Capital Gains exemptions for foreigners

Hi Joe,
Why have you selected Mexico and the Lake Chapala area? That would help us to better understand your questions.

Luisa wrote:Hi Joe,
Why have you selected Mexico and the Lake Chapala area?  That would help us to better understand your questions.

Many reason.  First, I live in the Midwest USA and we get very few really nice days... it's either hot and muggy or too cold to enjoy the outdoors.  Most places in the USA that have great weather are too expensive and not of the lifestyle I desire.  So I started looking at places that had the climate I desire and Lake Chapal ended up being the most logical conclusion.  I had been thru the area many years ago and remembered that I liked the area... but if I remember correctly the lake itself was "dying" at the time and I had the impression that many ex-pats were leaving.  When I revisited this issue recently it seemed that the trend had reversed and the lake is in much better shape now (although I'm not into fishing, etc.).

Another reason is that I dislike USA politics very much.  I believe in the US Constitution very much and it sickens me to see how it has been butchered.  I know my not being in the USA won't change things, but I believe it won't bother me nearly as much. I'm sure the politics in Mexico are as frustrating, but I really don't care unless it affects me personally.

My current home is becoming a ball and chain around my leg.  I'm rather isolated in the middle of about 900 acres of oak forest on top of a mountain.  My home isn't on any GPS systems and getting help for minor things like even getting someone to my my lawn is difficult (they can't get their truck and trailers turned around easily).  I live alone in a 3850 sq. ft. home and it's too much for me to keep up with.

I'm not the kind of person that calls everyone I meet a "friend".  I keep a few people close to me... those that would help me no matter what and I would do the same for them.   Well one died, another is near death, one moved, and the others are at least a half-hour drive away.  I have to stay where I am as long as my mother is alive (she's 92 years old and blind, but does fairly well in an independent living retirement community), but that fact is that she won't be around to many more years as I can see her to decline more rapidly in recent times.  Once she passes I really have nothing left holding me to this are and I intend to move somewhere.  The Lake Chapala area sounds very nice to me.

I've spend months in Mexico in the past and many other parts of the world.  I can pick up languages fairly quickly, but for me that means I can understand what they are saying... not that I can converse with them.  I'm trying to work on my Spanish.  I have a friend that's from Colombia and she's helping me some, but there are quite a few differences between what my online Mexican Spanish class teaches me and her Colombian Spanish.  I know I will never sound like a native speaker, but I hope to learn enough to not seem foolish.

I looked at several US ex-pat communities around the world and Lake Chapala is at the top of my list right now.  Access to a major airport, great climate, modern conveniences, and hopefully more like minded people to get to know.

I don't know if Lake Chapala is the answer for me, and I will make a few visits there (and elsewhere) before making any decision, but I do know I want to make such a change in my life.  I still own a couple of businesses (I don't get involved in the day-to-day operation of them) and will turn one of them over to the employees and am in serious discussions to sell the other.  I have vacant land in several US states and I have it all up for sale (not sure why I kept it all these years anyway).  

On the negative side... I'm 57 years old but very physically active.  I love to swim laps, bicycle, and roller skate.  Most of the pictures of the pools I see are small and not designed for lap swimming, but I could be wrong.  I'm pretty sure there should be enough trails, etc. for me to get my bicycle riding in, and if the trails are smooth enough I can inline skate on them as well.  I worry that I will be on the younger side of the population (I could be completely wrong).  I enjoy talking with people older than myself, but with my physical activities I like to have the inspiration of trying to keep up with the people younger than me.  It's not unusual for me to keep up with competitive skaters and cyclists 30 years younger than I am.  I need that kind of inspiration.

I hope this gives you a better picture of what I'm looking for.  Maybe the Lake Chapala area is not the answer... I don't know yet.  I hope that it is because some of my other choices are much further away from the USA and I do intend to visit friends and relatives in the USA on a regular basis.

Thanks,
-Joe

Don't know about how much escape from U.S. politics you'd get here.  We have our fair share of ranters and ravers here from the Tea Party to the left wingers. However, they can be avoided.  Our esteemed host, CBOB, won't let us talk U.S. politics on here, though some folks never stop trying.

Otherwise, it's a great place to live and you will find plenty of physical activities in the area.

Well it looks like you have given things a lot of thought and have a solid plan Joe. While you won't be the oldest guy here you won't be the youngest either. I moved here a few years ago at 48 and have been able to find "like spirited" people to hang out with. Some are older and some are younger. The night life is a little lame but Guadalajara is only an hour away. Good luck and we hope to see you down here soon.

gringal wrote:Don't know about how much escape from U.S. politics you'd get here.  We have our fair share of ranters and ravers here from the Tea Party to the left wingers. However, they can be avoided.  Our esteemed host, CBOB, won't let us talk U.S. politics on here, though some folks never stop trying.

Otherwise, it's a great place to live and you will find plenty of physical activities in the area.

I'm glad to hear of the no politics policy. Very few would agree with my views, and it's a pointless discussion for the most part.

Thanks for the reply.

CanuckBob wrote:Well it looks like you have given things a lot of thought and have a solid plan Joe. While you won't be the oldest guy here you won't be the youngest either. I moved here a few years ago at 48 and have been able to find "like spirited" people to hang out with. Some are older and some are younger. The night life is a little lame but Guadalajara is only an hour away. Good luck and we hope to see you down here soon.

Bob,

Thanks for the reply and I'll try and look you up when I'm in that area. Right now I don't feel that I can make the trip down there while I still own one of my two businesses. I only get involved when problems arise, but I have to have my computer and internet access as I'm "on call" 24/7/365. I'm sure the local hotels would have internet service, but I'm not sure it would be wise to leave computer equipment unattended in a hotel room while I explore the area.

-Joe

JoeInMO wrote:

Another reason is that I dislike USA politics very much.  I believe in the US Constitution very much and it sickens me to see how it has been butchered.  I know my not being in the USA won't change things, but I believe it won't bother me nearly as much.  I'm sure the politics in Mexico are as frustrating, but I really don't care unless it affects me personally.

Thanks,
-Joe

There is tea party chapter in Chapala you might want to check out,I think they meet at the American Legion every 2nd Tuesday.

There is a Conservative meeting once a month which meets at the Raquet Club clubhouse. The meetings are topical versus political. Although there is plenty of political talk if you want it.

Joe, I am having a hard time as to the validity of your tale. One thing is definite- you will not be doing any on-line skating here........

Mrs. Rupert wrote:Joe, I am having a hard time as to the validity of your tale.  One thing is definite- you will not be doing any on-line skating here........

There's nothing I can do to make you believe what I say or not.

As for in-line skating any paved trail that you can ride a bicycle on is good enough. The skating is not a deal breaker... I can make it up in bicycle riding. I'm not a mountain bike rider, just smooth trail rider. I normally get 100 miles or so in per week and would have to up that quite a bit if I can't skate. The bottom line is that I need to be able to do outdoor exercise. I am NOT a runner or jogger (my knees can't take the high impact). I can skate better than I can walk (I have 22 pins, screws, plates, etc. in my left leg). I broke my right patella (knee cap) in January of this year and had surgery on January 22nd, but I'm nearly back to normal activity... maybe 80%. I skated fairly hard for two hours last night, did an hour of indoor cycling (spinning class) and swam laps for an hour today.

My story is real. Right now I still own a business that doesn't require me 99% of the time but I do have to be available 24/7/365 so I can't visit there until I sell that business (it looks like I have a buyer and we may be able to close in August... at least I hope so). I have property in several states and all are for sale. I live in a large house and have years of stuff that I will need to sell, give away or just haul to the dump.

I've been very fortunate, but I am ready to simplify my life and go somewhere with a nice climate where I can do what I like to do. I visited a place in the state of Washington called Sequim (pronounced as skwim) which is in the rain shadow of the Olympic mountains. It's a weather phenomenon that airline pilots call the "blue hole" because it seldom rains there and the temperatures are very moderate. The bad side of that site is that it's very expensive to live there and I still couldn't escape the US politics.

As I've said before... I've been in many areas of Mexico. I've stayed away from the US border and the tourist traps and have found the people in the interior of Mexico are very nice and will go out of their way to help. Yes there are bad places to be but I think I'm smart enough to avoid them. As a comparison we had four shootings last night in the metropolitan area where I currently live. I was involved in law enforcement at both the state and federal level for some time and know the ropes in that respect.

Maybe what I'm looking for just doesn't exist. I fully intend to visit the Lake Chapala area as soon as I can free myself from being "on call" 24/7. I could visit sooner if I could get good internet connectivity at a local hotel and could feel comfortable leaving my laptop in a hotel room while I explore the area for a week or two. I've had things stolen out of my hotel room several times (the most recent was in Las Vegas in January just before I broke my knee cap). Is it reasonable to expect that I could leave my laptop in a hotel room there during my visit? I sure wouldn't want to haul it around with me everywhere, but I must have access to it if needed.

Yes, I'm a real person, with real questions, and have been completely honest.

Thanks,
-Joe

Joe, Lake Chapala area is a great place, I recommend you to come and spend a few days here, check the place, see some properties, check how much you want to spend on it,  you will get some options.... and then, ASA you find what you want (Talking about property), then you could check the rest, if you do not play golf its fine. You could swim and bicycle easy.

Re: Are you planning to sell a property and want to avoid paying Capital Gains???.

If you want to sell your property what you have to do first of all is to make an appointment with your Notary Public, take with you the deed of the property you are planning to sell, as well as the tax receipt. He will let you know if you will have to pay taxes.

As you know, you pay Capital Gains taxes of the difference in the purchase price of the house, (The amount that appear in the deed) and the sale price.
If by any chance  you have to pay it and want to avoid paying , you need to have the next documents.
-Passport.
-FM (Temporal or Permanente)
-Curp
-Tax number
-Original Electric bills (4 at least)
-Original Phone bills (5 at least)

If you sold a property in the last 5 years, mention it to the Notary, he will make a couple of question and will explain you what is gonna happen.

If you made some renovation in the house and has the invoice, (the original one), it could help to reduce the tax payment.


Cheers!!!

Joe, one thing that DOES work really well in the Lake Chapala are is internet. The service I get here is better than in the US. I am a writer and cannot live without internet. I've even lived in remote areas on the other side of Lake Chapala and had great access. You can get it anywhere with a cellular wireless account. If you have a US cell phone with a wireless access point, it continues to work in Mexico 24/7/365. You don't have to wait 2 years to visit, you can come today. Just ask your cellular provider about providing coverage in Mexico, and come on down.

Merry

Merry,

Thanks very much for the info.

-Joe