Real Del Mar reviews and complaints

Best advise is to buy a house you want, not as an investment. Just as a car, that depreciates in value, you buy it because you like it. If it suits your lifestyle, go for it. Think about the money we spend on entertainment, clothes, meals out, etc. Why can't the house we have just be for fun and for our lifestyle? That being said, you don't want a lemon so if you have to buy, do it wisely. Otherwise, just rent a house for the time you have a vacation and be free of the hassles the rest of the year.

I looked at a condo around Puerto Nuevo last year, and almost all the units had deposits holding them in pre construction sales. In May I was there and most buyers had pulled out, and so most units were now available. Since they can't begin construction until they have most of the down payments I don't believe that development will be built for many years. This is indicative of the Baja market, sales are less than flat, they are plumiting. In two or three years there will be great bargains to take advantage of but right now owners are in denial about how bad it is and trying to get all the money they can from potential buyers. Real Del Mar will have even more existing houses available at rock bottom prices. Now is not a good time to buy in two or three years the prices will be like they were in the nineties.

The real estate market in Baja, and in Mexico is going down the toilet. It was booming because Americans were pulling money out of their houses which were going up at sky rocketing rates. Well, with the American housing market going flat,or even down, the Mexican market is busted. On top of that Americans who now realize how substandard their construction is, in developments like Real Del Mar, they are trying to dump them. They do not have to disclose the problems with the instability of the land, moving foundations, sewer problems, and polluted streams and beaches. Any problems a buyer discovers after turning over money is the new buyer's problem. The positive stories you read on the Internet by people who have a vested interest in selling properties in the area are for their benefit, not to inform potential buyers about the problems across the border.

Stay away from Real Del Mar, Baja, and Mexico in general. Invest your money, don't gamble with it.

I played golf there, and stayed at the hotel. The construction of the hotel is enough to tell me not to buy their houses.

When you consider the expenses in buying, the closing costs, and the 35% capital gains taxes, with the interest rates being higher in Mexico, it would be difficult to make money flipping one as an investment. Now that the economy has turned, and the prices are going to be going down for the next few years it would be wise to rent and wait. I would not ever pay what someone is asking.

I found that they have such a bad reputation with professionals that they have had to bring in different developers to try to look like others are doing the building now. An example is Pacificare at Real Del Mar who is now going to market the condominiums. It is important, do not let them put the word tentative in the sales contract regarding the date. Have a specific date. If you sign a sales contract with them without legal advice and they do the same thing, they are using Real Del Mar's legal department to draw up the contracts the same way Real Del Mar did , you will have the same problems others who bought before had. You need penalties for late delivery of your property too. Also, make sure they are not depending on money from sales to build. That is another problem Real Del Mar had in delivering houses to buyers. If they do not have the construction funding, you will not get your condo until they get the money from buyers. Now the market has come to a standstill you could be waiting years. I would avoid anyplace in Real Del Mar no matter who is marketing the homes.

I drove through Real Del Mar, and noticed a lot of houses for sale through .com sites. I don't understand how they are trying to ask for more money than last year when the bubble has burst. On top of that, who wants to buy in a place that is using plastic plant containers of dirt stacked together as retaining walls to try to shore up unstable ground. It is so Mickey Mouse.

I agree rent in a place for a while before making a financial commitment.

I am so glad to see this. My husband wanted to go down there and start looking at lots and wanting to move. We live in San Diego now, and I don't want to have to cross the border everyday. It looks like there are a lot of problems with real estate in general in Baja. The people selling want to make it seem like there aren't problems, but it is important to listen to the ones who are complaining, they are the ones who know best. The don't have building inspectors, they don't have licensed realtors. There is no board of realtors to complain to when they are not doing things right. Who enforces real estate laws there? Does anybody know?

I know that the original condos were never built and that a new developer has been brought in. Frisas Construction is still the one who controls the development, manages the homeowners' association and the businesses like the golf course, hotel, etc. I really would not buy in Baja, it is becoming more difficult to sell, when you do the process is tedious, and the capital gains taxes are high. If you want to try living there, rent first, then as you know if you can feel comfortable with an investment then procede. A lot of Americans and Canadians saw news stories and went down there without doing other research and they are the ones that are trying to get their deposits and downpayments back. Coldwell Banker in the Rosarito area went out of business and the owner filed for bankruptsy in San Diego because he had an office in Chula Vista. Another Coldwell Banker office in another part of Mexico had an agent that ran off with close to a million dollars worth of buyers deposits and downpayments. She returned to the U.S. and people are not able to do anything because the contracts were signed in Mexico. Remember the real estate agents and developers are in business for the commisions and profits for themselves. They are NOT your friends, they are con artists. They will get your CONfidence and you could be conned. Not always, but enough times you need to take care of yourself first.

I had to sell my house in Baja for less than I paid four years ago because of the down turn in the market. I needed to pay off the loan and quit throwing good money after bad. My advice, if you want to spend time in Mexico, rent. It is much easier to leave when you want to, and cheaper too. The tax consequences on any gain is very high. My advice, invest the money you save each month while renting then when you leave you will have a little next egg to help get you through.

I was going to buy in Baja, but the loan I was going to get fell through because of the problems with lending. Now the only way I can get a loan is with a much higher interest rate. I think that might be the best thing to happen now I see all the problems that others are having. I was going to keep it for a couple of years and sell. Now I see that I would never get my expenses out. I do not understand why the fees to buy a house are so much more than in the US. I understand why the interest rate is higher if you finance it there, because the risk is greater. If I decide I want to buy a place and keep it forever, not as an investment, but as a place for me to have, it might be ok. I now see as an investment it is foolish. I guess the people who are making money from generating all the buzz about it being a good deal don't talk about the hidden costs for their benefit. It is a lot of speculation, and that drove the market there up artificially. The last people who get in are always hit the hardest, and that would have been me if I had gotten that loan.

I know first hand what a problem buying in a place like that is. I bought a place in Real Del Mar in 2004 for $170,000.00. It cost $12,000.00 in closing costs, and another $2,000.00 in other fees to establish the trust. I am now trying to sell the place, and have only been offered $220,000.00. I have been to told it is worth $260,000.00 by people in the development and realtors, but I have only had one offer is eight months. I have been paying almost $1,200. a month for three years. That is over $40,000. in interest. When I sell I have to pay 35% capital gains on what the Mexicans consider capital gains, the difference between the $220,000. and $170,000. It is easy to see with the money I also put into furnishing it, this has been a very expensive and not profitable experience. If I had put that money in the same mutual fund I have my 401 K in I would have received dividends, capital gains distributions, and growth on the price of the shares. I thought I was investing, but instead I was getting an education, and I learned a lot from this mistake. I paid a lot for this education.

I am glad that the information on how to avoid being scammed is available.

I don't want to be sorry, so I am being safe. I will never buy anything that is not completed again! A sign of intelligence is learning from mistakes. A smart person learns from their mistakes. I am going to act smart. An intelligent person learns from the mistakes of others. You can be truly intelligent, and learn from my mistake.

I signed a contract for a condominium that was going to be built in downtown Sacramento, California. It was a large project and was highlighted on the news as the biggest and best thing ever done in the region. I put my money down. They dug the whole, pounded the pylons, day and night, ran out of money. They could not get financing. Now there is no project.

The second choice I was going to buy, which had been built, is all sold out. I doubt I will ever get the chance to buy the unit I wanted in the second choice project. Buying an idea instead of a condo cost me either condo. It happens all the time. It is not just a Mexican problem, it happens everywhere.

In case the comment above was written by an employee of Pacifca, remember, do your own homework, If you take the advice off the internet from someone claiming to know something is good, and it turns out to be a problem, you can't find that person. I agree do better homework, but make sure you use an independent attorney. Not one referred by a real estate agent or the developer. Also, in Mexico most real estate agents work for the developer, they have special relationships. It is like buying something at a store and a corporation gives sales agents bonuses or prizes for selling their product. Of course the sales agent tells you brand X is the best. She wants the trip to Hawaii for selling the quota for brand X. When it quits working in three months, she has changed jobs after her vacation. Be very careful. Sure scams and problems are everywhere, but what the hell do they say that for? Like because it could happen to you in the US, it is ok to get taken in Mexico. Just Google Royal Holiday Club and look at their complaints, you will see Mexican scams are harder to deal with than U.S. ones. You have agencies that can help you here. If you have a problem in Mexico, the U.S. government agencies can not help you. That is why the U.S. State Dept. posted the warning on their site, they get thousands of requests for help each month from people returning from Mexico who bought real estate or timeshares. It is much simpler to rent a place while you are there and when you want to leave you don't have to hope the market is right, and pay 35% capital gains taxes. Oh, they do watch that VERY closely, and you will pay.

Right now most people would not invest in the U.S. real estate market because experts who are not working and vested in the industry are saying the bottom won't hit until 2009. It is even dumber to buy Mexican real estate until after that. Prices have just begun to go down. The whole market was driven by speculation.

I think that you people need to do better homework. My husband is an attorney and checked Pacifica out these past few weeks. They have nothing to do with some condominium project that wasn't built or completed. They are a separate company that only recently purchased land inside Real del Mar. They offer title insurance, deposits are submitted to Stewart Title in the USA - not the developer and buyers are provided with a construction bond to protect their investment. I am sorry t hear you had problems elsewhere. It happens.

Read complaint about Pacifica at Rea Del Mar and take advise about buying real estate in Mexico posted in other complaints, especially under baja real estate complaints and mexico real estate complaints. Pacifica is now marketing the condos in Real Del Mar because of the bad reputation Frisas has. It is like a restaraunt saying, "under new management" to put some distance between the old problems and having a chance to continue to do business. Be very cautious, and get a lawyer.

Americans and Canadians who have moved to Baja have hurt the economy for Mexicans. Your speculation on houses has driven up the prices so we can not afford to buy a home even with the factory work we have. We don't want you living in Mexico. We are not as mean about it as you are about us moving to the states, but you need us more than we need you. Gringo come and visit, than go home.

I just learned that because Frisas bad reputation has hurt sales in Real Del Mar, the condos are now being built and sold under another developers name. Pacificare at Real Del Mar, yeah, they care for themselves. They are trying to get around this by saying someone else is now doing this. Get a very good lawyer and make sure you are protected. Maybe they will have to change the whole developments name next. Just remember it is still in Real Del Mar. Actually, it is still in Mexico. Read about baja and mexico complaints, and then you will run to the border, and not go back if you want to buy. It is easier to buy there than it is to sell. Think about that.

I got sales promotions in my e-mail about the great values of Baja Real Estate. I did a search on line and read all great things, so I decided to drive down and see it for myself. Real Del Mar is only about 25 minutes from the border, and I went there to check it out. There were some homes for sale that I looked at in an area called Almafe, and the construction was a mess. The floors are uneven. The worst part was the plumbing. I looked at the plastic stuff they used for drain pipes and it was so flimsy. The houses are shells. They don't have closets, any wood trim, or a kitchen. Areas where the ground is unstable have containers you see plants sold in, those black plastic tubs, filled with dirt side by side, to create what they call a retaining wall. I saw one house that had hundreds of cracks throughout. The sidewalk around the house was higher than the driveway, and the driveway had sunk lower than the garage floor. The ground was definitely unstable and had moved a lot in the year since that house was built. If you looked at the exterior of other houses in the area it was evident that they were having ground movement issues too, and the foundations were compromised. When I asked about the problems, the sales person said they were secured and would not move anymore because of the retaining wall. I think the lack of government regulations allow developers to buy hillside and oceanside property and build without any inspections is putting buyers at jeopardy. The people who write about all the great values are those who are making money off of gullible Americans. It is important for those who have lost money to alert others. The problem is those who fell for the sales pitches are trying unload the troubled properties, and for them to talk about the problems leaves them unable to sell. The law does not require them to disclose problems with the houses or lots. It is a good idea to rent there before ever committing to a sales contract.

If you buy a house in Baja the seller does not have disclose problems like they do in the United States. Buying real estate in Baja, or in Mexico is very different from the U.S.A. If you have foundation problems like the ones in Real Del Mar and the seller does not tell you, you are stuck. Many of the homes in Real Del Mar have foundation problems. The properties that are for sale by current owners are very risky. A good lawyer will have the properties inspected by an architectural engineer. If you buy a property without having an independent inspection with your own expert, you could be buying a house that will be moving because the ground is not stable under it. Real Del Mar is very shaky ground.

I have written many organizations in Baja, and companies asking about how true these complaints are, and I have not gotten any responses. I was hoping someone would at least attempt to dispute the problems and give me a reason to pursue Baja real estate. I guess the problems with Real Del Mar are systemic of the entire area, if not country. Until the government gets a handle on this, and there are regulations and regulators no investments there sound safe. Anyone who can rebut these issues, please do. Have the houses in question in Real Del Mar been built? Have all buyers gotten properties on time as promised? Are the contracts worth the paper they were written on? I am very interested. Retirement planning is something that can make the last years of one's life enjoyable, or hell. Choosing a place based on biased hype by those who are able to make money, then being left with unfulfilled promises can turn into a nightmare. These are things that need to be taken seriously when thinking about buying a property anywhere, but in Mexico. One place for information is:

http://www.thesqueakywheel.com/complaints/2007/JUL/complaint15574.cfm

Another is the Gringo Gazette, norte for Rosarito and TJ, Sur for Cabo. You will get more of a feel of what problems Americans who have moved there are living with.

I was at the lounge in the hotel at Real Del Mar last spring. I met a man who was building a house in the development. He said he had tried to buy the lot next to his house, but that the problems the sales office caused made it impossible. He warned us to stay away from Real Del Mar's sales office. He said that they had tried to get him to invest in the condos when they had a party, and he is glad he did not because that was s few years ago, and they still are not built. He also told us about having a stroke, I would not be surprised if the pressure of dealing with that sales office did not cause his stroke, it sounds like they are high pressure. I am not surprised to see these postings.

A couple of years ago I saw a program about buying homes in Baja. It sounded good. I visited a few developments and did research on the Internet about them. Real Del Mar was one, and at that time I never saw any negative postings about them, or Frisas. I bought a condominium in another place, one that was already built. However, after living in the area for a little over a year, I have met people who have had serious problems getting the houses they bought in other developments, including Real Del Mar. I have not met anyone who got the house on time there, most delays go over six months, closer to a year. I did hear that some homes can never be built. I am glad to see people using the Internet to get the word out. Overall, I do not recommending buying in Mexico. It does not live up to the media hype. The developers are not reliable, and they do not try to make up for the problems they cause. I know you can not get the ocean views in the U.S. at the price, but you will pay other prices for doing business with companies like Frisas, and Real Del Mar.

I believe I saw a letter to the editor last February, in the Gringo Gazzette Baja Norte about this situation. I used to think Real Del Mar was reputable, but now am hearing more when I am in the Rosarito Beach area about the problems they are having. It is too bad, it seemed like it was a good place. I don't like hearing about Mexican scams, it hurts everyone who is trying to improve the quality of life on the south side of the border. I hope the people involved continue to update about the situation, if it is resolved favorably, or if this is another reason not to purchase anything in Baja.

They sold to us in 2006 and will nto talk to us

There are reasons for the laws that protect buyers of real estate in the United States. It does not surprise me that many of the developers in Mexico and real estate agents are from the U.S. and ripping people off in ways that aren't allowed here. I was going to buy a timeshare in Mexico, then researched it and found out the scam it was. I looked at a site that was mentioned in complaints about Mexico and found that the U.S. state department actually does warn Americans against signing contracts in Mexico. We are not given full protection and it is important that we understand that before making any legal agreement.

I just found out that the man who ran Coldwell Banker in Rosarito has filed bankruptsy. He filed in the U.S. with a list of creditors who put down deposits in Baja. This is why no one should give anyone cash. They should demand the use of escrow accounts as there are in the United States.

I had thought Real Del Mar was good. We used to refer buyers to them. In the last two years they have done some things that have caused us to break ties. We don't use attorneys for our buyers, we are afraid of the higher fees. It already costs around $15,000.00 in closing costs for a buyer on a $200,000.00 property. If they get into hiring attorneys, and inspectors then it gets even higher. The taxes when selling are governed by strict regulations so it is expensive to sell too. We try to do it for as small a cost as we can, we only hope the buyer is happy and does not want to sell soon, because it is not cost effective to "flip" houses in Baja.

Because their reputation is so bad they are trying another strategy using different contractors to finish building in the Real Del Mardevelopment. One of these is Pacifica at Real Del Mar. They are taking over the defunct condominium project that was supposed to be built two years ago.

The important thing is to follow the guidelines by the United States State Department and some states attorney's generals offices: Get competent legal advice to guide you through the contract process. An example of this is to make sure the word "tentative" is not inserted with the projected delivery date. They were putting this in mine and my attorney made them take it out. This word gives the seller years to deliver the house. A good attorney would catch such tricks and make sure you have a solid contract with teeth. This is only one example of wording a good attorney will know to look at. In the end we decided the development was just too risky. We also noticed that there are a lot of units and houses back on the market because of the real estate slow down. We are going to rent for a while and when we see that the prices have bottomed out we will buy, if we still want to. Some friends of ours rented for a few months and decided that the ocean view in a country of poverty was not that much fun. I am still going to try to rent in a development that shields me from the poverty and the smells of the sewage most of the time. It is pretty sad.

I visited Baja a year and a half ago, thinking about retirement. I went on a bus tour of areas sponsored by Coldwell Banker. To hear them you would think everything would be so easy. I stayed at the Marriott in Real Del Mar, with some friends who were playing golf at the course there. I visited their sales office. They told me if I bought one of the last houses available it would be ready in a few months. Well, my friends go there and play golf, and where they said my house would be is just a pile of dirt. I just did not feel comfortable dealing with people who are pushing their stuff and forgetting about basics, like inspections and title insurance. I am glad I did not buy at Real Del Mar. I think it is best to rent down there. When you want to leave, is is so much easier. From the dealings I had with the sales staff I am not surprised that others are being lied to and cheated.

I am a resident in Mexico, and hear hundreds of stories a year about companies and people like this. Visit the United States Department of State and read the warnings about doing business in Mexico. They have had thousands of complaints. The reason the Mexican economy is so bad is their business practices are bad. Could you imagine what San Diego would be like if it still was in Mexico, dah... TJ. Mexicans claim California, but thank God it is part of the United States of America, they would have ruined it too. Why are people thinking they can have a good life in a country where so many of their people are fleeing. They don't like Mexico either. I am going back to France as soon as I can.

I know of others who have had similar problems with Real Del Mar, Jose Luis Corona, and Coldwell Bank Baja. My advice is go somewhere else to avoid a long and nasty fight. Jose Luis Corona says that in Mexico there is a saying that a bad deal is better than a good fight. Now isn't he clever. He likes to insult his victims of scams and fraud by implying you are being screwed and should be happy about it.