GENERAL QUESTIONSCurrency conversions: The Ameircan dollar has appreciated sharply against the peso in the past year. For current rates, or to change sq mters to acres etc etc – use Google.com to convert measurements or currencies -- just type something like "3900 pesos in canadian dollars" in the search box and press enter.
General topics web search - just type Chapala followed by whatever you're looking for,
into Google or Bing search engines
How do you like the area of Mexico you are in? We love it! We’ve traveled all over Mexico,
and to many countries of the world, and this is where we’ve chosen to spend the last 1/3 of our lives.
Do you feel safe? We feel much safer here, than the 10 years we lived in Manhattan.
That said, this is a country of “haves” and “have nots” and like any other upper or middle class
Mexican abode, we have security features implemented at the rancho. The drug violence has
not touched us, any more than it did in the U.S.
Can I ask why you decided to move there? The weather, the Mexican people and personality,
the ex-pat infrastructure at Lakeside, lots of interesting people to make friends with, the views!
And the beauty of the area, active cultural life, really reasonably priced household and stable help,
very low fixed costs (property taxes = $150 / per year), low operating costs (electricity and gas very
reasonable since you don't need central heat or air conditioning), great places to ride, beautiful homes…..
How much are your boarding fees? 4400 pesos payable on the first of the month.
Fees are set at a level to cover our operating expenses – no charge for the nearly half a million dollars invested in building the equestrian facilities….
The documents on these pages will give you more detailed information about
boarding at RDP
Some more sources of information
Facebook Groups
MEXPAT Lake Chapala , Gringos Ajijic & Lakeside , Mujeres del Lago (Lake Chapala) , lakeside newbies
Groups to search for rentals Ajijic Rentals Chapala , Lake Chapala Rentals , Ajijic & Chapala Real Estate & Rental News
Web boards
Lake Chapala Society does a lot of support work for ex-pats, a good meeting place
Weekly English language newspaper from Guadalajara -- lots of ex-pat topics and articles,
Other interesting links
HORSE QUESTIONS
-- Farriers and horse vets are easy to find here and will generally come the day you call,
or the following day at the latest. The state of Jalisco is the center of horse country /
Charro activities in Mexico. We have vets and farriers that we work with and will call in
for you if you need them, or you are welcome to bring your own.
-- Yes, you can ride (and leave horse poop) everywhere.
Mexico is a lot more relaxed about all sorts of things.
-- We feed hay and sometimes alfalfa (for a pregnant/nursing mare), an oat chaff with
good fiber and Omega 3s; vitamin pellets for the pregnant ladies, and sometimes
(very seldom because they don't need it) some Purina pellets or the local "grano"
which is kind of like sweet feed--with more emphasis on the grain, rather than the molasses.
We supplement our horses with a daily cup of chia seeds and ground flax seeds -
available to boarders at cost.
Standard feed, turnout and periodic worming are all included in boarding fees.
How easy or difficult is it to purchase hay?
Hay is only available at certain times of the year (depending on the rainy season)
, there are only a few brokers you can get it from, and you have to buy a whole truckload
at a time. There is no choice as to the type of hay you get. Hay has cost us from 68 - 110
pesos a bale during the past years (2014 - 2017); alfalfa costs a bit more.
We built RDP's feed room big enough to store a year's worth of hay for 10 horses – it’s a big room!
How is the community set up is it possible to have your horses at home?
The 6 lots of Haceinda Alta are laid out along a private road with a private entrance gate
on the south edge of the property; the RDP pastures are in the middle; and the stables
(with 10 stalls), riding arena, round pen, storerooms and feed room are set in the north
end of the property along with our house. You could walk from your Hacienda Alta house
to the RDP stables in a minute or two.
It is really not feasible to buy a lot at Hacienda Alta to keep a horse on -- it was very
expensive to get those lots properly titled as building lots, and although they are
reasonably priced as LAKE-VIEW BUILDING LOTS, they would be very expensive
horse paddocks....
Someone asked me if we would do cheap pasture board -- there is no such option here.
The 3 small pastures cost us a quarter of a million dollars for land, clearing and fencing;
and we spend $100 - $300 USD a month on electricity in the dry season pumping water
from our well to keep those pastures green.
We're the only Lakeside boarding stable which provides such pasture turnout for the horses,
along with the extensive infrastructure. The gorgeous arched porticos and patio with
fountain in the center of the stables are an additional feature, built in the fashion of an
Adalusian patio. We built to make a beautiful place for ourselves, and the few boarders
who will share it with us; and to have a safe, harmonious and healthy environment
for our horses.
LOTS AND CONSTRUCTION QUESTIONS
Can we purchase two lots side by side?
Of course. We have a couple of people who are interested in doing that, but have to sell
their old property before they can buy a new one... ..
If we do new construction what is a realistic time frame from start to finish?
For new construction, you should allow 6 months to a year. There are numerous rental
properties available in Chapala, Vista del Lago, Chapala Haciendas, all of which are
within a 10 – 15 minutes drive from the rancho, which would give you a place to live
while under construction.
Are builders and contractors easily available?
Yes, and we can make recommendations; or work with you and a designer to create
the vison of your new home, and then superintend the builders who will create it.
What type of water system is installed?
There is local Chapala water supply running up under the road to the rancho; before
you close on your property we will run a water line to it along with underground utilities
(phone, electric, and a conduit to the intercom on the gate). Every lot will have a water
storage tank built as part of building their house, and a septic system for each house.
The tap water is not drinkable from the tap. Some folks install purification systems,
but since most water is not used for drinking, the majority of people living Lakeside
purchase their drinking water in big plastic bottles--which can be delivered or picked
up at the source---price is about $1 for a 5 gallon bottle.
What about electricity and roads?
There is a nice 2 lane asphalt road leading up to the Rancho from the highway
along the lake, and a honking big electrical transformer on the property – those
are two of the reasons we bought where we did. Electricity will blip out occasionally;
the longest outage we’ve had is 4 hours. The electricity here is far more reliable than
we had in New Jersey. On the other hand, if you use a lot of electricity it can get
somewhat expensive; not as expensive as in the States, but not cheap.
Many homeowners, ourselves included, have installed solar power arrays to reduce
the cost. We have 2 arrays, one at our home and another at the stables.
We anticiapte a payback on our investment in 3-4 years. Our system was installed
Internet and TV?
Both available via satellite service; wireless internet also available. We have Shaw
Direct satellite TV from Canada with dozens of channels available in English,
including the major sports and movie channels. Internet access is available 24/7
via Spiderweb wireless, HughesNet satellite internet, or TelCel access.
At our home, we started with HughesNet and have now switched to Telcel.
Are there homes to rent close by during construction?
Numerous homes for rent within a 10 - 15 minute drive from the Rancho.
Do you need to have your immigration papers before you can buy land or a house?
No, many people just come in on a tourist card their first time. It’s good for up to 6
months, and you get one when you cross the border or arrive in a plane.
You can easily purchase property on a tourist card, you'll just need proper ID;
your Passport will work fine. The major advantage to having your immigration papers
is the ability to bring in all your household goods,duty-free.
What are the additional costs to the buyer when purchasing land and or a home
in Mexico? There are closing costs for the buyer. Kevin Collins at Collins Real Estate
has a great page on his web site to explain what is involved in buying real estate here,
including a section on the closing costs which a buyer pays. He gives an example of a
house which sold for $308,000 USD; the closing costs were = $4658 USD or $4763
Canadian dollars. Here is the whole web page:
HEALTHCARE / HEALTH ISSUES
World class health and dental care available at a small fraction of the cost in the States.
(e.g., One of us needed a CAT scan, it cost $250; a partial crown on a molar was about $100;
a doctor visit is $25-$30.) Doctors give you their cell phone numbers and are available in an
emergency at any time of the day or night. When we visit the U.S., we ask to be evacuated
back to Mexico if we should need emergency medical treatment.
Arthritis – I stopped taking my arthritis medicine a couple of months after I came here.
I don’t know if that’s due to the really stable barometric conditions Lakeside, the lower air
pressure of a 5,000 foot altitude, the healthier lifestyle (sunlight, being outdoors, lots of
fresh ripe and cheap fruits and veggies, lower stress….)
Massages are easily available and cheap, a full 60 minutes for $16 USD
Insects – The rancho is up on a mountain ridge far away from the congestion and
general "buggines"s of the lake shore towns. There’s a fairly constant breeze which
keeps the flies and mosquitos down; and lots of birds. We do have scorpions and
spiders, though. And, as in most of Mexico, wood houses are not built for fear of termites.
Once you get your temporary or permanent immigration papers, anyone can join Mexico's
universal health care programs -- IMSS or Seguro Popular. This gives you access to
doctors, clinics, public hospitals in Guadalajara, and free or reduced cost perscriptions.
Comprehensvie private health insurance is alos available--and much cheaper then in
the U,S.---i.e., $2500-3500 per year, not $1000+ per month. There are a number of private hospitals
in Guadalajara that are world class facilities, Indeed, we know many folks down here
that have chosen and have sucessfully had major medical proceedures---hip and knee
repalcements, heart surgery, brain shunt surgery...
FIRST VISIT SUGGESTIONS
Fly down, you'll get a tourist card form on the plane to fill out and that allows up to 6
months here. We suggest you make reservations for your first 3 or 4 nights at one
of the B&Bs in Ajijic, the central ex-pat village. You can easily walk to everything in
the village from just about any B&B. Take a taxi there from the airport, you can rent
a car locally more cheaply if you want to expand your horizon, or you may decide just
to hire a car and driver when you want. Pretty cheap.
Here's one B&B that gets consistently high rankings, and is centrally located:
Beyond Ajijic you may want to try staying in the Village of Chapala. This is a luxurious
little hotel in Chapala that opened a few years ago:
NOTE: After Easter / before November the snowbirds leave and it is easier to find
accommodations.
Article about RDP stables in July 2012's "Living at Lake Chapala"
See below for link and login to Judy King's e-zine, "Living at Lake Chapala".
This will let you read the entire July issue. The article that contains info on our stables
is titled "Help for Outbreaks of Horse Crazy" and was written by Chris Bublin.
You can also find it under the "People, Places and Things" heading in the left-hand menu.
We're so thrilled that Judy felt our place was worth writing about! And, we introduced her
to two other Lakeside horsie places, both of which are also featured in the article.
Definitely "must" reading for the horse-crazy set down here.
user name: jul2012
password: horses
|
