# My wife passed this week - thinking of Cancun area as next stop on the journey.



## MangoTango (Feb 8, 2020)

I've made previous post and was always recommended - wait keep her comfortable at home. Well that didn't work out so well in the end. (I won't go into the details).

So at 67 (in decent shape - as a US/Mexican dual national) - I'm thinking it may be time to return to the ocean (from Cuernavaca). 

I still need to shred 'years' worth of paper. Have to try and sell the second car, the house and furniture etc. 

There is no particular rush except to escape the memories. 

So - in real life - given a budget of say 10 milliones pesos - where should I start looking ?

Tons more questions....

Thanks


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

Sorry to hear about your wife, you have my condolences.

Someone I know recently passed along to me an ad for a house someone they know is selling. It's in Puerto Cancun, not directly on the water. It's a 3 BR house with a pool. They're asking 1.25 million. Dollars. 

I can't see how it's worth that, but that's what you're up against. 10 million pesos won't get you a 2 BR condo on the water in the Cancun hotel zone. 

There are some high rises in town which have lagoon or bay views that might work. 

But stand-alone house? I don't think so...

Anyway, wouldn't a condo with security guards and someone else to do the maintenance be better than a house and a lot of hassles?

I drove through Champoton on my way back from Laredo last week, it's a "small" city of 200,000 on the gulf between CD del Carmen and Campeche. There are a lot of undeveloped lots between the highway and the ocean, as you drive further and further from town, some houses for sale, and some skeletal remains of abandoned houses. I thought it might be a nice place to live if you didn't need the best hospitals and proximity to a big airport and didn't mind the gulf vs the Caribbean.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

MangoTango said:


> I've made previous post and was always recommended - wait keep her comfortable at home. Well that didn't work out so well in the end. (I won't go into the details).
> 
> So at 67 (in decent shape - as a US/Mexican dual national) - I'm thinking it may be time to return to the ocean (from Cuernavaca).
> 
> ...


Mi más sentido pésame, amigo. May your late wife's memory be for a blessing.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

Condolences on your loss. 
If you give some idea of what sort of community you are looking for, what you like to do with your time, any requirements you have, what sort of climate and terrain you prefer, that would help with suggestions.

I live on the coast, in Sayulita.


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## MangoTango (Feb 8, 2020)

So for roughly 30 years we lived in South Florida, stand alone house on a canal about 1/4 mile from the ocean. We had a boat docked in the back yard and were avid divers. Weather permitting we walked on the beach every morning for sunrise. We loved the area, and we were savers, but I could foresee it being rather pricey when we got older. So we moved to Mexico. My wife was still flying a lot for work so we wanted to be near the airport in Mexico City.

We have been to Cancun many times (mostly for 3 day weekends). But that was many years ago. It was our way to be 'unreachable' from work. The climate in Cancun is very similar to South Florida (which we loved).

The house I am in now is definitely my last house. Even though I have some help it is just too much work/worry. Although at this very moment keeping busy is my solace. In an ideal world I would like to live in a 2 bedroom condo, if not on the beach at least with a view of the water, maybe 20-40 units. I would not want to live on a floor much above tree-top level. I would prefer to be away from an area with much night-life. I would like to be able to walk on the beach for hours, come back and roast by the pool. As I remember it, there really wasn't much ocean swimming in Cancun due to the current (am I right)?

Today I visit Costco probably twice a week and I much prefer that sort of shopping to small mercados. I don't really care if I ever get on another plane. I'd just like to chill out and read.

I threw out 10 million pesos because that is about what I expect to net from the sale of this house. I could go a little higher.

Edit : And I'd like to keep the 3 indoor cats with me.


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## MangoTango (Feb 8, 2020)

And of course I would rent 6-12 months first.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

I don't know what the climate is in South Florida, never been there, but I would guess that most coastal areas in Mexico are similar in that they are hot and humid in the summer, with lots of rain, and dryer and cooler in the winter.

With what you've written, you might want to check out Lo de Marcos, which is about a half hour north of me. It's a rather sweet little Mexican town, more frequented by Mexican tourists than gringoes, although there are quite a few local expats, it's less expensive than where I live, in Sayulita, or San Pancho, which is the next town up the road, both of which ate pricey, the beach is nice but you'd want to rent and buy a few blocks back from the beach, as the town tends to flood near the beach in rainy season.

The nearest Costco would be in Puerto Vallarta, so about an hour and a half drive, and that would be the nearest international airport as well. 

It's a quiet little town and while there are quite a few restaurants, friends who have stayed there say things pretty much close up by nine. In other words, it's not some party town with loud nightlife.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

@eastwind 

In my view, there are a lot of pluses and minuses on both sides of the condo vs house question. I look at friends living in condo apartments in high rise buildings with many units and think I am glad that is not me. But the maintenance on my more than 100 year old adobe house is certainly not a trivial obligation. And living with 50 year old plumbing has its drawbacks. At least the wiring is modern since I rewired the whole house a few years ago.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

In Cancun in the hotel zone there is a row of high rise buildings that are condos. There are 10 towers in all, starting with Ocean Dream and moving south to Maralago, two towers of Puerto Fino, and the six Bay View Grand towers. Unfortunately, the nightlife hub of cancun is not far away. Whether you can hear it from an apartment depends on the angle of the apartment's window and whether another of the towers blocks the noise. The further south you get the newer and more expensive the apartments get. And taller. 

Only Ocean Dream allows short-term rentals, the others have condo restrictions limiting rentals to 30 days or more. I believe those restrictions work to keep out the AirBnB types.

If you walk a little ways north from those buildings you come to the point, Faro de Punta Cancun, where there is a man-made jetty (Los Cubos) made out of cement blocks dumped haphazardly atop one another. That encloses a very nice, very calm swimming area, but people swim all up and down the beach when there isn't seaweed.

There are some condos in the Puerto Cancun development, too. That's closer to town, but I don't think there's a beach there. There are some houses in that development as well, that's where the one listed for 1.25M is. 

There may be a building or two very far to the south end of the hotel zone, when I was looking to rent one building down there was mentioned, but I wasn't able to see the apartment yet (going back 5 years ago) because they were in the process of converting it from a hotel to condos, or something. I forget.

There might be some cheaper places further south that face the lagoon. That would be more like your florida canal experience, you'd be across the street from the beach-facing towers so would just need to be close to one of the access paths to get to the beach. Should be cheaper too, and definitely far from the nightlife noise. Also 20 km from town and the cheaper restaurants and groceries. 

There are several towers in-town that face the lagoon or the ocean, without being on a beach that are not hotels. Whether it's possible to own a unit in them or not I don't know. I would hope those are a lot cheaper.


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## MangoTango (Feb 8, 2020)

Thanks for the replies.
I tried using Google maps (street view) and Google earth - but they are useless in an area as large as Cancun.
I think I'm going to try my luck with Youtube.
I mentioned yesterday, to my very best Mexican friend, that I was thinking of Cancun and she said she know someone in real estate in that area.
This woman is a godsend. While I have my wife's ashes and death certificates, there is a lawyer at the notary who is trying to interpret my wife's will in a manner which was not intended. My will (and my wife's) are (word for word) identical except for our names. Two months before my wife's passing we visited with a different lawyer at the notary and at that time we were told - no problem - don't even put the house in my name. If we wait until the house sells there are costs which are then assumed by the buyer. So we followed his advice. He has not been reachable because of a family situation.
So we have met with a woman sitting in for him. The will states right up front that I am the 'universal' heir'. We each had the same three provisions in our wills. 1) give the executor 130,000 pesos., 2) Pay someone 250,000 pesos to take on our three cats and keep them happy and together and 3) donate the house to a charity. Those provisions were intended to be applied in the event of our passing at the same time due to an accident or such (or when we were both gone). This new lawyer now feels that those provisions need to be applied IN THE EVENT OF EITHER OF OUR DEATHS. She feels that the charity now owns half of the house I am living in.

My friend and I are trying to get together with another notary with which she has had better results.


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## Firstlast (Jan 11, 2021)

eastwind said:


> Sorry to hear about your wife, you have my condolences.
> 
> Someone I know recently passed along to me an ad for a house someone they know is selling. It's in Puerto Cancun, not directly on the water. It's a 3 BR house with a pool. They're asking 1.25 million. Dollars.
> 
> ...


DO NOT, DO NOT buy any homes or property in this local. Within the last eight years or so many expats in another blog have complained about the lack success in closing real estate contracts. The majority...9 homes have been empty since I arrived in the area 14 years ago. The town of Champoton is 30,000 residents. The municipality has 83,000 residents; mostly rural. The homes and lots mentioned are very isolated, subject to incursion from the nearby fishing camps. And approx a half hour drive to Champoton for shopping. The 250,000 population sounds like the city of Campeche, the state capital of Campeche. It has better facilities: Walmart, Sam's, Home Depot, three major super markets, etc. And very safe. I suggest he consider Campeche.
The municipality


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## alan-in-mesicali (Apr 26, 2018)

MANGO... are you "set" on this area? Do and internet search on the area around and south of Puerto Vallarta for your canal and boat dock at your back door.... You should be able to get the house AND a kick ass boat for your price.... depending on if you want solid gold bathroom fixtures or not ....MOST of the Cancun area will be underwater before you die.....


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

I wrote 200,000 for Champoton because as I was driving through I saw a sign that said "welcome to Champoton" with a population figure. I thought it said 200,000, and was surprised it was that large. I doubt I can find the sign again on google streetview, so I won't look.


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## MangoTango (Feb 8, 2020)

Once I get all this legal stuff behind me I am going to drive over to the Cancun area and look around. There is a place north of Tulum and south of Akumal called Tankah Tres. It was our favorite dive site on the planet. That is where I am going to leave my wife's ashes. The area looks to have grown up since we were last there - but there do appear to be condo options there as well. Still a little pricey but maybe not as bad as Cancun. Of course it is about 80 miles south of Cancun...


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