i have been going to and diving in coz since 1974; have finally decided that my wife and i need a place of our own there; we will arrive in coz may 12 and depart may 20. would love to meet, have a drink, and talk about buying, living, etc. in coz. i lived in aruba for 5 years and lived out of the usa much of my life growing up so am no stranger to being an expat; mainly would love to hear about your experiences and surprises (good and bad); advice, recommendations, etc. drinks are on us; let us hear from you; thanks
expats who live or own property in cozumel, mx
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If you are retiring and do not need income here - you'll love it! It's an entirely different ballgame if you plan to try to start a business and make a living off of it here - times have been very tough for every business owner I know here - and it's not getting easier.
ccannon707
Contributor
There is a wealth of info on the Cozumelmycozumel.com Discussion Board sub-forum called "I Want to Move to Cozumel" as well as the "Local Talk" sub-forum, The "Service Providers" sub-forum etc...
Cozumel My Cozumel Discussion Forums
You can contact people on that forum who obviously live there.
Other sites popular with ex-pats exchanging info are Mexconnect.com and Yucatan Living. I also see them on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree Mexico Forum
Points that get repeated over and over:
A Canadian friend of mine (with $$) researched doing this and finally realized she could rent a really nice house with a pool for the times she wanted to be there (3 or 4 months at a time) for the next 15+ years and still not come close to the purchase price of a home. And then add in the maintenance and upkeep $$$ owners pay. Also not easy to sell if you need to.
I don't mean to rain on your parade - I love Cozumel, have local & ex-pat friends who live there and have had this same thought for many years, but I think it will probably remain a fantasy. I just don't have the dough to blow. Maybe you can make it work. I wish you good luck though, and let us know how it turns out.
Cozumel My Cozumel Discussion Forums
You can contact people on that forum who obviously live there.
Other sites popular with ex-pats exchanging info are Mexconnect.com and Yucatan Living. I also see them on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree Mexico Forum
Points that get repeated over and over:
- Rent before you buy
- Experience all seasons
- If you are buying hire an attorney
- Learn Spanish
- Rental income will not pay the cost of your property and there are now taxes to pay to the Mex government
- Electricity costs are higher than you think.
- Living there is NOT the same as vacationing there
- And Christi's point above - don't plan on getting/creating a job there to support yourself and your house
A Canadian friend of mine (with $$) researched doing this and finally realized she could rent a really nice house with a pool for the times she wanted to be there (3 or 4 months at a time) for the next 15+ years and still not come close to the purchase price of a home. And then add in the maintenance and upkeep $$$ owners pay. Also not easy to sell if you need to.
I don't mean to rain on your parade - I love Cozumel, have local & ex-pat friends who live there and have had this same thought for many years, but I think it will probably remain a fantasy. I just don't have the dough to blow. Maybe you can make it work. I wish you good luck though, and let us know how it turns out.
Sorry, I am off the island and don't expect to be back again until later this year. Jim Baldwin (my co-moderator for this forum) and/or his wife will be there about that time. Somewhere on this forum (I think it was people visiting in May thread) he posted that any board members were welcome to visit him. Why don't you send him a PM?
We've only owned ours for about four years now and no regrets. I love the place, even with all the oddities of living there. You just go with the flow and it doesn't hurt having friends there to help you when you need it.
One way to make the purchase more affordable is to go in on it with someone you like. We went in with my brother and his wife who, with the exception of Christmas break, typically vacation at different times than we do. And we have a legal agreement on what the process will be should either of the two parties wish to leave the joint ownership.
We've only owned ours for about four years now and no regrets. I love the place, even with all the oddities of living there. You just go with the flow and it doesn't hurt having friends there to help you when you need it.
One way to make the purchase more affordable is to go in on it with someone you like. We went in with my brother and his wife who, with the exception of Christmas break, typically vacation at different times than we do. And we have a legal agreement on what the process will be should either of the two parties wish to leave the joint ownership.
We just a house with my parents. The above points are important. I'll reiterate that this is not a practical issue - the bit about renting absolutely anything you want for ages and still not approaching the cost of ownership is spot-on.
I have numbers going back several years from the previous owners. Several years the house came close to covering its operating costs through vacation rentals. That's not ownership costs, just the costs of utilities, maintenance, etc.
Arguments in favor of purchasing include that I'm a crazy person and really want a place to store my dive gear. The first reason is really the most compelling.
If I needed to generate income on the island in order to afford to live here or own a house here, I wouldn't even begin to consider it. Mexico is fairly friendly to retired ex-pats but not very friendly at all to non-citizens who want to work here.
I'll probably never be a full-time resident - I have to earn enough to pay for the place, and by the time I can retire, if ever, I'll probably be too old and infirm to deal with Mexico. My wife is getting what used to be called "FM3" status and will probably stay weeks to months at a time a few times per year.
Gisela Rodriguez is a good local lawyer who speaks perfect English and Monica Sauza Garrido is a court translator who is very helpful with the unending paperwork and can help with expediting some things for which you might otherwise use a lawyer. Both are adept at dealing with us benighted gabachos.
I have numbers going back several years from the previous owners. Several years the house came close to covering its operating costs through vacation rentals. That's not ownership costs, just the costs of utilities, maintenance, etc.
Arguments in favor of purchasing include that I'm a crazy person and really want a place to store my dive gear. The first reason is really the most compelling.
If I needed to generate income on the island in order to afford to live here or own a house here, I wouldn't even begin to consider it. Mexico is fairly friendly to retired ex-pats but not very friendly at all to non-citizens who want to work here.
I'll probably never be a full-time resident - I have to earn enough to pay for the place, and by the time I can retire, if ever, I'll probably be too old and infirm to deal with Mexico. My wife is getting what used to be called "FM3" status and will probably stay weeks to months at a time a few times per year.
Gisela Rodriguez is a good local lawyer who speaks perfect English and Monica Sauza Garrido is a court translator who is very helpful with the unending paperwork and can help with expediting some things for which you might otherwise use a lawyer. Both are adept at dealing with us benighted gabachos.
PARADISE HUNTER
Contributor
Lots of great advice. THis is my 2 cents on owning v. renting.
If you are not using the home as your permanent residence, but only for vacationing, it probably makes better economic sence to rent than to purchase. But I think when one owns a place he/she is much more likely to spend more time there and less time vacationing else where. And I think the extended time spent there leads to stronger relationships with other residents and a deeper understanding of the place. Those two experiences should enrich your life and one should decide if that is worth the extra money that is commited to owning versues renting.
We are all different and there is no one correct decision for everyone.
PH
If you are not using the home as your permanent residence, but only for vacationing, it probably makes better economic sence to rent than to purchase. But I think when one owns a place he/she is much more likely to spend more time there and less time vacationing else where. And I think the extended time spent there leads to stronger relationships with other residents and a deeper understanding of the place. Those two experiences should enrich your life and one should decide if that is worth the extra money that is commited to owning versues renting.
We are all different and there is no one correct decision for everyone.
PH
Right on target with all the responses. I sent Yaml a PM with some more details.
We have certainly enjoyed our house. We have friends and family come down and stay extended periods of time. We have all our own stuff, dive gear, five sets and counting. All the comforts of home, like Dish Network, stainless steel gas grill, soft furniture, it's not easy to find, internet; my neighbor owns Cozumel Wireless. And the guys will understand, my own workshop outback with a ton of power tools. Our own vehicle and a whole house generator.
All of this however, comes with it's own issues. Electric bill, water bill, car insurance, house upkeep. I have spent the last two days doing landscaping and pressure washing. The same kind of things I do back in Louisiana at my home and hunting camp. And living in a tropical location you can't just shut your doors and come back in three months and think everything will be the same. The high humidity will do a number on wood and paint. Leather gets moldy pretty fast with no air movement.
And of course you learn where all the hardware stores are. So you think you think you know the in and outs of Cozumel. Okay where is the screw store?
Some things I miss on an extended trip. Kraft brown sugar barbecue sauce. Kraft original is all I can find. And you would think a two story house with three bedrooms and three baths should have at least one bathtub. That's coming in the near future. Most homes here have gravity feed systems with a tank on the roof. Forget to fill the tank at night and you can find yourself all soaped up in the morning and you're out of water. I took care of that last year with a pressurized system.
And don't think you're going to run to the lumber store and pick up a new door in a prehung frame. I just met with the carpenter this afternoon. He came and took meaursements for a new balcony and front door. He built a new backdoor for us back in January that is made from solid teak boards over 2 inches thick. Should hold up to hurricane strength winds. We've been through two so far and our aluminun door on the balcony was sucked off in 2005 so we went with wood after that.
Going into home ownership with your eyes wide open and talking to people who already own here should help someone make an informed decision. Again it been a great experience for us but definitely not for everyone.
We have certainly enjoyed our house. We have friends and family come down and stay extended periods of time. We have all our own stuff, dive gear, five sets and counting. All the comforts of home, like Dish Network, stainless steel gas grill, soft furniture, it's not easy to find, internet; my neighbor owns Cozumel Wireless. And the guys will understand, my own workshop outback with a ton of power tools. Our own vehicle and a whole house generator.
All of this however, comes with it's own issues. Electric bill, water bill, car insurance, house upkeep. I have spent the last two days doing landscaping and pressure washing. The same kind of things I do back in Louisiana at my home and hunting camp. And living in a tropical location you can't just shut your doors and come back in three months and think everything will be the same. The high humidity will do a number on wood and paint. Leather gets moldy pretty fast with no air movement.
And of course you learn where all the hardware stores are. So you think you think you know the in and outs of Cozumel. Okay where is the screw store?
Some things I miss on an extended trip. Kraft brown sugar barbecue sauce. Kraft original is all I can find. And you would think a two story house with three bedrooms and three baths should have at least one bathtub. That's coming in the near future. Most homes here have gravity feed systems with a tank on the roof. Forget to fill the tank at night and you can find yourself all soaped up in the morning and you're out of water. I took care of that last year with a pressurized system.
And don't think you're going to run to the lumber store and pick up a new door in a prehung frame. I just met with the carpenter this afternoon. He came and took meaursements for a new balcony and front door. He built a new backdoor for us back in January that is made from solid teak boards over 2 inches thick. Should hold up to hurricane strength winds. We've been through two so far and our aluminun door on the balcony was sucked off in 2005 so we went with wood after that.
Going into home ownership with your eyes wide open and talking to people who already own here should help someone make an informed decision. Again it been a great experience for us but definitely not for everyone.
OK, where'd you score that? Please don't say you brought it down with you...
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