For the longest time (and certainly when we first came to Merida), the only way an extranjero (foreigner) could buy property in Mexico was to pay cold hard cash. When we moved here, we were enamored with our new city and Mexico, but we weren’t convinced that buying a house here was going to be an investment or even simply the equivalent to putting money under mattress. So putting all our hard-earned cash into our house was not an easy decision.
Flash forward to 2006 and now there’s no doubt that buying a colonial home in the Centro Historico of Merida is a good investment.
Ditto buying a house on the beach in the Gulf of Mexico beach communities from Sisal to Dzilam Bravo. Americans, Canadians and Europeans, as well as Mexicans from other parts of this country are flocking here to buy while property is still inexpensive by international standards. (We just read that on a web site touting the benefits of buying in the Yucatan). Certainly, buying our house four years ago was a good investment and has inspired us to buy a few more!
Adding to the growth potential here, last August one of the biggest financial companies in the world, GE Financing, became convinced of the viability of investing in Mexico. They began selling mortgages to Americans buying homes here, starting in the resort areas of Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta. Finally, in 2006 they have begun to branch out. And now, que milagro! (what a miracle!), they are here in Merida, Yucatan!
Working Gringa investigated all the people *talking* about providing home loans in Mexico and, after careful consideration, decided to open Mortgages In Merida as an affiliate of MortgagesinMexico.com. They seemed to be the most careful, committed and professional players that were well prepared to deal with buyers throughout Mexico. 
The company is run by a gentleman, Doug Jones, who has been in the mortgage brokerage business for over 30 years in the United States and over 3 years here in Mexico. Doug has a house in Puerta Vallarta, which was his impetus for starting this business. He too saw what a great investment his property had been in Mexico, and he opened Mortgages in Mexico to make it possible for others as well.
Here are a few things to know about the nascent Mexico mortgage situation in the Yucatan.
There are basically three types of house for sale in Yucatan. The first type is a complete ruin. While many people like to find and restore this kind of property, they are not the deals that lenders are willing to finance. Most of these properties sell for less than $100,000 US.
Mortgages are only available on liveable homes that have city-provided water, electricity, a working septic tank and a functioning roof. Most properties in downtown Merida meet these criteria but many have been abandoned or neglected. These are the properties many foreign buyers enjoy renovating and remodeling. These houses have "good bones", or basic architectural soundness, and can be polished up like a new penny without the kind of expense one might expect in the States.
Unlike when we moved here, Merida now boasts a plethora of restored or well-maintained homes that can still be bought for less than $250,000 US. We moved from California, where that kind of money can’t buy you a garage. Here, you can buy a spacious colonial in the historic center with antique pasta tile floors, 18-foot tall, wood-beam ceilings, limestone walls, probably a pool and roof terrace, and handcrafted details the likes of which you can’t buy for love or money in Gringolandia.
If you’ve ever renovated or remodeled a home up north, you’ll be pleased and amazed by the workmanship down here. The masons, painters, carpenters, and iron smiths have generations of experience in their crafts. Your home won’t end up looking like a dentist’s office (though we know of many nice dentist offices…) and the end result will be a warm and beautiful work of excellent craftsmanship. It can also end up a shoddy, thrown-together mess, of course, if you don’t have proper supervision. Luckily, the number of professional architects, designers and contractors has grown exponentially in the last few years as well.
If you have the cash to buy a home here, you still might want to consider a mortgage. Buy one house with a loan and use the extra cash to buy another. Leveraging your money is an easy thing to do here, because the homes are still inexpensive. Renovating homes is also easier to do here and helps boost the local economy, both by improving Merida’s downtown and by employing the local talent. At the moment, lenders are only allowing one mortgage per person. There is some construction loan money available, with heavy restrictions, refinancing loans may be available soon.
Are you excited yet? We are. Mortgages in Merida was started because we see how bringing mortgages into this mix is going to accelerate an already quickly-growing real estate market and more importantly, allow many more people to expand and enhance their lives by moving to the Yucatan. More importantly, we live in the Centro, and we’re looking forward to the full-blown renaissance of the urban center that is already underway. Homes are being restored, Bed & Breakfasts and small hotels are springing up, spas are being planned. Sure, tourism is growing too, but what’s also growing is the expatriate community. Merida is a much easier place to live now than it was four years ago and in four more years… well, we can only imagine.
If you are interested in a home loan, contact Working Gringa (sometimes known as Ellen Fields) through her web site and she’ll get you started with an application. If you want to see what’s available to buy, check out the real estate web sites on our Links page. And if you’ve decided to retire in Mexico, or abandon your cubicle early and quit la carrera de raton (the rat race) to start a coffee shop or a martini bar or a boutique hotel, we have just the city for you!
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Dear Readers:
I am interested in hearing more feedback about how to buy, what neighborhood to look at, and more importantly why move to Merida?
For the past ten years I have been dreaming about establishing a multi-cultural and disciplinary art center in Latin America. Since I love Mexico, have friends from there, and an interest in Mayan culture, I thought Merida might be an ideal location or you may suggest other Yucatan cities worth investigating. I may be ten years to late in buying something large and affordable like a hotel or hacienda but thought this may be a good place to get information.
I am founder/artistic director of a community-based alternative museum that focuses on participatory public art, arts education and urban renewal. Primarily, we collaborate with multi-ethnic artists, youth, and community members to activate underutilized public spaces; promote artistic exploration and appreciation; advance community participation and celebration; provide opportunities for personal empowerment, environmental and social change.
My hope is to establish an art center in Mexico as a satellite space that would create bridges between American and Latin American culture emphasizing how collaboration and creativity can contribute to the well being of the community.
I am grateful to get your feedback as I begin to explore Merida and or the greater Yucatan communities.
For more info on the area and some neat things to do check out this page.
http://www.aventurasclub.com/articles.en.html
And no its not spam. Real content for anyone looking into info on the Yucatan.
How hard is it to get a job down in Yucatan for a foreigner?