BajaNews - 11-12-2006 at 09:06 AM
http://www.10news.com/news/10294057/detail.html
November 11, 2006
MEXCIO -- Donald Trump is one of the latest developers selling condominiums on the nearby Baja coast.
But for every legitimate Baja land deal, there are a dozen more that are reported to be investment scams.
Sandwiched between Tijuana and Ensenada on the Baja coast lies a stretch of beach so wide and flat it is a wonder it has not been developed before.
But there is a reason for that.
"We have the right to use it for ornamental purposes or for playground purposes," said Barney Karger of the La Salina Homeowners Association.
Karger is one of more than 100 Californians who have homes at La Salina.
"We built a home here in 1996,” said La Salina homeowner Chuck Bennett.
Karger and his neighbors pay a tax every year to protect the land. It is sand washed up on the coastline, land recovered from the sea and therefore in
Mexico “public property.”
"How any title company or anybody can claim it is beyond my ability to understand,” said Karger.
But one company said it claims it has title.
Homeowner Nancy Eckert said, “I think it stinks.”
“I think it’s a sham. It’s horrible. I think it’s a scam, I really do,” said homeowner Marge Provost.
The owners of Baja Golden Beach Resort said they would build a 100-condo resort.
Official records showed the developers have an office and post office box business in Pacific Beach.
However, 10News investigators traced records to a home in Orange County that belongs to Baja Golden Beach executive director Richard Perkins.
Perkins said his partner, who built a condo development on the Sea of Cortez, got the title on the federal land.
"There's no title on this, but we, from Mexico City have the federal concession,” said Perkins.
10News investigators researched and found Karger was right.
According to federal land records, Karger and members of his homeowners association have “title of concession” on the land. Perkins had difficulty
explaining the records to 10News investigators.
10News’ Thom Jensen told Perkins, “I’ve got a title of concession for that property where you say you’re developing. You don’t have title on that
property, according to the Mexican government.” Perkins did not respond to Jensen.
Jensen added, “The people who have title on it said you’re running a land scam there,” to which Perkins replied, “That’s not true, sir.”
"I can't see how it would be anything else," said Karger.
"I would do a lot of investigating before I would give anybody any money, that’s for sure,” said Provost.
When asked about how much money he had allegedly taken from people for the beachfront condos, Perkins asked 10News to turn off cameras.
Perkins said if he finds out he and his partner do not have the rights to develop the beachfront, he would give investors back every penny they gave
him.
Perkins also added he would show 10News proof he has title on the land, but thus far, he and his Mexican partner have not produced any evidence they
can rightfully develop the property.
Really Funny
Baja Bernie - 11-12-2006 at 10:36 AM
This is the place I first 'discovered' in 1964, played in until 1978, and then built two houses, one of which we called home for 26 years.
It is the most beautiful, wide, sandy beach between Santa Barbara and south of Ensenada. It has also been a lightening rod for this type of hype and
semi-legal gaming for most of those years.
Someone on this board asked why I had sold and the answer is that it will not be long before there are high rise condos that will completely block the
view from all of those folks who now have oceanview homes. From my place we could see the Coronados to the north, to the west and south an unending
ocean and protected to the east by a Mesa where flyers from around the world flew on the thermals.
A Paradise as I have said for over 40 years, but one that is soon to be lost. The happy, smiling faces of Happy Mexicans soon to be totally lost to
the stressed out, unhappy gringos from the north and the far north.
Yep! That's progress and as one wag recently stated--"once we ruin Baja we can just move on down to South America."
Never held much stock in that term 'The Ugly American,' but I am learning.
[Edited on 11-12-2006 by Baja Bernie]