Not me. Would be on a short list of things I would never do.
But someone I know is considering it. Would be keeping residency in the US but sounds like the majority of time would be there.

They have done their research. But I am still thinking they are missing the bigger picture.

Having said that I am wondering about some folks who have done or know about doing something like this. Yes we all know about the danger of of what this country presents. Seems there are tons of Americans and Canadians down there.

I know there are no municipal water delivery or sewer systems there. Septic's are probably iffy. Roads are so so. And so on and so on. What Else?

Thanks guys.

Frequently hit by MAJOR hurricanes.

Desert in every direction and every avenue of escape.

Cartel's playground.

Go there to go deep sea fishing for a few days then GFTO!

King of the Hill taught me that Americans can't own land in Mexico.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to eat some of O'Kelly's penguins.

https://thelatinvestor.com/blo...eal-estate-foreigner

Just a few stories, one guy from MN bought a condo on the mainland from Cozumel. It was behind a guarded gate, plenty around. He said it was much cheaper than FL. He also said they were restrictions with passing it on to heirs, after a time period it was possible.

Another guy was having a house built in Belize, complained about locals trying to rip him off or stealing materials.

I thought Cabo had a fair bit of crime around? More than average, that could be a concern.

I know Costa Rica is USA friendly, reasonable costs, rather safe.

Me, I’d just do the resort or air BnB lifestyle, skip ownership.

It’s Mexico.

Need I say more?

Poverty creates desperation, and desperation creates crime. In some cases, appalling, heinous crimes.

There is a never ending amount of poverty south of the border. Some affluence too, but the rule of thumb is certainly heavy toward the former. Add in the migrations routes of utterly desperate people from even worse off places, and yes, the cartels.

It wouldn't take long for them to come to know who and where the rich* gringo is that moved in. Gated communities, secured by who?.. the brother in law of the guy who is in the cartel?

*Even in the US, I've come to learn that "rich" means anyone with more money than you.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
It’s Mexico.

Need I say more?

^^ THIS^^ I have known people who travel and who owned houses in Mexico. They are convinced they are safe where the visit/own. Nothing can change their thoughts.

Just tell your friend to 'keep his head about him' and think twice.
Get it..'keep his head about him'

quote:

Originally posted by urbanwarrior238:
^^ THIS^^ I have known people who travel and who owned houses in Mexico. They are convinced they are safe where the visit/own. Nothing can change their thoughts.

Just tell your friend to 'keep his head about him' and think twice.
Get it..'keep his head about him'

I've got a good buddy and his GF who have had a home built near Los Barrilos and this describes them perfectly. They continually state that while Mexico is horrible with drugs/crime/etc..., THAT part of Mexico is OK.

He's a former SEAL, so he knows how to take care of himself and do what needs doing should the need arise, but I'm afraid he'd be seriously outgunned with nowhere to run.

Another friend's in-laws have owned a place further up the peninsula for a few decades that he and his wife have essentially inherited. They spend a few months/year down there and love it, thinking that it's perfectly safe.

Me? Not a chance in hell.

There's all kinds of info available on YouTube. Search "expats living in Mexico" and you'll find all the info you need.

No water and sewer in Cabo? Seriously have you ever been there? Yes there is infrastructure there in the town and other places in Baja as well.

While I will agree that Mexico as a whole is not some place where I would choose to own property, Baja is safer than the rest of Mexico. How much safer will depend on the location and how you define safe. The guy who sold us our vacation home near Asheville bought a home in Cabo that was owned by the band “The Red Hot Chili Peppers” and spends several months a year there. He is a former Air Force Pararescue so he too can take care of himself.

Using YouTube to get accurate information about anything is ridiculous.

The inability to (legally) have a gun would be an issue for me I have been to various Mexican resort towns several time and wife has a friend with a family place in Cozumel. If you buy within 30 miles of the coastline you have to hold title in a 50 year trust where the honorable Mexican bank is the trustee. I’m sure nothing could ever go wrong…

Unless I was Mexican and spoke and read the language and kinda fit in (I don’t) and was going to live on site pretty much full time I’d save the cash and just enjoy a luxury vacation every year. As well you are not stuck with feeling like you have to go to the condo in Cabo every year you could visit many other places on the planet. Your financial situation may dictate you could do both. Most couldn’t of course.

How can you " take care of yourself " when you are not allowed to own a gun ?

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
No water and sewer in Cabo? Seriously have you ever been there? Yes there is infrastructure there in the town and other places in Baja as well.

While I will agree that Mexico as a whole is not some place where I would choose to own property, Baja is safer than the rest of Mexico. How much safer will depend on the location and how you define safe. The guy who sold us our vacation home near Asheville bought a home in Cabo that was owned by the band “The Red Hot Chili Peppers” and spends several months a year there. He is a former Air Force Pararescue so he too can take care of himself.

Using YouTube to get accurate information about anything is ridiculous.

Yeah, info on YouTube from people actually living there vs secondhand info about some guy's realtor buying a house from the "Red Hot Chili Peppers" is ridiculous....

quote:

Using YouTube to get accurate information about anything is ridiculous.

No, It's not.

YouTubers are all trying to sensationalize what ever topic they are filming about in order to get clicks. Most of us should already know that. They are trying to monetize their channel to create an income stream (not unlike MSM btw).

For any given topic you can find people posting that the sky is falling or this is the best thing since sliced bread….Also, given the restrictions placed by Meta on what can be shown or said you have to be careful how much you believe if you are trying to get the whole picture.

There's a guy who's an expat and an attorney who spells out many of the plusses and minuses of living in Mexico on YouTube. There's a lot more to it than just deciding you want to purchase a home and move to Mexico.

He's been shaken down by the police, robbed at knife point, but lives like a king right on the beach for under $2k a month. He talks about the legalities of home ownership, citizenship (dual), car ownership, insurance, medical care, etc.

Anyone with any common sense can sort the wheat from the chaf.

My brother and SIL owned a condo at Sunset Beach, within the confines of Ernesto Coppel’s resort and golf club development. This after being time share visitors for many years. There is 24 hour security at Coppel’s developments with security at all in ingresses. We’ve been there many times, and out at Sunset Beach, feel quite protected and secure; I think Coppel has big juju. Outside of there, I don’t know. We’ve traveled around BCS a bit, to places like Todos Santos, but have never ventured up to La Paz, which may be more dangerous.

My brother and I keep in touch with a local entrepreneur and have known him for a good 10 years now. He gives us the skinny on BCS. There seems to be some sort of truce among the cartels that Cabo San Lucas area shall remain free of cartel violence, and be relatively safe for tourists. That, of course, does not rule out crime from non-affiliated low lifes. At one point, about 6-7 years ago, a cartel tried to make inroads into southern BCS. I’m told the advance men were discouraged in a most emphatic manner.

Ultimately, my brother and SIL decided a year ago to go ahead and sell. It appears they will still go down to Cabo at Sunset Beach. They were offered a screaming deal on a casita timeshare. I imagine we’ll go too.

Upon further review , it appears that a non citizen resident may have a firearm for protection IN THEIR RESIDENCE . You must have an Import Permit ahead of time and you are restricted to one firearm and only certain calibers are allowed . I think I got that right ..
Traveling to Mexico for a hunting trip is a little different but permits are still required .

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
Using YouTube to get accurate information about anything is ridiculous.

Huh. Tell that to Gavin Gear over at Ultimate Reloader who has taught me more about weapons and reloading in a 20-minute video than anyone had ever taught me my entire life. That's a mighty large paint brush swath you have working there....

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
Using YouTube to get accurate information about anything is ridiculous.

Huh. Tell that to Gavin Gear over at Ultimate Reloader who has taught me more about weapons and reloading in a 20-minute video than anyone had ever told me my entire life. That's a mighty large paint brush swath you have working there....

^^^Yes, YT has it's problem but still can be a spectacular source for a lot of "how to" scenarios.
smlsig statement is a vast oversimplification, but caution to many subjects should be used > common sense.