BajaNomad - We Need a Good Mexican Real Estate Attorney/Notario in Rosarito

We Need a Good Mexican Real Estate Attorney/Notario in Rosarito

jeans - 8-12-2009 at 05:25 PM

The last time I asked for this information I was referred to Sylvia Thompson who met with my sisters regarding an older lease arrangement. She was very competant and answered a lot of questions. Unfortunately she has passed away...

Who would you recommend now? Did Sylvia have a partner?
The end of a 30 yr lease is approaching in a few years. It's never too soon to get an idea of what lies ahead.

[Edited on 8-13-2009 by jeans]

jeans - 8-13-2009 at 09:03 AM

Bump - this is important for us

Woooosh - 8-13-2009 at 10:16 AM

I U2U'd the name and number of the only person I trust for these things in Rosarito. He once introduced me to Sylvia for help wth a land concession. Good luck.

mikeintj - 8-13-2009 at 11:02 AM

Sylvia Marcor of Marcor Realty is 100% trustworthy in my experience. Her shop is opposite McDonalds.

I have heard good things about the notary in Rosarito (my wife recommends them). I used the notary in Playas de Tijuana. The 30-something English speaking guy there (owner's son?) is someone I would use again.

Jeans

Keri - 8-13-2009 at 11:11 AM

Sylvia if I remember correctly was married to Peter Thompson. He was a client of mine when I was in the states. He also helped me with alot of Mexican related RE problems.He would be able to answer your questions I'm sure. They worked together until the divorce I believe. Sylvia was very young . What did she die from? k

[Edited on 8-13-2009 by Keri]

Dave - 8-13-2009 at 11:11 AM

Has the landowner expressed any desire to renew? I would expect any new lease would be on his/her terms. IMO, speaking with an attorney without contract in hand would be premature and having your attorney negotiate might harden the landowner's position.

susanna - 8-13-2009 at 02:43 PM

Does anyone have an email address for this Notary in Rosarito? I have some questions also. Appreciate the help locating an trustworthy person.

jeans - 8-13-2009 at 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave
Has the landowner expressed any desire to renew? I would expect any new lease would be on his/her terms. IMO, speaking with an attorney without contract in hand would be premature and having your attorney negotiate might harden the landowner's position.

Good question...we are preparing our selves by getting educated. It is our general undrstanding is that if the owner chooses not to renew, he has to buy the house at "fair market value" (Is there such a thing in Mexico?) They lease a bare lot and built a nice 2000 sq ft home on it.

It is our belief that they will need to move back to the states prior to the end of the lease. But how can you sell a house, on leased land with just a few years left on a lease that has a big Question Mark at the end of it? Renegotiate it? Has anyone done anything like that?

Thank you to all who responded...we'll get through this...

Sure

Dave - 8-13-2009 at 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jeans
It is our general undrstanding is that if the owner chooses not to renew, he has to buy the house at "fair market value" (Is there such a thing in Mexico?)

If...it's a condition of the lease.

Cypress - 8-13-2009 at 05:53 PM

You bought and paid for your property and home. Paid taxes, insurance etc. Have a deed. Now someone says you don't own it? Don't be smug and say it won't happen to you because you did everything right. It's happened to others and it can happen to you.

woody with a view - 8-13-2009 at 06:06 PM

as a last resort, if all the negotiations fail you can always have a big bonfire and return his lot to him....

just a thought!

Soccrates Luna is your man.

Keri - 8-13-2009 at 06:25 PM

The owners here use him. Done some excellent work for them.
01-661-612-0350 01-664-634-0386 or +52 (-664) -634-0306
He has offices in Rosarito and TJ ,k :yes:

bajabound2005 - 8-13-2009 at 06:25 PM

on leased land, you don't pay taxes! You are completely at the mercy of your landlord, so make sure you have a reputable one!

msteve1014 - 8-13-2009 at 06:32 PM

Sounds like they have been there for almost 30 years. How bad could the landlord be? Good luck, I hope it turns out you were worried about nothing.

jeans - 8-13-2009 at 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by msteve1014
Sounds like they have been there for almost 30 years. How bad could the landlord be? Good luck, I hope it turns out you were worried about nothing.

The original landlords have passed away...we got the son now...and he really likes my parent's house.

Vince - 8-14-2009 at 09:49 AM

I was having trouble with my landlord in the Mulege area which prompted me to get the property into a fideiocamiso in 1990 after leasing for 20 years. I had Peter R.J. Thompson do it and it has worked well. In recent conversation with him he indicated he is moving to Central America, he didn't tell me where. There are several attys in the TJ area that could do the job.

DENNIS - 8-14-2009 at 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Vince
I was having trouble with my landlord in the Mulege area which prompted me to get the property into a fideiocamiso in 1990 after leasing for 20 years. I had Peter R.J. Thompson do it and it has worked well. In recent conversation with him he indicated he is moving to Central America, he didn't tell me where. There are several attys in the TJ area that could do the job.

Consider yourself lucky that the landlord would sell the property. I haven't seen above that Jeans' landlord is amenable to that solution.
In other words, you can't buy that which isn't for sale.

Cypress - 8-14-2009 at 11:13 AM

DENNIS, You've ,"You can't buy that which isn't for sale.", nailed it. :bounce:

And if it is for sale, is the seller authorized to sell it? Regarding real estate purchase/ownership south of the border. It's a different country, with different laws. You're at the mercy of family, political, and financial connections that were forged before most of us were born.

DENNIS - 8-14-2009 at 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cypress
It's a different country, with different laws. You're at the mercy of family, political, and financial connections that were forged before most of us were born.

Well....that's it then. You just have to know and understand the law. [excuse me while I laugh myself to death] :lol:

Woooosh - 8-14-2009 at 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by Cypress
It's a different country, with different laws. You're at the mercy of family, political, and financial connections that were forged before most of us were born.

Well....that's it then. You just have to know and understand the law. [excuse me while I laugh myself to death] :lol:

It has been my experience that the person with the best forged documents and the highest friends in Mexico City wins every time. There is no shame here.

[Edited on 8-14-2009 by Woooosh]

msteve1014 - 8-14-2009 at 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jeans

Quote:

Originally posted by msteve1014
Sounds like they have been there for almost 30 years. How bad could the landlord be? Good luck, I hope it turns out you were worried about nothing.

The original landlords have passed away...we got the son now...and he really likes my parent's house.

Sorry to hear that. Still hope it all works out.

Pstreet1 - 8-15-2009 at 09:54 PM

Another recomendation for Socrates Luna; I've never heard anything but good recomendations for him, and I've heard a lot of grumbling about a lot of other attorneys.

jannyk - 8-16-2009 at 12:46 PM

Is a 30 year lease valid anyway?

I was under the impression that a 'lease' could be written for a maximum of 9 years, 11 months and 29 days - in other words, it has to be under 10 years to be 'lawful' and enforceable.

Or did that 10 year rule come into effect during her 30 year lease term? See:

http://www.bajarealestategroup.net/Leasing_Land_in_Mexico/

and here's another very good explanation of how 'leases' work in Mexico:

http://www.mlsbaja.com/BuyingOnLeasedLandInMexico.html

[Edited on 8-16-2009 by jannyk]

[Edited on 8-16-2009 by jannyk]

DENNIS - 8-16-2009 at 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jannyk
Is a 30 year lease valid anyway?

I was under the impression that a 'lease' could be written for a maximum of 9 years, 11 months and 29 days - in other words, it has to be under 10 years to be 'lawful' and enforceable.

It's still ten years. Those long agreements were common way back when. Nobody questioned them. Now, the land is worth more and no land owner wants to get involved in anything long term, legal or not.

Cypress - 8-16-2009 at 12:58 PM

9 years, 11 months, 29 days. Unless otherwise specified due to various mitigating circumstances which are unspecified, but may be subject to change when and if the parties to the original agreement/contract see fit to renegotiate on the basis of current economic realities, however... :lol:

jannyk - 8-16-2009 at 12:59 PM

I answered my own question by finding the 2nd link above. No, they have never been legal for more than 10 years.
So what was the point of having a Notary/Attorney involved in the first place?

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

It's still ten years. Those long agreements were common way back when. Nobody questioned them. Now, the land is worth more and no land owner wants to get involved in anything long term, legal or not.

jeans - 8-16-2009 at 01:38 PM

Wow...Interesting info in those links...I think/hope that because everything has gone smoothly the last 23 yrs., the valididty of the lease will not be quesitoned...how the transition & a possible sale will turn out, is another thing...

As of this weekend my parents are open to a conversation on the status of the market... ...a HUGE first step for them.

Thank you everyone, for your help in supplying names & resources. This is going to be a continuing drama in my life for the next few months...oh joy...

DENNIS - 8-16-2009 at 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jeans
, the valididty of the lease will not be quesitoned...

The validity of most leases could be questioned for a lot of reasons, the least not being, one has to be a legal , not a tourist, to enter into a contract.
What most tenants are involved in are rental agreements and, legally, pretty much meaningless. Tenants out of the US like to call them leases because it's what they're used to and refuse to believe there's any other way than theirs.
Good luck, Mindy. I hope it all works out for you.

jannyk - 8-16-2009 at 02:49 PM

Unless your parents signed a new lease at the end of each 10 year period, there is no 'lease' to question. It expired (legally) at the end of the first 10 years unless renewed by both parties.

Your best bet is to approach the new landlord and try to negotiate a new ten year (minus one day) lease.

As it stands, the Landlord could have your parents off the property tomorrow and they would have no recourse.

As for selling the property, unless you hope to dump it on a sucker with no knowledge of Mexican law, you'll have to negotiate a new lease anyway.

Quote:

Originally posted by jeans
Wow...Interesting info in those links...I think/hope that because everything has gone smoothly the last 23 yrs., the valididty of the lease will not be quesitoned...how the transition & a possible sale will turn out, is another thing...

...

jeans - 8-17-2009 at 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jannyk
unless you hope to dump it on a sucker with no knowledge of Mexican law, you'll have to negotiate a new lease anyway.

That is insulting...

DENNIS - 8-17-2009 at 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jeans
That is insulting...

Indeed. This poster seems to be obsessed with your bad fortune. He/she should take it down the avenue.