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BajaLuna
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Registered: 12-5-2012
Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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PSA! Buyer/Seller beware in Bahia Asuncion
I'm writing this with a heavy heart, please bear with me.
I've been going to Baja since a young child when my parents would take us kids there to surf, fish and vacation in this magical land. It's a special
place to me and I wanted it to be for my family too. And buying a house there was a dream come true! We just retired this past Summer and were looking
forward to finally spending a lot of time there. But we have sold our house now and we know the new buyers will be an asset to this community!
As you've probably heard by now, many people who have bought in Bahia Asuncion have been scammed. Word started getting out a year or so ago when
people started talking to one another and sharing stories and realizing a lot of rotten stuff was going on. Sooner or later dirty little secrets
reveal themselves and things come to light. And sooner or later dirty little secrets catch up with people!
The norm in town was to go through Alonso Lopez. Maybe at one time he was a reputable guy but greed got to him and harm was done to so many. Hey, all
the Gringos buy through Alonso, he's a trustworthy guy they said. Yeah not so much! We bought our house via Alonso and a "Real Estate Company" in BA
called Forgotten Coast Properties and our "Realtor" owned this supposed company. I say supposed because it too proved to be fictitious. It never
existed. And has since been scrubbed from the internet. How convenient! Let's just say People present themselves as they want you to see them, but not
necessarily authentically. Yes, sure Mexico has/had some pretty loose requirements to sell Real Estate, and as a former Realtor myself I understand
that their requirements in licensing are loose and in some places non-existent but misrepresentation happened here. Thank goodness that since 2018
Baja Realtors have to be licensed, this is a good thing!
Like Udo, we bought 2 lots one with a house on it. And we were told that those lots would be "fused". But they weren't. We were told there would be a
Title Search and we assumed any discrepancies would become apparent in the transfer process and perhaps that would have been the case had the transfer
actually occurred but it didn't. We NEVER owned the house. NOTHING was ever recorded in our name. We too, paid Alonso thousands of dollars to get this
done. We also paid Alonso to pay our taxes and our annual Fedeicomiso fees as we live really far away and he was our "Facilitator" on retainer. We
requested receipts of everything from him, countless emails and phone calls...but he went MIA. None of it was ever paid and of course how do you pay
your taxes and fees after that when nothing is in your name and how do you track it all down? If it wasn't for the goodwill of the former owners this
could have been way worse and we could have lost everything. They essentially still held title. We were never the owners. What a complicated mess! In
the end it took working with GOOD people, honest trustworthy people to get this all done and having to have trust in the former owner, the new buyer,
ourselves and the Facilitator, Karla in Vizcaino. Karla is a professional and we highly recommend her! In the end it took all of us working together
for months to get this all straightened out and finally legit!
Also, interestingly enough, a random name showed up in the paperwork. Come to find out he is someone who lives in BA. We've never met this person. We
suspect Alonso needed a bogus witness and he was probably provided a name of a guy in town to fill in. This person was just as surprised as the rest
of us that he showed up in the paperwork.
Also, just a head's up Alonso does own a few pieces of vacant land in BA that have been for sale for a long time, so be aware!
And another thing, none of our lots were correct as Diane had mentioned in her post in Udo's thread! When we were there with our "Realtor" we were
shown where the lots lines were, the Realtor was wrong which isn't uncommon. 3 times they were recorded differently and they go off the last record in
Santa Rosalia....so buyer beware, always get a survey! We are pretty sure after talking to certain Professionals that MANY lots in BA are not right,
so please get them surveyed.
Recently several people living in BA voiced their concern to us that the reputation of BA has now been tainted and harmed by these grifters, snake oil
salesmen. I hope not because Bahia Asuncion is an awesome village with hard working honest and great people, at least the majority of them! But what I
would say is this: just because the people to go through to buy a house there are the "norm" that everyone has used, maybe things just haven't come to
light yet in some people's transactions, things don't move very fast in Mexico and this mess in particular took years to reveal itself. Trust those
who are worthy of your trust and don't trust wannabies and scam artists, talk to others who have boughten there and get their feedback, something we
wished we would have done! And if Alonso has done your transaction, you just might want to give it a second look! And who knows how many different
Baja towns Alonso has ran this scam in. I heard he was waiting tables in Cabo, sucks to be him!
In the end I do hope all these narcissistic sociopaths that were involved in intentionally scamming us, that their karma is gentle on them! Let the
karma police sort that out!
If anyone is interested in buying or selling in this beautiful awesome village, Jaime is your man! He's honest, trustworthy and the BEST of Baja and
he has had our backs for years!
We look forward to visiting Bahia Asuncion soon in our retirement travels, we love it there and I surely won't let a few bad scoundrels taint my love
for Baja!
Viva Baja!
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mtgoat666
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If mexico wants to advance above 3rd world status, then mexico needs to get rid of govt corruption, and create a contract-law system that people can
trust.
You got to be a fool to buy RE in mexico, or spend only what you are willing to lose entirely.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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JZ
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False. Stay out of topics you know little about.
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mtgoat666
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Every year we hear about a dozen+ RE deals in baja going to chit, innocent buyers/sellers being fleeced in a shady, chitty system. We only hear the
tip of the iceberg...
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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JZ
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Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  |
Every year we hear about a dozen+ RE deals in baja going to chit, innocent buyers/sellers being fleeced in a shady, chitty system. We only hear the
tip of the iceberg... |
If you haven't owned property in MX you have zero business commenting on the subject.
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BajaLuna
Senior Nomad
Posts: 581
Registered: 12-5-2012
Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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I disagree, MT Goat! Even after being ripped off, although we are lucky ones and lost just one cheek worth and it is painful...but I do feel Baja is
still an awesome place to buy as long as those working on your behalf are the right people, you know like honest non-bullchitters, like real
professionals who can truly represent you! People who take the buying and legal stuff of Real Estate seriously, because it IS a big money game
everywhere, people's hard earned money in most cases... and that deserves working with those who respect that and those people ARE out there! If
they're not recommending to you to get things like a survey, among other things true professionals should be recommending and ordering on your behalf
then find someone else because there are those who DO know what they are doing in Baja! SEEK THEM!
P.S. MT Goat, you must not be aware that bad Real Estate deals happen even in the good ol' USA, well let me break it to you... It happens every single
day and every single minute all over the world!
[Edited on 12-24-2021 by BajaLuna]
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Mulege Canuck
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I “own” a place in Baja. I love my little shack but I only spent what I am willing to walk away from.
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BajaLuna
Senior Nomad
Posts: 581
Registered: 12-5-2012
Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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MTGoat, it IS sad, isn't it! Absolutely the system needs fine tuning but there actually IS a pretty good system but perhaps the average person isn't
well versed in it, such as our case. The system is very complicated like mind-boggling so, and there is no way in most cases to know everything there
is to know about buying in Baja heck most buyers don't know everything buying in the USA either hence why you need to be represented by a reputable
professional. In my opinion this is KEY!
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advrider
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BajaLuna, thanks for sharing and bringing to light how things can go wrong so easy. I would still buy in Baja but you have given me one more tool in
my tool box. Glad it worked so well.
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BajaLuna
Senior Nomad
Posts: 581
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Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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Mulege Canuck, I'm glad you're happy with your humble abode and yes you are right not to invest in Mexico more than you are willing to walk away from.
That is sage advice and I agree!
I hope others come forth too (there are many more unfortunately) with their stories/truths that can help others because I personally don't want this
to happen to anyone else. What has happened to us and others isn't right and it is so so very wrong. All I can do is stand tall in my own truth as
embarrassing as our story is, but if we can avoid this happening to anyone else, then that's a good thing!
The world is a better place when we help one another! IMHO
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BajaLuna
Senior Nomad
Posts: 581
Registered: 12-5-2012
Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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Awww thanks, advrider! I think we all need all the tools we can get, and if we can't get them all, then rely on someone who has all those essential
tools in their arsenal for you! Yes, the more we know about the system in Baja, the better! And most of us have barely brushed the surface IMHO.
Especially if things have to be fixed. LORDY! You don't want to go there, trust me! My head has finally stopped spinning LOL!
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Rossman
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Registered: 10-6-2013
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Thank you for posting your nightmarish story Kristal. I have met the new owners of your place and in fact passed along your contact information to
them, hesitantly, without your permission, but I'm glad it has ultimately worked out for you. The new folks will indeed be an asset to our community.
So this Alonzo dude, Was he from Asuncion or was his practice in another place? Did he only shaft the buyers from Asuncion or did his nefarious
practices include other pueblos?
Hope to see you and Jim if you cruise through Asuncion.
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pacificobob
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Many gringos are in "no bad days daze" when shopping RE in Mexico.
The due diligence the same buyer would likely employ in the north, is ignored and it's full steam ahead.
When our farm was purchased 16 years ago, the sale took longer due to my insistence on a title insurance policy from an American company being
issued.
People all around me were telling me how everything was "all good"
Title issues here can be a minefield, no amount of homework is too much.
Oh ya....it's a good idea to learn the local language...it's helpful if you enjoy knowing WTF is happening.
[Edited on 12-24-2021 by pacificobob]
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submarine_dbk
Junior Nomad
Posts: 66
Registered: 9-5-2006
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Hi BajaLuna,
So sorry to hear of your troubles. Curious to know - did you ever receive a finalized copy of your fideicomiso and if so, did you discover it to be
fraudulent?
Alonso also did business on the Cortez side in Punta Chivato. We actually had a successful experience with him - though it took a very, very long
time (due to complications with Profepa and Semarnat), he was able to finally get our fideicomiso finalized with Banco Interacciones and a Notario in
La Paz after many painful false starts with Bancomer in Sta. Rosalia. We'd heard there may have been issues with other folks, but never really were
privy to details.
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DianaT
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Quote: Originally posted by submarine
_dbk | Hi BajaLuna,
So sorry to hear of your troubles. Curious to know - did you ever receive a finalized copy of your fideicomiso and if so, did you discover it to be
fraudulent?
Alonso also did business on the Cortez side in Punta Chivato. We actually had a successful experience with him - though it took a very, very long
time (due to complications with Profepa and Semarnat), he was able to finally get our fideicomiso finalized with Banco Interacciones and a Notario in
La Paz after many painful false starts with Bancomer in Sta. Rosalia. We'd heard there may have been issues with other folks, but never really were
privy to details. |
I don't know when your transaction took place, but Alonso really was a good honest agent. He did really well for us when we bought our home in BA in
2007. We became friends. He used to stay in our guest room once in while. He handled our work when we had to buy the front lot. We heard about
people in Punta Chivato who had very good luck with Alonso, including one who could pay very little. Why he changed, I don't know. Because we were
friends, it really stung when he screwed us.
We don't know when the change happened for sure or if it was a gradual change. Bajaluna bought our home around the same time Udo bought his home
about 8 years ago. We had been hearing some negative things about Alonso and his partner regarding some property deals, but we still thought Alonso
had done right by us. Even when Udo disclosed what happened to him, we still thought our deal was okay. Then earlier this year we received an e-mail
from Banorte who had taken over the Banco Interacciones fideicomisos. They informed us that we had not paid any fees since 2013. They said the
property was still in our names as was the fideicomiso. We had paperwork from Alonso, and one from the notario that said they paid off our
fideicomiso. False Needless to say, we had words with the bank because it took them 8 years to contact us! Of course, the bank didn't care and
just said it was our problem.
That is when we contacted Bajaluna and the nightmare began.
We started exchanging mountains of paperwork. We all had been screwed by Alonso and his local partner.
So, the Alonso you knew was the old Alonso who was a very good agent. As far as his local partner, well that is another story . I am happy he did
well for you. We are sincerely sad that he changed.
[Edited on 12-24-2021 by DianaT]
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pacificobob
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******bags are drawn to real estate like flies to a BBQ
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BajaTed
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This:
"We also paid Alonso to pay our taxes and our annual Fedeicomiso fees as we live really far away and he was our "Facilitator" on retainer"
In BUSINESS, any fiduciary process must have 3 players, with two collusion and fraud is the norm. He groomed you & every one else for years as a
physical abuser would.
I bought from seller, went to bank and tax agency myself.
Me, seller and bank/tax agency = 3
Trust but verify with the Notario also.
Es Todo Bueno
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dtbushpilot
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I used Alonso years ago to facilitate the fide on a lot purchase. I’ve never developed the lot or followed up on the legalities of said purchase
since buying it. I have been paying taxes and fide fees through my local bill paying service. Perhaps it would be a good time to have someone
reputable review my paperwork.
"Life is tough".....It's even tougher if you're stupid.....
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pacificobob
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Yup , sounds like Alonzo is worty of a bit of an audit
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mtgoat666
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Skip the audit. Go straight to waterboarding.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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