Puerto Peñasco Post

Villa Cortez Financing Update

The news out of Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) today is a second condominium resort under development that has secured a significant partnership with a private U.S. capital company.  A week after Omega Commercial Finance Corp announced its joint venture with BBB Developments to help finance the continuing development of Los Corales Condominiums in the Mirador area, Strategic Capital Solutions out of New York announced a major equity investment in Villa Cortez, located in Playa La Jolla. 

According to the press release, certain contingencies, such as finalizing the paperwork on a construction loan for the first phase of Villa Cortez (to be provided by Strategic Capital) and hiring an experienced hotel management company to run the resort, still need to be met for the project to move forward.  But it is another good sign that some of the condominium developments in Puerto Peñasco are beginning to find creative ways in slower times to move forward and get projects built (despite these equity infusions not necessarily being that favorable to the developer's profits).

Los Corales Construction Update News

BBB Developments announced today that it has signed a letter of intent for a joint venture with Omega Commercial Finance Corp (OTCBB: OCFN) to secure financing for construction of Los Corales Condominiums, located in the Mirador area by Manny's. According to the press release, they will close on the financing deal with Omega within 90 days and construction will begin thereafter. 

As the press release points out, this is not conventional construction financing.  It appears from the details in the press release that Omega had been working on behalf of BBB to secure construction financing to build Los Corales for awhile but was unsuccessful.  Instead Omega has decided itself to take an equity stake in the development of Los Corales and will receive 45% of the profits in return for providing construction financing.  This arrangement was made possible by Los Corales having 108 of its units pre-sold (again, according to the press release).

This arrangment both underlines the difficulty Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) developers face in obtaining construction financing for projects in Mexico and a creative financing solution to getting a project built.  During real estate boom times in Puerto Peñasco, many developers were able to build entire condominium resorts only using financing from buyers' 30% down payment deposits.  Now that the market has slowed down, developers must work to secure more traditional construction financing for their projects - which is only just beginning to be available in Mexico.  So it is good to see U.S. finance companies take a financial interest in the Puerto Peñasco market in this form, even if it is only a start toward better access to credit in Mexico for developers.  It also shows confidence in the future of development in Puerto Peñasco (albeit by a finance company that is not well known).

And, of course, a by-product of better access to credit for developers in Mexico is that buyers can be more confident that their condominium will get built in a reasonable amount of time and won't have to rely on the continuing success of sales for completion of the project.

I will update with added pictures to my Construction Update Page once I see ground broken on Los Corales' site. 

Construction Update Map of Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point)

I posted a construction update page recently with pictures of construction around Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) and received several inquires from out-of-towners for a way to identify where certain sites are.  So I put together a quick map showing most of the sites which I took pictures of.  I will update this map occasionally and will keep it at the top of the construction update page.  Rocky Point is Puerto Penasco.

New Feature: Puerto Peñasco Construction Update Page (with Pictures!)

Pictures say a thousand words, so I decided to take a bit of a driving tour around Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) over the last couple of days to take some pictures of projects under construction or recently completed.  I have added a new page named conveniently "Construction Update Page" where I have posted pictures of the job sites and a quick note or two about each.  It can be viewed by clicking here and you can find it in the left margin of my blog. 

I must stress that I do not have inside knowledge about progress on these projects and am only reporting what I have observed.  I have, however, noted whether I observed workers on the site or not.  If developers of these projects have additional updates on their projects or want to add pictures to my update page, I'll be happy to post them.  I will try to post updated pictures occasionally to give readers of this blog an idea of how things are moving on various projects.

Hopefully this gives some of the out-of-towners who don't travel to Puerto Peñasco very often a chance to see some of the progress on projects in town.

Las Conchas Resorts Infrastructure & Desalination

I promised last week to provide some additional details about the infrastructure systems that have been completed by a group of developers in the Las Conchas area [Disclaimer: My development group is part of this effort]...

In late 2006, a group of developers owning land in the area directly behind the legacy Las Conchas area (on the north side of Las Conchas Boulevard as you enter the guard gate) formed an infrastructure association to privately fund installation of offsite infrastructure to supply utilities to these undeveloped sites.  The group goes by the name Unión Desarrolladores Turísticos de Puerto Peñasco (UDTPP)

The UDTPP worked over the last year to privately fund, build and install a 1500 residential unit capacity desalination system to provide freshwater to member developer's land, a sewage treatment plant that features an environmentally-friendly gray water return for landscape irrigation, all electrical installations to each parcel of property and roadway improvements - including paving the entrance to Las Conchas.  The first phase of these efforts concluded in late 2007 when the systems all came online.  They are now being utilized by both Corona del Sol and Marbella (which have delivered their first phases of condominiums) and will be soon utilized by Lindavista (which is expected to deliver their first units in the coming months).  Several other parcels of land running along this strip bordering Las Conchas Boulevard also will utilize these infrastructure facilities over the coming months and years. 

Agustin Cortes, who owns most of the land in the area, was instrumental in founding the UDTPP and has contributed additional funds to an effort to beautify the main entrance off of Fremont Boulevard leading into Las Conchas (including paving a boulevard and other aesthetic touches).  Mr. Cortes has also established a conceptual master plan for the land he owns in the area, which will be named "Las Conchas Resorts."  Las Conchas Resorts is anticipated to eventually include additional residential areas, a golf course, shopping and other commercial areas, hotels and entertainment options.  Visitors to Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) in 2008 will start to see part of a marketing campaign promoting "Las Conchas Resorts" when they visit.

A particularly important point about these efforts is that by installing these infrastructure systems privately, the UDTPP has taken proactive measures to ensure that its members - and the eventual residents of their developments - have long-term assured access to some of the resources that are becoming more scarce as Puerto Peñasco grows - particularly fresh water.  This alleviates some of the burden on the city to provide this support to developers.   I have provided a few pictures of the infrastructure facilities below.

[Note: I have been asked several times about these efforts in relation to the Las Conchas Homeowner's Association desalination efforts and I should make clear that they are entirely separate systems.  The Las Conchas HOA is in the process of contracting for and building their own desalination facility to supply their member homes, as you can read here.]

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Virtual Real Estate in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point)

I read an interesting article yesterday posted on Mexidata written by Brian Flock, a realtor in Baja California.  He notes the misconception about excess real estate inventory on the market in Baja California and how much of this inventory (particularly condominiums) is only "virtual." 

His point is that when asking whether Baja California is overbuilt with excess inventory, the answer is a qualified "No" if you take into account that much of this excess "inventory" is in fact not yet built.  It is in the form of proposed (i.e. virtual) condos or vacation housing that may be for sale but hasn't yet come out of the ground.  He contrasts this phenomenon of "virtual" inventory with actual inventory that exists in places like Miami today - where already-built condominiums sit empty and for sale.  In places like Baja California and Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), this "virtual" inventory can easily be retired, simply by the developer deciding to postpone or not carry through on a project (and returning any deposits to pre-construction buyers).

This topic is certainly germane to Puerto Peñasco, where much of the excess inventory in the market is actually only in the form of proposed condominiums.  New projects with hundreds of condos have been anounced in Puerto Peñasco over the last year and sales offices have opened everywhere.  What is key to remember is that these sales offices don't necessarily signify inventory that must be sold.  They can just as easily have unsuccessful sales efforts and decide not to proceed or to postpone their project.  In fact, this is what is happening today as the Puerto Peñasco market goes through a correction.  Several larger sales operations for new condominium developments have shuttered their doors in recent months while waiting for the U.S. feeder markets to regain their legs. 

One of the reasons (that Mr. Flock correctly cites in his article) that this virtual inventory exists and is figured into the Mexican real estate markets is that in Mexico over the last several years, developers haven't had to jump through the usual hoops to get a condominium development out of the ground and completed.  Many of the larger condominium developments in Puerto Peñasco built in the last 10 years have been financed solely with deposits from pre-sales of condominiums.  So in the past, everything that has been proposed and begun sales efforts has been counted as inventory on the market. 

Now that the market has tightened, developers are being forced to obtain construction loans to build a project.  And obtaining a construction loan in these days of tight credit markets requires a developer to prove they have the wherewithal to get a project sold and built (with the major hurdle these days being getting a significant number of pre-sales).  So in reality, Puerto Peñasco condominium inventory today should include only condominium developments that have their full construction financing and are being built. 

All of this is very healthy for the Puerto Peñasco real estate market and will allow it to recover quicker and in a stronger position than a market with a lot of already built - but empty - homes or condos.  Builders unable to get construction financing for recently introduced Puerto Peñasco projects will sit on the sidelines until better times - thus instantly reducing the amount of "virtual" inventory for sale in the market.  And buyers will gravitate to projects that are properly financed and are getting built - reducing actual inventory on the market.  Effectively, rational buyers will move any sales deposits they have in projects that don't appear that they will get built to projects that are actually getting built - consolidating sales in a smaller number of projects.  (That being said, if you have a deposit down with a development, check with the developer about their plans for financing and timeline for moving forward before hastily trying to get your deposit back.  You most likely have signed a contract that makes your deposit non-refundable unless the project will definitely not get built.)

This gravitation by buyers to the projects that are getting built will also naturally protect them by ensuring that their initial down payments are going towards projects that will be completed and delivered.

As the actual inventory begins to clear out of the market faster, other projects waiting in the wings will start to be re-introduced and a more reasonable and sustainable pace of development in Puerto Peñasco will ensue, assisted by the new commercial developments in town, the new international airport, coastal highway and other infrastructure improvements.  Puerto Peñasco has a bright future and elimination of some of this "virtual" condominium inventory today will help the town move into a period of sustained development.   

I encourage everyone to read Mr. Flock's article as he states his case much more eloquently than I - and makes a good argument for buyers purchasing now while deals are good (with which I agree).  When reading his article, simply substitute Puerto Peñasco for Baja California (yes, our ocean is warmer, our real estate prices are lower and our shrimp is much tastier).  It can be read here.

Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) 2008 Real Estate Assessment (UPDATED)

It has been awhile since I have posted as things have been pretty quiet in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) this winter so far.  Raul O'Farrill from OTP Trust and O'Farrill & Associates wrote an assessments of the Puerto Peñasco real estate market for 2008 in the January Rocky Point Real Estate Guide and I finally had the time to scan the article in and post it here.  It is well written and has some interesting observations about the market going forward.  I agree with him that it is definitely a buyer's market at this time and frankly is a good time for condo buyers to step into the market.  Once the second phase of real estate growth begins in earnest in Puerto Peñasco, it is hard to tell when the next true buyer's market will be - particularly considering that beachfront/view real estate in developing Mexican resort destinations has a tendency to become very valuable (see Cabo).

One potential driver of the second phase of growth I have spoke about in past posts that Raul did not mention is health care.  I regularly hear of efforts to bring U.S. level health care to Puerto Peñasco this coming year (as always - we will see if these efforts materialize).  These facilities when built are expected to be able to accept U.S. insurance and medicare.  The obvious effect of this will be a retirement boom in Puerto Peñasco.  Combining first-class health care facilities with beaches, golf, mild weather, international flights and of course great margaritas is a recipe for a strong baby boomer retirement market in the coming years.

I have posted the full article after the jump.  Click below to read (and please excuse any typos I made)...

Update:  I have received several comments/questions about this posting - particularly the part about health care and insurance.  I'll admit to not having a lot of insider information about this issue.  But I have been told of several groups that have been looking at Puerto Peñasco as an ideal place to locate health care facilities.  Their main hurdle of course is figuring out a way to accept U.S. health insurance and potentially medicare.  To clarify what I said above, from what I have been told medicare is a much larger hurdle to jump because of the facilities being located outside the U.S. (in other words, no one hold their breath on this getting approved). 

I do know that there are facilities in other parts of Mexico that have already figured out how to accept U.S. health insurance however.  During a recent visit to Mazatlan, I spoke to several people who indicated that one of the major hospitals in Mazatlan (Sharp Hospital) formed a partnership with a San Diego hospital and can therefore accept U.S. health insurance for services provided in Mexico.  I'm not sure the difficulty of forming these partnerships or the regulatory hoops that must be jumped through to get this done, but it is a potential way that future Peñasco health care facilities may process U.S. insurance.

Because of the health insurance issue, I would expect that the first medical facilities catering to Americans located in Peñasco will offer only elective surgeries that are not covered by insurance.  There is obviously a big market in the Phoenix metro for cosmetic surgery and providers would be able to provide lower cost procedures in Mexico.  One can imagine having an elective surgery and then spending a week recovering in a seaside villa before you go home to face friends and family.

Once the U.S. health insurance (and potentially medicare) issue is figured out, expect to see more U.S. level health care facilities enter Peñasco, catering to the retiring baby boomer generation. 

Kicking Off 2008 in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point)

After a brief hiatus, I am back to posting and hope to be able to continue to provide some insight into the business and real estate communities in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), Mexico. Not a lot has happened over the last month as much of Mexico goes on an extended holiday break during the Christmas/New Year’s season. So for those of you keeping close tabs on the construction progress of your chosen condominium community, don’t expect to see a lot of change from the early part of December until now. About Wednesday of this past week, the town started to bustle again and businesses were reopening after the break.

While I was in Puerto Peñasco this week, I did notice several condominium developments starting to take shape going into 2008. Tessoro (located at the end of Las Conchas) has finished their foundation work and is putting up its steel structure. Corona del Sol (in the Las Conchas Resorts area) has delivered their first phase and has started construction on their second phase. Lindavista (also in Las Conchas Resorts) is finishing their common area and appears poised to deliver their first phase in March.

In Sandy Beach, Sonoran Sky has delivered their entire project in record time. I also noticed that the site for the Marriott Hotel being put in by Grupo Questro as part of “Peñasco Bay” (next to Esmeralda) has been surveyed and staked for excavation work to begin. Having a major hotel chain in Puerto Peñasco will be helpful as hotels tend to have extended promotional networks and will bring more visitors to Puerto Peñasco from places other than Arizona (a key to broader development in Peñasco). Marriott’s presence will also be important in the continuing development of international commercial flights into Puerto Peñasco, as the Puerto Peñasco international airport readies for operation in 2009 and flights between the U.S. and Puerto Peñasco increase in number.

On the commercial side of things, a couple of new restaurants have opened in Sandy Beach. Sonoran Sky has opened their restaurant which has large windows looking out onto the beach. Also by the entrance to the Sonoran Spa and Sonoran Sea resorts, a new restaurant/bar named Chango’s has opened. These restaurants will provide some additional options for vacationers staying on the Sandy Beach side of town (I haven’t tried either yet).

In town, we have regularly been going to Capone’s Pizzeria in Mirador (on Sinaloa past Reggie’s and the old Best Western) and it has become quite the popular hangout pretty much every day of the week. I have been seeing a lot of families there for lunch and dinner and then a younger crowd later in the evening. It’s also a good place to catch an NFL playoff game or college basketball. I recommend people check it out. Opening in the new Mission del Mar commercial plaza by the entrance to Las Conchas Resorts is Blue Buddha, a Spanish tapas and paella restaurant/lounge. Haven’t had a chance to try this out yet, but I have talked to the owners (who are from Scottsdale). They are aiming to create a casual lounge environment similar to something you might see in North Scottsdale. The interior is well done and hopefully the food matches the environment. I expect to see the Mission del Mar plaza fill up pretty quickly with some of the commercial services needed in Puerto Peñasco. Various shopping options, clothing stores, medical services, food shops and other stores are expected to go in here.

Finally, on the way into town, visitors will notice a good-sized new commercial plaza on the west side of Benito Juarez receiving some finishing touches. This plaza will be anchored by a grocery store with other shops surrounding it. It will provide vacationers on the way into town a good place to stop and grab supplies for their stay.

I encourage everyone to start planning and booking their trips to Puerto Peñasco in 2008 to see all of the latest developments in this growing resort destination!

Tips When Buying Real Estate in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point)

One of the items I wrote that was in the Republic this past Sunday but was excluded from the online version was the section on precautions to take when buying real estate in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point).  So I am reproducing that section here.

The section appears after the break so click below to read...

The Reality of Rocky Point (Puerto Peñasco) - Article in AZ Republic

Today, the Arizona Republic published the article I wrote about “The Reality of Rocky Point,” busting some of the negative myths about purchasing property in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), Mexico. They also included several tips I give for ensuring safe property purchases in Puerto Peñasco. The main article can be viewed online here, but I haven't been able to find the tips on proper purchasing in the online edition.  So if you are in Puerto Peñasco today, have a friend in Arizona purchase a paper to see the entire section.

The article appears on page V3 of the Viewpoints section of the Sunday, December 16, 2007 edition and is on a full page accompanied by additional letters to the editor from Republic readers telling their stories about positive buying experiences in Puerto Peñasco. The letters can be viewed here.  A picture of Sandy Beach accompanies the article with the caption reading “A dinner-cruise vessel sails out of the old harbor past new condos in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora. The city, popularly known as Rocky Point, is a growing, safe place to enjoy a laid-back lifestyle that includes fishing, having fun and eating seafood.” Quite a departure from the earlier articles in the Republic that mischaracterized the town.

It would have been nice to be on at least the front page of the Viewpoints section (or even on the front page of the entire newspaper like the original article), but it is helpful that the Republic allowed us this forum to spread the positive word about what is going on in Puerto Peñasco and how to safely invest in Mexico.

Anticipating the Baby Boomers in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point)

There was an interesting article in the San Diego Union-Tribune on Wednesday highlighting an assessment of the real estate market in northern Mexico from the Mexico Resort Development conference held earlier this week in Carlsbad, California. It highlights some of the challenges northern Mexico resort areas - such as northern Baja and Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) - face going forward in light of the weak southwestern U.S. real estate market (which supplies most of the buyers in these resort areas) and talks about how a slowdown in northern Mexico is healthy in some respects and is expected to be more short-lived than the market downturn in the U.S.

Conference attendees predicted that the slowdown would "spur a better quality of development" that provides more amenities and mixed-use projects (definitely a need in Puerto Peñasco and something we are starting to see more of). They also raised an interesting point highlighted in the article about market demographics:

Unlike the housing market meltdown in the United States, which has been partially caused by young first-time buyers failing to make payments on their adjustable-rate mortgages, the Mexican slowdown is more associated with baby boomers who pulled equity out of high-priced property to buy retirement or vacation homes in a sunny climate. The condos, townhomes and houses range in price from $150,000 to more than $1 million.

The boomers' monetary shortfalls are more temporary, the experts said, because they have more equity and are inheriting money as their parents pass away.

“Baby boomers have a lot of wealth. You've got a lot of people who are going to have time and money to do stuff,” said Textron Financial senior vice president Adam Greene. “The feeling is there's a lot of money waiting on the sidelines.”

Over the past decade, the number of such buyers settling into active-lifestyle communities in Mexico has increased from 200,000 to between 600,000 and 1 million. About 100,000 U.S. citizens retire to Mexico each year.

Property sold in Mexico also tends to be in the luxury category and, thus, more immune to impacts from the current U.S. housing situation.

“There's a temporary downturn in sales,” said John McCarthy, chief executive of Mexico Leisure Real Estate Development Partners, “but I think the demographics are there. And once the psychological effect of the subprime crisis passes, the market will come back.”

Puerto Peñasco has certainly seen a slowdown over the last year, particularly in new condominium sales. But the developers in town are taking the opportunity to catch their breath and catch up on providing many of the resort destination amenities retiring baby boomers demand - like spas, restaurants, bars, golf and shopping. And the Sonoran and Peñasco governments are also working on improving the city's infrastructure systems through the recently finished refurbishment of the city's fresh water well system, improvements to the electrical capacity of the city and new roadway improvement projects.

Combined with the improved accessibility to Puerto Peñasco that is starting to emerge through commercial flights to Los Angeles, the nearly completed coastal highway, the soon to be open international airport and the announced expansion of the Lukeville border crossing, these improvements will provide the backbone for Puerto Peñasco as it moves into its second long-term growth phase - when the baby boomers mentioned in the article begin to again jump back into the second home vacation market.

Articles on Buying Property in Mexico

The San Francisco Chronicle published the second of a two-part series this past weekend written by Kathleen Pender about foreign property ownership.  This part focuses on owning property in Latin America and gives some good tips for owning property in Mexico.  You can read the article here and I am also posting it after the jump to preserve it in my blog archive.  She also includes an abbreviated article on avoiding pitfalls of Mexican property ownership that can be read here.  I am also posting it after the jump.

Click below to read both articles...

Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) Videos

I created a new page to share a few of the many Youtube videos people have created about Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point).  For those of you not that familiar with the area, they provide a good overview of some of the current tourist activities in the town and also provide some great views from the air of the development of the town.  They focus primarily on Sandy Beach (on the west side of town), which is where a lot of the recent development has been focused.  New development is now spreading eastward as well into Las Conchas (the Las Conchas Resorts area), Playa Encanto and North Beach (both east of Las Conchas) and of course out at the Mayan - which is across from the almost-completed international airport.  I will be posting more information about this eastward expansion as it progresses.

Link to the new video page is here.

Tourist Transportation Proposal for Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point)

I was having lunch Friday with a couple of new friends and one of them remarked that a problem he sees at the resort he works for in Sandy Beach is that people want to get out and go visit the town, restaurants and bars/clubs. However, they often don’t want to drive around town for various reasons – particularly at night (DUI concerns, worried about their car, not knowing their way around town, etc.). Taxis in Puerto Peñasco aren’t perceived as that reliable yet by Americans (even though I and my friends will use them), so he suggested what I think is a great idea – a weekend shuttle. Click below to read my full proposal....

No "Deadly Amoeba" in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), Mexico

In case you were wondering, there is no deadly amoeba in the beautiful Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) or on the sandy beaches of Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point).  The amoeba exists in warm freshwater (such as the sad tragedy documented at Lake Havasu), but not in saltwater (such as we have in Puerto Peñasco).  So enjoy the great fall season in Puerto Peñasco and enjoy the beaches!

Mortgage Market Clarifications

I was getting ready to sit down with Ron Ridgway from Playa Capital & Mortgage next week in Puerto Peñasco to get some additional clarification and comments on my post on the current mortgage market and more detail on the effects of the current U.S. mortgage markets.  However, Eric Levitt from their office beat us to it and was kind enough to send in some corrections and clarifications today.  They are important points, so I wanted to dedicate a separate post to it.  The most interesting point to me that Eric makes is that the U.S. "credit crunch" has in fact not slowed down their business.  I had heard otherwise from some of my other mortgage friends.  As a developer, this is good to hear.

Please read in conjunction with my previous post on the topic.  Thanks for the feedback Eric and for creating some dialogue on the subject.  I think it is one topic that there is a lot of confusion over among consumers (apparently aided by people like me making some of the generalizations I did) so the more specific feedback we can get on here from people who are in the trenches working in the emerging Mexican mortgage market the better.  It would be great if some of you other Mexican mortgage gurus out there weigh in on the conversation and give your take on the topic.  If you have different (or similar) experiences from Eric in your mortgage business or just have a note to add, please comment to this post or shoot me a separate email and I will post.  Note that I review comments before they post.

Eric's comments are after the jump...

Realtor News

It's sometimes hard to keep up with your favorite realtor in the musical chairs that is the Puerto Peñasco realtor community.  So as I hear about changes, I will post on here in the category "Realtor News." 

The most recent big change I have heard about is that Mexico Real Estate & Yacht Club became a partial shareholder in Century 21 Sun & Sand (Puerto Peñasco) and they have effectively combined operations under the Century 21 name.  Heidi Wosak, who was running the real estate & yacht club, has been named the new "Designated Residential Broker" at Century 21 and is now in charge of residential sales.  Rick Ramirez will continue to head the commercial brokerage side of Century 21.  Heidi is well known around town as an effective promoter of Puerto Peñasco and a top notch realtor, so it is good to see this move in the real estate community.  Heidi brings along George Mendez Anderson from the real estate & yacht club to act as Residential Operations Director at Century 21.  George has practiced law in Mexico for a number of years, so will be valuable for his business and contract drafting experience and for being bi-lingual.

Here is the link to Century 21's press release.

Owning Real Property in Puerto Peñasco

American ownership/control of real property (i.e., condos, homes and land) in Mexico is safe, secure and very common.  However, the system is different than the United States, so Americans should educate themselves and become comfortable with the simple ownership system that I will describe in this post.