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bill_d

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HOMEBUYING_SEASON_SHORTAGE_OF_HOUSES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-04-10-03-01-34

This is an interesting article about how some people are able to sell their home for way more than their asking price. Of course then their dilemma is finding a new one in the same area when they become buyers and not sellers. I'm thinking some of them take the cash and head for cheaper pastures. Mexico would be a good option.

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The dollar is worth a ton against the peso, and that's one good reason. I fear, though, that this "boom" (which really is not) will once again push expectations back up, leading to inflated prices, when only recently have houses started coming back down to sane levels for this area. And they didn't even get close to that sanity, so look out: here we go again.

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We know of houses selling mostly between $2-300K US and a lot of that inventory has moved quickly.  This is also reflected in the lack of an adequate rental market at the $750-1000 US monthly range.  I solicited daily for 2 to 3 beds/ba, maybe a den, a yard, walkable etc... for under $800.  That is a dream anymore. 

 

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We have a younger 40s couple from Guadalajara coming Thursday for a 5 day weekend to check out Ajijic and whether or not they want to purchase a weekend house.  They, and the other couple with them, are on a "looky-lou" visit with an itinerary drawn up by their Guadalajaran real estate agent.  The children are with grandparents at the beach.  She told me they have 4 village properties to see that are not on the "expat" market but are known in the city to have owners who are open to selling at the right price.  She also said they thought with the passion play and great crowds in town they would have a chance to meet people like themselves who come from the city.

 

 

 

 

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On 4/9/2017 at 4:21 PM, Al Berca said:

So, we're done talking about the non existent real estate boom?

haha! Perhaps increased sales would have been more accurate, but those sales are real. I have been following the market very closely since the 1990's. Prices as a percentage of asking price are up >20%. Homes that have been on and off the market for 5-10 years are selling.  

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On 4/9/2017 at 9:02 PM, HookEmHorns said:

Just as I expected, no ideas at all.

The reason is self evident. Roots. Mexican Americans feel they did not cross the border, the border crossed them, and I agree. I say build the wall using this map. mexico_1786.jpg

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On 4/9/2017 at 1:19 PM, HookEmHorns said:

From my questioning, seems that basically all sales are to rich Mexicans and Canadians. Almost none to those from the USA. Wonder why Canadians are getting out now? Could it have anything to do with illegals and refugees ?

Canadian snowbirds have had a significant presence in warm American states for at least 50 years. The insanity of Red states and now having a bigot in Washington to help them with their white hoods may be why Canadians are moving to a more cultured nation. 

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On 4/10/2017 at 11:34 AM, ComputerGuy said:

The dollar is worth a ton against the peso, and that's one good reason. I fear, though, that this "boom" (which really is not) will once again push expectations back up, leading to inflated prices, when only recently have houses started coming back down to sane levels for this area. And they didn't even get close to that sanity, so look out: here we go again.

So true, except sales of existing homes in the village, and to a lessor degree Riberas have accelerated the past three months. One could easily build a new home in most USA markets cheaper than listed prices here. Dirt in Ajijic has been very high since I have been paying attention.

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1 hour ago, bill_d said:

The reason is self evident. Roots. Mexican Americans feel they did not cross the border, the border crossed them, and I agree. I say build the wall using this map. mexico_1786.jpg

I absolutely love the way you stated it... "the border crossed them".

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3 hours ago, bill_d said:

So true, except sales of existing homes in the village, and to a lessor degree Riberas have accelerated the past three months. One could easily build a new home in most USA markets cheaper than listed prices here. Dirt in Ajijic has been very high since I have been paying attention.

"most USA markets"?  Where?  There is a reason why dirt in one place is higher priced than in other places, and even though the reason may be ephemeral to an extent, it works.  You have to LIVE in that area where you build the house.  I understand that you can get some real bargains in the rust belt or the deep South, but you won't find any on the west coast.

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7 minutes ago, gringal said:

"most USA markets"?  Where?  There is a reason why dirt in one place is higher priced than in other places, and even though the reason may be ephemeral to an extent, it works. You have to LIVE in that area where you build the house.  I understand that you can get some real bargains in the rust belt or the deep South, but you won't find any on the west coast.

I agree with you 100% about dirt and location. I stated 'new construction'. The USA markets that would be applicable to my premise would be anywhere there is sprawl and flight. I know hoods in Las Vegas, Pittsburgh,and Charlotte where new construction will get you more than here. I mention these markets because they are 'considered' to be growing and desirable. You will find very few on the west coast, but travel east in the left states and you will. 

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56 minutes ago, mtech1950 said:

bill d must have been asleep during history class

With all due respect, if you learned your history in an American classroom, I suggest you peruse some British, French, German, Chinese, and Mexican literature. 

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Here's my take as a recent purchaser of a home in Ajijic (after a 5 year absence).  

We also own an updated 1940s cottage in a funky beach town on the west coast of FL, within 25 minutes of Tampa airport.  We are a 7 minute walk to 12+ non-chain restaurants and a small beach and fishing pier.  We can also walk to a weekly farmers market;  2 monthly art walks, lots of festivals.  It's a hip liberal town with brick streetts that is within a 12 minute drive of  downtown St. Petersburg which used to be God's Waiting Room but is now hipster central with new condos starting at $1 million plus.  

As it turns out,, our Ajijic home and FL home have almost the exact same value.  But our FL house is about half the size of our new Ajijic home and it lacks the pool that the Ajijic home has.  

Yes, we could buy a home in a less desirable location in FL by going inland, suburban, cookie cutter for about 1/2 the value of our current FL home. And we could do the same in Mexico....in the hinterlands outside of Lake Chapala.  

You pay for lifestyle, no matter what country you live in.   

 

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56 minutes ago, Bisbee Gal said:

Here's my take as a recent purchaser of a home in Ajijic (after a 5 year absence).  

We also own an updated 1940s cottage in a funky beach town on the west coast of FL, within 25 minutes of Tampa airport.  We are a 7 minute walk to 12+ non-chain restaurants and a small beach and fishing pier.  We can also walk to a weekly farmers market;  2 monthly art walks, lots of festivals.  It's a hip liberal town with brick streetts that is within a 12 minute drive of  downtown St. Petersburg which used to be God's Waiting Room but is now hipster central with new condos starting at $1 million plus.  

As it turns out,, our Ajijic home and FL home have almost the exact same value.  But our FL house is about half the size of our new Ajijic home and it lacks the pool that the Ajijic home has.  

Yes, we could buy a home in a less desirable location in FL by going inland, suburban, cookie cutter for about 1/2 the value of our current FL home. And we could do the same in Mexico....in the hinterlands outside of Lake Chapala.  

You pay for lifestyle, no matter what country you live in.   

 

BG, I sent you a PM.

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On ‎09‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 4:25 PM, John Shrall said:

Lacking an open MLS system, conjecture about who, why and how many people are moving here can only be based on anectodal evidence.

I know of two high end homes that sold in the last year. One is a friend from Dallas who had no intention of moving to Mexico but after a visit or 2 he and his wife bought a house. That scenario has been repeated over and over again through the years. If one extrapolates it would seem like the more people that hear about the Lake Chapala area and start visiting, the higher the chances are they'll chuck life NOB and retire here. There are lots of baby boomers out there and even those younger with assets.

My friend sent an email with a comment I thougt might be relevant. They bought a house over a year ago and are finally nearing the end of a spectacular remodel. 

"It is interesting to see how perceptions change over time in regard to where you live and comfort zones. I used to think that I would retire and be in Dallas, probably in this house, for the rest of my life. Now it feels odd to be here and has almost a claustrophobic feeling with all the buildings and traffic and no distance view just the houses all around, not to mention all the people rushing through their lives not having the time to appreciate friends. My wife feels the same way and is ready to get back to Ajijic. She says let's go home now."

Again, only anecdotal but it would seem there is a relationship between those who visit for fun and those who see a way out of the madness anywhere NOB.

To the OP and others. You're welcome. Back on topic...

I find your friend's comment interesting John, to us it is completely opposite. I am sure that if you come from Dallas, Toronto , Vancouver or Chicago that is very true but we live on 8 acres of rain forest on Vancouver Island and I find Lakeside villages very congested and hustling (in a good way). We really like to come down in winter months (weather has some to do with that as well) but comes spring and we are happy to go home to our fresh air, ocean views, big trees, deer, bear, squirrel and eagle country .

So it really depends where you come from and what are your priorities... In our case it is completely 2 different lifestyles which makes our life more interesting. We are doing it for 16 years and hopefully, we will be able to do that for some time yet. But... who knows what will happen in few years. Winters in this place are not so wonderful.

I suspect that you will see more people from Toronto and Vancouver because the house  prices are skyrocketing in these 2 locations in Canada and people feel flushed with the new found money.  They might find themselves in the same sentiment as your friends from Dallas, especially if they already have friends living there to guide them.

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Like Bisbee Gal, we are from Florida (Sarasota) and just closed on a home here last week. We still have our Florida home, which is the same price we paid for our Lakeside home.  But, like Bisbee, our Florida home is half the size our MX home, it doesn't have the beautiful garden, nor the advantage of tolerable weather during its hottest season. 

For our 2000 sq ft 1950s ranch we are paying $3,600 a year for insurance with 10K deductible  and $2,700 a year in property taxes.  That is over $ 6,000 for....what? Water and sewer (2 people, no pool, no lawn irrigation, brown grass until the rains come) is $140 a month, or more.  Basic cable, telephone, interet is $130 with tax. My health insurance (hubby has Medicare) with a $7,500 yearly deductible is $610 plus plus plus.  We had a problem with our drain and needed the plumber to get up on the roof and snake through the vent pipe. Twenty minutes= $325.  Lastly, we put an interior closet in a hallway. Put up studs at the end of the hallway, two thin pieces of drywall, and went to the Home Depot to get the self-install folding doors.  Well, somehow the county found about about it and--get this--we were cited because we did not get a permit! You need to file a permit to make any kind of basic change in your home, even non-structural changes. It's crazy.

Combine that with frenetic pace, the congested roads, the stressed-out people trying to make ends meet because Lord knows when your job will be outsourced to India, and it makes one wonder about the "good" old USA. John Shrall quoted his friend in Dallas who said the same thing.

It was not orange man who sent us SOB. We have seen the gradual decline in standard of living in the US, and for the past several years we have been traveling all over the world seeking an alternate place to retire. Panama is too humid, Nicaragua even hotter than Florida, Cape Town is lovely but there's not much in the way of public transport, and Europe would be ideal (my passport would allow us to live there) but finding household help and down-the-road caretakers is near impossible. 

Mexico solves those problems.  We have done the rounds in Mexico many times, and were ready to purchase in Centro SMA, but a side trip to Lake Chapala changed our minds. There is a stronger support system here, and a closer sense of community. It's more walkable. Native Mexicans will greet me with Buenas Tardes. That didn't happen in SMA.

There are 40,000,000 Baby Boomers in the USA now, and they are retiring now or due to retire within the next 15 years. Guranteed we are not the only ones looking to retire elsewhere.

 

 

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"There are 40,000,000 Baby Boomers in the USA now, and they are retiring now or due to retire within the next 15 years. Guranteed we are not the only ones looking to retire elsewhere. "

Well put.  You can tell who's who by noting the ones carrying backpacks.:rolleyes:

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The US government uses the planning estimate that 10,000 baby boomers will retire daily over the next two decades. This takes into account varying retirement ages, immigrants, and deaths.  With that number retiring, how could there NOT be an increase in interest in a place like Lakeside.  Whether that results in a real estate surge or not depends on many other factors, but the demand is clearly there.

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