Buying a house in Las Conchas

[Casablanca]

I need advice about buying a house in Las Conchas.
I have been traveling to northern Mexico since 1995. My wife has dual citizenship (US/Mex). We have traveled to Baja a couple of times, driving of course. We have spent too many days in Kino Bay and a few in San Carlos. We love La Paz and Mulege but they are too far and we are not at the age of retiring; we are smack in the middle age territory. We have stayed a couple of weeks in Santo Tomas, it’s a lovely place, but it’s too isolated and doesn’t have the required “infrastructure". At the end, PP is close to Phoenix and there is nothing like it, unless you travel way south in Baja.

We have looked at some houses in 2018 and a few more this year; we are ready to make a purchase before summer 2020. At the end, we chose Las Conchas; it is best suited to our needs, isolated and yet close to everything we need and a huge. The beaches and water in Las Conchas are perfect for our lifestyle, swimming, exercising, paddle boarding, etc. And I have already been hit by a jet ski in Playa Bonita (no injuries). Thanks to your advice ladies and gentlemen, we are going to go through your recommended process: reputable real estate agent, lawyer, notario, etc
I have a few questions. I have heard that the houses around town and the huge resorts benefit from much better infrastructure: water, waste, broadband speeds, etc.

• How does Las Conchas compare to those other places? We have stayed a few times in Las Conchas but everything worked just fine; yes the internet was slower but it wasn’t a big deal.
• What would be the long term impact of global warming on PP and Las Conchas? For example the projections on drinkable water and rising sea levels.
• Besides the Casita issue (mayor), it there anything else that I need to be aware of?

I don’t expect to get answers to all of my questions but at least I would really appreciate it if I can get a sense of what I am getting into before I start the process.
Thank you

 

[JoseAz]

We have loved it for 15 years.
Great hard working HOA team
We use satellite internet. works great

 

[Eastwood]

We grew up going to Sandy Beach and Cholla Bay as kids, but once we got a place in Las Conchas, there is no other beach we love more in Rocky Point. I cannot speak to the global warming question as I am unsure. Things to consider include: maintenance on any beach property is quite intense, being on the beach rather than several rows back makes a huge difference (I would not buy a house second or third row personally), and many property beach walls are built TOO close to the beach (and get a constant pounding) so look for one set back sufficiently. As for the time to buy, I am not sure where house prices land historically, but I know many people took a bath in 2009. It may be worth considering how close to peak pricing the market is currently.

 

[Casablanca]

Thank you JoseAz and Eastwood for the advice, I already feel better. I am wondering if there is some kind of a database/website that tracks house prices for the last few years around PP.

 

[Roberto]

Sorry. No such information exists. Although some will tell you there is an MLS, there is NOT one. MLS here is like the name Yellow pages in the US. Anyone can and does use it. the Mexican Real estate social organization, AMPI , claims to have one but it is managed by Realtor sales people not a professional independent organization as in the US.

As to Las Conchas, it is a good community. security patrols 24/7 , roads are watered and graded regularly. Beaches ar as nice as anywhere and are maintained , cleaned of trash and seaweed with some regularity. HOA is active and concerned. true there are some or one issue with the city of Penasco but the Mayor will change soon.

Beachfront is nice but, yes, the maintenance is shocking. don't fool yourself about that. we get some BIG seas here from time to time. exciting to see but hard on seawalls. Neighbor had his seawall rebuilt to the tune of $35K USD and it was destroyed in the next storm. No warrantees here. Cost another $45K to get it redone. The higher the home is from the shoreline the better.

There are 4 or 5 options for internet now. speeds are very similar. Just compare prices, ask for names of other users of their service, and do not use the guy who will not give you a receipt !!

No one can predict what prices will be like in 2020. Sales are up but prices are not across the board. By the time global warming has a effect here we will all be long gone.

There are no professional "Home Inspectors " here. Educate yourself about construction . Build quality varies widely here. there are some really poor contractors but again ask for references and talk to people.

I would wander around the community and stop and talk to people. Owners here will be glad to share information.

 

[fatboyharley]

I own in Las Conchas but not beach front. I know the amount of constant maintenance that is required in my home and can only imagine on beachfront. Beachfront is nice but I do not want people in front of my house looking in when I am there. Yes there are not throngs of people on the beach but I have noticed more towns people since the casita has been taken down. I like having a view of the ocean, estuary and the mountains from my home personally. The HOA is very hard working. Guards are doing a good job. I have satellite internet. Look for energy efficiency as electricity can be experience. I would not live in the Sandy Beach area. Too much craziness and stupidity there. LC is quiet and more family oriented.

 

[ernesto]

The direct hit from the salt spray when it blows eats EVERYTHING. Aluminum .paint, quads in a garage air conditioning etc. The strange thing is that it doesn't seem to have much of an effect on electronics inside the home. Satellite dishes don't last at all. Big difference on 2nd and 3rd rows from what I see. I gave up on having the pristine beach pad. Just use it and deal with the corrosion.

 

[Roberto]

[QUOTE= Look for energy efficiency as electricity can be experience.

YES on this one. Just FYI you can request and get a history of billing from the electric company. Just take a pic of the meter and go to the CFE office lobby and use the meter number on the machines to check.

 

[Casablanca]

Thank you again for the information. My wife and I are now working hard to be your neighbors. And yes, we quickly noticed that Las Conchas is quieter and cleaner than many other areas. We even stayed at a Las Palmas beachfront house for a weekend and we paid as much as what Snoop Dogg pays to maintain his yacht for an hour! We also spend a few days in a much cheaper house (more like a trailer). In Las Conchas, we stayed at the Agaves Del Mar (beachfront house) in 2018 and this year we stayed at Casa De La Paz (our Airbnb host whose first name starts with F was incredibly nice, friendly and helpful: the very best).

A walk to the beach that should take no more than a few minutes (one-digit if I walk fast) is worth it when it comes to avoiding the headaches and costs associated with the houses located in the “front rows”.

So we have been following the advice from this forum very closely. Thanks to ALL of you: when we were trying to decide to buy a condo vs a house, your comments made it very clear (throughout this forum) about the resorts to avoid (HOA fees, noise, etc).

 

[LAS CONCHAS UNDERGROUND]

I need advice about buying a house in Las Conchas.
I have been traveling to northern Mexico since 1995. My wife has dual citizenship (US/Mex). We have traveled to Baja a couple of times, driving of course. We have spent too many days in Kino Bay and a few in San Carlos. We love La Paz and Mulege but they are too far and we are not at the age of retiring; we are smack in the middle age territory. We have stayed a couple of weeks in Santo Tomas, it’s a lovely place, but it’s too isolated and doesn’t have the required “infrastructure". At the end, PP is close to Phoenix and there is nothing like it, unless you travel way south in Baja.

We have looked at some houses in 2018 and a few more this year; we are ready to make a purchase before summer 2020. At the end, we chose Las Conchas; it is best suited to our needs, isolated and yet close to everything we need and a huge. The beaches and water in Las Conchas are perfect for our lifestyle, swimming, exercising, paddle boarding, etc. And I have already been hit by a jet ski in Playa Bonita (no injuries). Thanks to your advice ladies and gentlemen, we are going to go through your recommended process: reputable real estate agent, lawyer, notario, etc
I have a few questions. I have heard that the houses around town and the huge resorts benefit from much better infrastructure: water, waste, broadband speeds, etc.

• How does Las Conchas compare to those other places? We have stayed a few times in Las Conchas but everything worked just fine; yes the internet was slower but it wasn’t a big deal.
• What would be the long term impact of global warming on PP and Las Conchas? For example the projections on drinkable water and rising sea levels.
• Besides the Casita issue (mayor), it there anything else that I need to be aware of?

I don’t expect to get answers to all of my questions but at least I would really appreciate it if I can get a sense of what I am getting into before I start the process.
Thank you

Read all the Las Conchas Underground posts!

 

[maria alemany]

Sorry. No such information exists. Although some will tell you there is an MLS, there is NOT one. MLS here is like the name Yellow pages in the US. Anyone can and does use it. the Mexican Real estate social organization, AMPI , claims to have one but it is managed by Realtor sales people not a professional independent organization as in the US.

As to Las Conchas, it is a good community. security patrols 24/7 , roads are watered and graded regularly. Beaches ar as nice as anywhere and are maintained , cleaned of trash and seaweed with some regularity. HOA is active and concerned. true there are some or one issue with the city of Penasco but the Mayor will change soon.

Beachfront is nice but, yes, the maintenance is shocking. don't fool yourself about that. we get some BIG seas here from time to time. exciting to see but hard on seawalls. Neighbor had his seawall rebuilt to the tune of $35K USD and it was destroyed in the next storm. No warrantees here. Cost another $45K to get it redone. The higher the home is from the shoreline the better.

There are 4 or 5 options for internet now. speeds are very similar. Just compare prices, ask for names of other users of their service, and do not use the guy who will not give you a receipt !!

No one can predict what prices will be like in 2020. Sales are up but prices are not across the board. By the time global warming has a effect here we will all be long gone.

There are no professional "Home Inspectors " here. Educate yourself about construction . Build quality varies widely here. there are some really poor contractors but again ask for references and talk to people.

I would wander around the community and stop and talk to people. Owners here will be glad to share information.

Hello Rob, how are you today? I am a licensed Real Estate Broker in Rocky Point and wanted to let you know that our Rocky Point MLS is FLEXMLS just like in the USA. Also we do indeed have several professional homes inspectors in Rocky Point which provide full inspections and reports same as the US. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Have a wonderful day.

 

[maria alemany]

I would add that owning a home require lots of maintenance by the sea. It is important to understand that.
Some of my friends and clients that own in Las Conchas love it but kind of complain about still the water situation and the lack of paved streets and mud when raining. Other than that they love living in Las Conchas. It really depends what you are going to do? Be here a lot? or just a rental property? There is another nice residential comunity in Sandy Beach called Costa Diamante which you may want o look at.
Feel free to contact me to discuss as i am a licensed Real Estate Broker www.sandybeachlistings.com

 

[Casablanca]

Yes, it’s a mixed bag. We have looked at many areas and we are only interested in two: Las Conchas (100%) and Islas Del Mar (50%, I still need to swim and use my paddle board to make a final decision).

And here is why, I need a place no too far from the beach, it’s not easy to carry a few paddle boards (mine and a “few” for my family) to the water. I might buy or design special trailers for my electric bicycles which should solve this problem. I agree with you, a house that’s located at the water’s edge is insanely expensive to maintain, it’s like owning a very expensive Fiat! The beach shouldn’t have too many rocks (we can’t buy a house located around the entrance of Las Conchas, too many rocks).

We can’t also be around too many jet skis; in 2018, I was swimming and I was hit in Playa Bonita by…you guessed it! A jet ski (it was a Yamaha, so Mexico Joe is not one of the usual suspects). And this leads me to exclude Costa Diamante and Brisa del Mar.

 

[fatboyharley]

i own in las conchas for 15 years and have seen the decline in the community. the water situation every summer, the renting situation since we lost our guard shack. More party houses. The driving fast on the streets. I use to love LC but now want to sell but quite frankly there are too many home on the market in LC so I am going to wait it out.

 

[ernesto]

Thank the Mayor

 

[brokenwave]

i own in las conchas for 15 years and have seen the decline in the community. the water situation every summer, the renting situation since we lost our guard shack. More party houses. The driving fast on the streets. I use to love LC but now want to sell but quite frankly there are too many home on the market in LC so I am going to wait it out.

There are lot's of places for sale everywhere.

 

[Idyllwild]

i built in Islas Del Mar after touring 20 properties in Cholla, 10 in Las Conches, 2 in Playa Encanto, one on Whale Hill and several more near Sandy Beach. I’m not going to do a public presentation on my reasoning but you are welcomed to message me and set up a meeting. You can take my paddle board out in the lagoon.. I used to teach climate science at a major research university.

 

[fatboyharley]

i built in Islas Del Mar after touring 20 properties in Cholla, 10 in Las Conches, 2 in Playa Encanto, one on Whale Hill and several more near Sandy Beach. I’m not going to do a public presentation on my reasoning but you are welcomed to message me and set up a meeting. You can take my paddle board out in the lagoon.. I used to teach climate science at a major research university.

We are thinking of going to Islas just because it appears to be much quieter

 

[Idyllwild]

Feel free to message me. I’m not a realtor or builder, nor do I play one on television.

 

[Casablanca]

i own in las conchas for 15 years and have seen the decline in the community. the water situation every summer, the renting situation since we lost our guard shack. More party houses. The driving fast on the streets. I use to love LC but now want to sell but quite frankly there are too many home on the market in LC so I am going to wait it out.

I really feel your pain. I have a DSLR and a drone, the least I can do for you is the next time I am in PP I can take some nice photos of your house and hand them to you to help you with the sale.