Considering a move to Mexico, looking for advice

[Austin B.]

I'm considering selling my house in Utah and heading south of the border. I would like to go to the Puerto Vallarta / Riviera Nayarit region. I speak Spanish fairly well, I studied it up until my senior year of college, although I am a bit rusty, I can mostly manage.

I was considering purchasing either 2 properties or a duplex-style house in which I can live and rent the other side, either long-term or short-term. I may also short-term rent the side I live in during the summer and come back to the states, although I am genuinely not sure what I want to do long-term. As a single man, I am kind of looking for some adventure, and I love cycling. From what I read there is lots of cycling in this region.

Any advice / resources that I should consume before jumping headfirst into this? I'm fairly new to real estate as my current home is only my first, so I don't want to lose my shirt -- although I recognize this is a risk to begin with, no doubt. I also have no clue how financing works in Mexico and for what I would qualify. Thank you

[Ron Brady]

@Austin B.

Congratulations on your plans. My wife and I retired early to Mazatlan, Mexico. This said, we're planning, this summer, to start splitting our time between Mazatlan and a cooler summer climate somewhere to be determined here in Mexico. Our two cents:

We're going to look at @Mike Lambert's posts to see what he says about investing in Mexico

We've chosen not to do that, so far, for several reasons: 1) I know intermediate spanish, but I'm not comfortable with doing real estate transactions in the language yet 2) It is, per Mike, harder to get financing here 3) I am not familiar with how legal property rights work here 4) We don't see the investment yields as being worth the investment risks, shared in 1, 2 and 3

However, what we are doing in a bit of real estate arbitrage.  Specifically, we:

1. Rent out properties in the US, including our former primary residence

2. We BRRRR, using a HELOC on our primary, to grow our portfolio. I can explain more on this if you need, just ask

3. We managed in person for 18 months before we relocated and thus built systems, contacts, etc. to allow remote management. Our adult children also live in the are, allowing for this. As an example, we've purchased, rehabbed and rented 2 of our 7 properties while living in Mexico and visiting our former home area.

4. We use the income from our US rentals to fund our incredibly inexpensive life here in Mexico. Thus, for example, we rent a 5th fl, ocean-view, 2BR condo here in Mazatlan for $1,200 mo.

5. We expense against our investment business our travel and lodging costs when we visit our former home area to manage our rentals, acquire property, etc.

Its worked well for us.  Thus, we invest in the US with all of its benefits and knowledge, but we live and spend in Mexico, where our money goes way further than in the US. And, we can move to elsewhere in Mexico or Ecuador, Vietnam or other low-cost but nice locations at any point we wish for any reason, since we're renting.

What we're doing is not for everyone, but it works for us and we share it with you as an option. And since you currently own your home, it could be, potentially, a good option to rent out.

David Greene's BRRRR book and Chad Carson's Retire Early with Real Estate were two big influencers to us.

Good luck!