Bill would lift limits on foreigners owning property
BY DAVID AGREN
The News
A new proposal in the Senate would lift rules that prohibit foreigners from
buying property in the nation's coastal and border regions.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mario López Valdez of the Institutional
Revolutionary Party, or PRI, aims to boost foreign investment by scrapping
constitutional prohibitions against non-Mexicans owning property within 50
kilometers of a coastline and 100 kilometers of the border.
López Valdez's proposal would allow foreigners to own residential properties,
but not commercial developments.Udo - 3-7-2009 at 03:26 PM
Would be nice if that passed!DENNIS - 3-7-2009 at 03:31 PM
Never happen.DianaT - 3-7-2009 at 03:54 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Never happen.
Why?Dave - 3-7-2009 at 03:56 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by jdtrotter
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Never happen.
Why?
Because then I'd have to kiss a monkey's a$$ on main street.Bajahowodd - 3-7-2009 at 04:09 PM
I have to believe that time share interests would be totally opposed.DENNIS - 3-7-2009 at 04:27 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by jdtrotter
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Never happen.
Why?
The Mexican public won't stand for any more libertys or concessions given to the Northern Invader. The same reason Mexicans won't stand to have their
oil industry privitized. To them it's not a greasy old oil company, it's a symbol that they stood up and took their property back from the
foriegners. Mexico has a national holiday called "Expropriation Day." It means that much to them.
Politicians feel the same way as their constituents. This guy is just pandering to somebody.
It'll never happen.Dave - 3-7-2009 at 04:35 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
The same reason Mexicans won't stand to have their oil industry privitized.
That's because they get such a great deal. Almost free gasoline. DENNIS - 3-7-2009 at 04:43 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Dave
That's because they get such a great deal. Almost free gasoline.
For what it costs to suck crude from the ocean floor with those old, wornout British breast pumps there using, the price on the street is probably a
bargain. They havn't upgraded the industry since day one. Too busy doing magic tricks with the revenue.Bajahowodd - 3-7-2009 at 05:42 PM
The leadership in Mexico are to a great extent Ivy League trained. It's the populists, that don't understand. But then, that's the flaw in a
particpative democracy. It only works when there is a high level of education and participation.Hook - 3-8-2009 at 08:41 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Bajahowodd
The leadership in Mexico are to a great extent Ivy League trained. It's the populists, that don't understand. But then, that's the flaw in a
particpative democracy. It only works when there is a high level of education and participation.
Yeah, look how well OUR Ivy League trained politicians have served us. Ford - 3-8-2009 at 08:54 AM
I don't know about Mexican Law or public opinion....that being said do you think a majority of Mexicans even know that us citizens can't buy property
on the coast? How much of Mexico's coast is owned by Mexican's citizens? Maybe close to none!CortezBlue - 3-8-2009 at 09:09 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Ford
I don't know about Mexican Law or public opinion....that being said do you think a majority of Mexicans even know that us citizens can't buy property
on the coast? How much of Mexico's coast is owned by Mexican's citizens? Maybe close to none!
I am not sure of the answer to your questions either, however, I can tell you that it is written in Mexican Constitution. So I guess as long as
Mexican's understand the Constitiution, they may be aware, but then again if you asked Americans about the US Constitution, most would not know about
many aspects of our Constitution.GeoRock - 3-9-2009 at 01:55 PM
Bill would lift limits on foreigners owning property
BY DAVID AGREN
The News
A new proposal in the Senate would lift rules that prohibit foreigners from buying property in the nation's coastal and border regions.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mario López Valdez of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, aims to boost foreign investment by scrapping
constitutional prohibitions against non-Mexicans owning property within 50 kilometers of a coastline and 100 kilometers of the border.
López Valdez's proposal would allow foreigners to own residential properties, but not commercial developments.
The proposal reflects both a changing attitude toward foreign investment in Mexico and the growing impact of non-Mexicans on the domestic economy.
So-called "gringo colonies," populated largely by U.S. retirees, have sprung up in areas such as Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, and San Miguel de Allende,
Guanajuato.
But while expats have been free to purchase homes in inland cities such as San Miguel, they have had to work around the law in costal areas such as
Puerto Vallarta by purchasing property through a bank trust.
Some realtors welcomed the bill, though they say the market has flourished in spite of the current rules.
"[Buying a coastal property] is a pretty straightforward deal," said Damyn Young, a sales associate with International Realty in Ajijic, Jalisco.
"The only hassle is that you pay the bank to get in, pay annually to maintain it and pay to get out of it" upon selling, he said.
López Valdez said that 69.8 percent of the 4.3 million vacation properties in Mexico are now owned by foreigners - with many held in trusts. The
constitutional change would simply reflect current realities, he said.
José Alfonso Suárez del Real, a deputy from the Democratic Revolution Party, said he supports the idea of modifying the rules, but not while violence
flares at the northern border.
"It's not the most secure place to invest," he said. "What we would be opening the door to is money-laundering, not real investors, from the United
States."
The rules against foreign property ownership are spelled out in Article 27 of the Constitution, which was written in 1917 and stemmed from painful
memories of 19th-century occupations by the U.S. and French armies.
###
Wouldn't that be sweet and realistic? Property ownership between the U.S. and MX should be reciprocated!
