# calling ALL expats in MAHAHUAL!!!!



## cassie514 (Aug 15, 2016)

hey guys, my hubby and i are considering purchasing a home in mahahual - placer, to be exact, to retire...he's 64 and i'm 45. we are retired right now and living in the mountains. i love my snow but i also love the beach. tell me some things you guys love about mahahual and any things that might give us pause to reconsider. we have 4 big dogs too that would love it i hope. how does the water cistern system work? we're not too familiar with that? we don't want to run out of water, the home we are thinking of purchasing has this in place, but what if it goes many days without raining? you still continue to use water...will it eventually dry up? also how far is Placer from mahahual? can you ride your bike back and forth? what is the rainy season like there and how long does it last? well, i guess that's it for now, any info you guys can give would be oh so helpful to us!!! to help us make up our minds!lane:


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Have you never been there to talk to folks?
Have you considered renting for awhile?
Do you like really hot and humid environments?
Have you any experience with hurricanes?
Have you and your electronics ever experienced a salt-air environment.
Buying is easy.....selling takes a very long time.
Do you have, or can you get, Mexican residence visas?


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

You are aware that the road from Mahahual to El Placer is a sand/ dirt road that is 20 miles long and takes over 40 min. to drive? Probably not much fun to drive during the 6 month rainy / hurricane season. 
If you look at a Google Sat. Map you would see how isolated it is from towns, shopping, gas and medical treatment. Good luck


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## cassie514 (Aug 15, 2016)

*hi rvgringo*



RVGRINGO said:


> Have you never been there to talk to folks?
> Have you considered renting for awhile?
> Do you like really hot and humid environments?
> Have you any experience with hurricanes?
> ...


We haven't been to mahahual, just to playa del carmen, cancun and cozumel. we are both from Houston and actually have been through several hurricanes during our lifetimes sadly to say but no experiences with the "sea air" and what it might do to our electronics. why would we be refused a mexican resident visa? :juggle:


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## cassie514 (Aug 15, 2016)

*hi chicois8*



chicois8 said:


> You are aware that the road from Mahahual to El Placer is a sand/ dirt road that is 20 miles long and takes over 40 min. to drive? Probably not much fun to drive during the 6 month rainy / hurricane season.
> If you look at a Google Sat. Map you would see how isolated it is from towns, shopping, gas and medical treatment. Good luck


thank you so much, i will check out google maps!


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

cassie514 said:


> We haven't been to mahahual, just to playa del carmen, cancun and cozumel. we are both from Houston and actually have been through several hurricanes during our lifetimes sadly to say but no experiences with the "sea air" and what it might do to our electronics. why would we be refused a mexican resident visa? :juggle:


Cassie:
If you have the financial qualifications, the nearest Mexican consulate will be very likely to approve your visa applications. I was just curious, since those with visas are more likely to have experienced life in Mexico, and in various areas, before considering a purchase. They will also know about the automobile situation, notarios vs. abogados, fidecomisos vs. deeds, etc.
It seems that your experience may only be with purely tourist resort destinations, and that you have no real experience in Mexico; particularly in other parts of Mexico, where you will not be as likely to be sucked into a pretty picture. Please, please....Do not buy anything from afar. There are no protections for you, as in the USA, and there is no regulation of real estate brokers or agents in Mexico. Buying in a remote area is worse than inconvenient; it can be downright dangerous. If you are still intrigued, move down there and settle into a rental and get to know people, the area and the language, customs and laws. Do not be gullible.
You should also look at other areas, especially the west coast of Mexico, where you can find nice beach environments that are not Mexico‘s latest tourist development scheme - otherwise known as a tourist trap to those of us with many years, or decades, of living in Mexico. Go slow, learn, adapt. Are you aware of the artificially high cost of living in tourist zones, or the reason why you will probably want to get the hell out of there in a few years, or less, in favor of another part of Mexico with a better climate? OK, I will quit now & I am not trying to be mean; but, you do seem a bit naive or over-anxious. I think the real estate folks saw you coming. They work for the seller & do not have your interests at heart.....they just want you to think they do.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Do you understand that Mahahual was just built to cater to the cruse ships that come in once or twice a week, the other days it turns into a ghost town and many shops and restaurants are closed, at least that is the way I saw it the 3 times I have visited. I go for the wonderful snorkeling...By the way if a hurricane hit El Placar it would be more like being in Galveston than being in Huston, you will be at sea level with no protection at all.......suerte


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## cassie514 (Aug 15, 2016)

*you guys*

thank you, thank you, thank you! i appreciate and totally agree with all of you! actually i am not that gullible or anxious...i REALLY want to stay and play in the SNOW!!!! my hubby is the one wanting to move. i could live in snow 12 months out of the year, frankly. i love to snorkle but i would rather pile on heaps of clothes, a hat and a coat and go for a hike in a heavy snowfall with the dogs! LOL


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Then, I guess the question is: What are you looking for in Mexico? 
Then, we can suggest realistic options that will not be so likely to disappoint.


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## cassie514 (Aug 15, 2016)

*rvgringo*



RVGRINGO said:


> Then, I guess the question is: What are you looking for in Mexico?
> Then, we can suggest realistic options that will not be so likely to disappoint.


well, let me describe what we like to do and what we're looking for...we both love to snorkle and may want to learn to dive. we would like to be on the beach or within walking distance even though this is hard on your appliances- we know that. we do have 4 large dogs so we do NOT want a condo! a home is absolutely the way we want to go. we actually bought in Belize and sold there also last year just because we were not very happy with their beaches. you could not snorkle from the shore-i'd say that is our number 1 requirement..to be able to snorkle from the shore of the house. and that our dogs be happy, so a dog friendly beach. and my hubby wants a pool at the house and a boat. so we would like to be somewhere we could dock a small fishing boat. we are looking in the 600,000$ range. my hubby also likes to golf, but if there is no golf around-he won't die. that is about it i guess, thanks guys :eyebrows::eyebrows::eyebrows:


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

cassie514 said:


> well, let me describe what we like to do and what we're looking for...we both love to snorkle and may want to learn to dive. we would like to be on the beach or within walking distance even though this is hard on your appliances- we know that. we do have 4 large dogs so we do NOT want a condo! a home is absolutely the way we want to go. we actually bought in Belize and sold there also last year just because we were not very happy with their beaches. you could not snorkle from the shore-i'd say that is our number 1 requirement..to be able to snorkle from the shore of the house. and that our dogs be happy, so a dog friendly beach. and my hubby wants a pool at the house and a boat. so we would like to be somewhere we could dock a small fishing boat. we are looking in the 600,000$ range. my hubby also likes to golf, but if there is no golf around-he won't die. that is about it i guess, thanks guys :eyebrows::eyebrows::eyebrows:


- For starters - 64 is a bit old to pick up on Scuba. I've been diving for around 45 years or so (and I am an instructor) and I realize I'm getting old.
- I may be on thin ice here - but I believe a non-native Mexican (eg. resident) cannot pilot/captain ANY boat in Mexico. I think that is even true of naturalized citizens. You could probably approach a harbor master and hook up with a 'rent-a-captain' pretty easily.
- If I were a real-estate agent (which I am not), and I read your description of your 'wants', I would tell you to fly into Cancun, rent a car and head South. When you get to Akumal (or maybe just a little further South) start taking every little street off the highway and head for the water. If you come to a gate with security - let them hold on to your credentials and ask to be let in. Do this all the way down the coast to just North of Tulum. $600K is a bit on the low side but you will find some to many places to match your wants. Besides - it is just across the channel from Cozumel so the 'in-water-experience' is exactly the same with the added benefit of the cenotes. There you will find many water-front homes (nice homes) with panga-like boats anchored in shallow water. Excluding South Florida that is probably the best near-shore snorkling you are going to find. I believe there was a Walmart in Puerto Aventuras and a Costco in Cancun. And a (direct) flight from Cancun to Miami is about an hour.
- Not so sure about a pool - but I guess you could always put in a spa. I believe there are golf courses in that stretch of road.

Good Luck.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Wow! You probably have some mutually exclusive items on your wish list. It will be very difficult to find a place to keep a boat at your home, on a beachfront, with good snorkeling just in front. Each wil generally require an entirely different geography. The sandy beach will require wave action. The dock will require very sheltered water behind a breakwater or in a sheltered cove. Good snorkeling/diving will be had on reefs; second best on rocky outcrops and/or shipwrecks. I suspect that finding all of that within walking distance of your home will be a real challenge; maybe impossible. As an old blue-water sailor with a background in geology & geography, you have rendered me helpless to help. Of course, Belize, the Cayman Islands and Australia pop into mind, but the search in Mexico might be better done on the Pacific Coast, where there are bays and mountains reaching to the coast, but no coral reefs that I know of.


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## RickS (Aug 6, 2009)

Maybe it's just me but.... I'm just not sure about any of this tale.


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