All Forum Posts by: Trudy Pachon

@Account Closed

Maybe you can get a loan here, but we couldn't. We tried in the states, and then looked at a few loan brokers who said there was no money now. Even if you could get a loan, I think it's a terrible deal. They want 11 to 14% on their loans with fees etc. Really expensive. 

I made a spreadsheet to share with the owner and gave her a choice of several offers. The offer she accepted was 25% down, 10% apr on the remaining balance for 3 years. Interest only payments. No points or fees of any kind and no prepayment penalties. Interest payments can change monthly depending on how much the principal balance is. We will pay off the loan in about 6 months. 

We were both happy with the arrangement. I found the key to this and another owner finance deal I did was to have the numbers all set up in a spreadsheet so they can see exactly how much extra money they'll make, rather than the bank! 

@Dan H.

Yes, it's weird, but we are OK with weird. We know there are loads of things we'll need to budget for, and corruption may be one of them, but so far, we haven't had any overt issues with that. Southern Mexico is a bit different because of the land use laws here (lots of communal land), and there are always strikes (usually land use and labor issues), which slows everything down. But we are fine with the pace of things. We don't plan on selling the house anytime soon, and can be patient while the process slowly grinds along. We think we have a good lawyer and  notario. 

I am thinking of starting a Mexico blog, mostly around food, but I think I'll add a tab to talk about the real estate purchase process and the rehab we do. 

And yes, we have our family and friends in California so when we move, we'll be visiting often. We are keeping our rental properties, at least for now. They have been wonderful and are great for a "just in case" scenario! Especially the Escondido property! 

@Caleb Richardson

Oaxaca is a charming city with tons of art, culture, and tradition. And the food! OMG. My husband and I can see ourselves using our house here as a base for more adventures in Mexico and beyond. The cost of living is inexpensive, and you really lack for nothing here. I just got back from the Home Depot doing some shopping for the house! We have American and great Mexican chain stores.!

@Reyes Velasco Thanks! So far, the process has been weird, but I'm happy to answer any questions about our adventure!

Hi All,

My husband and I are in beautiful Oaxaca, Mexico and are currently in the process of buying a home. 

Here's the details:

It's a 3 x 2 home, in a beautiful neighborhood called La Cascada about 15 minutes walking from the center of town. It's a fixer upper. It has ugly interior and we will be rehabbing it to live in eventually.

It has a small studio house in the back which can be Air B and B.

We put down 50k and the owner is financing the rest for us. We convinced her that seller financing was a great way to go. She doesn't need the cash right away, and she gets to earn 10% on the rest of the loan. 

We have a loan out currently and will pay off the seller in about 6 months. 

Rental income is about 1000k per month in the front house and we will use the back house as a vacation rental until we permanently move to Oaxaca in 1 to 2 years. 

Any comments or suggestions? Questions? We still haven't signed the final papers with the notario! 

We are happy to share our experience with anyone who might be interested.

@Gail Travers I'm so sorry you're going through this. I had a similar experience in Los Angeles in an apartment I lived in that was under rent control. The original owner lost the building, then it went through a series of new owners, and finally to an owner who was a just a mean person and wanted "market value" for the apartment. The new landlord wanted a 20% increase in one year when rent control only allows 3% per year. I had just started my teaching career and was a single mom in a one bedroom apartment and couldn't afford the increases. I went to the city and the landlord rescinded the huge increase and added the 3%. That was when they began their war to get me and my son out of the apartment. It was ugly and horrible. I couldn't sleep, I didn't know what to do, I couldn't find another place to live near my work. I thought I was safe in a rent controlled apartment. I wasn't! I really hated landlords at that point and vowed to never treat anyone like that. 

Fast forward to now, and I'm a landlord with several rentals and considering buying a MHP. I always remember what it was like being a tenant, and do my damn best to provide a quality living experience at a reasonable price. I love investing in real estate, and love learning the business! BUT... I am shocked by some of the stuff I've seen in this space. My husband and I went to the Frank and Dave MHU in Chicago a few years back. We had the ick factor when we left, and haven't pulled the trigger on a park yet. We still may, but prices have gone way up due to the money that can be made in the MHP model. 

In our MHP research, we have seen many parks, and met many folks in the business. Some are genuinely good actors. But whatever the motivations of the players, there is a huge problem with prejudice and bigotry against the poor and the residents. This prejudice, even when subtle, tints the treatment of residents and the way we as owners manage our business. It can be really overt, like Frank's comments, or it can be really subtle, like removing a playground or pool because "those people" **** everything up and it's too costly to maintain (even when the ROI is way over 20-30%!) in the park.

Human greed is a powerful force and I am susceptible to it as well. But when I get that ick factor in some deal I want to pursue, I try to force myself to remember when I was the resident dealing with the greedy landlord. I think we can all do better to remember when we all feel good about our business, including the residents who literally have to live with our decisions, we will all do better in this space. I don't want to give John Oliver any more material for his jokes! Not all landlords are ********!

IMHO, and by humble, I mean that I am just a person who owns a couple of properties and tries to abide by the triple bottom line. But there is real power in making a profit while also making sure that your people are treated fairly. I feel a lot better about my business and myself when I make a decent profit while also trying to make sure that my tenants are happy. But that's just me. I might not be optimized, but I make enough. I want money, but happiness and a meaningful life is the reason for everything. 

There is a way to be fair and make money. 

Mario Escobar from Edgewood remodeling did a complete remodel on a house in Escondido which was a disaster. He's not the cheapest, but the work was good, and he came back to fix a couple of issues later, after he got paid. I would work with him again. 

Make sure you understand how the property ownership is structured there. Americans couldn't own land a certain distance to the beach when we owned there. We owned a condo in a little community called Cantamar close to Rosarito on the road to Ensenada, but we didn't own the land. They always have places for sale there, and there are a lot of Americans there. It felt pretty safe. I think the law has changed, but just make sure you have a good Mexican abogado to help you with your purchase!

The land lease went up a lot during the time we owned the condo, and we eventually sold it. This was a while back, but I have great memories from the place; it was really beautiful, right on the beach. Great little community. But again, it was irritating to have the land keep going up and up for the lease. 

I love reading this post. Lots of ideas about where people find the most value and some ideas for ways to cut costs. Some people enjoy spending on certain things, while others enjoy frugality, even frugal pooping... I needed a good laugh. Thanks for this thread @Terry Lao!

I enjoy living on the frugal side of life. I make enough to have a choice, but I think it's fun challenging myself to spend as little as possible on what I consider to be wasteful or environmentally irresponsible. Here are a couple of things that help me save and also, I think, challenge me to live a tiny bit more lightly on the planet. 

1. Buying in food in bulk and buying produce in season. Forces us to eat more locally and I feel healthy and enjoy cooking new things. 

2. We drive old cars. They look bad, but when we put up one of our units for rent, the tenants always have nicer cars than we do. Priorities...I am amazed at how much people pay monthly for payment, insurance, and just the stress of dealing with a new car. I have the lowest insurance because I don't give a crap if something happens to my car. Hell, it might look better with a nice dent on the side.

3. Since I teach, I have the luxury of spending lots of time in a place when I travel. We tend to travel to places that are interesting and low cost. The cultural experiences are so rich when we travel on a budget. Travel in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America are amazing and super inexpensive. Snorkeling and boating on a dhow in Africa, so incredible. Trekking in Colombia and getting stuck in the rain. Riding a crazy train in Mexico. Yes please. 

4. This year, we are taking a long trip and we have challenged ourselves to not make any purchases of new items. This includes plastic crap of any type, dishes, phone, linens, junk on Amazon, etc. until we leave on the trip. I am surprised at how much junk I normally buy, and how unnecessary most of it is. 

5. We only have internet only and no cable. If we want to watch something on cable, we have to go over to a friend or family member. It's kind of nice!

6. We rented a room in our house out to someone we vetted well. We are saving a ton of money, and we really enjoy having her around. It's not a sacrifice, but a nice addition to our home life. We are older, and thought it was a weird idea to get a roommate at this point in our lives. But it's been a win win for all of us!

7. We reuse as much as possible. We try to repurpose items that we used to throw in the recycle bin. Glass jars, food containers from takeout places, bags, clothing repurposed into rags, etc. It's also fun to us to see how little waste we can produce. It may save a little money, but it also feels good to reuse stuff.

I find that none of this takes any more time than what I used to do, and I still have enough time to look for new opportunities, go to REI meetings, and find ways to make my money work a bit more for me. I think that even if I were rich, which I'm not!, I'd still be trying to live frugally. It's fun to me and matches my goals.