Should You Move to Mexico?

Buying real estate in Mexico has become popular for Baby Boomers from the United States. And why not? Even Donald Trump and his company are building luxury condos in Baja.

I recently spoke with Robb Rios of El Dorado Ranch, a development offering an array of choices in San Felipe, Baja to people wanting to make their move to Mexico. So why has real estate in Mexico become so attractive to Americans? He said enjoying an improved quality of life is a big reason.

"You can own a home near the beach or next to a golf course for a price you can't touch in California," said Robb. He said there are also many legal safeguards due to changes in laws and title insurance to protect buyers.

"Since the early '90s, there have been many changes made in the laws. You can own right up to the shoreline," he said. "You can also purchase your home and leave it as an inheritance for your children. You have the property now held in trust and fully insured. A lot of misconceptions about Mexico and are under the impression you can’t own or there are 99 year leases which is a myth."

El Dorado Ranch offers buyers choices for resort property usable for vacations as well as year 'round homes.

"Most of our clients buy within the planned communities," Robb told me. "We have a variety of places or they can build on a lot. The master plan is huge – 35,000 acres – larger than San Francisco. It gives choices for custom building, or existing homes."

Robb also said the homes are well crafted using granite counters, solid core doors, and double pane windows.

The typical cost for a home is about $100 per sq ft to $110 per sq ft. Hmm, my home in Pasadena, CA is about 2,300 sq feet and it's worth more than $750,000. So that means . . . the prices in Mexico are attractive.

Robb was quick to point out they're making a positive impact on the local economy of San Felipe and developing in an "environmentally friendly" manner. The web site states El Dorado Ranch "is the largest solar community in North America."

"We create major jobs and we’ve got a scholarship program for kids," he said. "We’re creating a whole quality of life for the community."

Visit El Dorado on the web for more information.

Real Estate in Mexico

Real estate in Mexico is a hot item for retirees from the United States and Canada as well as business people from Europe and Asia. A person I know said his father is considering moving to Mexico.

From 1993 to 2003, an estimated half-million Americans moved permanently South of the Border. U.S. citizens are sending money to themselves from the U.S. to Mexico as noted in this article from Pacific News.org in 2003:

"American entrepreneurship in Mexico is making its presence felt. In a study conducted by the Inter-American Development Bank, the amount of remittances sent to Mexico from the U.S. soared to $14.5 billion, up from $9 billion two years ago. But closer examination reveals that $3.5 billion of those remittances is money sent by Americans to themselves in Mexico, to purchase homes, finance the opening of businesses and for living expenses."

Beachfront property with mild weather is available for a fraction of the price of homes in California. Here is a comprehensive web site called Mexperience to guide you if you want to explore purchasing a condo or home in Mexico or read about real estate developments.

Business, Trade United States, Canada, Mexico

Business and trade is becoming linked more closely among the United States, Canada and Mexico.

This week, real estate becomes my focus again. But I want to start with Mexico.

I grew more interested in trade among the 3 countries after listening to a broadcast last month on KABC-AM in Los Angeles with talk show host Al Rantel. Listeners were concerned that President Bush was moving the United States into a European-style union with the move to a common currency.

Barnard Thompson, editor of http://www.mexidata.info/ sent me a link to a web site where you can read about the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America.

An excerpt from the SPP web site reads:


The SPP recognizes that our three great nations are bound by a shared belief in freedom, economic opportunity, and strong democratic institutions.

The SPP provides the framework to ensure that North America is the safest and best place to live and do business. It includes ambitious security and prosperity programs to keep our borders closed to terrorism yet open to trade.


The site also has a myth versus facts section and it clearly states there is no attempt to move the 3 countries into a European-stlye union with a common currency.

Will it make trade more efficient and how does it impact NAFTA?

I also know a developer who is involved in selling real estate to people in the U.S. who want to either move to Mexico or buy a second home in a resort-like setting. More than 1.5 million Americans (U.S.) now own homes in Mexico.

So if you want to invest in real estate, Mexico is a legitimate - and increasingly popular - place to invest.

Donald Trump developing in Mexico

Donald Trump is developing a $200-million condo project about a 45-minute drive south of San Diego in Rosarito Beach. It's a 400-unit condo project complete with world-class restaurants and shopping.

Donald Trump condo boom in Mexico

Along Baja, from Tijuana to Ensenada, there are about 2,500 projects underway.

We drove the route along the coast several times during a year when our oldest daughter was attending a girls' school (it was for bad behavior at home, but I won't digress).

I enjoyed the scenery on our drive and a highlight was renting ATVs and eating lobster in the little town of Puerto Nuevo.

But at the same time, there's a need to improve infrastructure in this corridor. My wife was driving our van and a tire went flat. She waited along the main highway for over an hour with no cell phone service. A police car drove by but didn't bother stopping.

Finally, a tow truck stopped and she felt like she was risking her life but got a ride to a small garage where a man went back to the road and fixed her flat.

We also stopped at a popular hotel on another trip - or seemingly popular - and we're quite rustic people who enjoy camping but the carpet was torn, the lights were somewhat dim and the prices weren't cheap at all.

As the demand for condos along the border intensifies, or I should say, if, then prices will increase as well.

But if you own a California home and enjoy lots of equity, then the cost may not be a barrier.

Buying a Second Home -- in Mexico!

They have second homes and homes they'll retire in south of the border in Mexico.

Recent figures show about 1.5 million Americans own homes in Mexico and that number is expected to climb to 12 million during the next 20 years. It's an immigration wave people in the U.S. seldom consider.

Developer John Fair, quoted by Bloomberg News, said the next 15 years are going to be an absolute explosion for Americans, especially Californians, who are buying second homes and retirement homes.

For more information contact Mexican Real Estate Professionals

During the weeks ahead, I'll look into this more and try to gauge how it impacts immigration (legal and illegal) from Mexico into the United States and see what it could mean for an American Union of Canada, the United States and Mexico.