Prior to the closing there were about a dozen phone calls to and from Cozumel with Coldwell Banker. The big call of course was when Rita said I need you to wire me 1/3 of the money to our Coldwell Banker escrow account.
In case you didn't know it is very difficult to get financing on property in another country or for Mexican citizens to get financing. There is no mortgage company or title company to go through as in the US so many of the citizens of Cozumel rent.
My wife and I had set some money aside for this and took out a mortage on a piece of rental property that we had.
The procedure was relatively straight forward. Coldwell Banker and the Notary had researched the background of the property. All taxes, water, sewage and electric had been paid and there were no leins on the property. Also the owner, was the actual owner and there were no siblings waiting in the wind.
To just make sure of this we hired our own attorney just to oversee everything. After being a cop for over 20 years I'm just not a trusting soul.
In 1994, thanks to NAFTA it became legal for foreigners to own property through a bank trust in Mexico. The turst we have is for 50 years and will automatically rollover to our son's name at our death and he can renew it for another 50 years.
On the afternoon of the closing we wired the remaining two-thirds of the money to the owner. His bank verified the funds and we signed all the paperwork in about an hour at the Notary's office.
Once all the documents were signed, and they were all in Spanish, the Notary made official copies and filed the original in Mexico City.
The closing was actually simplier than closings that we had done on properties that we own here in Louisiana. Two days later the owner turned over the keys to the house and we now had a truly fixer-upper.
The house had bare light bulbs hanging on wires from the ceiling. There was one small ceiling fan on first floor but all the water and sewage worked and there was 220 volts running to the meter outside. The stove was apartment size and two of the four burners worked and there was no oven. You could actually see the floor.
From April through November 2005 we made four trips to Cozumel and Donna spent all summer at the house working on improvements. We gave new meaning to the words Home Improvement.
We had friends and family come down througout the summer and we got an additional 12 bags down. They were loaded with 67 to 69 pounds of stuff.
Home Depot was my friend. It was much easier for me to purchase items locally and get exactly what I wanted than to try and make do with what was available in Cozumel.
There a number of good electrical, and hardware stores on the island and I have been to them for extra parts.
I added the largest breaker box I could find with about 40 circuits. I ran new 220 service from the meter all around the house in conducit. I added a half a dozen 220 outlets for air conditioners, electric hot water heater and a couple of dozen 110 volt outlets. Eight ceilings fans, new range, washer, and thanks to Wilma new windows throughout. I replaced all the switches and plugs. I also installed a ground rod that was missing from the old wiring.
Things you take for granted here are problems that you learn to deal with. Until your title papers are filed and returned you cannot change the electric meter into your name. The wiring from the pole to the meter was about the size of a small pencil. Not nearly big enough to pull four 24,000 BTU air conditioners and an electric hot water heater.
Also the Basura, trash, can be paid on a yearly basis and the electric bill comes every other month.
Plan on your electric bill being two to three times what it is back in the US. Last summer with one AC running almost every day the electric bill averaged $100 per week.
Propane is delivered on trucks every morning through the neighborhood. Mid morning you can flag down the water truck and for $15 pesos( less than $1.50) you can buy 5 gallons of bottled water.
I bought a portable ice machine that weighed 50 pounds and took down in November. You just pour in bottled water and it will make about 40 lbs in 24 hours. The guys working on the house loved this.
Hope this give you an idea of what's involved in.
In case you didn't know it is very difficult to get financing on property in another country or for Mexican citizens to get financing. There is no mortgage company or title company to go through as in the US so many of the citizens of Cozumel rent.
My wife and I had set some money aside for this and took out a mortage on a piece of rental property that we had.
The procedure was relatively straight forward. Coldwell Banker and the Notary had researched the background of the property. All taxes, water, sewage and electric had been paid and there were no leins on the property. Also the owner, was the actual owner and there were no siblings waiting in the wind.
To just make sure of this we hired our own attorney just to oversee everything. After being a cop for over 20 years I'm just not a trusting soul.
In 1994, thanks to NAFTA it became legal for foreigners to own property through a bank trust in Mexico. The turst we have is for 50 years and will automatically rollover to our son's name at our death and he can renew it for another 50 years.
On the afternoon of the closing we wired the remaining two-thirds of the money to the owner. His bank verified the funds and we signed all the paperwork in about an hour at the Notary's office.
Once all the documents were signed, and they were all in Spanish, the Notary made official copies and filed the original in Mexico City.
The closing was actually simplier than closings that we had done on properties that we own here in Louisiana. Two days later the owner turned over the keys to the house and we now had a truly fixer-upper.
The house had bare light bulbs hanging on wires from the ceiling. There was one small ceiling fan on first floor but all the water and sewage worked and there was 220 volts running to the meter outside. The stove was apartment size and two of the four burners worked and there was no oven. You could actually see the floor.
From April through November 2005 we made four trips to Cozumel and Donna spent all summer at the house working on improvements. We gave new meaning to the words Home Improvement.
We had friends and family come down througout the summer and we got an additional 12 bags down. They were loaded with 67 to 69 pounds of stuff.
Home Depot was my friend. It was much easier for me to purchase items locally and get exactly what I wanted than to try and make do with what was available in Cozumel.
There a number of good electrical, and hardware stores on the island and I have been to them for extra parts.
I added the largest breaker box I could find with about 40 circuits. I ran new 220 service from the meter all around the house in conducit. I added a half a dozen 220 outlets for air conditioners, electric hot water heater and a couple of dozen 110 volt outlets. Eight ceilings fans, new range, washer, and thanks to Wilma new windows throughout. I replaced all the switches and plugs. I also installed a ground rod that was missing from the old wiring.
Things you take for granted here are problems that you learn to deal with. Until your title papers are filed and returned you cannot change the electric meter into your name. The wiring from the pole to the meter was about the size of a small pencil. Not nearly big enough to pull four 24,000 BTU air conditioners and an electric hot water heater.
Also the Basura, trash, can be paid on a yearly basis and the electric bill comes every other month.
Plan on your electric bill being two to three times what it is back in the US. Last summer with one AC running almost every day the electric bill averaged $100 per week.
Propane is delivered on trucks every morning through the neighborhood. Mid morning you can flag down the water truck and for $15 pesos( less than $1.50) you can buy 5 gallons of bottled water.
I bought a portable ice machine that weighed 50 pounds and took down in November. You just pour in bottled water and it will make about 40 lbs in 24 hours. The guys working on the house loved this.
Hope this give you an idea of what's involved in.
