quote:

Originally posted by dave7378:

quote:

Using YouTube to get accurate information about anything is ridiculous.

No, It's not.

Yep, to assert that one cannot get great, accurate info from you tube is ridiculous.

A criminal government controlled by drug cartels and when you take that out, he's a Marxist.

Other than that.........

I have a sister and brother in law that have purchased a home just over a year and a half ago in Mexico. This is now their full time residence.

A few points from discussions with her.

It doesn't matter which part of Mexico you want to live in.

Your friend will need to hire at least one lawyer in the area he wishes to purchase to help navigate.

He will always be a gringo (assuming he isn't Spanish).

The cartel is everywhere. Most people will never notice this, because this is not the movies.

A little more back ground. My brother in law is hispanic and they are both fluent.

Hope this helps and best of luck.

Cheers~

I am currently in Mexico. We live in Cozumel. A foreign national can own property here. If you want to buy a house 25 kilometers from the ocean or a national border, you have to buy the property through a bank trust called a fideocamiso. If you buy inland, you can own outright. If you plan on living in Mexico full time, get a Visa through a Mexican consulate in the US. Go to the consulates website and it will tell you the requirements and procedures.

We have been coming to Cozumel for 12 years. Crime is up now. Virtually no cartel activity (at least not publicly) but property theft and robbery are up. There has been a fight between taxi drivers and mototaxi drivers that has turned violent. Cabo, Sinaloa, and Puerta Vallarta are worse. If you don't want hurricanes look inland. San Miguel de Allende, Querétaro, Lake Chapala all very nice.

If you are serious, get on the many expat forums. Then rent in several areas for several months. There is a big learning curve.

quote:

Originally posted by airsoft guy:
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.

My (rather dated) understanding is that a non-citizen cannot individually own real estate there, but they’re workarounds. I had read that there were arrangements with Mexican nationals where they were the nominal owner, but that didn’t sound like a good idea.
I think it was ‘96 when we stayed in a cute little 8 room resort on 2500 acres on the coast a short distance north of Cabo. The owner was American. He explained that when he sold his business with a seat on the Pacific stock exchange he set up a corporation and bought the property in Baja. I don’t recall whether it was a US corporation or whether it was a Mexican corporation. But there are ways around a non-citizen owning property there.

Not sure I’d want to for many of the reasons mentioned, but it is possible.

I was watching "The Gymkhana Files" last week. If I were to live in Mexico, Guanajuato would be on my short list.

You couldn't pay me enough to buy a home in a lawless third world country like Mexico. NOPE

The "Dream" for my wife and I is to spend winters at a beach, most likely an island outside of the US. Probably at least Dec - Feb each year, so 3 months. About 8-10 years ago I did some significant research on where to buy. For a variety of reasons I came to the conclusion that we should just rent a place every year for 3-4 months. It just doesn't make much sense to buy a place you have to fly to. There are way too many variables.

Al though not nearly as "glamorous" as owning a place on an island, renting makes the best financial sense to me. We can spend 1 year in Mexico, then go to Belize the next, Costa Rica the year after that, etc... Some area gets wiped out by a hurricane, go someplace else.

Most places near the ocean require a lot of maintenance due to the salt in the air. Fuck that. Let someone else maintain it and clean it up after a hurricane. I'll just rent a place for 3-4 months every year.

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:
The "Dream" for my wife and I is to spend winters at a beach, most likely an island outside of the US. Probably at least Dec - Feb each year, so 3 months. About 8-10 years ago I did some significant research on where to buy. For a variety of reasons I came to the conclusion that we should just rent a place every year for 3-4 months. It just doesn't make much sense to buy a place you have to fly to. There are way too many variables.

Al though not nearly as "glamorous" as owning a place on an island, renting makes the best financial sense to me. We can spend 1 year in Mexico, then go to Belize the next, Costa Rica the year after that, etc... Some area gets wiped out by a hurricane, go someplace else.

Most places near the ocean require a lot of maintenance due to the salt in the air. Fuck that. Let someone else maintain it and clean it up after a hurricane. I'll just rent a place for 3-4 months every year.

Pretty sound advice for those wanting to split time between residences/countries.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
It’s Mexico.

Need I say more?

True, but depending on what state in the U.S. you're coming from is it that much different?

Never gamble with what you can't afford to lose.

My niece and her husband live in La Paz, Mexico. They are renting because the rent is unbelievably low compared with buying. Big expat community. On the Sea of Cortez, sounds very nice.

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Originally posted by Sig2340:
It’s Mexico.

Need I say more?

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Originally posted by selogic:
How can you " take care of yourself " when you are not allowed to own a gun ?

I don't care how people decide where to live, but those right there are enough for me not to think twice.

WAS ... a nice place to visit AND I wouldn't want to live there. (edited grammar, lol)

I just have my doubts that it would remain stable for the future in a retirement timeline.

quote:

Originally posted by spunk639:

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
It’s Mexico.

Need I say more?

True, but depending on what state in the U.S. you're coming from is it that much different?

"The right of the people to keep and bear arms"... HUGE difference, even if you're coming from the commiest state.