Tag Archives: baja real estate

Palacio Del Mar, a Baja California High-End Private Community Going Green

May 18, 2010

“Palacio del Mar is going Green in all ways possible”, was the main focus of this year’s annual homeowners meeting, in which developers informed of their current and future plans for the community, including the projects which will continue making Palacio del Mar one of the pioneering developments to go Green in the Northern Baja area.

Palacio Del Mar, a Baja California High-End Private Community Going Green

Palacio Del Mar, a Baja California High-End Private Community Going Green

ROSARITO, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO – Grupo Pes, developers of Palacio del Mar, have over 25 years of experience with a reputation of beauty and quality, are currently finishing the first stage on their newest development, Palacio del Mar. They recently hosted their annual homeowners meeting on April 16th 2010.  This meeting, which informed residents of the developer’s current and future plans for the community, was held at the development’s posh movie theater. “The meeting was attended by homeowners who came from as close as San Diego and as far as Boston. An important point of order was the developer’s announcement that Palacio del Mar would be “going green”.

Pes Developers mentioned that among Palacio’s Green projects are the installation of a solar heating and energy management system, and the installation of a state-of-the-art hydration filter. The aim of these projects is to reduce energy cost for the outdoor infinity pool, as well as, the Olympic size indoor lap pool. The hydration filter will provide soft water to the entire complex and reduce long term maintenance costs by lengthening the effective life of all fixtures and equipment. These new additions compliment the currently installed resource conservation systems which include motion-sensor triggered lighting in all hallways and a water treatment system that recycles gray water for garden and green areas. read more »

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The Five Best Baja Peninsula Beach Towns

May 11, 2010

The Five Best Baja Peninsula Beach Towns

The Five Best Baja Peninsula Beach Towns

Dear International Living Reader,

Live in Mexico and work in the U.S.? That’s one solution many expats are trying…and with a place less than an hour’s drive from  much more expensive San Diego, why not?

Mexico’s Baja Peninsula is a geographical wonder. Bordered on one side by the Pacific Ocean and on the other by the Sea of Cortez, this long, thin strip of land features some of the most spectacular oceanscapes—and some of the most incredible beaches—on the planet.

The Baja is really two states: Baja Norte and Baja Sur. Both have their distinctive charms. Much of Baja Norte, particularly the famous (and infamous) Tijuana, is drive time from the U.S., and has been popular with U.S. expats and tourists for many years. Baja Sur, and especially its famous playground, Cabo San Lucas, has a character and lifestyle all its own.

But there is much more to Mexico’s Baja Peninsula than Tijuana and Cabo. All along both sides of this incredible stretch of land are beautiful and affordable options for retirement, vacation, second homes, and rental opportunities.

That’s what this report, Baja Peninsula Beach Towns—Mexico: Dream It, Find It, Live It, is all about. We’ve chosen five locations that we feel hold themost potential for the would-be expat. Each of our picks offers you a lifestyle most people only dream about with great weather, plenty to do and see…and established expat communities to make your transition easier. read more »

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Mexican Real Estate: Escape From U.S. Housing Woes

May 1, 2010

By Harmon Leon

Mexican Real Estate: Escape From U.S. Housing Woes

Mexican Real Estate: Escape From U.S. Housing Woes

You can thank the swine flu for one thing: It dramatically brought down the housing prices in Mexico. Throw in the recession and a dose of drug-war crime waves, and the sales volume of Americans buying homes in Mexico has dropped a dramatic 70 percent for Coldwell Banker and 40 percent for some residential resort developments in Baja in the past 12 months.

These are crazy figures.

So why not take advantage of the crunch in the Mexican housing market and consider buying that retirement dream home in Mexico?

Some U.S. buyers imagine that buying property in Mexico means constantly facing off with drug lords, in the same way that opening letters a few years back would result in contracting anthrax. Fat chance: In reality, the likelihood of a narco-war happening in your front yard is about the same as experiencing a shootout between the Bloods and the Crips in California. High-crime areas generally are closer to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Indeed, today’s reality is quite different from long-held American perceptions. Since 2002, the number of border patrol agents has been doubled to 20,000. These days, even turf wars in border cities have little impact on American residents. Meanwhile, drug-related arrests have gone up dramatically in Phoenix, where smugglers hole up in safe houses.
read more »

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Retire to Mexico — the price is right

April 28, 2010

By Les Christie, staff writerApril 28, 2010: 10:48 AM ET

Retire to Mexico -- the price is right

Retire to Mexico -- the price is right

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The years-long trend of Americans buying homes and expatriating to Mexico has collapsed, done in by a trifecta of the recession, swine flu and an epic crime wave.

Sales volume plunged nearly 70% last year for Coldwell Banker, according Phillip Hendrix, director of the firm’s Mexican operations. And at Costa Baja, a residential resort development a few miles north of La Paz, sales have slowed by about 40% in the past 12 months.

“Sales are off like crazy. The recession is really hurting and the headlines have been driving people away. The narco-wars especially have bit into the housing market in Mexico,” said Tom Kelly, a follower of Mexican real estate trends and author of Cashing In on a Second Home in Mexico.

But that’s good news for Americans who have always dreamed of retiring to Mexico but could never afford it: The bust has made homebuying a bargain. Prices can be less than half of what an equivalent home would run in the U.S.

Although the crime wave is confined to a fairly limited area, the perception of it has hurt markets all over the nation, said Alejandro Yberri, CEO of Costa Baja.

Information on prices of homes being sold to expatriate Americans is sketchy, but Kelly estimates overall declines of between 20% and 30% since the peak. In the high-crime communities close to the U.S. border, the drop has been even steeper, perhaps 40% or more. read more »

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For some East Bay retirees, Mexico an affordable alternative

April 7, 2010

By Kathleen Kirkwood

Brad Billingsley and his Wife

Brad Billingsley and his wife Linda

Brad Billingsley could have been waiting for his tee time at an Arizona golf course.

Instead, the former Lafayette resident and his wife Linda were in a lagoon off Cabo San Lucas, snapping photos of gray whales bobbing next to their small charter boat.

“Every day, it’s an adventure here,” Brad Billingsley said. “It’s added 20 years to my life.”

Brad, 62, and Linda Billingsley, 61, are among the “silver surge” of baby boomers seeking alternative retirement nests in Mexico, according to a recent report by the International Community Foundation.

It’s not certain how many U.S. retirees are living in Mexico — a 2004 study puts it between 500,000 and 600,000 — but the foundation and other researchers say the number is bound to increase as more boomers settle into their golden years and find Mexico an affordable alternative. Almost half the retirees living in coastal areas are getting by comfortably on less than $1,000 per month, said the report, which cites the growth of real estate projects targeted at retirees as proof that expatriates are flocking south of the border.

The Billingsleys had seriously considered a retirement community with a golf course in central Arizona. But they lacked the enthusiasm for fairway living that seemed to consume retirees there. “Their entire lives were involved with golf,” Brad Billingsley said.

In 2007, the couple became expatriates and settled into a $300,000, two-bedroom beachfront condominium in Rosarito Beach, in Baja California.

They’ve made the most out of their retirement dollars, Brad Billingsley said. The cost of living — from groceries to health care — is low in their beachfront town and there’s plenty to do, such as driving down the coast to Cabo, walking on the beach and shopping at the local mercado. read more »

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Lindsay Lohan needs a Mexican Vacation away from the media and the paparazzi!

April 1, 2010

Sandy Beach at Palacio Del Mar

Sandy Beach at Palacio Del Mar

Lindsay Lohan and other famous starts such as Britney Spears have often looked south of the border to take advantage of a US resort style beachfront community with luxurious ocean front villas for relaxation and to take breather from the US Media and the paparazzi frenzy.

At Palacio Del Mar, Baja’s newest luxury condos and spa, Lindsay could take advantage of one many Palacio Del Mar  amenities: Palacio’s private shuttle service, picking her up at the airport or a private location of her choice and riding just 45 minutes away south to Ensenada. She could have her own pool or Jacuzzi in one of Palacios 2800ft² 3 bedroom Condos or a private tour of the Guadalupe Valley, the largest wine region in northern Mexico, where she can sample award wining wines and food. Lindsay could also have a gourmet meal at Ensenada’s famous Restaurant Ofelia’s. read more »

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How safe is travel in Mexico

March 17, 2010

It all depends on your destination. The State Department warns against travel in the border towns of Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juárez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros, but most beach resorts and other historical spots popular with American tourists are unaffected.

Carol Pucci
Seattle Times staff columnist

How safe is travel in Mexico?

How safe is travel in Mexico?

How safe is travel in Mexico?

It all depends on where you’re going.

As a new travel warning by the U.S. State Department (http://travel.state.gov) points out, the areas of concern are not the beach resorts or historical cities most Americans visit, but rather the border towns, specifically Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juárez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros.

Too often in the past, these types of government alerts have taken a broad-brush approach, simply advising against travel to a country as a whole. What’s different about this warning, issued Sunday following the shooting in Ciudad Juárez of three people with ties to the American consulate, is its level of detail, and the way it rightly targets only towns where drug-related violence has been rampant.

This could have something to do with the fact that Mexico’s tourism economy is fragile, and the U.S. government doesn’t want to do anything that might damage it, but let’s hope it also has something to do with a new, more responsible approach to travel warnings in general.

As the State Department points out, millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year, and this isn’t likely to change. Nearly a million Americans live in various parts of the country, enjoying the benefits of an inexpensive retirement and low-cost medical care. read more »

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U.S. retirees find home in coastal Mexico

March 16, 2010

First of five studies reveals price and proximity to U.S. are big draws

By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.

Jamie Reynolds, a 63-year-old retiree who lives in the El Pescador area, watched the sun set. Reynolds, like four out of five of the retiree-study respondents, owns his home in Mexico.

Jamie Reynolds, a 63-year-old retiree who lives in the El Pescador area, watched the sun set. Reynolds, like four out of five of the retiree-study respondents, owns his home in Mexico.

ROSARITO BEACH — Favorite activity: strolls on the beach. Biggest gripe: litter. Primary reasons for retiring in Mexico: the lower cost of living and proximity to the United States.

A newly released study on U.S. retirement trends in Mexico’s coastal communities takes an updated snapshot of Rosarito Beach, Rocky Point, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun and other areas where many Americans go to retire. The study’s authors say their survey marks an important first step in meeting the needs of a group that is likely to grow in size as U.S. baby boomers reach retirement age.

“We felt it was important to understand the dynamics of what is going on,” said Richard Kiy, president and CEO of the International Community Foundation, which conducted the 88-question survey. While research has been done in San Miguel Allende and Ajijic, both well-established expatriate communities in central Mexico, coastal communities “are some of the areas that have been least studied among U.S. retirees,” Kiy said.

The International Community Foundation, based in National City, supports nonprofits and projects in Baja California and other parts of Mexico. Close to half of its donors live in Mexico full time or part time, and that was the initial impetus for conducting the study, Kiy said. read more »

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President Calderon Pledges Incentives For Film Making In Rosarito and Mexico

March 10, 2010

President Felipe Calderon on Tuesday pledged incentives to attract more international film makers and productions to Rosarito and the rest of Mexico.

President Calderon Pledges Incentives For Film Making In Rosarito and Mexico

President Calderon Pledges Incentives For Film Making In Rosarito and Mexico

Speaking to an audience of about 400 people, Calderon pledged an initial $20 million to strengthen the country’s film industry plus incentives to attract productions here from around the world.

Calderon made his remarks at Baja Studios in Rosarito, which was built for the production of the James Cameron’s  Titanic and where portions of other blockbusters including Master & Commander and Pearl Harbor have been filmed.

The president  was received for his visit by Rosarito Mayor Hugo Torres. Other dignitaries attending included Baja Gov. Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan as well as many other government officials. Noted actor Edward James Olmos also was a featured guest.

“Rosarito has become a place of great importance for the film industry, and it is precisely why here we announce this program for the promotion of film production,” Calderon said.

He stressed that the film industry has great importance in the global culture, as well being as being an excellent source for jobs, income and regional promotion.

“Rosarito has shown that it is possible to offer world-class services to the film industry,” Calderon said. “Productions here have brought international fame to the city.” read more »

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In Tequila’s Home, a Wine Region Comes of Age – The Guadalupe Valley

March 10, 2010

In Tequila's Home, a Wine Region Comes of Age - The Guadalupe Valley

In Tequila's Home, a Wine Region Comes of Age - The Guadalupe Valley

The first time I went to Mexican wine country, I found myself digging my car out of a muddy river bed at 11 at night. It speaks volumes about the area’s charm that this didn’t deter me from a second trip, four months later. This time, I destroyed one of my sedan’s axles in a pothole and popped a tire.

And yet, I still plan to visit again. Next time, I’ll bring an S.U.V.

Wine tasting in the Guadalupe Valley of Mexico is an adventure sport; not an endeavor for the weak of will. There is the matter of the roads. They are dirt-surfaced, they frequently require that you drive straight through riverbeds and, thanks to a winter of record storms, they currently resemble the pitted surface of the moon. Then there are the obstacles to actually tasting wines: many wineries require appointments, and a working knowledge of Spanish is definitely an asset.

Persevere, however, and you could find yourself at the bucolic ranch of Antonio Badán, sampling a generous glass of elegant Mogor-Badán Chasselas with the winemaker himself. Mr. Badán’s tasting room consists of a folding table in a corner of the small concrete building where he produces his wines. The chairs are wobbly; the walls are bare. From the tasting room, you can look over the vegetable gardens, the henhouse and the grazing cattle to the budding grapevines on the valley floor. read more »

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