All Forum Posts by: Mike Lambert

@Paulie Singleton Which areas of Mexico would you be interested in investing in? It's a large country! :-)

@William Coet You are raising an interesting and important point. There are drugs and crime in Mexico and these are mostly connected. Most of the crime is between rival drug gangs and never touches tourists or the tourist areas, with a few exceptions. When these events happen, they get a lot of media attention, much more than if it was happening at home, as the media loves these stories. What they often conveniently forget to say is that oftentimes the people who get shot were involved in drugs, which could easily happen at home too. Yet, most people who go to Mexico to vacation or live feel safe because nothing happens and the government has invested heavily in policing. Because of that, tourists keep coming in greater numbers and more and more Americans and Canadians move to Mexico to live and/or retire.

Did you know that the US is ranked above 100 in the list of the safest countries in the world? Did you know what the murder rate in New York City or Los Angeles is higher than in the Riviera Maya? Would you not visit or invest in real estate in those cities because of that? You’re probably most likely to get gunned down at your local grocery store than by walking in the tourist areas of Tulum or Playa del Carmen, unless you’re looking for trouble.

Finally, Mexico is a developing country and has a lot to do to improve. But us BiggerPocketers don’t we look at the facts before rushing to judgement or regurgitating what the uninformed crowd does? Shall we look at the facts and stop the unwarranted Mexico bashing?

I’m not criticizing you here. You were actually asking a question without being judgmental. And you brought an important subject that should be discussed so all you deserve is praise :-)

@Angela Yan Region 15. It’s the new area being developed between the town and the beach. I assume that interested buyers would love to have a trustworthy builder to build for them (unless they want to land bank and sell in a few years at a much higher price). If so, everybody could use the same builder we’re gonna hire and we could negotiate a discount.

Diversification for real estate investors in a few words: invest in other countries! It makes even more sense today as the US market shows more and more signs of weakening and has reached bubble-like levels in many if not all of the most popular markets. After years of loose monetary policy, financial conditions have started to tighten again. Better be prepared than sorry!

@Johanna V. Congrats! I'm sure you'll do very well.

@Johanna V. and @Kevin Smith If you want a CPA who does taxes in two or more countries, you'd most likely have to work with an expensive international firm. Otherwise, there's nothing wrong working with a specialist in both countries, who probably know their national rules better.

@Angela Yan and @Patrick Sullivan We are going to buy a whole hectare to do a development in Tulum but we won't need the whole area so we'll be subdividing and selling lots if there is enough interest.

@Nicholas Simeone I'm sorry for your friends. Investing in real estate in the Riviera Maya is one of the best investment you can make at the moment and it must be frustrating to them that they haven't been able to get in yet while prices keep rising. Buying in Mexico is actually pretty straightforward if you know the right people. I'm buying multiple properties in Playa del Carmen and Tulum with investors and I've never had any problems. My situation is a bit different though because we buy pre-construction condos from the developers at a big discount to the launch prices and we get financing from the developer at a great rate. Only a few people like me have access to this kind of deals, which is why I investors are investing with me. However, even if, like most investors, you don't have access to those deals, I still think it's better to invest in pre-construction properties and pay full price than buying existing properties, especially in the Riviera Maya. BiggerPockets is all about helping and supporting each other so I'm happy to help your friends. So, feel free to contact me or have them contact me.

Hi Fernando,

Great decision moving to beautiful Tulum! How's the flipping going? I'm curious since I wonder how you could possibly flip in Tulum. There are two markets: the market for locals and the market for foreigners and wealthy Mexicans. In the second one, people buy brand new and you can't buy in the local market to flip in the foreigners' market the type of properties is totally different. The only thing that could work is to buy something in the local market for the land, tear it down and rebuild for the foreign market but then you're a developer. Also, it doesn't make sense to do that in Tulum because you most likely would be in the wrong area and you could just buy land. Finally, Tulum is mostly a condo market. There are villas but nice villas cost a lot of money and most likely don't need renovation.

Flipping in Mexico would make sense in colonial cities. You'd buy an old house that needs renovation, you'd renovate it and/or resell to a foreigner or rent short term if the city has enough tourism. Or you buy a house in the downtown of such city when there is no land available, tear the house down and build something new to sell into the foreigners' market.

@Oscar Montealegre

Thanks for the reply. Sure I'll let you know how I go.

How did you get a loan from a Colombian bank without living there? What was the rate and the term of the mortgage and was the loan secured by the same property the bank financed or by another property in Colombia or by cash collateral

Thanks

@Oscar Montealegre

You're not crazy at all. Colombia is a great place to invest in real estate, especially after the newfound peace and the explosive growth in tourism.

I'm most likely going on holiday to Colombia next week and meet with local developers to look at real estate investment opportunities. I'd visit Cartagena and Medellin. Cali is on my radar too but I think it might still be a bit early. Good for you to get in early though.

Who gave you the financing and how were you able to get it?

Thank you

@Account Closed

Thank you for the interesting information.

Portugal actually attracts a lot of foreign residents thanks to its NHR program, whereby new residents pay very little taxes for a period of 10 years.