Who owns rental property in Puerto Vallarta?

Question

Who has investment property, specifically short term rentals, in Puerto Vallarta or another resort town in Mexico? Would you do it again? What advise do you have?

Sara Underwood · Answer

Hi @Kim H. I come across your post about Puerto Vallarta. Do you like your real estate agent over there? If you do, would you mind sharing the agent's contact? I'm looking to buy an investment condo over there. Thank you in advance.

Mike Lambert · Answer

I own property in the Riviera Maya with investors and I'm looking at Puerto Vallarta to diversify going forward.

My main advice would be to know what you're doing or get assistance and/or work with people who do. I could give you plenty more advice based on my experience. Do you have more specific questions, as that would make it easier?

Mike Lambert · Answer

@Kim H.

I agree with you 100%. Yet, it's awesome that you share your experience because it helps everyone. Too many people are scared of buying in Mexico for irrational reasons and your experience shows that things can go well and that there are great people to work with.

Yet, like both of us are saying, people should still do their due diligence. And BP people are hearing the call and doing just that, if I can judge by all the people who are reaching out to me here.

Also, there is nothing to prevent you from getting close to 100% occupancy even after the world gets back to normal. There are people renting all year round in all of the main Mexican tourist destinations and this is probably going to accelerate with the growth of the work from anywhere crowd. So, if you have a better property and/or you offer a better price or service, you'll be rented, even in the low season! However, I'd never make the assumption that I can get anywhere close to that when making a decision on a purchase and I'm pretty sure you didn't do that indeed.

Mike Lambert · Answer

@Kim H.

As your reply rightfully suggests, when you buy property in Mexico, it's important to have the right people in your team. There are a lot of great professionals in Mexico but, sadly, some are not to be trusted. The thing most of them look and sound great until there is a problem. Oftentimes, it's only when you get in any sort of trouble that you realize who falls in which category.

Mexico is a Spanish speaking country and therefore, all the legal documentation has to be in Spanish. Some official documents will be in Spanish only. Yet, the most important document that engages you in the purchase is the promissory contract. Normally speaking, this document will be bilingual in Spanish and English. The translation is provided as a courtesy and the document will say that the Spanish version prevails, as it should.

Good lawyers will provide the documents with English translations whenever possible. This is important because the translations from Mexican lawyers are often substandard so you need to be able to check it yourself or have it checked by somebody bilingual that you trust.

Kudos to you for investing in Puerto Vallarta. It's a great place where you can get a great ROI on vacation rentals if you buy right (meaning the right property at the right price). It's awesome that you're almost fully rented until August but bear in mind that this normally is never the case (unless you do less profitable long term rentals). It's mainly because of the pandemic since most other countries competing for tourists are still closed to international travel.

People are sending me presentations of condo projects in Mexico to ask me for my opinion. I'm stunned to see that some use figures artificially inflated by the pandemic to sell their condos and "promising" returns that the buyers will never make. Needless to say I'd stay away from those.

Kim H. · Answer

@Sara Underwood I will send you a PM with the name of my real estate agent. She is fabulous. I also had a great attorney to help me read the paperwork because all of the closing documents are in Spanish. I will send you his information too. If you do end up moving forward, I would love to be involved too. Not to get paid, but just to be involved, answer questions and learn more because I am working on my Certified International Property Specialist Certification (CIPS) and I need more points by helping with someone else's transaction. Please let me know what other information you need. Our airbnb is doing very well and I'm almost 100% occupied until mid August.

Kim H. · Answer

@Kevin Suarez Sabugo I don't know if I got an answer to my question but I did buy a condo in Puerto Vallarta... and then the world shut down because of COVID. But so far, so good.

Kim H. · Answer

@Mike Lambert thank you for the reply. I guess I'm just looking for a "Go for it!" or "STOP! you're better off sticking with investment properties in the US".

I have plenty experience in real estate sales and rentals, including multi family, short term and long term rentals. I'm not concerned about marketing the property, finding tenants or collecting payments. I'm pretty sure I can handle that part.

However, not living in Mexico and not having the freedom to fly down all the time makes me a little nervous. How do I ensure that the property management company and cleaning crew are doing their jobs?

Jason Rhodewalt · Answer

Hi Kim would you mind sharing your teams info with me as well? I’ll be happy to involve you to ensure you get your points 😁

Kim H. · Answer

@Mike Lambert no ROI advice intended. Just willing to help as needed. My real estate agent and attorney were excellent and my experience has been very positive so far. No one should rely on my experience alone. Do your own due diligence.

Andrey Sorokin · Answer

@Kim H. Thank you for sharing your experience about PV with the community. I have purchased a preconstruction condo in Puerto Vallarta mainly for STRs. I'm looking for a property manager now that the condo is almost ready. Do you have one for your condo in PV? If you can share their contact, it would be greatly appreciated!

Who owns rental property in Puerto Vallarta?

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