BajaNomad - El Dorado Ranch- San Felipe, any news?

El Dorado Ranch- San Felipe, any news?

thebajarunner - 7-12-2007 at 07:11 PM

One of my partners (against my advice) paid up front for a custom built home in El Dorado.
Promised delivery date was May, so they drove down last month to take possession.
NADA!!!
ZIP!!!
Not even a slab poured.
And all kinds of rhetoric and mealymouth.
Just curious what others are hearing/seeing.

Oh, by the way, they now have a new promise date...
"In time for Christmas"
I told them to not order the trimmed tree just yet.

baja sur - 7-12-2007 at 07:59 PM

This came today !

[Edited on 7-13-2007 by baja sur]

b2441.jpg - 32kB

thebajarunner - 7-12-2007 at 09:02 PM

Well, nice promo piece,
guess they used my partner's full payment for brochures.
SWEET>>>>>

BajaWarrior - 7-12-2007 at 09:10 PM

Honestly, over 17 years ago when we camped at Pete's Campo just south of the very new El Dorado, I didn't think it would catch on, but they have done well, too well maybe. They are nice homes but situated too far from the beach for my taste, and now the prices have doubled for building in the past three years.

Taking money and not delivering a product couldn't be more wrong.

Baja Bernie - 7-13-2007 at 07:12 AM

Quote:

.

Taking money and not delivering a product couldn't be more wrong.

Seems, more and more, to be the Baja way! They do deliver....,but it's only a dream.

capt. mike - 7-13-2007 at 07:23 AM

call pat the owner and find out what the hell he's doing. and i'd threaten a bunch of bad press if he doesn't come up with a good answer.

baja sur - 7-13-2007 at 07:40 AM

A dream that will cost you
40 G's.

b2441.jpg - 45kB

Bajajorge - 7-13-2007 at 10:05 AM

The story of up front money and no construction is becoming a common thing at El Dorado. Got to be careful about what I say as they use the slander laws frequently there. The picture of the 40 grand lot on the brochure is not what you get. The picture shows lots at 200-300 thousand maybe. The 40s are somewhere around 3 miles from the beach and golf course. El Dorado is a nice place, but they have Americanized it so much, you'd think you're building in California. CCRs up the kazoo and they have no qualms about telling you what you can and can't do with your property. Building permits cost thousands. I better get off my soap box before I get sued.

tripledigitken - 7-13-2007 at 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajajorge
The story of up front money and no construction is becoming a common thing at El Dorado.

That's crazy. Most wouldn't do that in the states, and to do it in Mexico..........?

Another case of people leaving their common sense at the border, IMO.

KEN

Baja Bernie - 7-13-2007 at 01:04 PM

Things really have improved-----I remember contracts being signed on a bar napkin----after much careful deliberation.

But this is the progress everyone is always always talking about...........Back then it was only a few hundred down and less than $10,000 for a thirty year lease----right on the beach.

No wonder I like to think of the days gone by!

Steve in Oro Valley - 7-13-2007 at 01:27 PM

Bajarunner:

It always amazes me; one would never buy buy real estate in the USA w/o setting up an escrow and requiring title insurance of some kind.

Do not check your brains at the border when you visit Mexico!!!

There are stories popping up in the Arizona newspapers about people paying for a condo or some such in Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point), Sonora and not getting delivery. They are suing, of course....

One article said that the number of visitors to Rocky Point has gone up 6 fold since 2001. There are more than 20 big hotels in Rocky today compared to one back in 1976...

Steve in Oro Valley

YUP

bajaguy - 7-13-2007 at 01:36 PM

Life is tough 2.jpg - 32kB

Baja Bernie - 7-13-2007 at 02:01 PM

Quote:

Do not check your brains at the border when you visit Mexico!!!

Steve in Oro Valley

Steve, Believe me the Bajarunner has 'never' checked his brains anyplace...........He was referring to a friend. :biggrin:

bancoduo - 7-13-2007 at 02:48 PM

WOW! SGT. Stryker looks like John Wayne.

capt. mike - 7-13-2007 at 06:15 PM

that place really sucks. who'd want to live there, especially in summer, with so many other good deals around other places.

meme - 7-14-2007 at 08:14 AM

Runner, If your partner paid up front for a house in Eldorado ranch (you did not say when he set up the contract?) and did not come down here or have an overseer for his project #1 he has only himself to blame! If he thought this was all just gonna happen with a signed piece of paper ,he did leave his brains at the border! Has he ever been to Mx. before this??? DUHH! If he is not contracted with Mia Casita it is sure not Pat Butler's fault Mike! Mia Casita does NOT build ALL of the houses in Eldorado. If the guy had a contract with an outside contractor P.Butler has nothing to do with it. If Mia Casita has the contract THEN , yes it is a developer problem! NO ONE, should ever come down here, contract a house, pay up front, walk away with a delivey date, signed papers,(Eldorado or ANY other place) dollars paid or not! I thought everyone was smarter that THAT! :no:

oldhippie - 7-14-2007 at 08:42 AM

Paying in total for anything up front to be delivered later is dumb, we all agree on that. But what about the sales people and the organization they represent even taking all the money up front? Letting somebody do something so foolish is slimey to begin with. The fact that they asked for all the money up front indicates a very low ethical standard and should have raised a big red flag. A worthy hooker doesn't even do that, so I've heard.

i don't know "mi casita" from adam - WTF

capt. mike - 7-14-2007 at 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by meme
Runner, If your partner paid up front for a house in Eldorado ranch (you did not say when he set up the contract?) and did not come down here or have an overseer for his project #1 he has only himself to blame! If he thought this was all just gonna happen with a signed piece of paper ,he did leave his brains at the border! Has he ever been to Mx. before this??? DUHH! If he is not contracted with Mia Casita it is sure not Pat Butler's fault Mike! Mia Casita does NOT build ALL of the houses in Eldorado. If the guy had a contract with an outside contractor P.Butler has nothing to do with it. If Mia Casita has the contract THEN , yes it is a developer problem! NO ONE, should ever come down here, contract a house, pay up front, walk away with a delivey date, signed papers,(Eldorado or ANY other place) dollars paid or not! I thought everyone was smarter that THAT! :no:

nothing i read had to do with who was building, only that nothing was getting delivered and it was at Eldo Dildo Rancho. An ethical developer would be concerned with his lot buyer's treatment after the sale even if he wasn't getting to do the vertical.

Butler lied to me twice about the airpark in his master plan. But......you can't con a guy who's in biz in a con prevelant industry like land development!!

when i previewed the property i was treated disrespectfully by one of their sales scums, a real effing pearl bedraped b-tch interested only in her commission - when i called her on her lack of style and obviously pushy high pressure tactics she stormed off indignantly.

anyone who's dumb enough to blindly trust developers deserves what they get. Caveat Emptor rules all things.

sorry - but that place is sadly underwhelming. i would be peeed if i owned a finished product there , wanted to dump it and had to take a beating since they are over priced to start. :lol:

Bajajorge - 7-14-2007 at 09:43 AM

At El Dorado I would think the split is about 50-50 among the property owners. Those who trust the developer and those who feel they got scammed. There are those that fall to the ground and kiss the ground that the developer walks on and then the others who would love to hire a hit man. If I knew back several years ago when I bought there, compared to what I know now, I would be living elsewhere. At the present time the south camps is where you want to be. But, the way San Felipe is growing it's hard to say where the next best place will be.

meme - 7-14-2007 at 11:25 AM

The Biggest problem with buildimg elsewhere is Security!
I am in the 50 whose trust is not the greatest as yes,P. Butler has promised many things to happen here that have not happened! The other 50 seems to be the newest people who belive it will come sooner than many of us old timers believe it will. The newer people have not YET had the "waiting" that many of us have, but they will learn. Plus always a problem with most sales people, they tell you what you want to hear & don't mention what you really want to know! We have many doubts that we would ever build in EDR again knowing the things we know now.
One of the best things tho is the security we have here and few others do have it!

Thanks Bernie

thebajarunner - 7-14-2007 at 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Baja Bernie
Do not check your brains at the border when you visit Mexico!!!

Steve in Oro Valley

Steve, Believe me the Bajarunner has 'never' checked his brains anyplace...........He was referring to a friend. :biggrin:

Bernie, correct as usual.
Actually I am very surprised that my compatriot got himself in this situation. He is a fairly significant homebuilder here, does about 150 homes a year. He and two of his big subcontractors went in on the deal, I think about 300 large.
Anyway, he did talk to Mr. PB by phone while he was there and I think in very clear, unaccented English, the point was made that there better be a completed unit by Christmas, or Uncle Looie may get involved.... just guessing, of course.
And, to add insult to injury, they offered them a rental condo for the weekend (that they had planned to spend in the new casa) and then charge them $600 US for the rental.
Not a bright move on someones part, trust me.
Ah the saga marches on,
I will keep you all posted on unfolding events.

And Bernie, I am with you, I would not buy at that place at any price with any guarantee....

meme - 7-15-2007 at 08:06 AM

BTW-- Mia Casita is EDR Contracrtor for construction!

Bajajorge - 7-15-2007 at 10:31 AM

I just tried to put a post on here, but the servers must have hiccuped and didn't work. If a similar post shows up it's not cuz I'm nuts.

El Dorado Ranch is like an "Improv" sitcom. Who needs TV with all the goings on there. :lol:

Everytime things change there, or a new thing comes along to jerk you around the developer and his henchman blame the Mexican Government. " God bless the government of Mexico, without them the developer would have to hire a gag writer and El Dorado Ranch could not operate.
:barf:

:moon:

Bajajorge - 7-15-2007 at 10:37 AM

Runner, just to thank your friend from the 50% at El Dorado who would like to hire a hitman. :bounce:

thebajarunner - 7-15-2007 at 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajajorge
Runner, just to thank your friend from the 50% at El Dorado who would like to hire a hitman. :bounce:

No need to thank him,
Uncle Looie is on a retainer, and he ain't had much work lately, so he needs a little tuneup for a bigger event.

Riom - 7-16-2007 at 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajajorge
At El Dorado I would think the split is about 50-50 among the property owners. Those who trust the developer and those who feel they got scammed.

It probably depends a bit how much someone paid (and how recently they brought). I brought a resale solar lot with trailer (and later added an adjacent resale lot), a few years back. For the tiny amounts I paid, it does what I want (although running costs are a bit high). I think Pat tries, but the scale of things has got out of his control and the mountain side of the development is pretty much ignored now.

However, when I brought I was told the building style was "anything goes", which it was at the time, but it's now "Californian Suburban" (or whatever they call it). That, along with all the new rules, fees, increasing costs, lack of decent workmanship, increasing interference from Mexicali (such as the "stop" signs in crazy locations) and so on has certainly discouraged me from building in the short/medium term. I wouldn't invest any serious money in El Dorado at present.

Or anywhere in San Felipe - the whole of the market is WAY overpriced. For an undeveloped town in a third world country down the end of an unreliable road it's crazy to ask Californian prices. Nice place to be if you don't spend too much on a property (although the Californians with no sense of money are pushing up prices all round, making it harder to eat out on a budget). Not somewhere to buy/build at current bubble prices though.

wornout - 7-16-2007 at 08:26 AM

People, People, People, settle down. Enough on this negativism already. I bought two solar lots in El Dorado Ranch. In 1997, I put a 5th wheel trailer on the second lot, which is now the guest house. Then in 1998, I built a 1500 sq ft strawbale house (with 1800 sq ft of covered patio) and a two car garage, on the corner lot. All of this was done for under 100,000 (including the 12 panel solar system). :yes:

How am I going to get 500,000 for all of this, (including dune buggy), out of some crazy retiring Californian if you all keep telling it like it is? :?:

meme - 7-16-2007 at 11:46 AM

With the NEW Inspection Program(permits going up in price & Fees) who knows we just might stand a better chance of selling an existing home to someone who is NO LONGER interested in Building!! :tumble:

Hook - 7-16-2007 at 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajajorge
The story of up front money and no construction is becoming a common thing at El Dorado. Got to be careful about what I say as they use the slander laws frequently there. The picture of the 40 grand lot on the brochure is not what you get. The picture shows lots at 200-300 thousand maybe. The 40s are somewhere around 3 miles from the beach and golf course. El Dorado is a nice place, but they have Americanized it so much, you'd think you're building in California. CCRs up the kazoo and they have no qualms about telling you what you can and can't do with your property. Building permits cost thousands. I better get off my soap box before I get sued.

And here I thought the story of the Golden Fleece was an old myth.

Hmmmm.............El Dorado..........Golden Fleece.

Always wondered how that got started

Dave - 7-16-2007 at 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Riom
(although the Californians with no sense of money are pushing up prices all round, making it harder to eat out on a budget).

Who was that first Californian who insisted on paying double the posted menu price? :rolleyes:

Riom - 7-16-2007 at 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave

Quote:

Originally posted by Riom
(although the Californians with no sense of money are pushing up prices all round, making it harder to eat out on a budget).

Who was that first Californian who insisted on paying double the posted menu price? :rolleyes:

Local places put up prices, people from California etc think they're no worse than at home so pay them, prices stay high.... Even over the past few years the "tourist tax" has really gone up as more have realised how easy it is to overcharge and get away with it.

In many ways, the cost of living is higher in San Felipe than Yuma - where there's a lot less of the "I'm on vacation so it doesn't matter if it's a bit spendy" type of tourist.

San Felipe also seems to attract the "it's my dream home so I don't care what it costs" crowd as well, so why not charge a bit more for land and construction if you can get away with it...

A Developer's Dream

CaboRon - 7-18-2007 at 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Baja Bernie
.

Taking money and not delivering a product couldn't be more wrong.

Seems, more and more, to be the Baja way! They do deliver....,but it's only a dream.

Seem to be hearing more and more of these problems !! It seems you simply cannot do business with this type of company/developer ..... Many scams seem to involve the one two punch of "Rushed/Pressured" sales tactics and the need for all the money up front ...... Red Flags Should Be Popping Up ............. CaboRon

Baja Bernie - 7-18-2007 at 10:43 AM

Quote:

[ Red Flags Should Be Popping Up ............. CaboRon

Yeah! About 20 years ago.....it seems to me!