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I was also very interested in San Miguel Oasis and did extensive research and talked with the sales manager and the land owner in Cozumel. I have never seen anything so complicated. It would take writing a book to explain the mess surrounding the project. The following is my own opinion and evaluation of the situation:Two things - square footage pricing and annual holding costs which would or could be HOA, elec, maintenance etc... basically any dollar you have to spend over the year as part of ownership.
The Landmark is around over $400 a square foot (A million dollar 5000 sq ft property is only $200 a sq/ft.) and annual holding costs are well over $12,000.00 at a minimum.
That's pretty high dollar to me for Cozumel from what little I know of it.
American banks have been willing in the past to lend to purchases in Mexico. I have not looked into it much since the bank crises so that may be gone now.
They can look like they aren't millionaires, but they can't hide their properties from me and I don't see a good size of high end properties.
Take a look at an island like St Barts or the development going on on Virgin Gorda in the BVI for the measuring stick I am comparing too in regards to my statements of the potential for Cozumel.
Cozumel is a diving and cruise ship destination. (as of right now) which equals cheap, cheap and cheap visitors for the most part.
This is one of the selling points to the Landmark as I was explained to. They are apparently fully funded and aren't relying on the sales to fund the construction. They are also very forthright in doing anything that is required to elevate worries of the project not being completed such as offering a performance bond.
Lip service or reality? I don't know. It's easy to say anything before you sign on the dotted line.
That would be might thoughts also.
I thought the Oasis was a pretty good project with a lot of room for appreciation. They were under $200 a sq ft, very well located to town for rental opportunity and had a great view. The finishes were top notch and the design was well thought out. I was very disappointed to see that the place looked about exactly the same as it did one year ago when I was last there with virtually no progress made. I had hoped to look into that project again while I was there to see how it had come along in a year and see how the pricing had changed.
Rental is not the investment objective.
Personally I believe Roatan so far looks like a much better investment on paper (except for the political climate), I'm just wondering if Cozumel has the potential to compete for my dollars?