{"id":2221,"date":"2010-09-09T14:00:48","date_gmt":"2010-09-09T20:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/temp-blog\/?p=2221"},"modified":"2013-10-11T09:36:54","modified_gmt":"2013-10-11T15:36:54","slug":"some-new-faq-for-the-yucatan-real-estate-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/some-new-faq-for-the-yucatan-real-estate-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Some New FAQ for the Yucatan Real Estate Region"},"content":{"rendered":"

How would you compare the cost of utilities in the Yucatan real estate<\/a> region to the cost of the same utilities in the United States? Electric, gas and water?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Electricity in nearly all of the Mexico real estate<\/a> regions are controlled by the government owned CFE “Comision Federal de Electricidad”\u00c2\u00a0 The amount you pay for electricity is based upon usage and is billed on a three level tier -\u00c2\u00a0 Basic, Intermediate and High.\u00c2\u00a0 The lowest level is generally subsidized to provide cheap electricity to the poor.\u00c2\u00a0 However, as soon as you get into the higher levels, electric usage can be expensive.\u00c2\u00a0 There is ample motivation to use energy efficiently.<\/p>\n

\"\"Mexico generates electricity by utilizing thermoelectric, hydroelectric, coal-fired, geothermal, wind powered plants and a nuclear power plant.\u00c2\u00a0 For more information on CFE see their website at:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.cfe.gob.mx\/Paginas\/Home.aspx<\/a> There are a few pages in English.<\/p>\n

Natural Gas in Mexico is basically the same price as it is in Texas.\u00c2\u00a0 In 1997, the Comisi\u00c3\u00b3n Reguladora de Energ\u00c3\u00ada of Mexico implemented a netback rule for linking the Mexican natural gas price to the Texas price. At that time, the Texas price reflected a reasonably competitive market.<\/p>\n

Most residential user of natural gas purchase it by the tank.\u00c2\u00a0 Some homes have tanks on the roof others use smaller tanks that are mobile.\u00c2\u00a0 There are several gas companies that sell natural gas in Yucatan and they provide service directly to your home or you can refill your tanks at the operations facilities.<\/p>\n

The Yucatan real estate<\/a> region is truly blessed to have an abundant supply of sweet water.\u00c2\u00a0 Water in Yucatan and the cost associated with it’s house hold use is very inexpensive.<\/p>\n

Can I get a mortgage to finance my purchase of a house in the Yucatan?<\/strong> \"\"<\/p>\n

Mortgages are available in Yucatan for Mexican and Foreign home buyers.\u00c2\u00a0 Scotiabank, Banamex, Bancomer and several other international banks and mortgage banks will provide mortgage backed funds for a home purchase in Mexico.<\/p>\n

HOWEVER, the loan process is expensive, time consuming, brain damaging and very rarely utilized in Yucatan.\u00c2\u00a0 There are numerous difficult issues that will confront a home buyer wishing to use institutional financing to purchase real estate:<\/p>\n

*\u00c2\u00a0 Most lenders will not make loans for purchases of less than $100,000.00-usd.<\/p>\n

*\u00c2\u00a0 Down payments run 30% or higher.<\/p>\n

*\u00c2\u00a0 Interest rates are generally much higher than what a buyer would pay in the USA.<\/p>\n

*\u00c2\u00a0 The law requires that all transactions be recorded at actual sales price or an appraised value determined by the Office of the Catastro. The Catastro is\u00c2\u00a0 concerned with establishing a valuation, the valor catastral, used as the basis of property taxation.\u00c2\u00a0 Since this value of property in Yucatan is frequently much less than the actual sales price, a host of problems emerge for a financed purchase.\u00c2\u00a0 It is very difficult to find reliable Comparables.\u00c2\u00a0 There can be significant tax issues that\u00c2\u00a0 severly impact the Buyer and Seller financially.\u00c2\u00a0 Sellers who are not able to avoid capital gains taxes (ISR – Impuesto Sobre la Renta) face a 30% taxable rate on their gain.\u00c2\u00a0 Buyers pay a 2% (in Yucatan) transfer tax based upon the purchase price or valor catastral of the property.\u00c2\u00a0 To issue a mortgage, banks will require that the actual purchase price be recorded at the sale and an independent appraisal that supports the purchase price will be required.<\/p>\n

*\u00c2\u00a0 Most lenders will not make a loan for raw Mexico land<\/a>, raw beach, properties that are in very poor condition or located in industrial or business type areas.<\/p>\n

Where do most of the expats live in Merida? <\/strong><\/p>\n

By far, the majority of expats living in the city of Merida, live in the Central Historic District, known simply as “Centro”.\u00c2\u00a0 Centro is a very large geographical area.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, M\u00c3\u00a9rida has one of the largest centro historico districts in Mexico (surpassed only by Mexico City). (note to Ellen – maybe this is a good place for a link to google map of centro)\u00c2\u00a0 Generally speaking, Centro is a couple square miles and it is populated by thousands of colonial homes, shops, restaurants, parks, squares, theaters, schools, businesses, government offices, markets, art galleries, sidewalk cafes, stunning\u00c2\u00a0 architectural treasures and a few, unfortunately ugly buildings like the Telmex box. Most expats love the ability to walk to the theaters, parks, squares, markets and businesses located in Centro.\u00c2\u00a0 There are cultural events nearly every night of the week in Centro – folkloric dance, concerts, poetry and musical recitals, ballet, the symphony orchestra, comedy, lectures, home and garden tours, The Merida English Language Library, cantina’s and much, much more!<\/p>\n

Has the Yucatan housing market been affected by the downturn in the housing market in the USA?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The mortgage crisis of 2008 and the ensuing global financial crisis of 2009 had a an impact on the Yucatan real estate market.\u00c2\u00a0 However, the S1N1 Flu scare of 2009 was more devastating to the Mexican economy and Yucatan real estate market than the global financial crisis.\u00c2\u00a0 The double punch of the late 2008 mortgage meltdown and the April 2009 Swine flu pandemic scare lead to the worst real estate market we have witnessed in Yucatan since 9-11.\u00c2\u00a0 Most Mexican schools and nonessential businesses were asked to voluntarily close for a week in April.\u00c2\u00a0 The resulting negative press and global fear effectively killed the tourism, restaurant and real estate businesses for the remainder of 2009.<\/p>\n

2010 was a good year and we saw a number of foreign and local buyers return to the market.\u00c2\u00a0 The number of American buyers is still below average which we believe is due to the lingering weak economy and a “shell shocked” American consumer.\u00c2\u00a0 Canadians, Europeans, Mexicans, South Africans and South Americans have returned to the market place.\u00c2\u00a0 We believe 2011 will be a better year than 2010.<\/p>\n

Mitch Keenan <\/strong>has been a Licensed Broker in the United States since the 1980s. He holds a GRI and a CRS from NAR (National Association of Realtors). With over ten years of living and working in the Yucatan real estate industry, Mitch brings American business ethics and Mexico business experience together to give buyers unparalleled service. <\/em>512-879-6546<\/p>\n

THE\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>www.<\/span>TOP<\/span>mexicorealestate.com<\/span><\/a> NETWORK<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mexico\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Leading Network of Specialists for Finding and Purchasing Mexican Properties Safely<\/strong>!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Want more Articles?<\/strong> Receive articles direct to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE HERE<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Want to see listings?<\/strong> See properties for sale in my region. CLICK HERE<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Want to learn more?<\/strong> Where & How to buy real estate in Mexico. CLICK HERE<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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How would you compare the cost of utilities in the Yucatan real estate region to the cost of the same utilities in the United States? Electric, gas and water? Electricity in nearly all of the Mexico real estate regions are controlled by the government owned CFE “Comision Federal de Electricidad”\u00c2\u00a0 The amount you pay for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":13802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[271,135,315,298,79,13,383,402],"tags":[1541,688,1555],"class_list":{"0":"post-2221","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mexico-cost-of-living-living-in-mexico","8":"category-living-in-mexico","9":"category-mexico-economy-living-in-mexico","10":"category-mexico-loans-mortgages","11":"category-mexico-property-tips","12":"category-mexico-real-estate-tips","13":"category-mitch_keenan","14":"category-yucatan-real-estate","15":"tag-mexico-land","16":"tag-yucatan-land","17":"tag-yucatan-real-estate","18":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2221"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7394,"href":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2221\/revisions\/7394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topmexicorealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}