For those not lucky enough to be retired and living the Baja life full-time, let me ask you a question; when was the last time you visited your investment here at Rancho Costa Verde? If it’s been a few years, boy are you in for a surprise. In fact, if it’s been a few months, well, let me just say, you won’t recognize the place!!! With more that 125 homes completed, another 30 in various phases of construction and a dozen more on the drawing board, RCV’s been experiencing the “perfect storm” this past year as 1) those who bought their properties for investment years ago are now seeing the vision become reality, 2) those who bought to build as a get-away/second home are seeing the whole RCV plan come together and 3) those who bought in preparation for retirement and now getting close are actively putting their retirement home plans into action. So what’s been happening recently? Glad you asked!
“First off, a HUGE “mea culpa” and “im paenitet” to the end-of-the -month visitors. The, what is for many a 2-week, 4th of July “weekend” vacation (the 4th falls mid-week), left the bus company short-shrift in vehicles; and with a lighter-than-average tour group, our usual luxury bus was replaced with a not-so-large “luxury” “van”. I won’t go into the details of the whole fiasco but suffice to say that the A/C was, shall we say, not up to par. Rob and Michael of course were aghast when they heard, and to make matters worse, with this his youngest daughter’s wedding weekend, he and Michael were absent the festivities. But as you know, they take good care of their RCV family and their guests so they discounted the properties that the guests invested in by an additional $1000. So from all of them here at Rancho Costa Verde, and especially Joyce and me since our guests Amanda and Del got the brunt of the issue, our sincere apologies to all; and be assured that, while this was out of the company’s hands so to speak, we’ll all work to assure that this will NOT happen again.
Well, RCV’s family grew by 16 last month (June) and for Joyce and me, by 4. Meet Ron and Brenda Washington (upper right) from the Palm Springs area who so love the community that he’s postponing retirement from his almost 40-year career as a real estate and insurance broker to join the team at RCV! They’re the proud, new owners of a beachfront lot in our newest development, Cabo Oasis about 6-miles south of us at RCV. They fell in love with and purchased Lot #10; and while at over 8,000 sq ft, all of the Oasis properties are larger than the 5,000 sq ft properties on the beach at RCV, this one, at over 9,000 sq ft is the largest of the then-available run of properties on the lower beach. And that completes the availability of those 10-properties selling-out in less than 3-weeks. We also added Steve and Delia van Deventer (lower left)who we forgot to get pictures with and, most recently Amanda Stanley and her husband Dell who are our first clients for July and who this past weekend put deposits down on their dream properties, first that magnificent corner property just off the RCV beach at 65-02-07 that they envision building on and then, as an investment property, with RCV beachfront properties sold out long ago, they reserved Lot #14 at Oasis, both pending her research and investigation of the company. FULL DISCLOSURE; She’s a real estate attorney in Long Beach, CA so they secured the properties “for a couple of days” with deposits while she does her due diligence on the company; advice you all know Joyce and I give everyone. But that being the only delay, and knowing our company so well for the last 30-some years, we’ll be saying “Bienvenidos familia” by the end of the week!!! Congrats, and a huge THANK YOU, to all of our RCV clients who have purchased through Joyce and me over the years and really to all the RCV Familia who read and subscribe to this, our own monthly newsletter!!!
Have you seen the new pool??? ¡Guau! (Wow!) After being empty for a month or so, when the water went back in, it had been covered in new plaster with a beautiful new ribbon of tile surrounding it. At a constant 80* or better, it’s always been a beautiful centerpiece for our community owners and their families and guests, but like us all, it was beginning to show its age so…out with the old and in with the new, ready to entertain its swimmers for another 10-years. Next up this month, the Jacuzzi which remained filled and functional as the owners and their guests needed some community water outside of the nearby Sea of Cortez to enjoy while the pool was being refreshed!
Speaking of, “out with the old/in with the new”, get ready for the expansion. RCV will soon be putting the shovel, or rather the dozer to the the little-used shuffleboard court and horseshoe pit behind the pool area and it’s perimeter wall, all to make way for the pool area’s brand new palapas and volleyball court. Unlike the single, 20×20 gazebo palapa that’ll cover the Tequila Bar & Grille and pizza oven we told you about last month, these will be the traditional palm-covered palapas and shade the area’s new lounges and side tables just behind the pool area. With the pool complex decidedly contemporary, we wanted to bring just a bit of Baja to the area for those who prefer lounging in true Mexican style; beneath palm leaf cover close to the poolside showers and the sands of the Sea of Cortez which lie just a short 5-minute walk away.
Next up, the main road. Ever since the, “1000-year storm” spilled over the mountains and hit the inner-coast of Baja a couple of years back, RCV has been working to rebuild its many roads lost due to those storms and re-establishing property corners and envelopes for the properties that they serve; not an easy or rapid undertaking given the approximately 1200 acres and 1250 properties that constitute Rancho Costa Verde. With significant progress now made on that objective, developers have now turned their attention to the main road and have brought in the first of what is estimated to be sixteen, 500-meter “lifts” of special, clay-based road base to even-out and smooth the main road. Imported from a quarry north of San Felipe, once placed, each of the lifts will be cured with salt water and compressed making them dense enough to withstand the traffic without the need for employing hot, unsightly and non-native asphalt. The process, having proven itself successful in the developers’ previous development, El Dorado by withstanding traffic there for the past 18-years, will doubtless be a welcome relief to owners, guests and visitors alike.
It’s been said that the fish are so abundant in the Sea of Cortez that it was the original, referenced “barrel” in the phrase, “Like shooting fish in a barrel“. Like the town of San Felipe itself where local fishermen launch their large pangas well-before dawn in search of fish to support the town’s many restaurants’ menu selections that evening, RCV owners like Terry & Andee Press-Dawson launch their own, personal pangas and other water craft right from the RCV beaches, only to return with their own bounty to be served throughout the week at the many pot-luck gatherings the community has. Terry says they were, typically, only out for about an hour, just off shore from Ray and Boni Alduenda’s new beachfront home on 64-01-09 when I saw them coming back in with their haul in mid-June.
Ya know, just when you think you’ve seen everything, something new pops up. This past weekend, I was introduced to a fabulous restaurant, Matilda’s at Stella by a new family of owners at RCV, the Cortezes. Where, you ask? Just hang a left out of our Las Palmas hotel gates, walk a block down towards the Malecon and look up. It’s right there in front of you with the entrance on the street and the dining area and patio on the beach; BIG sign that reads, “Sella”. The shrimp is to-die-for, the service and people are incredible and the atmosphere typically familiar-family; AND the second best part… an evening swim in the 84* Sea of Cortez water right outside after dinner. Never did I think my El Padrino’s could be bested, and really, it still can’t be for International cuisine and the best Italian fare in San Felipe; but I have to say, Matilda’s has become my new, go-to for my guests’ dinners after becoming family at RCV. You gotta try it!!!
As many of you know because you’ve been here with us for the festivities, every year, San Felipe plays host to more than 3-dozen festivals; from the San Felipe Desert Mayhem 150km Off Road Race in January through to December when the Parade of Lights – Los Arcos to the Malecon lights up the night sky, there’s always something going on in San Felipe. And while the month of July is always a quiet one, August kicks off with our famous Cevichi Festival on August 1st, sponsored of course in part by Rancho Costa Verde. If you’re new to ownership here at RCV, every year we contribute our human and financial resources to this and most other events that benefit the community and people of San Felipe and, with San Felipe being the “Shrimp Capital of Mexico”, and the abundance of every species of fish in the world in our backyard (Jacques Cousteau called the Sea of Cortez the “World’s Aquarium”), this Festival always draws enormous crowds from Baja and across the border to sample the freshest cevichi anywhere. So plan a trip on either Cevichi weekend or any of the other festival weekends to visit your get-away home or book a Casita to visit your property investment and see what all the hub-bub is about…Bub!!!
It’s that time again!!! With the water at a warm 81-84*, now is the perfect time to head down to Gonzaga Bay, about 45-50 minutes south of Rancho Costa Verde for a swim with Matilda, the oh-so-very-friendly whale shark. She, her siblings and their friends come to visit the warm waters of the Bay each year to feed on the plankton-rich bounty the Bay has to offer. Don’t worry, they don’t bite because meat isn’t on their menu. They don’t even have teeth!!! So jump aboard one of the many boats down here and scuba (if you’re certified bring yopur PADI card) or just snorkel along with these magnificent, beheamoth creatures as they thrive on the attention. An hour’s swim will only cost you about $500… that’s pesos! In dollars its about $28. (7-5-24 18peso/dollar)
On a personal note, while Joyce and I certainly appreciate the referrals we get from all of you who talk with family and friends who are interested in Baja and Rancho Costa Verde, while I don’t mind the emails and phone calls I get from them, there’s always one common thread that runs through virtually all of those contacts; the issue of foreign ownership of real estate in Mexico. Now, I don’t mind explaining the issue to them; but instead of just sending them copies of this blog, just send them directly over to our website at www.AmesGroupUSA.com. As all of you who have invested with us at Rancho Costa Verde know, as do all of you who are still considering it but asked to be included in our blog while you decide, when, I’ve distilled my now going on 38-years of experience in real estate and administrative law, more than 20 of which was spent coordinating developments both in the US and throughout Mexico, into a readable, informative site that includes everything I can think of to help people understand the subject of foreign ownership of real property. As I said, Joyce and I just love the referrals we get from happy clients; but whether you’ve invested with RCV or are still considering it and want to be kept in the loop as to what’s going on here, know that real estate acquisition, ownership and divestiture in Mexico is wholly-unlike the US; and it’s impossible for anyone to be too-educated in its unique characteristics. Plus, real estate acquisition and divestiture is a liquid subject, always changing with the tides of the law so please, give them our contact information, but also direct them over to our website; and again, thank you, sincerely, for your continued interest in Rancho Costa Verde and allowing Joyce and me to provide you information, service and counsel in your RCV real estate investments.
So, as you can see, our Community’s moving right along as we continue to grow. So if you haven’t visited your property in awhile, well, now you know what you’ve been missing. And if you’re only just now considering us, then now you’ve got a small window into what’s been happening in our little piece of paradise, Rancho Costa Verde; or as we proudly call it, the Last Affordable Beachfront Luxury in Mexico!
