05.26.06

Mexico real estate: Buy at your own risk

Posted in Mexican Real Estate at 9:59 pm by Admin

By Marla Dickerson
Los Angeles Times
LA CRUZ DE HUANACAXTLE, Mexico — Doug and Dru Davis sold their San Diego County home several years ago to buy a $200,000 house on the beach.
The value of their new place increased fivefold — until developers moved the beach.
The couple’s serenity was shattered last fall when construction crews began dredging the bay in front of their property to reclaim land from the sea. A planned marina, hotel and high-rise condos now threaten to block their view.
Instead of watching whales glide a few hundred yards off their patio, the couple fear they soon will be looking at garbage bins, a service road and beer trucks.
“This is sending a terrible message to investors,” said Doug Davis, 61. “You think you’re buying oceanfront property, and then the [Mexican] government lets someone build in front of you.”
Flush with equity from the run-up in U.S. real-estate prices, American boomers are snapping up properties in Mexico.
But while the Mexican government has Read the rest of this entry »