Any Canadians who have retired/immigrated to Cozumel?

[BettyfromToronto]

Thanks Karen. We will be there for close to 20 years so I am glad there will be no capital gains. Looking forward to meeting you in November.

Deborah: Okay that we can't vote but I do know the FM3 gives even more which is good.

Budaman: Your post made me laugh out loud and I had to read it to my hubby. He hates House Hunters because he read or heard somewhere that it is FAKE. I would love a condo with a sea view but hubby is hung up on the condo fees. Do yours include utilities? Maybe if it was one set amount for all then he would be okay but that usually isn't the way. The condo fees just seems to be for security, maintenance, etc

Thanks again everyone

 

[cvchief]

Budaman: Your post made me laugh out loud and I had to read it to my hubby. He hates House Hunters because he read or heard somewhere that it is FAKE. I would love a condo with a sea view but hubby is hung up on the condo fees. Do yours include utilities? Maybe if it was one set amount for all then he would be okay but that usually isn't the way. The condo fees just seems to be for security, maintenance, etc

Thanks again everyone

Yea, the condo fees and rules are a change in my thinking. However, we do have meetings and vote on condo budget and projects and stuff. And it is nice to have the place always looking nice and someone doing it. I can't imagine any of them would include utilities. You could run the AC like mad and everyone would have to share the cost. It is sort of like taxes. You pay for the upkeep of the 'town' and you get to vote on everything. However, like the real world, if you get outvoted, you have to suck it up and deal with it.

 

[Mike]

Condo fees sure beat the alternative of living in a place after it's 20 years old and shaking your head at the peeling paint, the broken concrete, the mold on the ceiling in the hallway in the lobby, the empty planters out front, the cigarette butts... or... having somebody to draw the hurricane shutters for you while a hurricane is threatening and you're 2000 miles away...

Owning a house has monthly fees for maintenance too, but you usually instead of paying a little bit each month, end up spending a bigger amount every few months. Condo fees are just that bigger lump sum broken up once a month. (remember you're paying for those pool chemicals no matter what, you can pay for them twice a year if you maintain it yourself, or once a month as part of your monthly condo fee)

 

[BTravlin]

Condo fees sure beat the alternative of living in a place after it's 20 years old and shaking your head at the peeling paint, the broken concrete, the mold on the ceiling in the hallway in the lobby, the empty planters out front, the cigarette butts... or... having somebody to draw the hurricane shutters for you while a hurricane is threatening and you're 2000 miles away...

Owning a house has monthly fees for maintenance too, but you usually instead of paying a little bit each month, end up spending a bigger amount every few months. Condo fees are just that bigger lump sum broken up once a month. (remember you're paying for those pool chemicals no matter what, you can pay for them twice a year if you maintain it yourself, or once a month as part of your monthly condo fee)

And don't forget with a condo after you pay that fee somebody else is dealing with getting the problems fixed. Me? I don't want to fix anything and I don't want to take time to find reputable people to fix it for me. I'm happy to pay the HOA fees because I'm going diving!

 

[judydivescoz]

When rwe were looking, we originally put a contact on a house on 15th in Corpus Christi. It seemed like the best for us, but one thing kept going thru my head.....whenever we watched House Hunters Intl., I would yell to the TV why are you buying a place on an island & you can't even see the ocean! We were about to do just that. Luckily, we had a clause that the contract was subject to a house inspection and we were able to get out of it. We went back to the original condo we went to see and have been extremely pleased since we purchased it. The
whole experience was much easier than I expected. Also, Henny was our Realtor & she & her husband built the condo complex.

We have your condo rented next week. I thought it was owned by somebody on SB. Looking forward to a relaxing vacation in a beautiful condo great views!

 

[budaman]

We're a small complex, only 6 units. Our HOA fees are $149/mo. but include water, gas, common area electric & wifi. In 2 years we just had one special assessment. That was to replace the washer & dryer, paint & water seal the building, install energy efficient lighting & buy new loungers for the pool & roof terrace. That came out to around $900 per condo. Our electric probably averages about $75/mo. but we don't need to run the a/c that much because we get very good breezes through our unit. The mini splits we have are pretty efficient though. The highest two month bill I remember was around $200.

 

[BettyfromToronto]

I checked out your website Budaman. Nice place. That would be nice but it is only a one bedroom and as a permanent resident we'd have to have at least 2 bedrooms. But I like the size of the complex; the terraces and the roof top. Even the HOA were reasonable. Hubby is worried about the special assessments. Surprise! You owe us $5K. LOL A friend had to cough up $10K to fix the underground parking garage but I don't thin Coz condos have that, do they?

Thanks for sharing

 

[cvchief]

Well, we vote on all those assessments. If the place is well run, they should not sneak up on you. We have relatively long discussion for special assessment of $290. Depends on the condo association I guess. Our dive tank was on pledges. I don't imagine it would have passed on an assessment vote.

We looked at Budman's place when were were looking for a place. They are very nice with the top deck and all, but we wanted a little bigger for bringing family and friends along.

 

[budaman]

We have your condo rented next week. I thought it was owned by somebody on SB. Looking forward to a relaxing vacation in a beautiful condo great views!

Hi Judy!

Now that I connect you here, I think we dove together several years ago before we bought. Stayed at ScubaClub during Carnaval in 2010. Went back in August & bought the condo. ScubaII because we were all taking pics. Was that you? I think it was Debbie cracking all the blond jokes.

Mike

 

[MMM]

I checked out your website Budaman. Nice place. That would be nice but it is only a one bedroom and as a permanent resident we'd have to have at least 2 bedrooms. But I like the size of the complex; the terraces and the roof top. Even the HOA were reasonable. Hubby is worried about the special assessments. Surprise! You owe us $5K. LOL A friend had to cough up $10K to fix the underground parking garage but I don't thin Coz condos have that, do they?

Thanks for sharing

El Cantil has underground parking. It is a beautiful complex but I have heard the owner is difficult to deal with. You might check it out though. I know some people who have their condo up for sale and it is at LEAST two bedrooms.