BajaNomad

This Old House

Osprey - 6-20-2011 at 03:02 PM

This Old House


I bought this little old Mexican house twenty years ago. It was a wreck but I loved the lot and the ocean view, thought I could fix it up and make it livable. Have been happy in the house for sixteen years now and haven’t thought much about this place versus some other I could have bought.

The paperwork I got at the time of purchase went back about twenty years so I’ve been thinking all this time that the house was built about 1980. I’m not sure about when this little village began but I heard the first little settlement here was called Solidad and later Tres Rios. I do know about the corrido about a small military skirmish here and history records that fight in and around a hacienda, a church and a school here in 1911.

The other day I was talking to my gardener about it and because he was born in a house just a stone’s throw from my place 45 years ago, he knows some history. He told me my house was one of the original places on this end of town and he thinks it was built about 1935.

Since I was born in 1936 I guess the house and I started out together and it’s a miracle for sure that either one of us survived. Don’t know about me but the age of the house means little as respects its value – I knew at first glance that the next owner would surely bulldoze the little place down, start fresh with a nice clean lot. The little work I did to it over the years has not changed that scenario; even the tax man rates the house at $12,000 U.S.

I find some heavy irony in this whole thing. The house was a very small part of the consideration when I originally paid $25,000 U.S. for the place, I did not put much money into it to make it comfortable. How odd is that – how could a thing so important to my safety, wellbeing and happiness begin with so little value and keep that humble value throughout its use-life and then some? It all seems to fly in the face of the natural order of realty, its perceived value, the quid pro quo at the core of all real estate transactions.

Makes little sense to me but if I had the chance to do it all again I would say “Giddy Up”.

Eli - 6-20-2011 at 03:33 PM

Thanks Osprey, that was a nice read.

BigOly - 6-20-2011 at 03:50 PM

I think I know what you mean. Now ya got me thinkin'.

wessongroup - 6-20-2011 at 04:12 PM

"perceived value"... that's a big one... lucky you don't go that way....

CortezBlue - 6-20-2011 at 05:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Osprey
This Old House


I bought this little old Mexican house twenty years ago. It was a wreck but I loved the lot and the ocean view, thought I could fix it up and make it livable. Have been happy in the house for sixteen years now and haven’t thought much about this place versus some other I could have bought.

The paperwork I got at the time of purchase went back about twenty years so I’ve been thinking all this time that the house was built about 1980. I’m not sure about when this little village began but I heard the first little settlement here was called Solidad and later Tres Rios. I do know about the corrido about a small military skirmish here and history records that fight in and around a hacienda, a church and a school here in 1911.

The other day I was talking to my gardener about it and because he was born in a house just a stone’s throw from my place 45 years ago, he knows some history. He told me my house was one of the original places on this end of town and he thinks it was built about 1935.

Since I was born in 1936 I guess the house and I started out together and it’s a miracle for sure that either one of us survived. Don’t know about me but the age of the house means little as respects its value – I knew at first glance that the next owner would surely bulldoze the little place down, start fresh with a nice clean lot. The little work I did to it over the years has not changed that scenario; even the tax man rates the house at $12,000 U.S.

I find some heavy irony in this whole thing. The house was a very small part of the consideration when I originally paid $25,000 U.S. for the place, I did not put much money into it to make it comfortable. How odd is that – how could a thing so important to my safety, wellbeing and happiness begin with so little value and keep that humble value throughout its use-life and then some? It all seems to fly in the face of the natural order of realty, its perceived value, the quid pro quo at the core of all real estate transactions.

Makes little sense to me but if I had the chance to do it all again I would say “Giddy Up”.


Who's pipes are doing better yours or the Casa??:lol:

Curious, do you have any before and after photos?

That would be interesting to see the changes.

Osprey - 6-20-2011 at 06:24 PM

Before

This Old House.jpg - 41kB

Osprey - 6-20-2011 at 06:28 PM

After

This new house.JPG - 48kB

MitchMan - 6-20-2011 at 07:09 PM

Osprey, forgive my ignorance, but what part of Baja is the house in? Looks like something I've seen in La Ventana and El Sargento.

Also, which boat do you use more for fishing, the little galvanized one or the slightly bigger fiber glass one?

Enjoyed your post. Makes me homesick for my Baja place. Going back in a week and a half. My wife keeps our USA home spic and span, clean and neet as a hospital, orderly and well kempt. The Baja house, well that's another story. I like your style for that. But, my wife goes with me to the Baja twice a year and makes it all perfect again, ready for me to slop it all up.

Osprey - 6-21-2011 at 05:26 AM

Mitch, the house is in La Ribera, East Cape. I use the panga inshore and out, the pangita inshore mostly for sierra when they are running and when it's not too crowded out there. Here's more on the realty situation: In the U.S. realtors caution buyers/builders in urban settings to make their homes exactly like the ones next door -- don't overimprove for your street, etc. Here the realtors and my neighbors left me alone while million dollar homes sprung up all around me. One could argue I'm dragging their values down but that doesn't seem to follow in Mexico -- while my house is not up to code, theirs are waaaay over code. Many retirees like me love living outdoors and that's a big part of the difference in lifestyle and cost >> we only go in the house to sleep and use the facilities but we so enjoy our cool tropical patio which is probably bigger than most greatrooms we could afford in a normal house anywhere.

Iflyfish - 6-21-2011 at 06:39 AM

It is wonderful to live in a place where one lives outdoors and uses the house to sleep. My brother and I once drove the washboard to Gonzaga Bay and there was a string of 8' wide trailers with palapas on them. The bedrooms were under palapas and they only used the trailer for "necessary" functions, sand spike for water, barrel of fresh trucked in once a week, fish for dinner and the beach as their yard. What a great livestyle. Lifestyle of the Rich and in this case Infamous! Nice home, great life style. They knew what they were doing when they built that house.

Iflyfish