainland México along the Pacific Ocean.

Here is a snapshot of some of the areas, real estate development, and real estate companies to help you explore the areas and types of real estate available in those regions.

Baja California Real Estate

Baja California is both beautiful and varied. Northern Baja is experiencing growth as a wine making region, and southern Baja is experiencing tremendous real estate growth with people buying second homes for investment, and many relocating their residences to the area.

CostaBaja Resort & Marina, located in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico is a 500-hundred acre master-planned resort, with an enviable address that stretches from the desert to the Sea of Cortez. Development of Phase II is now underway with 123 casitas and condos to choose from, all with endless sea views. In June, 2008, CostaBaja Resort announced its partnership with PREI(R) (the real estate investment management business of Prudential Financial Inc.) and expanded plans for further luxury development throughout the property.

Snell Real Estate has experienced tremendous success building a trusted real estate service familiar to North Americans and has grown to become the largest independent luxury real estate brokerage in all of Baja representing the exclusive master-planned communities of Villas Del Mar, Espiritu Del Mar, Oasis Palmilla, Palmilla, Cabo del Sol and Punta Ballena, all located within the 20-mile tourist corridor known as Los Cabos.

Puerto Vallarta Real Estate

On the West coast of mainland Mexico, you’ll find Puerto Vallarta with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, town and surrounding jungle hillside, and a growing inventory of modern luxury properties.

La Punta Realty is a luxury real estate and vacation rentals firm based in Puerto Vallarta to Punta de Mita, Mexico. Specializing in coastal lots and land, luxury residences, exclusive resort villas and deluxe beachfront condominiums, and providing services to help North Americans and Europeans purchase property in the Puerto Vallarta area.

In addition, the Avalon Condominiums Resort & Spa represented by Tropicasa Realty are an example of modern architecture – incorporating the best of European, Mexican and Asian design, along with unstoppable views of the Bay of Banderas in Puerto Vallarta.

Riviera Maya Real Estate

If the Caribbean inspires you, take some time to get to know Playa del Carmen, Akumal and Tulum, south of Cancun. This region, knows as the Riviera Maya is absolutely stunning, with long stretches of beautiful white sandy beaches, teal blue waters, and fun jungle adventures. One of the most impressive properties we learned about during our recent visit to the MINT conference were the Capella Residences in Playa del Carmen, a community of over 254 acres of property on the Caribbean Ocean, featuring a mile of beachfront. Stunning.

Mexico Real Estate Resources

There are a lot of things to learn when considering a real estate purchase in Mexico. At every level in Mexico’s real estate marketplace – developers, sellers, real estate agents, and local and state governments – substantial steps have been taken to protect foreign property investments. With third party escrow services, title insurance policies and mortgages becoming available the process is becoming more established. However, it’s important that you do your homework. One resource we definitely recommend when researching real estate in Mexico is the book “Cashing in on a Second Home in Mexico” by Tom Kelley and Mitch Creekmore. It’s a great read and definitely worth your time.

Team Members Attend Mexico Real Estate Conference

Stephanie — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:17:41 +0000

Next week, members of our team will be attending MINT 2008 in Cancun, Mexico. MINT 2008 is the Fourth Annual Mexican Second Home and Resort Conference and will be held June 19-22, 2008.

In addition to meeting with Real Estate Developers and Real Estate Professionals developing a variety of types of properties and resorts throughout Mexico, we will be touring properties in the Cancun area. This conference will give us the opportunity to gain additional insights about real estate trends and hot spots throughout Mexico.

During and following the conference we will share posts about what we’re learning and some properties we think may be of particular interest to North Americans. So stay tuned.

Best regards,

The Latitude Sol Team

Latitude Sol Radio Visits Puerto Vallarta

Stephanie — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:35:28 +0000

Latitude Sol Radio Host, Corine McKenzie, talks with U.S. Citizen, Dean Pope, about his experiences living in Mexico. Dean is a former resident of the Pacific Northwest and now calls Puerto Vallarta home. This interview was conducted in April, 2008 at a sidewalk café in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. (You’ll hear some background noise which adds a bit of insight into the excitement and activity on the streets of Puerto Vallarta.) Click here to hear the radio interview.

Hey it’s Corine McKenzie with Latitude Sol Radio and we are in beautiful, sunny Puerto Vallarta, located on the pacific coast of Mexico. We’re down here just chatting with people from the United States who have decided to make Mexico their home, and hear their stories about how they ended up living down here. I’m with one of the lucky ones.

Corine: You’re from the United States, you took the plunge, and you purchased real estate here in Mexico.

Dean: Yes, this is true and I did that about 14 years ago. I bought property down here after I sailed these waters for 3 or 4 years. I consider myself sort of a veteran of this part of the world.

Corine: Now you live, just on the outskirts of Puerto Vallarta?

Dean: I live on the north side of the bay, in Bucerias. Puerto Vallarta is actually on the end of the Bay of Banderas. If you go north, past the airport and past Nuevo Vallarta, then you come to Bucerias. If you continue on you will end up at Punta Mita and the point of the bay.

Corine: Can you describe for us or do you remember the exact moment when you thought “I’m going to purchase (real estate) in Mexico, I’m going to live here.”

Dean: I don’t know if there was an exact moment. I sailed these waters, and I sailed the Pacific, but I came back, and I decided I was sort of looking for a place on the coast of Mexico. And I decided after looking at a lot of the coastal towns. I like Zihuatanejo. I like Mazatlan. I like areas up in the Sea of Cortez. But also I like this (area) because of the fact that we’re starting into the tropical zone in Puerto Vallarta. I like the feeling of the palm trees and the jungle. I like the International airport that is close by. And, it was easy to get in and out of so I thought this was a nice place to hang my hat at least for a period of time. And the period of time has gotten longer and longer.

Corine: What is a typical day for you here in Puerto Vallarta?

Dean: Well a typical day is not typical because I’m retired and I have been retired for going on 20 years now. But I play a lot of tennis; I play a lot of golf. I have people that come down from the States that are here, virtually constantly.

Corine: So, that’s something to consider – to get a big house with a guest room. (Laughs)

Dean: Well, that’s true. We have a fairly large house, but we also have a small casita, or guest house. And so, a lot of people like that. But they are friends, and they are people that you want to see and they are people that you want to spend time with. So I don’t resent people coming down and people spending time with us. But a typical day can be anything. I have a fishing boat. I fish some days. And some days I go someplace else too. We travel a lot in Mexico. We have some favorite cities that are outside of Puerto Vallarta and up in different parts of the inland part of Mexico. In fact I’ve traveled virtually all of Mexico at this point in time.

Corine: Sounds nice. Sounds like a permanent vacation to me. You’re so laid back about it. I’m jealous. Can you describe the process of how it was to purchase property in Mexico? Was it more confusing than buying property in the United States?

Dean: Well, I knew how to do it. I don’t look at it as being confusing. It was a fairly scheduled and set up way of doing it. Anymore, or even previous to this, you can’t as a foreigner own property within 20 miles of the ocean or within 30 miles of the border (approximate). But you can set up a trust, which is a legal entity here in Mexico, and it’s through what is called a fidecomiso. You set that up through the land lawyers, who are designated in this part of the world, they’re actually called Notaries down here, but they’re quite different than the Notaries in the States. They’re sort of super lawyers that deal only in land. And, by setting up this trust, you go through a bank, and the bank works with the land lawyer and in the end you have a trust that is recognizable for 50 years, and it is extendable for another 50 years. And during that period of time, it is freely negotiable, and saleable and inheritable as you designate a beneficiary. And so, really in that respect, it’s as close as you can get to owning property. If you’re away from the coast and away from the border, anybody can buy anything. It doesn’t depend upon what your nationality or your citizenship is.

Corine: Looking around as we’ve been traveling the last week or so down here, I’ve noticed so much new construction and a lot of it seems to be catering to North Americans. Would you agree with that?

Dean: Well I agree with that, however, but maybe it’s just modernization for the Mexicans. Yes, within the last year we’ve got Costco and we’ve got Home Depot, and a big Toyota dealership, and out in my area a gigantic grocery store which we didn’t have before and things that are very convenient to the foreigners. But also they are things that are very convenient to the working Mexicans here. You’ll go into Costco or Sam’s Club or any of the retail outlets that we know and there will be more Mexicans and more locals than Gringos. I think it’s kind of recognition of reality and what the opportunities are for these large corporations and these large businesses to come in, that they recognize that they have to cater and sell the products to the people who live here. And the most people who live here are Mexican and if they can afford it then it’s a good deal.

Corine: Dean I’m going to have to ask you to stop honking that horn. (Laughing).

Dean: I thought you wanted a clown act. That was as good as I could do.

Corine: Thank you so much for talking to us. You used to live up in the Pacific Northwest, you now call Mexico home. It sounds like anybody can do it, it sounds like a relatively easy process. We thank you for joining us this afternoon.

Dean: Well thank you Corine, it’s been nice talking to you.

Disclaimer: The information shared on this site is for informational purposes and is it not intended to be legal advice that replaces that of a legal professional. Anyone considering a real estate purchase in Mexico – or anywhere for that matter – should consult with legal professionals. The views and opinions shared by guests on Latitude Sol and Latitude Sol Radio are for informational purposes only.

Welcome to Latitude Sol!

Stephanie — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:47:18 +0000

What is Latitude Sol?

Well let’s start by asking “have you ever dreamed of living part of your life in a beautiful, sunny destination without the everyday stresses we’ve come accustomed to? If the answer is yes, you’re not alone. There are a growing number of people with that same very desire.

For many, Mexico has long been a favorite vacation destination, and now it’s becoming a desired place to live. While it’s difficult to calculate the number of Americans living abroad, there have been estimates that more one million U.S. citizens reside in Mexico. And with each passing month, thousands of baby-boomers are entering the Mexico real estate market to purchase second homes, investment properties or primary residences. And it’s not just Americans, but Canadians are also part of this growing trend.

According to the International Living, Global Retirement Index 2007, Mexico tops the list in countries to consider for retirement outside of the U.S. Recognized as an affordable combination of modern features and old-world charm, Mexico offers a perfect mix of centuries-old traditions and contemporary lifestyles. Mexico also benefits from a close proximity to the U.S., a robust healthcare system, a diverse climate, affordable real estate, and modern amenities familiar to those living north of the border, like: cable TV, high-speed internet, modern appliances and more.

So, starting with Mexico, Latitude Sol was created to share insights about what it’s like to live in Mexico, what it’s like to invest in Mexico, how to go about researching real estate in Mexico, and information about many beautiful destinations, cultural inspirations and familiar amenities that are available throughout the country.

Over the coming months we will also feature a variety of luxury properties, as well as talk to Expats and experts on the topic of buying real estate in Mexico.

If you have purchased real estate in Mexico, or know someone who has, we’d love to hear from you. Just drop us a note.

Cheers,
The Latitude Sol Team