One of the most frustrating things in Mexico is the real estate market. Fortunately for me, I’m about finishing the building of my own house, but I’ve been renting during 10 years before…
First of all, a lot of the houses are between ugly and very ugly. An architect is not a legal requirement to build a house, and to save money, the brick layer takes over the job of an architect. The result is some really ugly constructions. Secondly, Mexican do not have the culture of maintaining their stuff. As a result, houses which are between 10 and 15 years old, seem much older. Now, I’m not telling you there are no nice buildings/houses in Mexico. Actually, Mexico has some world-famous architects, being Ricardo Legorreta one of them. You can visit his site at http://www.legorretalegorreta.com
Renting a NICE house costs tons of money: for USD 2,000-3,000 you find a more or less acceptable middle class house or apartment in Mexico City. But if you want go to upscale market, monthly rents of US 10,000 are not an exception. For residents of New York, London ort Tokyo this might be cheap, but for Mexican standards, these are fortunes. Other problem of renting a house is the relationship with the houselord: contracts are on a annual base, and a lot of house lords don’t take care about maintaining their property in a good shape.
Buying a house is difficult too: a house of good quality is expensive, and with an interest rate between 9% and 16% for a mortgage, you end up paying after 20 years 3 times more for your house. Even if we take into account the inflation, you will have paid 220% of the initial value of your house!
And my question is: will your property really have increased 220% in value after 20 years? I doubt it: the quality of the houses in Mexico is poor and the maintenance Mexicans give to their houses and neighborhoods is poor too. So you when finished paying your mortgage, you will have to pay again to restore your property…
So what is the alternative? Build your own house with savings! That’s why you see a lot of unfinished houses in Mexico. Mexicans safe money, and when they have some money, they build a part the house. One of my staff members started building her house 10 years ago. And she believes she will need 5 more years to finish it!
Saludos,
Peter. Study Spanish in Mexico at Anders Languages México: http://www.andersmexico.com !
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