BajaNomad

Help with buying a home in a Campo

artistlily - 5-28-2011 at 01:43 PM

Considering buying a home in Campo Torres. Is Hugo Torres Chavert connected to this? Googleing came up with water and sewage problems in 2006. Are there any issues I need to ask the land owners? I read the whole 20 pages on Bajanomad about buying homes. The issue of buying a Campo was very lightly touched on. I want to be prepared when i go down this coming week. Seen place once. I am trying to average out the differences between renting for the next 10 years and paying out almost the same in a ten year period. Just don't ant to have the place pulled out from under me or walk into already existing problems. Any advise or help will greatly be appreciated. I have been researching since last November. This is my retirement money and I need to stretch it. Thanks ahead of time.

woody with a view - 5-28-2011 at 01:45 PM

where?

artistlily - 5-28-2011 at 01:53 PM

Campo Torres in north Rosarito right next to Baha Malibu homes off the Toll road.

Why buy?

Dave - 5-28-2011 at 02:03 PM

I would not buy in a Campo. There are plenty of places to rent, cheaply. The worst that can happen is you lose your lease. As an owner the worst that could happen is you lose your home.

DENNIS - 5-28-2011 at 02:37 PM

I met Sr. Torres about fifteen years ago and from his age then, he has to be history.
Anyway....I lived in Beach Camps for years and all I can suggest is to find someone who lives there, someone you can believe, and get the straight scoop about the landlord and Campo from them.

Like Dave says, renting deserves some thought, at least for a trial period. No matter what, you will be renting the space anyway.

NEVER

bajaguy - 5-28-2011 at 02:37 PM

Invest more than you can lose......

DENNIS - 5-28-2011 at 02:39 PM

By the way...I don't believe Hugo has anything to do with this place. If he does, pack and run.

artistlily - 5-28-2011 at 02:46 PM

I didn;t think Hugo did have anything to do with Campo Torres, but I wanted to be sure. I was planning on renting for a few months or more. Rented a couple other places and found it wasn't for me. I have been talking to people in area. Sometimes you feel like your not being told everything. Start wandering why so many or selling. Understand health problems and getting too old. Are some people just trying to flee a sinking ship???

Punta Banda

bajaguy - 5-28-2011 at 02:51 PM

Why not look around in the Punta Banda area....plenty of places to rent, and gets you out of the Rosarito area

artistlily - 5-28-2011 at 02:57 PM

I did go down to Punta Banda for a few days. Too far from border. Like being able to be about 15 minutes from border and use my sentry pass. The north area of Rosarita next to ocean felt safe to me and the people where all nice that I met. I had thought I needed to be further south to feel safe, but that was more the news talking. I am not out driving at night or hanging out in the wrong areas. Thanks for the thought.

Yep...certainly a large part of it

Dave - 5-28-2011 at 03:02 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by artistlily
Are some people just trying to flee a sinking ship???


I know the history behind several of the Rosarito area Campos as I know folks who live, or have lived there. Most all have problems or the potential for future problems.

The first thing I would ask for is facturas for rent and HOA's. If the seller can't produce them...RUN!

artistlily - 5-28-2011 at 03:05 PM

You can't rent there. She is presently paying $2,500 a year. Think there ia=s an additional charge for security.

DENNIS - 5-28-2011 at 03:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by artistlily
Sometimes you feel like your not being told everything. Start wandering why so many or selling. Understand health problems and getting too old. Are some people just trying to flee a sinking ship???


Yeah....that's what I meant when I said, "Someone you can believe." A lot of folks have a personal agenda they won't be candid about.
Sinking Ship???? Perhaps, but not necessarily. The Beach Camps were put together in another time, when waterfront property was next to worthless. Tenants crossed an easy border and built their places on weekends, so to speak. They were, of course, much younger and rules 'n regs were left behind. It was a different world then.
Now, the old timers are just that...old, and require a home in the states closer to services. Traveling back and forth just isn't as simple as it once was.
Also, the market dried up here the same time it did in the states.

Crime...the border, and the economy all had a lot to do with changes in Baja. We have to adjust because it will never be the same.

artistlily - 5-28-2011 at 03:49 PM

I know we all feel the news is keeping alot of people from going to Baja. BUT 19 years ago it was so easy for me to go all the way to Cabo and back. (OK the roads where a mess0 I mean i did not need a passport. 45 minutes was con a long wait at the border. No one ever said anything about tourist visas. You can't just pick up and go. I have friends that can't get a sentri for minor violations, so they don't even want to attempt to cross over. It wears me out defending myself when I say i am going to Mexico. I was there around April for about 6 weeks. I didn't hear one thing about any violence. Only thing I would hear would be warned maybe about a loose cannon american in the campo. It is not as laid back as Mulege 19 years ago, but it certainly isn't as bad as it is being talked about here in San Diego. `It is the unknown that scares people. If i had felt the danger i would have been back in the states in a flash. You have to be alert street wise, use common sense to be down here. I guess I am talking to myself.

DENNIS - 5-28-2011 at 04:04 PM

Sounds as though you have yourself pretty well convinced. I mean, don't try to sell us....we live here.

rhintransit - 5-28-2011 at 04:20 PM

rent rent rent for awhile. then rent some more. talk to everyone and anyone. surprise, duh, many people have agendas. most won't be to your benefit. talk to people who are there and staying and who know the history of the places and the people. talk talk ask ask ask and don't stop when you hear what you want to hear. keep asking. rent for a season at least. why buy anything when rents are reasonable?

artistlily - 5-28-2011 at 04:29 PM

You are all right in what you are saying. It is what I have told myself. When you come across what you think as a good situation you start back pedaling and want to get in your own place. I always weigh all my decisions. Needed to get a dialog going on here. It is hard to find someone to discuss your decisions in the states. They mostly close their minds to any discussion about Baja. There is so much stress up here with the economy, future , politics, you name it...that the negative energy is right on the edge of almost everythlng. Was able to get rid of a lot of stress while i was in Baja.

comitan - 5-28-2011 at 04:42 PM

Weigh and consider!!!

BajaGringo - 5-28-2011 at 04:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by artistlily
You can't rent there. She is presently paying $2,500 a year. Think there ia=s an additional charge for security.


If not rent, then what is the $2500 for???

DENNIS - 5-28-2011 at 05:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaGringo
If not rent, then what is the $2500 for???


Probably a situation such as mine. Own the structure and rent the lot. Rules prohibit renting out your house.

rhintransit - 5-28-2011 at 05:25 PM

what do you perceive are the benefits of buying rather than renting? if it's not your land, if you have to pay rent, you will always risk losing your investment. any structures are the landlord's regardless of who built them, who sold them, who bought them. you can take the building materials away, you can take the stove, the kitchen sink, the trailer, etc but 'selling the improvements' in situ, like a house, seems to have developed here in Baja and the times they are a-changing. in my (previous) little village of El Juncalito down south here, recently one landlord told a gringo that he could NOT sell the house he'd poured all his retirement money into (then changed his mind and wanted to live in the USA instead). renter/palapa builder assumed he could sell improvements. others in the village had, and continue to do so. but this one landlord said no. legal consultation said the same.

Quote:
Originally posted by artistlily
You are all right in what you are saying. It is what I have told myself. When you come across what you think as a good situation you start back pedaling and want to get in your own place. I always weigh all my decisions. Needed to get a dialog going on here. It is hard to find someone to discuss your decisions in the states. They mostly close their minds to any discussion about Baja. There is so much stress up here with the economy, future , politics, you name it...that the negative energy is right on the edge of almost everythlng. Was able to get rid of a lot of stress while i was in Baja.

DENNIS - 5-28-2011 at 05:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rhintransit
but this one landlord said no. legal consultation said the same.



That's why you build out of wood.

BajaGringo - 5-28-2011 at 05:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaGringo
If not rent, then what is the $2500 for???


Probably a situation such as mine. Own the structure and rent the lot. Rules prohibit renting out your house.


I figured so but wondered in the case of the op, does the $2500 include a house already there or will he/she have to build?

mtgoat666 - 5-28-2011 at 05:49 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by artistlily
Start wandering why so many or selling. Understand health problems and getting too old. Are some people just trying to flee a sinking ship???


the weekly killings and bodies hanging from overpasses (and end of western civilization) have scared most gringos away

artistlily - 5-28-2011 at 06:46 PM

Yes there is a home there. I would like to rent it. Told this Campo you can;t rent. This is the first time i heard this at a Campo. Will need to find out the reason why. Personally I want my own place to do what I want to it. I wish I understood why some people or so secure in there Campos and others or not. The lady who would like to move me into hers has been there since 79. Older now she is back in the states. Some want to live tilll the end in Mexico and some due to medical or age need to leave. I weigh whether I can handle renting from someone who wants you out in the summer or owning and hopefully staying for at least 10 years. Is there a untalked about law thats is being contemplated to run all the Americans out. I don't think so. There is certainly an unrest about something. I will understand more after i live there for a few months. Sometimes it is just the particular Campo that doesn't work for someone. With rent being so high hear in the states you would think more people would move there. I am thinking a lot of people might have been too foolish with there money, loans instead of saving for their future. I saved , did without and now need to be sure I make the right decisions. So who is telling who what to do. Ha Ha To me it seems like being in a Campo makes more sense than buying the land and spending $50,000 to a $100,000 more and after reading everything different ones have written on buying in baja....that one could lose it that way also. Why isn't someone writing a thick how to book and getting mexicos endorcement. Guess that makes too much sense. There a or so many things we love about Baja and than others we just shrug or shoulders and smille and say, "That's Mexico". Is anyone in charge? Never was thrilled with politics. No reason i should think it should get better in Baja. Sorry, that was negative. Want to get away from the negative thinking and hurry up stress here.

artistlily - 5-28-2011 at 06:52 PM

That would upset me to see a hanging body. Saw nothing violent while I was there. Lots of violence up here. Have not seen that either.

DENNIS - 5-28-2011 at 08:34 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by artistlily
Yes there is a home there. I would like to rent it. Told this Campo you can;t rent. This is the first time i heard this at a Campo. Will need to find out the reason why.


I'll tell you why. The rents charged in the Beach Camps that are allowed are relatively much lower than rents in the states and, unfortunatly, that draws all types across the border, major losers included.
The Camps have had some real bad luck with some of their unscreened tenants and in order to guarantee a specified life-style in the Camp, they have to control who moves in.

Try to negotiate clearance with the Camp owner. It may work.

artistlily - 5-28-2011 at 11:35 PM

Thanks for the advice. I am the type of person they want. If I could even do a lease option it would help. You need to find out if it is the right fit, in every way.

durrelllrobert - 5-29-2011 at 09:04 AM

FYI: the reason they are called campos instead of resorts is that the MX tax rate on campo land is a fraction of that for a resort, and hence campos can ren the land and/or structure for less money (ie: Baja Malibu,next door to Campo Torres, is a resort).

Good for the goose

Dave - 5-29-2011 at 09:57 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by artistlily
Yes there is a home there. I would like to rent it. Told this Campo you can;t rent. This is the first time i heard this at a Campo. Will need to find out the reason why.


I'll tell you why. The rents charged in the Beach Camps that are allowed are relatively much lower than rents in the states and, unfortunatly, that draws all types across the border, major losers included.
The Camps have had some real bad luck with some of their unscreened tenants and in order to guarantee a specified life-style in the Camp, they have to control who moves in.

Try to negotiate clearance with the Camp owner. It may work.


Bear in mind, If you bought and for whatever reason needed to lease your home...you couldn't. I wouldn't sign a lease agreement with those restrictions.

jenny.navarrette - 5-29-2011 at 10:21 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by artistlily
Thanks for the advice. I am the type of person they want. If I could even do a lease option it would help. You need to find out if it is the right fit, in every way.


In the long run, you will not save one nickle by living in Baja. But I know you won't beleive that, as it appears your mind is already made up and are only looking for confirmation of your decision. Whatever you "save" in rent you will give back in higher food prices, interminable hassles with tramites and hours of wasted time going back and forth across the border to get the things you need in the US.

Spot on

Dave - 5-29-2011 at 11:40 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by jenny.navarrette
In the long run, you will not save one nickle by living in Baja. But I know you won't beleive that, as it appears your mind is already made up and are only looking for confirmation of your decision. Whatever you "save" in rent you will give back in higher food prices, interminable hassles with tramites and hours of wasted time going back and forth across the border to get the things you need in the US.


Except for the interior, Mexico is expensive. And the whiter your skin and the less Spanish you speak, the more expensive it gets.

bajagrouper - 5-29-2011 at 11:53 AM

On the mainland we call it the GRINGO TAX........LOL

BajaGringo - 5-29-2011 at 12:18 PM

Campo Torres is / was going through a legal fight involving the owners of the Rancho del Mar development on the other side of the toll road I believe. I have heard rumors that their long term plans are to mow the entire camp down at some point and built a beachfront development. I certainly wouldn't spend any serious cash on improvements if I was living there.

As far as the cost of living down here, it has a lot to do with your lifestyle. If you want to live exactly as you did in the states, then it probably is more expensive cost wise. However living here where we are on the Baja coastline with clean blue water, abundant marine life, few people and panoramic ocean views is something I could hardly find north of the border, much less afford.

This isn't for everybody, and thank God for that...

BajaBlanca - 5-29-2011 at 03:47 PM

BajaGringo is so right ... it all depends on what you want - live more like US standards or downsize the expectations and live more a la mexicano.

electricity is through the roof. that i will say.

no matter what, make sure you find a place you CAN rent and relax there for at least 6 months to a year to get a good feel for your neighbors and dogs and life in general.

best of luck in finding your paradise south of the border !!

DENNIS - 5-29-2011 at 03:56 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaGringo
Campo Torres is / was going through a legal fight involving the owners of the Rancho del Mar development on the other side of the toll road I believe. I have heard rumors that their long term plans are to mow the entire camp down at some point and built a beachfront development. I certainly wouldn't spend any serious cash on improvements if I was living there.



Golly. I wonder why those tenants with "For Sale" signs didn't mention that?
This is the ultimate Red Flag. Run like the wind and don't look back.

encanto - 5-29-2011 at 05:11 PM

Something forefront on my mind would be the quality of the ocean water in the location being considered. Looking down the ravines and arroyos (including ones adjacent to the big resorts) as one drives down the coast highway, foamy foul-smelling brown water courses directly into the sea. It must be less than treated sewage and the odor can permeate the air, making a dip in the water or eating fish from the area unappealing.

In California we have had mandated water quality testing at the beaches and the reports are very public. Beaches are closed when bacteria levels are raised. (Though I recently heard the funding for this program is in danger.) Maybe a greater distance from the border would be worth it for what Bajagringo says, "clean blue water, abundant marine life, few people and panoramic ocean views."

BajaGringo - 5-29-2011 at 05:59 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Golly. I wonder why those tenants with "For Sale" signs didn't mention that?


Good question.
Quote:
Originally posted by encanto
Maybe a greater distance from the border would be worth it for what Bajagringo says, "clean blue water, abundant marine life, few people and panoramic ocean views."


The further south from the border one ventures the higher the quality of living IMHO. The true equalizer comes in the weather as the farther north is closer to San Diego like and the further south is closer to Death Valley. That is how we ended up here on the beach outside San Quintin. It seemed to be be just the right balance for us...

DENNIS - 5-29-2011 at 07:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaGringo
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Golly. I wonder why those tenants with "For Sale" signs didn't mention that?


Good question.




Not really. We all know the answer. These people would screw their mother..........on a house sale, that is.

BajaGringo - 5-30-2011 at 08:25 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaGringo
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Golly. I wonder why those tenants with "For Sale" signs didn't mention that?


Good question.




Not really. We all know the answer. These people would screw their mother..........on a house sale, that is.


Have you met their mother???

:lol: