BajaNomad

buying land outright in baja

pokey - 7-23-2005 at 08:34 AM

We've decided to buy a small piece of land in the Punta Banda area. My wife is a mexican citizen so we won't have to go through the bank trust stuff.

What should we expect in terms of paperwork and red tape? How long should the process take?

Thanks for any replies.... I realize that most folks here are U.S citizens but maybe some of the folks with Mexican spouses have gone this same route?

bajajudy - 7-23-2005 at 08:37 AM

I have no idea how that works when one partner is a Mexican citizen but no matter what, I would get title insurance just to be safe....do I have it? Nope but if I bought property today, I would get it!

[Edited on 7-23-2005 by bajajudy]

Bruce R Leech - 7-23-2005 at 09:57 AM

If the paper work is all in order just go to the notary and than can do it in 1 day it is simple and fast.

pokey - 7-23-2005 at 10:30 AM

Thanks Judy and Bruce. I've never bought anything more substantial than a truck so this is all new to me. I don't even know what title insurance is. Honestly I am a bit nervous about the whole deal because the cash for the land will clean us out financially. But it is a sweet place and we'd eventually like to build a house on it. Thanks again

Be very careful

jrbaja - 7-23-2005 at 10:36 AM

buying in that area!

pokey - 7-23-2005 at 10:46 AM

I understand where your coming from jr. The land we have decided to buy is not in the area where alot of folks that lost their houses is. But rather further up the road towards la bufadora. Actually it's really off the beaten path off a dirt road in the interior of the peninsula. Sweet views and not a neighbor in sight!!

I highly recommend

jrbaja - 7-23-2005 at 10:52 AM

a thorough home inspection prior to any money being spent.
I have done a couple inspections down there and termites are brutal!
Food for thought!

pokey - 7-23-2005 at 11:34 AM

There is no house there yet..... I'd build it poco a poco as money allowed so we'd be renting here for the next year....

I feel fairly comfortable that I could build a reasonable residence for $15,000. Work done by myself with a day laborer hired when needed. My brother in-law built his place for less than $3000, admittedly his place is more primitive than a normal American would allow so my estimates include some of the finer things in life like indoor plumbing.

Oso - 7-23-2005 at 12:01 PM

My wife is also a Mexican citizen and the process is fairly simple; the title stays in her name. If you get a divorce, you're SOL:lol:

But, just being Mexican doesn't protect her from fraud. Get an "honest"* attorney and do as thorough a title search as you can. Lizard Lips may know a good one in that area.

*I know that sounds like an oxymarooon, but it's a relative term.

You probably already know there is no mortgage industry to speak of, so building poco a poco makes sense. Just be sure you incorporate good security measures from the beginning to prevent both theft of material and squatters moving in on you. It's easier to keep them out than get rid of them later. If they can move in easily, they can claim the property was abandoned. But if you can prove they broke locks etc., that's "allanamiento de morada" or B&E. A written contract with a watchman to keep an eye on it when you're not there would be a good idea.

Oh, one more thing: Don't even think about ejido land. I wouldn't even buy within sight of an ejido.

[Edited on 7-23-2005 by Oso]

you're going to put all your financial resources

capt. mike - 7-23-2005 at 05:39 PM

into a mex land purchase??!! very risky my friend. better save some of that dough to spend with a reputable notary that knows the area and can prove clear title. And even then i'd never put in more than you can walk away from affordably.

but if it is your dream and it works out - have fun. me - i'd be nervous as hell without title insurance just because it's mexico!!

pokey - 7-23-2005 at 06:11 PM

" you're going to put all your financial resources
into a mex land purchase??!! "

Yeah man the money for the land will empty out the bank accounts. I've never bought land anywhere so the whole deal is new and strange to me.....and more than a little stressfull. If we got burnt on this it would take us years to recover...

Have you seen any of Baja Sur?

jrbaja - 7-23-2005 at 07:35 PM

pokey - 7-24-2005 at 04:45 AM

No but I really enjoy the weather in Ensenada and we have 2 pre school daughters to consider so we can't be living in the bush.

Very true Morgaine

jrbaja - 7-24-2005 at 09:32 AM

Although the bamboo park could be considered "in the bush", it is a block from the carretera. And 20 minutes from the Los Barriles schools that already have a mixture of gringo and Mexican kids enrolled. This would not be considered "the bush" or even remotely Mexican Village like either. (Costco, Walmart, designer coffees!)
Same in Los Cabos and I would imagine Todos Santos as well.

Marinero - 7-25-2005 at 03:42 PM

Title insurance can be bought at any time. The company will run the records to date and issue a policy as of the present time. They won't protect you against anything you are aware of, but hey, nothing is perfect.
Oh yeah! Don't forget to get more title insurance when you build that house on the lot you bought. The comparitively few bucks you paid for the lot won't begin to protect you if you have a loss after the sticks and bricks are up.

BarbourBill

Baja Bernie - 7-25-2005 at 05:47 PM

A question---Title insurance--sure--fairly new and what is it worth???---A lot of the idiots in Punta Bandera had it and it was worth -----O----nada.
If I were doing it again, which I am not, I would go much further south--between La Paz and Cabo. Good people and cheap- land.

He is talking about the land around where Fred Hoctor, author of Baja HaHa, had his place.
Pokey!!! If you do it there U2U me and I will tell you a wonderful story.

Hey Bernie

jrbaja - 7-25-2005 at 06:11 PM

since you are now in the realty business, where is that cheap land you are talking about exactly? Last I heard was, Coldwell Banker and a whole bunch of others changed all that! Just recently too!

Bruce R Leech - 7-25-2005 at 06:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Baja Bernie
A question---Title insurance--sure--fairly new and what is it worth???---A lot of the idiots in Punta Bandera had it and it was worth -----O----nada.
If I were doing it again, which I am not, I would go much further south--between La Paz and Cabo. Good people and cheap- land.

He is talking about the land around where Fred Hoctor, author of Baja HaHa, had his place.
Pokey!!! If you do it there U2U me and I will tell you a wonderful story.


I don't think that would be a very good idea, Baja Sur. is about to sink into the ibis.:lol:

Oso - 7-25-2005 at 07:10 PM

From which end?

http://www.bou.org.uk/pubibis.html

Pescador - 7-31-2005 at 09:27 AM

I can't believe I am reading all this thread. You state that you are really fearful of buying and are going ahead anyway? My parents bought a house and a fideocomiso clear back in the 70's and only because my mother had been involved in real estate all of her life did things work out. Turned out the Mexican end of things went ok, but the problems resulted from some Americans who were less than honest that were selling the property.
From this experience and literally growing up in a group of people who used Mexico as their "second home" it was instilled in me early on to never "invest" more in Mexico than I could afford to lose. So your post of being scared to death about buying this piece of land should be a strong signal to avoid the whole thing and secondly, by your admission, you are a newbie to the whole idea of Real Estate and you want to do a real estate transaction in a country where you don't understand the laws, don't have citizenship, and are considered an "outsider" if this thing for one reason or another should ever go to court.
We have a place in Baja but if political winds change, or a new ejido comes to power, or a hurricane blows it into the ocean, or it burns to the ground, or..., or...., we can walk away without any major injury to our financial status. We would be emotionally affected because we love our place, but we tried to not allow our emotions to get in the way of what we did financially.