Launching Into Mexican Real Estate
I’ve been in love with Mexico since my early thirties when I backpacked around the central colonial highlands. Later I spent time bumming around Central and South America and fell further in love with the geography, art, architecture, history and people of Latin America. In my forties Dick introduced me to Placitas, New Mexico. Closer to Latin America than New Hampshire, where I had been living, or Connecticut where I was brought up, and certainly geographically and culturally similar to Mexico, and equally interesting—I fell in love with New Mexico. I had fantasies about being an anthropologist in those days, but there were all those kids that had to go to college, and Dick wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of having his wife living in a mud hut on the Bolivian aItiplano. A mud house in Placitas seemed like a possible, even good, compromise. (Took care of the mud part anyway.) As unlikely as it may seem, even my present real estate practice can be looked at with an anthropological perspective, although perhaps a psychological is more useful. Degrees in art and international administration?? Well who knows, certainly aesthetics, intercultural stuff, management, negotiation and business have been useful. This is all background, or justification, my friends, for what’s next. You could have blown me over with a feather when Dick announced a few short weeks ago, “I think I’ll go down to Mexico, to San Miguel de Allende, see Bill (Placiteno Bill Pearlman, who is doing his psychodrama workshops and poetry readings there), and see if I’d be happy spending some time there.” And then the next thing I know I’m being guided through houses (via long distance cell phone calls), and shortly thereafter we have (we think) purchased a house. It’s definitely not a mud hut on the aItiplano, but hey, I’ve been a good accommodator all my life and a charming house, which is also a good investment property, on a narrow winding cobblestone street in an 18th century architectural gem hill town in the heart of colonial Mexico—well, it’s way more than just okay. The six thousand Americans living there used to be a turnoff in my stuffy “I’m different” youth, but let’s face it, I’m as north American as the rest, and we are appreciators. Despite our presence, San Miguel de Allende remains a treasure.
Well so this wonderful little place, Calle Porton #14 (La Puerta Street!), is probably ours. At least we sent a bunch of money out into cyberspace after signing a fairly clear bilingual purchase agreement. The fact that the paperwork, should we ever see any, has a different price for the house than what we think we paid, and we have no closing statement of any kind to prove our basis in the property— other than that the maid was paid—(sorry, Phil Messuri, my faithful financial analyst); no title insurance—(”Oh,” the notarlo says, “the title is ok”); no homeowners or liability insurance (“Mexicans don’t sue each other—only Americans do, and Mexican judges throw all America cases out of court—and anyway you couldn’t burn down one of these places if you tried, and the only thefts are on Tuesdays when the gypsies come to market so you can watch out for that” says our real estate agent; the notarlo, who received several thousand dollars for his lawyerly expertise, didn’t show up at closing (which he rescheduled about four times, after we had already arrived at his office); and the parts of the deed which we understand (including that there was a translator there who wasn’t there) are mostly wrong. So we might own real estate in San Miguel de Allende. We have definitely occupied Calle Porton #14 and made it ours, and we have a property manager, a housekeeper and a friend to take care of it. Meanwhile I have become fascinated with the intricacies of Mexican real estate. So should you want a little vacation in San Miguel de Allende, I’ll provide you with some hot tips. If you fall ass over teakettle in love, like I did, I’ll point you in the right direction. It might require a slight leap of faith on your part, but I’ll keep you leaping. I’m learning the ropes and making the connections. Should be big fun.
Lucy Noyes, CRS,
Broker Associate & Co-owner
La Puerta Real Estate Services, LLC
01 Ridge Court, Placitas, NM
Office Phone: 505 867-3388
Mobile Phone: 505 280-8352