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Monique Buchanan, your real estate specialist, talks all things real estate. On this show she covers the processes of buying and selling a home. Welcome Home with Monique informs you on best practices to navigate the housing market so that you can start building your wealth through home equity.
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This is a k u and v studios original program.
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The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and more the University of Nevada Las Vegas or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. You see me
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good morning. This is Monique Buchanan, the host of the welcome home with Monique show. And on this show, I talk all things real estate. Listen, I want to thank you for tuning in. Well, happy Saturday Las Vegas. It's the host of the welcome home with Monique show Monique Buchanan and I'm glad to bring yet another show to you today. I hope you guys are having a great weekend. You know your morning is off to a great start. Listen, I am excited you guys. Many of you guys have heard me say that I recently bought a new home God bless me with a new beautiful home me and my family. I'm so grateful but the dust has finally settled. For all of you that don't know I did have the home remodeled floors, new floors, new custom showers, put in you know something that I wanted to do I personally like older homes and the home came with the original 90s You know tile in there and things like that. So I want to give a shout out to always tile and stone I deal with a lot of contractors, you know being a real estate agent. And let me tell you what I appreciated about this company. They showed up when they said they were going to show up. They knocked out the job faster than I could have ever imagined. And they were meticulous okay. Even a girlfriend of mine came over and said oh my goodness Monique. Look at how all the lines line up. These are things that I wouldn't have even thought to like you know look for she goes Monique, I've had plenty of jobs done. And that is something right there that shows you their work and I'll tell you what, one little mistake I seen them ripping up a whole tile putting it back down. They made sure to do it right so if you are in the market to have you know maybe the new floors being put down as far as like tile, they put those really extra large tiles in my bathroom like custom all the way to them to the top of my to the ceiling their number if you are looking for someone to you know either lay tile, or do you know custom showers or bathrooms bathroom remodel all that 612-814-1409 Again, they're not their name is always tile and stone you can look them up on their website always talent stone.com But their phone number is 612-814-1409 I am telling you I've used them personally. I am so thrilled I'm so happy. They literally did you know the job was over 3000 square feet of new flooring they did it. All of it custom showers. All of that in less than two weeks you guys so hey, I have to give them a shout out. Again always tell in stone. So let's go ahead and jump into the show you guys let's start with our new listings. Okay, we've got quite a few new listings. I do want to mention one of my properties I just lowered sellers are motivated. It's got a spa you know a pool back there ready for you to splash in and cool down because it's super hot. The actress is 508 sportsmen drive, okay? It is a stone's throw from Summerlin, right across the street from Summerlin. But without that Summerlin, you know price tag so it's going for for look for 14 999 So $414,000 basically $415,000 You guys, it's a four bedroom, two bath, no Hoa 1533 square feet. And like I said it has a pool and it has been completely remodeled with modern look. Alright, so once again for 14 999 If you're in the market, 508 sportsmen drive, you can look online and check it out. And that is in the 89107 area. Okay, onto my luxury listings. New ones. Here we go. We've got one going for one point just under 1.3 is a four bedroom, four bath 3328 square feet. It's in the 89052 McDonald's Ranch area. All right, this this property has a primary bedroom that features an ensuite oversized walk in closet, built in cabinets, open floor plan vaulted vaulted ceilings, you guys, new flooring throughout, you've got your chef's kitchen. You know of course the stainless steel appliances A butler's pantry, you do have a luxury pool. And it's in the I'm sorry, it's in the anthem Heights community. Sorry about that Anthem Heights community. All right. So if you want to view that property 702984 30 700-702-9430 700 Or if you have questions about it, another property it's at 1.4 Just over 1.4. Okay, five bedrooms, four baths. This one is 4167 square feet. Okay. It's an 89149 area. Centennial Hills. All right. It's a one story home. It is on a half acre lot with RV parking. There's a sunroof off the kitchen. And there's also a flex room or game room. Okay. There's a separate wing of the home that has another family room and three bedrooms. All right, so if you want to view that property, or just have more information about it 702984 3700 Again, that one's going for just over 1.4 All right, last one. 1.5. All right, this one is a four bedroom, three bath and it's 2573 square feet and Mesa village next to the summit and the ridges. Okay, now this one has a sports bar and chef's kitchen. All Viking appliances. The living room has 15 feet higher than 15 feet vaulted ceilings sorry. And that the primary bedroom has pool access on the main level, zero entry shower, and of course dual rain heads. Alright, so anyways guys more information for these properties. I've got you covered. I will schedule you get you in there to view 702984 3700 Okay, guys, so now let's go ahead and get the show started. Once again, if you're just tuning in, this is Monique Buchanan. I am your local Las Vegas realtor. Well, I shouldn't say that because actually I can assist you. In all 50 states. You heard me right. Wherever you're thinking about moving, even in 24 countries I can assist Monique Buchanan my number if you would like to call me ask me real estate questions, get my advice, or just to my ear. Not too long, but you can shoot 702984 30 700-702-9430 700 I'm also on on YouTube, welcome home with Monique show. And of course, welcome home with Monique show.com is my website. I'm going to go ahead and bring in a gentleman that came on a couple weeks ago. And I've had so many of my listeners reaching out asking me questions that weren't answered on the show. They were super excited. So he sells property in Mexico as well as of course here in the United States. But it's hard to find a actual real tour that has been sworn in and will be held accountable. All right, that also serves Mexico. And we have him on today. I'm so excited to have you back on Robert, how are you? Thank you again for coming.
Unknown Speaker 7:25
I'm doing wonderful. Monique, thank you so much for inviting me on the show. I had a great time the last time and I'm here to answer any and all questions and share more information you are
Unknown Speaker 7:33
a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Mexico. I'm super excited because now that we've purchased this home, I'm believing in God for the next thing, which is an another investment property. But I want this one to be out of the country. And Mexico has been on my radar. And I think that there's a lot listening a lot of my listeners, I call my kW family that's listening. A lot of them are retired, you know, and you know, we all like to kick our feet up on the beach. So so with that being said, I'm super excited again to have you and let's let's kind of recap the last show and and I'm just going to start off and pretend you will not pretend I actually am looking to purchase a Mexico. So I'm going to ask you just some questions that I think my listeners would like to have answered. And some of the questions that popped into my email that we didn't get answered on the last show. Is that okay with you? Not a problem, Monique? Okay, so first of all, you are the man in Mexico that sells and you know the trusted real estate agent in Mexico. What regions of Mexico Do you sell property?
Unknown Speaker 8:37
I pretty much focus on Riviera Maya, Mexico, which is container row, basically straight down from Florida across to Mexico starting in Cancun, all the way down south to Puerto Morelos to Del Carmen and to loom and now as far south as buckler, which is also a very well renowned location that a lot of investors are now buying into. So pretty much the whole Caribbean side of Mexico, the
Unknown Speaker 9:04
whole Caribbean side of Mexico. Well, we like the Caribbean side. Okay, great. So plus perfect. So let me ask you this. Are there any restrictions and this is a this is a real you know, we talked about this on the last show. Are there any restrictions on foreign buyers purchasing in Mexico? In other words, there was a rumor, right, that Americans could not buy they could only lease for 100 years. Can you break that rumor? Yes,
Unknown Speaker 9:34
it still is a lease but it's also a by the way they handle this issue is you're purchasing the property as a foreign investor or owner and you have to purchase it in a bank trust. And all that is basically is you hold title you completely own the property. A bank will put their stamp on the title so they're on title with you but they have no power or control. All of the property at all, the only reason the federal government has issued this mandate is for your own protection as a buyer. So nobody at any later point in time can come in and try to claim that property or that land from you. It is completely yours free and
Unknown Speaker 10:14
clear. So you can pass it to your children just like you can here in America.
Unknown Speaker 10:18
You sure can you can sell it, remodel it, modify it willing to your kids, do whatever you want with it, it's completely yours. Okay,
Unknown Speaker 10:24
so like here in America, do you get the legal documentation like a deed or anything like that? Yes,
Unknown Speaker 10:30
it's all part of the closing documentations that a your closing attorney will handle for you. So it's just a the same closing as we have here. So you'll have all your documentation in row with all your legal papers.
Unknown Speaker 10:43
Okay, so is it? Is it kind of like the same process here when I'm walking my buyers through purchasing we have. So even here in the states in New York, they they deal with attorneys, they don't have title companies? How is it in Mexico? Do you guys deal with title companies in Mexico? Or do you deal with an attorney like you mentioned the whole time
Unknown Speaker 11:00
we deal strictly with an attorney. Okay, there they call their attorneys who deal with real estate, they're notaries in Spanish, it's no tarios. But it's not your traditional notary. They basically are legal Attorneys Licensed and to handle closings and titled you have to be a licensed attorney, and they call them to tarios. And then that TARIO will handle all your closing documents or your legal questions. And basically, look after your your purchase. Yes, perfect.
Unknown Speaker 11:28
Okay. Well, that brings me to another question. I know a lot of people, including myself in the past, before I got my real estate license, I would just Google Realtor in Mexico and just try to get, you know, some information from whoever popped up. What do you say to that? Don't
Unknown Speaker 11:45
do it. And the reason I say that is because through my due diligence, I would guess that about 80 to 90% of the so called realtors in Mexico are not licensed, there is no legal follow up with the government to find out who's licensed or not, I am one of the very few agents who's actually licensed in Mexico. And their license is called their certificate. So it's not like a whole blown license like we have here in the United States. But I'm also licensed here in the United States. So I transfer my integrity and ethics from what I do here in the States down to Mexico. So do not respond to a lot of those ads, because a lot of them will ask you for money up front, and you'll never hear from them again. And there's no recourse. Oh,
Unknown Speaker 12:31
no, yeah, see that, then that's bad, because I was gonna say, you know, what are the scams to watch out for, but that's one of them, the ads of purchasing in Mexico, and then you click and then they ask you for upfront money. So how does the process go? Going through you a legitimate real tour that has been sworn in? And like you said, you have, you know, continue on with your integrity, while dealing with your clients that want to purchase Mexico? What does that look like? You know, what is the process going through you as far as is there financing? Is there a deposit? You know, here in America, we have an earnest money deposit to show our sellers that we have some skin in the game? Do we have that as well?
Unknown Speaker 13:10
Yes, you do. Basically, when you're purchasing a property, if you're interested, or if you have a referral that's interested, I get them on the phone, we go on a zoom call, I ask a lot of questions to try to find out if they want to invest if it's for retirement, if it's land, if it's a condo, if it's a home, just to narrow down their search. At that point, I go ahead and send them a Google Drive on any properties they may be interested in. If they see anything they're interested in, I would say 99% Of all the builders and developers there will ask for a it's a reservation fee. And it can be anywhere between 1005 $1,000 USD dependent on the builder. Once that reservation fee is placed, you have now locked in the property of interest. At that point, you're given 15 working days, a lot of times we stretch it up to 30 or 45 days, and you do your due diligence at that point.
Unknown Speaker 14:06
Next question,
Unknown Speaker 14:08
you say, Robert, can you get me a prospective return on investment? What's your feedback? Give me more financials on the builder, the developer, what's their experience, and I give you all the information you need. And at that point, at the end of the due diligence period, you can either say, Robert, you know what, at this point, we want to not go through with it. We'll get you your money back, whatever it is for your reservation fee within 10 to 15 days. But if you want to proceed, well, you go ahead and they drop a contract a purchase contract. Okay, that'll again, take a couple of weeks to drop the purchase contract. And at that point, once you agree to everything on the purchase contract and it's been reviewed by your notario goes back to your title your lawyer and he again he's there working for your interest, not for the builder developer or for me, he works for you. Once you come to an agreement with any modifications If you want on the contract, then they will require a 30% deposit. And this is pretty much universal with all builders in Mexico. At that point, once your 30% deposit is placed, at that point, you can either make payments on a monthly basis until you take delivery of your development. Or some of them give you an option where you can pay the 70% when you get the keys upon delivery. So those are kind of the two options. And during that time of your payments, you're working with the attorney to get all title done or your documents done. So when you do get your keys, it's completely free and clear. And on day one, you can stay there you can rent the unit out Airbnb it and again, there are no air b&b restrictions in Riviera Maya Mexico. Okay,
Unknown Speaker 15:51
so let's jump back to the piece real quick here and in the States, we have obviously your downpayment when you purchase a home, which is typically, you know, first time homebuyer 3.5%. And then you have about a two to 3% Closing Costs fee. And that will include the title company, you know, and then whatever fees the lender is charging, if you're, you know, getting a loan, how does that look in Mexico, who's going to pay the attorney that is working for you, and what does closing cost fees look like?
Unknown Speaker 16:17
Your total closing costs are all wrapped up in a bundle with the attorney. And on average, those were about seven to 8% of the actual purchase price. So that is negotiable with your notario your attorney, then it's on a sliding scale, the higher value the property is that 7% comes down. Okay. So it's kind of like on a sliding scale. But for just food for thought it's about 7%. And what
Unknown Speaker 16:44
is considered a higher value in Mexico,
Unknown Speaker 16:46
I would say anything over 350 to $400,000, because of st dot documentation is going to be processed, so they don't need any additional costs. Okay,
Unknown Speaker 16:54
so the fees are slight, we're not that much higher, because here in the States, he figured 6% 6.5%. So we're looking at seven to 8% or if it's 350 or above around three to 5%. Okay, man, you said that is there? Is there financing available?
Unknown Speaker 17:11
Yes, there is financing in Mexico. However, when you do the numbers, the interest rates in Mexico are higher than they are here in the States. And it's the same interest rate the locals will get, which is anywhere between 10 and 11% interest. Some investors are willing to swallow that pill with a higher amount of interest because of the lower purchase price and they're still going to get a good nice return on their investment. But I would say for the most part, most of the buyers are bait being cash buyers.
Unknown Speaker 17:39
Yes. Okay. So most of the buyers are cash buyers. And what would you say like who's going off there? Are you know, most of us going over there buying Airbnb or just vacation properties are we living there? What's what's going on? Right
Unknown Speaker 17:51
now. I'm part of the boomers, the baby boomer craze. And a lot of us are retiring. So we have I would say half of my clients are looking for retirement. It could either be land, custom built locations developments. There's a lot of people that want to invest. They'd rather run it as an Airbnb for the next three to four years until they retire, cashflow it and then they have a place to stay when they can retire. So it kind of varies. We have a lot of investors, we have a lot of people who want to go work abroad. A lot of remote workers are buying there now because a lot of them are from the Bay Area, which I was just at an aria event two weeks ago. And they're selling what they have there and they're moving to Riviera Maya, they're still working for their same company. And they're working. They're right on the beach for something under $200,000. And you can't beat it. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 18:40
living their best life. So that brings me to one more question. So I've got quite a few questions. But you know, let me just ask you this. First, are there any residency or visa requirements? When opening a property in Mexico? None
Unknown Speaker 18:53
at all? There's absolutely none at all. When you do purchase, they do put you on the fast track to get your residency there which you would also work with an Atari on getting so you
Unknown Speaker 19:05
can get your residency? Yes. When you own Okay, so let me let's let's break up some more myths. If I buy in Mexico, I have to be very scared to walk down the street and it's very scary. Anybody can just you know, pull into my yard and start shooting. What? What do you say to that? To
Unknown Speaker 19:24
be honest, I've been living here in Las Vegas for over 10 years. It is safer in Mexico than it is here. Yeah. And I even run across where I have tours where I invite a lot of brokers and realtors, a lot of females, they go down there. I basically handhold them from the airport, get them to their Airbnb location. And then I spend half a day with them and then I encourage them the second half of the day to go out and explore and I have never had a complaint they say they're completely saved. The people are super nice. You have to remember the Riviera Maya is now the number two tourist destination in the world and They do not want any problems for tourists, right? They are making more money off tourism than they are on anything else in Riviera Maya. So they their number one priority is security. And they want you to be safe. Absolutely,
Unknown Speaker 20:14
absolutely. I love Mexico. And you better invite me down there, anytime. So I can come back and tell my people. So you were telling me also that right now is a great time to purchase because our money is worth so much more right now. So we'll get more bang for our buck.
Unknown Speaker 20:29
Yes, about two years ago, the exchange rate was about over 2020 pesos per dollar, which is very high. But over the past year and a half or so it dropped as low as 15 and a half, which really limited our buying power. Because we have a new president in Mexico. And because of what's happening here in the United States, you get more bang for your buck, the exchange rate right now has just jumped to 18 and a half. So you get you can buy more purchasing power with with your US dollar and a steadily increasing the current exchange rate. And it can save you 1000s of dollars upon closing.
Unknown Speaker 21:05
So if you're just tuning in, this is Monique Buchanan. And if you have any questions for Robert, you can reach them at 702984 3700. I will get you in his hands. He will answer all your questions so that you can sit down and really just pick his brain and get all those questions answered. 702 94 3700. Welcome home with monique.com is my website. And we are talking to Mr. Robert, the Mexico guy right now. He's going over, you know, just the common misconceptions of purchasing and living in Mexico. Now you live there, is that correct? So you're able to oversee many of these projects for the clients that come to you correct? Yes,
Unknown Speaker 21:42
unlike a lot of realtors here in the States, who go ahead and help you find your property, especially if it's a pre construction, they'll help you purchase upon closing, you probably never hear from that agent again, right? In my case, I'm there representing you. So once you do make the perfect purchase until you take delivery, on average, every 30 days, I will send you an updated video of the construction process on your development that you purchased. And I'm also there to answer any and all questions, any modifications you might want to make, feel free to reach out. And I do this for your own security and for your own peace of mind, right because again, I know all the myths that are out there and people are nervous, it's a lot of money, even if it's under 200,000 For the most part. And it just gives them the added security that they know their unit is being built. I'm overseeing it. And when they take the keys and take delivery, I walk them through the unit myself from start to finish. That's good. I
Unknown Speaker 22:41
love that now now we bring back let's go back to Money real quick. Speaking of money, taxes, how does that work? In Mexico,
Unknown Speaker 22:49
the tax bracket in currently in Mexico is point A 1% property taxes, which is hardly anything compared to the United States or anywhere else. They keep this low tax rate there because they want investment. They want tourism. And right now with the new president, she's encouraging investment more than anything, they're investing hundreds of millions of dollars in Riviera Maya with new hospitals, new infrastructure. Again, the new president wants to carry on the legacy of the previous president who installed the new Mayan train and also the new to loom airport that is both are fully operational at this time.
Unknown Speaker 23:31
Oh, wow. So the to loom airport gap because before you had to fly into Cancun and then drive for like two hours? Yeah. So you were telling us about this train. So the train is going to take how long to get from Tulum to Cancun,
Unknown Speaker 23:45
if you take the train going from Cancun to Tulum, it'll probably take you about less than 30 minutes. Previously, you would be a two and a half hour drive. Yeah, so it's actually going to save you a lot of time. So even if you are staying in to loom, you can jump on the train and go to Cancun, so everything now is going to be super, super close. And yes, and the train also goes up to the Yucatan peninsula, which is where medieval, the second safest city in the Yucatan and all the Americas is located. So it basically cuts your time way down and you can see a lot more during your trips there.
Unknown Speaker 24:19
Robert, thank you so much for coming on. Like I told you before we're going to have you come on very regularly. Not a problem I'm getting requests. I mean you've got great info. You know and it's nice to have somebody that you can trust to you know, just guide you through those waters of purchasing a Mexico thank you so much for coming on. ROBERT
Unknown Speaker 24:36
Thank you for inviting me Monica had a great time. Appreciate you.
Unknown Speaker 24:39
Okay guys, so before we go, let me just jump right back into the show. My little quick portion to remind all of you out there. You are a first time homebuyer if you have not purchased a home in the last three years. Yes, if you've been renting, you are considered a first time homebuyer which means you will qualify for downpayment assistance programs, as long as you have over a 620 credit score, and you've been on any job for two years 3.5% down if you don't feel like using a downpayment assistance program, you say, You know what, Monique, I've got 401k You know, I've been working with a casino for 20 years, I've got plenty in there, I can pull that out, I won't be penalized because I'm purchasing a home. And if you didn't know that, there you go. So I'm going to put down my own down payment, therefore, my rate will be a little bit cheaper. Guess what, you only need to put down 3.5% All right, so that's you know, 400,000 what is that? $12,000. So you know, you just pulled out on out of your 401k Put it down now you're going to you know, purchase a property here in the booming market of Las Vegas, you know, and things are happening here, guys, prices are going up, they're not going down. So, once again, you are a first time homebuyer, I have downpayment assistant programs, zero down payment assistance programs, I'm using them all the time I've gotten man over 100 people in homes with zero down 702984 3700 702984 3700 You guys, if you are a tip earner, or you are a business person, okay? There's programs for you. We can also assist and help you as well. You don't even have to be a first time homebuyer. For my programs, let's say you say, Monique, I'm ready to, you know, get a bigger home. Well, guess what, we'll rent that property out. And now you will qualify for the next program. So if you need it, but if you know, if you don't need it great, but if you need or if you want to sell the property, I can also sell the property for you. And then you're able to put down 3% as well and get that next property. That's what I did. So you can sell. We'll go ahead and take those funds. Now you're gonna be able to put 20% down on the next big beautiful home or maybe you want to downsize on the next smaller, more quaint home, less rooms to clean. I'm here to help you you guys Monique Buchanan, and I look forward to hearing from you. If you have questions for Robert 702984 3700 You can call 702-984-3700. And you will have those answers given to you by Mr. Mexico guy Robert himself. You guys have a blessed weekend. And until I hear from you. Thank you for listening. Please remember all terms discussed are simply an estimate my license number is S 1788 46. My phone number if you'd like to contact me is 702-984-3700. You can also find me on YouTube and please join me tomorrow at my church Living Word Church on hassle. I'm part of the EXP Realty Group.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai