Deciding on moving to Lakeside

Fastfox, I would only buy property at Lakeside to secure a roof over my head, and if it's in move in ready condition, affordable as I see owning as an investment of having a roof over my head that can't be taken away from me or having to deal with landlords putting limits on things I would want to do in the place. The biggest reason is not having to move or worry about inflation on rent. I like the idea of decorating and furnishing a home the way I want it, most of the furniture I see in the ads for rental properties there looks very uncomfortable to me, even the beds look uncomfortable so I would prefer furnishing a place myself. I don't know what that will entail in cost either or if I can move all my stuff down there and what that cost and process are like. Having a car is a must for me, so is it best to buy one here or there? Owning in my opinion is cheaper than renting but it means using up a considerable amount of my tiny nest egg. If one owns down there and were to move back to the States it can then become a rental property by the looks of how the population there is probably going to boom over the next few years, I should think owning a rental property is a good investment to hand down to my kids as something special. I'm sure I'll have a better feel for it once I come down there and try it out for size first, I won't buy real fast, I'm heeding the advice of others as they've responded to my post.

Wouldn't you say that home ownership is just as costly there as it would be to own a manufactured home in the states, considering in the states you have to pay rental space fees to put the manufactured home on in any of the retirement community's, for example? Its all relaive, right? The type of homes I've seen advertised for sale look pretty sweet and far more attractive to me than living in a manufactured home in a retirement community here in the US which is about the only affordable type of housing I'd be able to afford to live in order to retire in the US no matter whether I go to FL, WA, TX, NV or AZ.

We feel that rents are lower than the value of the house. So you have a 300,000 dollar house and it rents for $1200 a month. Well that is a terrible investment for a home owner. Also understand it takes much longer to sell a house here normally unless you price it right and that is low right now. We also travel and may fall in love with another part of Mexico. As our Spanish improves we may move eventually. We could live in Oaxaca for example. Renting does allow more flexibility in our opinion. Now we admit rent inflation could make this the worst decisions of our life but we think it makes more sense to rent now for us. Your mileage may vary and I admit home ownership is not the most important thing in my life as it is for others.

This is a great interesting discussion.

Z

I think Zed's correct-it is very hard to get a good return from renting a house here. I own, and I love my home, but I didn't make the decision based on ROI. I made the decision because I've lived all over, many countries, and I really like having the permanence of my own home. It was an emotional decision for me, not a business decision.

I think those are all good reasons to buy. I agree with you about the limitations and comforts, etc. Those will be my reasons for a purchase as well, plus the fact that I want to plant things.

Each person must do what is best for their situation. I would be surprised if the costs to buy really were cheaper. I think most people tend to put aside the purchase price, then just figure what they pay monthly to live there versus rent, which is not an accurate calculation. But again, only you know what is best for you.

Luisa wrote:I think Zed's correct-it is very hard to get a good return from renting a house here.  I own, and I love my home, but I didn't make the decision based on ROI.  I made the decision because I've lived all over, many countries, and I really like having the permanence of my own home.  It was an emotional decision for me, not a business decision.

Exactly, this is my experience as agent.  These purchases are mostly emotional and not business decisions.  Insofar as rental properties go, in order for it to be profitable,  there are certain formulas for purchasing that must be followed, otherwise, you will make nothing and lose money.

I guess renting does make more sense when you do the math by what you and Fastfox along with everyone else on this post has said. Do rentals go up much at Lakeside? My rent in Oregon has increased by $200./mo. over the course of the 12 years of living in a very outdated duplex so I don't want to live where the rent jumps up like that when I retire. That's why buying seems appealing the most to me. I don't see myself moving around a lot to be honest, it's expensive and exhausting to move so I don't want to do a lot of that in my golden years. I want adventure but not moving around a lot. I moved so much growing up as a child than settled and raised a family for 25 years in Massachusetts then moved out to Oregon and have stayed put in this duplex. Out of all the moves I've made in my life staying settled down in one home traveling about is way more appealing to me.

Many homes in all sorts of places rent for lower than a good return on their value price. As an example, in Vancouver you can rent a house that sold for 700K for about $2800 per month. You also need to consider the potential appreciation of the property and any tax incentives. Now appreciation may not be factor here but if you plan on staying 10 plus years then it makes total sense to not waste money on rent even if you sell the place for what you paid for it. Especially now with prices in the toilet. One can also consider a property that has rental potential (a casita or two on the property).

For some reason, I am not seeing a great deal of candor with respect to what the ongoing maintenance costs of home ownership in the Lake Chapala area?  Wouldn't it be helpful if some information was provided about the different construction methods and what that causes in repair costs one might not see elsewhere?  I don't think I would be stepping outside of boundaries when I state that during the so-called boom times, homes were thrown together to look good cosmetically but the repair bills are now coming due!

OK CG here is a data point. I just spent 9000P to fix four year old plumbing. They left today and I already found another leak but hey my electric is fine. The repair bill is due and paid.

Z

Yes, buying would definitely be an emotional decision for me as well. I am only thinking ahead in terms of leaving it to my children as to whether it will be more of a hindrance than having a home to vacation in. My daughter I would think would love having something in Mexico since she lived in MC for 6 years and loves going back to MX for New Year's every year. My son not so much, his wife doesn't like Mexico at all, so most likely they wouldn't want it, but than they have a family home in Hawaii so they don't need a place to vaca in Mexico. Say I was wondering do you know if any of the homeowners in Lakeside do a housing exchange similar to like owning a time share? It woudn't be buying into a timeshare but doing an exchange like one if they wanted to travel to other areas of the country or even other countries outside of Mexico? I could see where that would be pretty awesome.

Zedi that is really cheap compared to what it costs in the states to do a whole plumbing repair job! So it only cost you 700 USD for the whole house to be repaired with better plumbing? What was it like dealing with the contractor on it? Do the contractors there listen to women as well as men?

There are websites where you register for house exchanges all over the world. Perhaps some people here have used them and can give you some links.

This is another area of discussion how the Mexican contractors treat women over men when said woman is not Mexican? This is a major aspect about home ownership that would concern me being a single older woman. I have read so much about how friendly and respectful the Mexican people are to the Expats at Lakeside despite the fact that there have been horrible murders to expats living at lakeside and from what I have read on reports of those crimes it is the Mexican's doing them, still though its nice that the majority overrules the minority on that score and thankfully the natives are friendly and grateful for the money they can make off the Expats there. I would like ot live more amongst the Mexican's to really emmerse myself in it all. But I guess I will learn all this when I try it out on my own. Still would like to hear your impressions and experiences concerning my questions above. Thanks for all the great input here. It's very helpful in so many respects.

Zed:

Great price to get your sink and maybe the toilet working off your master bedroom! Sorry but I will not jump to the assumption (since you didn't define) that this was a total rework of your entire plumbing system. Since you have said that you rent, I would assume this cost is coming off your rent?

If I were to buy it would be to stay put! I am not looking to move around or get a return on my investment, I would be looking to have a stable place to call my own. I would be there for the entire rest of my life only leaving to visit my children and renew my tourist visa, as I will never be able to become a permanent resident because I will never have the funds to meet the quota according to the new laws set in place now. On the other hand not being a permanent resident would there be a lot of issues owning on a tourist visa?

Wait, now I'm confused... Zedi you paid for just the plumbing repairs for a sink and toilet to run right? That is really steep than, not cheap at all! I guess it's much cheaper in the US for plumging repairs than cause I don't think it would cost any $700 USD for those kind of repairs here in Oregon. Hmmmm so is it way more expensive to hire contractors there compared to the US? Plus it sounds like you pay in advance of the work being done there which I would feel very apprehensive about doing as I've read some people have gotten screwed handling it that way. I would pay only pay a 1/4 down and the rest upon completion with a gurantee that if there is a leak in the same spot it's repaired for free. Would contractors agree to terms like this in Lakeside?

Oh so if you rent and something goes amess and needs repairs it's up to you as a tenant to pay for it upfront than? I donno, buying seems way more appealing to me now!

pamarie wrote:Zedi that is really cheap compared to what it costs in the states to do a whole plumbing repair job!  So it only cost you 700 USD for the whole house to be repaired with better plumbing?  What was it like dealing with the contractor on it?  Do the contractors there listen to women as well as men?  

You are thinking like a gringo! (said that as a joke)  That's a lot of money down here for a day and a half work but I get what you say. I also rent but unlike up north I doubt if I will be reimbursed completely. Understand my problems required a real master plumber with tools.  No handyman could fix most of these problems or I would have fixed them myself. A good plumber in Mexico is expensive but oh so worth it.  Understand a good wage here in the village  is 50P per hour.  Many folks work for 30P per hour. Minimum wage is so low like 5 bucks a day. I needed a skilled person to save the 50 year old beautiful cracked tile in the shower so we came in from the back of the wall and the young helper sat there chipping with a chisel for two and one half hours and that was one fixture. Lots more to fix I am sure as we find the leaks.  Four pumps, one swimming pool sized tank underground, two 400gallon tanks on roof and plumbing to five bathrooms. Bet you don't have all that on your house up north!  Remember at one time water only came once a week in Ajijic so you stored water and my ancient tank underground you could swim in. You have so much to learn!!!! Don't worry its fun at least it was for me.   Even a rental in Mexico can be stressing but I have a 40 mile view that makes me forget all my plumbing problems.  In lakeside it is not unusual for the tenant to participate in paying for repairs. I have had everything from no participation in costs to first 50 bucks to first 200 bucks is my problem. Depends on contract. Some folks say it is not correct but its in the contract and I want the house so I pay it. In this instance I work on the house with the owners knowledge and he helps with materials sometimes bringing me labor. So it depends.  I like my Casa and I like my landlord. He let me know that the Casa is a little bit cranky at times when I rented it from him. Last house I had the same arrangement and they ended up with a better house than when I moved in and I got a good price on rent and long term lease. When we were landlords we always appreciated the tenants that fixed things up and treated them well so we are now on the other side of the transaction. Also you don't have to rent a monster like our house.  I guess we like the challenge cause we keep doing it as we have had three monster casas down here.

Questions.

I just hired a plumber. It is not a whole house job.  I do what I can myself.  Many houses down here come with maid, gardener, and handyman. The handyman fixed what he could but it just got our of control with pumps running continuously causes Electric bill to sky rocket to 1700P for two month. If this continues I would be put on DAC which is a electricity rate for folks who use over 250KWh per month over a year.  (Go look at your electric bill and compare 350Kwh per month is 850P before going to the higher price once DAC kicks in). Plumber was about 1/2 of NOB plumber. I pay 50P an hour for heavy labor or handyman.

And yes some folks don't listen to women down here but many do.  I will let the ladies answer this  in depth as I am a guy but I do see things.

Z

My landlord takes care of all repairs. I call him and he sends someone to fix it and they bill him.
For every example someone gives you, someone else has a different experience. If you are the kind of person who wants to know ahead of time exactly how things will go, you are going to be very uncomfortable (and unhappy) down here. The only way to learn how to happily live here is to live here.
Also, you will never change Mexico but it will change you. I have seen people beat their head against the wall that is Mexican culture. All they get is headache.

to lady O, I am the kind of person who wants to learn as much as possible from the wisdom of others. I'm fully aware that everyone has their own unique story or experience and that's what I'm soliciting for. It helps to hear about as much experience form others as possible to make a judgement call on my own. It goes without saying that one has to live in a place to understand if it fits for them or not, believe me I know what it's like to move around I grew up doing it my whole life, althought it was mainly in the US it did teach me to be flexible and open minded. However I also know that I want as much advice from folks as I can get to make a good call for myself because it's better than going blinded into a situation as an older single woman in our world today. I have no desire to change Mexico and look forward to it changing me! No matter where one lives they can choose to accept the way it is in that culture or leave it, every area of the US is unique and has it's own culture, like the East Coast is quite different than on the West Coast. Accepting the differences is all that matters.

If you have not done so already, I highly recommend you read "Living at Lake Chapala" by Judy King.
http://www.amazon.com/Living-Lake-Chapala-Live-Adventure/dp/1492832456/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402965803&sr=1-2&keywords=living+at+lake+chapala

Judy has lived here 30 years, all as a single woman. She raised two children here. Check it out and see what you think. She even has a chapter on "Homes: Buy, Build, Remodel or Rent?"

Pamarie:

There are people on this and other Mexico forums with 10 to 15 years of experience. Back in the "dark ages", with far less available information, people really worked at the research and rarely asked questions until they had a fairly good grip. I see you making assumptions and asking questions that make it obvious that you haven't done your due diligence. Some of your stated assumptions about the "Mexican way" make me wonder just how much time you have spent on FAUX or CNN news? Maybe playing the fool is your Modus Operandi?

About Mexican workers not listening to ladies , I find it totally untrue. They do not listen to women who are not give clear directions or do not want what they know , I have built a house and totally remodelled another here and I never had any problems geting people to do what I asked them to do.

I also ran warehouses and a winery in California where 99 per cent of the employees were Mexican men and never had problems either. You either can manage people or cannot and if you cannot then you will have problems but it has nothing to do with being a woman in my experience.

Thank you Brigitte for bringing some honesty to some of the false generalizations being made! Here is a perfect example - back in 2005 when we decided to put our home on the market, our contractor/handyman agreed to perform some repairs on our house but since we were listing the home with an agent, he asked to be paid by the RE agent as he completed certain requested repairs. Worked fine until the RE agent decided to quit paying and the contractor quit working. Our Mexican/American neighbors attempted to find out the problem and resolve but that didn't work. Our contractor absolutely refused to implicate anyone but meantime, he hadn't been paid. When we went down for the closing and had paid for someone else to complete the work, we pressed the issue and managed to exert enough pressure to find out exactly how much work hadn't been paid for and took care of the obligation. And guess what, both of us slept quite well that night knowing that we had fulfilled our obligations!