I AM A NEWBIE INVADER!!!!

I'm a newbie Invader and have something not so gleeful to say. I'm not a starry eyed Canadian with buckets of cash looking to retire to a place where i can have a poorly paid maid, cook and gardener allowing me to live like a king. I don't want a home within two blocks to a damn Walmart and i don't really want a home in a neighborhood with high walls and a guard at the gate. I don't want all my friends to speak English and I don't want to spend my remaining days rendesvouing with other gringos at our favorite meeting sites in our shiny new suvs causing untold traffic congestion for the locals.
I am a realist. It may be necessary to buy in a gated community if you plan to "lock and leave" for extended periods and a car be necessary sometimes as the buses don't run as frequently as I would need. And i realize that some retired folks may not be able to physically get around as they used to. And I realize that for that poorly paid maid the job may be a godsend.
That said, my major concern is the incredibly overpriced, overblown housing market. I made a visit in Feb and have spent over 6 months monitoring real estate sales, the boards and regrettably, a bunch of facebook groups. In just 6 months just about every single nice affordable house has been sucked up, either by newbies or locals with deep pockets seeking high returns on the red hot rental market.
I arrived for a serious look about 4 weeks ago and there really is not much affordable housing left. I see overpriced properties within pissing distance of a major artery -properties with drainage problems, wrecks, or homes surrounded by high buildings blocking your views. The market today mostly consists of overpriced dregs. This is a terrible time to be looking to relocate.
In the last two weeks Three of the houses on my list of probables have had their listing prices jacked UP from 5 to 10%. Do not buy in this market. This feels like 2006 all over again but down here in Mexico. If you buy today and decide in two or three years that Chapala isn't right, then you will be stuck and upside down to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. For most of Chapala's history it has been difficult to sell a home when you needed to get out. I get this from locals.
And I don't believe the realtor hype in the literature and website (the other site). This is not the 2nd best weather or climate on the planet. There are hundreds of places around the world with much better weather. It IS nice and yes milder if you come from Canada or the north pole. If you speak spanish, talk to the locals. They will tell you that this year was the hottest in recent memory. It was a scorcher. I read post after post of poor newbies and long timers screaming for info on AC units and mini splits.
The best advice I got was reading this particular board. Rent , don't buy, even though the rents are really high compared to just two seasons ago. Don't rent a second floor apt with lots of sun exposure during the hot season, you will roast. Learn spanish. Talk to locals. Investigate where you might want to live. Be very cautious with real estate agents that fluff the hell out of the place and if they ever use the phrase "dream home" - fire them immediately.
This is a nice community and i hope the influx of idiots doesn't distort or damage the local community long term. I plan to hang around a bit and see if I can find an affordable shack somewhere.
Of course, if I lived in a quiet town in the midwest and we were discovered by teaming hoards of white robed Arab oil sheiks, I might just accept 5 million for my little hovel if they were stupid enough to pay it.
I am a newbie and I'm not stupid and I speak the local lingo. Don't put us all in the same box. Please excuse the bad grammar and run on sentences. Now that I'm finishing my fourth tequila I can shut up.
What is the alcohol limit on this board? .04 or greater i hope.

And one last thing. What the hell is a Maincoon?

lol

Bienvenido! You're a breath of fresh air!

"And one last thing. What the hell is a Maincoon? "

A Maine Coon is a breed of cat billed as the largest cat of them all. Adult females 10 lb and up, males 15 lbs and up. Kittens now are selling for 1K to 1.5K and that would be fixed as in non-breeder. You Tube has a bunch of MC vids and Google has a ton info. and pictures.

And, Mainecoons is a member/Moderator2 on TOB. He hates some of us over here and keeps tight wraps on posting over there unless you are one of his right leaning buddies. So, we trash him over here where our founder and leader gives us more leeway.
Also, we do not put all newbies in the same box. Welcome! My advice is to find the best rental you can find and wait out the insanity. This overheated market will not last.

A little overwrought for a lot of deaf ears.
Life hardly ever moves along in a systematic, orderly progression, so what's the big deal.
A nice rant though....

slainte39 wrote:A little overwrought for a lot of deaf ears.
Life hardly ever moves along in a systematic, orderly progression, so what's the big deal.
A nice rant though....

That was a mighty good rant. Not surprised it took multiple tequilas to wind up for it.

Housing all over the place has been heading for a bubble, including up in the frozen northlands, so what's the big surprise? Better to rent first anyway.
Weather? I figure that a good climate is one that won't get hot or cold enough to kill you if you're stuck outdoors.

What I'm seeing is the influx of baby boomer folks who are reaching retirement age. We knew it was coming, and here they are, easily spotted in their sensible shoes and backpacks. Welcome to them, and I hope they find what they're looking for.

Agree with LOL, find the best rental you can and wait it out. At least half of these starry-eyed fools will leave within a couple of years and the rest will probably not make the 5 year mark.

Welcome, hope to run into you one day I like your take on the place.

BTW.......the real estate prices here in 2006/7 were significantly higher than they are today. It's going to be a few years before anything bursts (unless something happens in the US). The market is also being driven by Mexican buyers, not just starry eyed Americans looking for a cheap taco.

AND, what is affordable? For some it is under $200,000 usd and for others, under $100,000 usd....

Where are the hundreds of other places with better weather? Are we just talking weather or are we adding in living expenses, access to health care, activities, access to an international airport and major city? When all things are considered I still find this place has the most to offer, although I'm still looking for that perfect place. After eight years here I'm feeling I don't have a compelling reason to leave.

Walking, talking, and reading postings will lead you to many properties that are not realtor listings..You will be surprised what is out and about. You will also discover leads to homes and apartments that are about to become available..As stated by Bob, many of the purchases are Mexican buyers either as primary, Secondary or rental properties. Find a B&B or other type of rental and begin your search..

Another interesting take on the current market versus 06/07 is that this time it is taking the rents with it. Back in '07 I was thinking "why buy this 400k place when I can rent it for $800/month. Not anymore. When the rents increase with the home prices it makes for a much stronger market...IMO.

benjji wrote:AND, what is affordable? For some it is under $200,000 usd and for others, under $100,000 usd....

That is going to depend on where you are from. Coming from Vancouver anything under 500k is a bargain and the cost of living is still 60% less here. Now if you hail from Moosejaw, Sask. the prices may seem high......

The rents are increasing because of Facebook groups and foreigners with rentals, I believe. Mexican houses are still pretty much the same rent, at least in my neighborhood.

It is good to see that in my neighborhood all my Mexican neighbors who had bare and empty lots have developed them and found enough $$ to build nice little houses that are now rentals - some with younger Mexicans from GDL and some with foreigners renting them. When they come up for rent most are in line with what I know to be the rent for a Mexican house. IOW, they are not price gouging and the overpriced ones sit for awhile or have a high rate of turnover.

Good for them, but now my neighborhood is almost completely built on, no trees and brush, lots of fences, many many more cars parked along the streets, more dogs, and kids etc. We are no longer rural. So Mexicans certainly aren't out of the loop and I'm happy for their prosperity.

Rents are usually predicated on purchase price (from an investment perspective) and supply/demand. Most investors would want to get an ROI of at least 5%. In a healthy market a house that sells for 100k should rent for about $400 per month. A house worth $400k should rent for about $1600 per month. Of course location/supply/demand can mess with the rental prices.

I've been here over 12 years. Over that time people who waited for real estate prices to drop and their currency to strengthen are still known today as renters.

Well they did drop significantly from 06/07 to 12/13 (about 40% - 50%). If they never dropped from the 06/07 prices I would still be a renter too.....jaja.

Bill, I love you for writing this. Why would you stay here after observing the envirement? There are other places in Mexico.

We wonder the same thing with you..........

CanuckBob wrote:We wonder the same thing with you..........

I note that we not only have deedee, we have a brand new one today:  "D...D"

I didn't see him as dissing the place, just relating what he sees and it's honestly the same way I see it. There is no perfect place, and as he pointed out it is the community that keeps us here.

I used to live in Tahoe, a beautiful clear water alpine lake that you can drink out of - or you could. When I first saw this lake I thought, oh god, ugg, what have I done. Then I walked around the lakeshore in Ajijic and saw it was dirty, smelled the sewage at the foot of Colon and wondered how anyone could eat in that restaurant, and was very disappointed.

Fortunately, I stayed a couple of weeks which gave me time to meet many people, both fascinating foreigners and wonderfully warm and inviting Mexican people, and I was then smitten! Went home, packed up, and came back and have never looked back. For me, it's the community.

Did you come for sewer smell? Your comment is confusing. Is there a connection between deedee and D D? His post was not flattering.

I've been here for 12 years and live down the street from Trailrunner.  I really like the east side from the libramiento to Chapala, particularly SAT.  But now the carretera has gotten so congested, partly due to traffic lights not being coordinated but mostly from more traffic.  I see no relief in sight for another major street to be constructed or a widening of the carretera to accommodate all the new traffic that isn't going away.   I can't live here any longer.  I need to move further out where I can zip into the edge of town to shop then retire to my community.  I didn't sign up for the traffic that I find so offensive; if so, I could have stayed in my house in the US.  Eventually I'll be dead by the time the congestion catches up to me again.

gringal wrote:

CanuckBob wrote:We wonder the same thing with you..........

I note that we not only have deedee, we have a brand new one today:  "D...D"

Yep, if they are the same, which is yet to be substantiated, we are in for a long winter.
Maybe, hopefully, it will be an alter ego.

Dee Dee's and D D's stick together. We are more scary then the big D. You know who that is. Now there are 3 D's to worry about.