Real Estate

From Cleveland to California and Michigan to Mississippi, where the practitioners are educated, tested, practiced and well-regulated, real estate is a complex process. But as you will discover in the coming pages, such is not the case in Mexico where “brokers” and “agents” continue to ply their trade with no licensure and so no oversight or regulation. In fact, it wasn’t until recently that the word “escrow” entered the picture, another process that enjoys no licensure and so no governmental oversight or regulation. In true Mexican “mañana tradition, cash changed hands with little more than a promise and it wasn’t until after foreign property investment was allowed under law by way off a constitutional amendment in 1994 and foreign investors well-familiar with real estate investment began demanding accountability that escrow companies came to life in the country.

With this wholesale lack of structure in the industry there, simply stated, the customs that prevail in the US have little to do with the way property investment is handled in Mexico leaving even the most experienced agent or broker in the US at a significant disadvantage when attempting to negotiate an acquisition or sale. Throw in the language barrier and the fact that every document is prepared in Spanish and issues compound.

Handling no less than eight major real estate transactions over the past 20-years representing some of the largest hospitality corporations in the US including both Hilton and Hyatt, The AmesGroup ‘s experience in Mexican real estate is unparalleled for a US based company. Together with their own in-house counsel and acquisition teams, our company has assisted in the negotiations and acquisition of properties throughout the couyntry including Hilton Querétaro in 2012.

Today, the husband and wife team that is The AmesGroup, now in semi-retirement, represents the interests of a truly unique development nestled along the coast of the Sea of Cortez just 90-minutes from the California border. A 1500-acre private, guard gated and patrolled haven where residents own their own 1/4-acre properties, Rancho Costa Verde is a private, beachfront community where owners have their homes custom-built to their own specifications; this at a cost of just $120/sq.ft.  That means you can be living just steps from the beach in a 2500 sq. ft. home for under $325k. And if you’re worried about crime, there is none. Rancho Costa Verde lies just south of the small town of San Felipe where the 2023 crime rate was a mere 2.5; this while cities thought to be “safe” like Puerta Vallarta and Cabo have crime rates well-into the 50s and 60s.  Read on to see just why so many people are coming to Baja and specifically, Rancho Costa Verde.