dirtsurfer
Guest
This article was recently in the Arizona Republic. My scan is not the best!
Interesting article on Mexico land ownership
- Thread starter dirtsurfer
- Start date
dirtsurfer
Guest
So sorry, I am not able to get my scan to attach, I will work on it but suggestions are most welcome.
jerry
Guest
The Republic | azcentral.comSat Nov 2, 2013 6:37 PM
Ah, Mexico: Land of broad beaches, balmy weather, low-cost seafood dinners and, unfortunately, cumbersome and costly restrictions against Americans owning property near the coast or border.
Those deep-seated prohibitions, incorporated into the country’s constitution, require Americans and other foreigners to set up a Mexican bank trust if they want to hold property within roughly 31 miles of the coast and 62 miles from the border — the “restricted zones.” Foreigners must pay trust setup costs and possibly hundreds of dollars in yearly fees, and they still can’t own their properties directly.
But as Mexico seeks to modernize and liberalize its economy under new President Enrique Peña Nieto, and as bilateral trade continues to rise, some observers think there’s a good chance the real-estate barriers will come down sooner or later.
“If you talk to many Mexicans, they’ll say ‘open the gates’ because that would bring in jobs and investment,” said Carlos Sugich, an attorney from Mexico at Snell & Wilmer in Phoenix.
Legislation to remove the restricted-zone ownership barriers recently was introduced in Mexico’s Congress. As a constitutional reform, it would require approval not just at the national level but among slightly more than half of Mexico’s state legislatures.
It isn’t easy to change the Mexican constitution, and Mexico faces other major reform efforts. Sugich puts the odds at 50-50 that the foreign real-estate restrictions will come down over the next couple of years.
Those restrictions often are misconstrued by Americans and other foreigners. “People think they’re leases, which they aren’t,” Sugich said. “They think they’d lose their properties, which they wouldn’t.” But there are costs involved, often several hundred dollars or more a year to a bank, and they entail a set of rules that can be confusing to foreigners.
Essentially, the rules require a Mexican bank to be owner of restricted-zone property, with the foreigner listed as beneficiary. These arrangements are good for 50 years and can be renewed in 50-year increments.
“You can sell it or will it to your heirs, but the Mexican bank would be holding the pink slip to the property,” said Judith Wilson, an attorney with Tijuana law firm Bryan, González Vargas & González Baz, drawing an analogy to vehicle ownership.
Sugich and Wilson were among 100 or so attorneys participating in a U.S.-Mexico Bar Association conference in Phoenix last month.
Outside of the coastal and border restricted zones — technically 50 and 100 kilometers, respectively — foreigners don’t need a Mexican bank trust but must agree to be treated like a Mexican national, without invoking the protections of their own governments should disputes arise, Wilson said.
Somewhat different rules apply on commercial real-estate purchases.
The restricted-zone rules harken back to Mexican anxiety about foreign invasion, Sugich said. The 19th century began with Mexico still a colony of Spain, and the country was invaded both by the U.S. and France during the century.
But times continue to change, with global trade ties and tourism joining Mexico and the U.S. closer than ever.
“You have something (foreign property ownership) going on de facto, so why not get rid of (the restriction) in the Constitution?” Sugich said.
The added complexities of owning property in Mexico can make cross-border estate planning more cumbersome and expensive, said Michael Patterson, an attorney at Polsinelli P.C. in Phoenix and another speaker at the cross-border legal conference.
Since Americans must own residential real estate in restricted zones near the coast or border through a bank trust, one key problem arises if the American owner — technically, the beneficiary — dies without naming one or more successor beneficiaries.
That muddles transfer of the property and could require probate proceedings in the U.S. to be opened or even reopened, Patterson said. It also can necessitate an order from a Mexican judge to instruct the Mexican bank’s trust department to retitle the property in the name of the new American beneficiary. Patterson said he has been involved in a half-dozen cases where successor beneficiaries weren’t named or had died. In such cases, it can take a couple of years and thousands of dollars to sort things out, he said.
As another warning, Patterson cautioned Americans owning Mexican property in a limited liability company to make sure they’re up to date, especially because multiple ownership changes in an LLC can raise red flags in the minds of Mexican officials, who might deem that a sale has occurred.
The upshot for foreign property owners is to anticipate and plan for estate-planning snags, allowing more time to make updates than you would need on this side of the border.
Reach Wiles at [email protected] or 602-444-8616.
jerry
Guest
proposed change in Mexico’s constitution that would allow foreigners to more easily purchase coastal property has Mexicans choosing sides. There’s little doubt that such a change would greatly boost investment into Mexico—particularly along the country’s Pacific coastline which is extremely attractive to prospective retirees and second home buyers from the US and Canada.
In Mexico, however, the proposal has divided Mexicans into two camps. One, which believes northern “snowbirds” will boost local economies by bringing and influx of money into the markets; and the other, which view the proposal as a breach of national sovereignty and also having a potential negative environmental impact resulting from widespread coastal development by foreign investors.
The Mexican government estimates a foreign couple owning a beach home in Mexico, spend roughly $3,200 to $4,300 per month while they are in the country; an amount that significantly exceeds the average spend by a couple living in Mexico year-round.
If the proposed change is accepted it will eliminate Mexico’s complicated trusts, called fideicomisos, which foreign investors have had to enter into to have property in the restricted coastal zones. With these trusts, foreign buyers can live on the land but ownership title is held by the Mexican bank; an arrangement that deters many potential investors.
In May, Mexico’s lower house approved a proposal to lift the ban, and the legislation is now poised to pass through the country’s upper house before going to the state legislatures. The proposed change is part of larger expansion under Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to permit foreign interests into Mexico’s once-tightly controlled economy.
WorldProperties.com agents in Mexico are members of the Association of Real Estate Agents (AMPI).
In Mexico, however, the proposal has divided Mexicans into two camps. One, which believes northern “snowbirds” will boost local economies by bringing and influx of money into the markets; and the other, which view the proposal as a breach of national sovereignty and also having a potential negative environmental impact resulting from widespread coastal development by foreign investors.
The Mexican government estimates a foreign couple owning a beach home in Mexico, spend roughly $3,200 to $4,300 per month while they are in the country; an amount that significantly exceeds the average spend by a couple living in Mexico year-round.
If the proposed change is accepted it will eliminate Mexico’s complicated trusts, called fideicomisos, which foreign investors have had to enter into to have property in the restricted coastal zones. With these trusts, foreign buyers can live on the land but ownership title is held by the Mexican bank; an arrangement that deters many potential investors.
In May, Mexico’s lower house approved a proposal to lift the ban, and the legislation is now poised to pass through the country’s upper house before going to the state legislatures. The proposed change is part of larger expansion under Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to permit foreign interests into Mexico’s once-tightly controlled economy.
WorldProperties.com agents in Mexico are members of the Association of Real Estate Agents (AMPI).
jerry
Guest
From retirees to surfers to people looking for affordable beach property, the allure of Mexico’s Pacific coast has drawn Americans south of the border for decades.
But because of Mexican laws barring foreign home ownership along the coast, having that ocean-side oasis has eluded many Americans. Those that have been able to acquire a beachfront property have had to finagle through Mexico’s hazy legal system.
A proposed constitutional change in the halls of Mexico’s Congress, however, could make it easier for foreigners to own land on Mexico’s coast – a move that has been trumpeted by retirees who want Mexico’s Pacific coast to be the next retirement Mecca. But in Mexico, the proposal has divided Mexicans between those who believe these northern snowbirds will bring a boost to the local economies and those that see it as a blasphemous insult to Mexican sovereignty.
“t’s going to be good for a lot of people here,” Artemio Rosas, the owner of a surf shop and real estate broker in the Pacific coastal town of Arroyo Seco, told the Los Angeles Times
. “Especially for the poor.”
Mexican law currently prohibits foreigners from owning residential property in what is known as the restricted zone – an area that extends 31 miles inland from the coast and 62 miles from the border. In May, however, Mexico’s lower house approved a proposal to lift the ban, and the move is now poised to pass through the country’s upper house before heading to state legislatures.
While foreigners would still be barred from owning land on Mexico’s ejidos – farming communities that sprang up in the wake of the Mexican revolution – supporters of the constitutional change argue that move would bring about a rush of foreign investment and do away with the tricky trusts called fideicomisos, which foreign investors have had to enter into to have property in the restricted zone. With these trusts, foreign buyers can live on the land but the ownership title is held by the Mexican bank – a move that some say scares off potential buyers.
Earlier this year, Peña Nieto proposed opening Pemex, the country’s state-run oil company, to private and foreign investment, claiming that the company’s outdated and poorly maintained equipment is hindering the country’s chances of dredging up oil in the deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
Peña Nieto has the political capital and votes in congress to put through a constitutional change to break the monopoly of Pemex and allow foreign oil companies to look for oil in the deep Gulf waters,” Duncan Wood, the director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, told Fox News Latino in August.
Companies such as ExxonMobil and Petrobras – the Brazilian oil giant that seems like a regional and ideological fit with Pemex – have expressed interest in drilling in Mexican waters. Telecom billionaire Carlos Slim has also given his attention to becoming involved in his country’s oil industry.
Along with the national sovereignty issue, some analysts worry that widespread coastal development by foreigners would also bring about a major, negative environmental impact – especially in the wake of last month’s deadly topical storms.
“There is a clear downside in that the Mexican government is extremely lax concerning its environmental laws,” Grayson said. “The storms took a toll but the damage was exacerbated because there has been a prodigious amount of coastal development that has cut down trees, destroyed beachfront dunes and drained important wetlands.”
Grayson added that while Mexican supporters may believe that Americans – and their money – will suddenly flood into Mexico, they should be wary of this given the bad public relations the country has recently received as it struggles in its battles against drug cartels.
“Some of the most desired properties are in some of the most violence-infested areas,” he said.
And for jobs in the tourism and resort sector, most of them won’t be going to Mexicans but to foreigners as well – except these expatriates will come from the south, not the north.
“There will be some job creation, but it will come up in the hands of foreigners like Guatemalans and Hondurans, who will do the jobs Mexicans don’t want,” Grayson said.
But because of Mexican laws barring foreign home ownership along the coast, having that ocean-side oasis has eluded many Americans. Those that have been able to acquire a beachfront property have had to finagle through Mexico’s hazy legal system.
A proposed constitutional change in the halls of Mexico’s Congress, however, could make it easier for foreigners to own land on Mexico’s coast – a move that has been trumpeted by retirees who want Mexico’s Pacific coast to be the next retirement Mecca. But in Mexico, the proposal has divided Mexicans between those who believe these northern snowbirds will bring a boost to the local economies and those that see it as a blasphemous insult to Mexican sovereignty.
“t’s going to be good for a lot of people here,” Artemio Rosas, the owner of a surf shop and real estate broker in the Pacific coastal town of Arroyo Seco, told the Los Angeles Times
Mexican law currently prohibits foreigners from owning residential property in what is known as the restricted zone – an area that extends 31 miles inland from the coast and 62 miles from the border. In May, however, Mexico’s lower house approved a proposal to lift the ban, and the move is now poised to pass through the country’s upper house before heading to state legislatures.
While foreigners would still be barred from owning land on Mexico’s ejidos – farming communities that sprang up in the wake of the Mexican revolution – supporters of the constitutional change argue that move would bring about a rush of foreign investment and do away with the tricky trusts called fideicomisos, which foreign investors have had to enter into to have property in the restricted zone. With these trusts, foreign buyers can live on the land but the ownership title is held by the Mexican bank – a move that some say scares off potential buyers.
Earlier this year, Peña Nieto proposed opening Pemex, the country’s state-run oil company, to private and foreign investment, claiming that the company’s outdated and poorly maintained equipment is hindering the country’s chances of dredging up oil in the deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
Peña Nieto has the political capital and votes in congress to put through a constitutional change to break the monopoly of Pemex and allow foreign oil companies to look for oil in the deep Gulf waters,” Duncan Wood, the director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, told Fox News Latino in August.
Companies such as ExxonMobil and Petrobras – the Brazilian oil giant that seems like a regional and ideological fit with Pemex – have expressed interest in drilling in Mexican waters. Telecom billionaire Carlos Slim has also given his attention to becoming involved in his country’s oil industry.
Along with the national sovereignty issue, some analysts worry that widespread coastal development by foreigners would also bring about a major, negative environmental impact – especially in the wake of last month’s deadly topical storms.
“There is a clear downside in that the Mexican government is extremely lax concerning its environmental laws,” Grayson said. “The storms took a toll but the damage was exacerbated because there has been a prodigious amount of coastal development that has cut down trees, destroyed beachfront dunes and drained important wetlands.”
Grayson added that while Mexican supporters may believe that Americans – and their money – will suddenly flood into Mexico, they should be wary of this given the bad public relations the country has recently received as it struggles in its battles against drug cartels.
“Some of the most desired properties are in some of the most violence-infested areas,” he said.
And for jobs in the tourism and resort sector, most of them won’t be going to Mexicans but to foreigners as well – except these expatriates will come from the south, not the north.
“There will be some job creation, but it will come up in the hands of foreigners like Guatemalans and Hondurans, who will do the jobs Mexicans don’t want,” Grayson said.
playaperro
El Pirata
A total of 17 farms were given to the town by lieu of payment to cover a debt of more than 13 million pesos
ROCKY POINT , 6 NOVEMBER 2013 . - Tourism Development Companies Playa Encanto SA of C.V , and Real Estate Dream Beach SA de CV , delivered to the City in payment 17 farms with an area of 41 thousand 650 square meters to cover the debt for the property tax .
In the last thirteenth regular session of council held was approved for these companies would cover the payment of this tax for the fiscal year 2013 and reaching a total of over 13 million, whose operation was assessed in strict compliance assessed value of each property .
The Receiver Damian Herme Velázquez López explained that after an analysis of each of the properties, proceeded to the study of the concepts related to the assessed value and depreciation at the end of them , resulting in the actual price of the 17 properties .
The Charming Beach Tourist Development Company maintained a debt with the municipality for 4 million 029 thousand 450 pesos , an amount that was paid off to give the City a total of 15 farms with an area of 11 thousand 650 square meters .
In turn, Dream Beach Real Estate facing a liability of 9 million, which were covered with the payment in two farms with an area of 30 thousand square meters of land.
Lopez Velazquez said that after lengthy negotiations at the end of the day managed to convince the legal representatives of the two companies to that covered by the payment of land tax.
"Undoubtedly, the fact that the City has this list of properties will sell in package in order that the municipality can obtain this revenue and improve public finances ," said Trustee Attorney .
In terms of Article 9 of the Law on Income and Revenue Budget of the Municipality of Puerto Penasco , Sonora , the City is authorized to decide the merits of proposed applications in payment of land to extinguish tax liabilities generated by property taxes, conditional to comply with legal requirements the same article states .
SOCIAL COMMUNICATION ADDRESS
ROCKY POINT , 6 NOVEMBER 2013 . - Tourism Development Companies Playa Encanto SA of C.V , and Real Estate Dream Beach SA de CV , delivered to the City in payment 17 farms with an area of 41 thousand 650 square meters to cover the debt for the property tax .
In the last thirteenth regular session of council held was approved for these companies would cover the payment of this tax for the fiscal year 2013 and reaching a total of over 13 million, whose operation was assessed in strict compliance assessed value of each property .
The Receiver Damian Herme Velázquez López explained that after an analysis of each of the properties, proceeded to the study of the concepts related to the assessed value and depreciation at the end of them , resulting in the actual price of the 17 properties .
The Charming Beach Tourist Development Company maintained a debt with the municipality for 4 million 029 thousand 450 pesos , an amount that was paid off to give the City a total of 15 farms with an area of 11 thousand 650 square meters .
In turn, Dream Beach Real Estate facing a liability of 9 million, which were covered with the payment in two farms with an area of 30 thousand square meters of land.
Lopez Velazquez said that after lengthy negotiations at the end of the day managed to convince the legal representatives of the two companies to that covered by the payment of land tax.
"Undoubtedly, the fact that the City has this list of properties will sell in package in order that the municipality can obtain this revenue and improve public finances ," said Trustee Attorney .
In terms of Article 9 of the Law on Income and Revenue Budget of the Municipality of Puerto Penasco , Sonora , the City is authorized to decide the merits of proposed applications in payment of land to extinguish tax liabilities generated by property taxes, conditional to comply with legal requirements the same article states .
SOCIAL COMMUNICATION ADDRESS
jerry
Guest
they should sieze the unfinished towers too
playaperro
El Pirata
they pay taxes on those towers, so when the ships come in they will finish these projects and the town will move forward.
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playaperro
El Pirata
Better to bark and bite, than be a mamon!
jerry
Guest
you guys and your name calling.....
http://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/news/top_stories/unfinished-business-rocky-point-s-natural-beauty-invaded-by-sea/article_65ac6e1e-484a-11e1-8fce-001871e3ce6c.html
e rescate de inmuebles turísticos inconclusos they are coming ....finish it or lose it
http://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/news/top_stories/unfinished-business-rocky-point-s-natural-beauty-invaded-by-sea/article_65ac6e1e-484a-11e1-8fce-001871e3ce6c.html
e rescate de inmuebles turísticos inconclusos they are coming ....finish it or lose it
Written with such optimism: http://www.visitrockypoint.com/acropolis-mediterranea-village I don't even see how they could have advertised Acropolis as ocean view. The Sonoran Sea and Spa and the 4 towers at Las Palmas would be block any view unless you were higher than say the 10th floor.
Roberto
Guest
Hey now, if Morris Jackson highly suggests you buy you better buy !! Iwould say BS rather than optimism
Kenny
Guest
No name, no matter.
Hindsight is 20/20. What was optimism at the time certainly reads like bullshit now. Also known as Boomerfest.Hey now, if Morris Jackson highly suggests you buy you better buy !! Iwould say BS rather than optimism
jerry
Guest
Boomer Fest Days Management is officially changing the festival dates from September 25-29 2013 to June 11-15 2014. The date change is being made for several reasons, primarily to position the festival with ample time to market the event properly and obtain National and Regional Sponsors for the BFD-PBS TV production, that will be aired across the USA in late 2014 and will greatly add to the overall financial success of Boomer Fest Days and the entire Puerto Penasco Community at large.
BFD like AeroMexico or the new Homeport effort is focused on helping Puerto Penasco in every way to realize its full potential as the best drive-to and most convenient fly-in resort destination in Mexico. BFD, as well as these other projects, require a significant amount of time and capital investment in Puerto Penasco. BFD is still very committed to the project and is now more prepared than ever to stage the event June 11-15 2014.
Some of the Headliner Bands that were lost for the September date change, are now available for June 2014. In addition, BFD will have ample time to initiate and market a charter flight program to fly patrons to Puerto Penasco on AeroMexico chartered flights as well as regular scheduled flights and charter buses from Phoenix and Tucson.
In every instance possible and where it is proper, BFD will promote the new Puerto Penasco Convention Center, the new Homeport and AeroMexico flights to Penasco in its TV, Newspaper & Magazine Ads, Highway Billboards, Posters and other forms of advertising including online webpage banners and social media outlets.
BFD is now targeting the launch of marketing for the festival by Labor Day weekend 2013 to ensure the event will have a 9 ½ month marketing campaign beginning with the following Labor Day weekend schedule:
1. BFD will launch its interactive Website August 28, 2013 announcing the first 4 Major Artists
2. BFD will initiate its online ticket sales and accommodation sales August 28, 2013
3. BFD will start its internet Social Media Campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as well as direct target marketing to visitors in Puerto Penasco over the Labor Day weekend.
BFD appreciates your continued support of the festival and with 9 1/2 months to properly market this very special event we can now all realize the full potential that Boomer Fest Days will bring to Puerto Penasco, its business community and all of its citizens.
Kindest regards,
Henry Altman, Producer, Its Managing Member
Tony Mize, Associate Producer, Accommodations Director
Rod Herbert, Associate Producer, Investor / Business Development
“MUSIC THAT DEFINED A GENERATION AND CREATED A CULTURE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD”