Rancho del Paso and Hacienda Alta

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.

http://howsafeismexico.com/index.html

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 = $250 / per year), low operating costs (elctricity 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?   3600 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

http://rdplakechapala.com/equestrianfacilities.html

Some more sources of information           

Web boards

http://www.chapala.com/wwwboard/webboard.html

http://www.insidelakeside.com/

Nice blog  http://livinglakechapala.com/blog/

Rolly's blog/website altho he doesn't live Lakeside, he (was) in the north of Mexico somewhere -- 

unfortunately Rolly is now deceased, but his blog lives on...

   http://rollybrook.com/living_in_mexico.htm

Another Lakeside blog  https://sites.google.com/site/ouradventureinchapala/

Lake Chapala Society does a lot of support work for ex-pats, a good meeting place 

http://www.lakechapalasociety.com/

Weekly English language newspaper from Guadalajara -- lots of ex-pat topics and articles, 

I keep an electronic subscription to this so I can read it online  theguadalajarareporter.com

Great local map  http://www.mexconnect.com/assets/0000/5716/chapalamapspdf.pdf

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 a slight surcharge.

Standard feed, turnout and periodic worming are all included in boarding fees.

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.  It has cost us from 68 - 9

5 pesos a bale during the past years (2014 - 2016); 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 $300 - $400 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.

Information on Peruvian Paso horses   http://www.perolchico.com/en/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 less than $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

by Solar Technolgy Inc. (STI) www.solartechnology.com.mx 

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 then switched to SpiderWeb.

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:

http://www.livinglakechapala.com/lake-chapala-mexico-real-estate.html

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.)  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 Guadalajar, and free or reduced cost perscriptions.  

Comprehensvie private health insurance is alos available--and much cheaper then in 

the U,S.---i.e., $1200 per year, not 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.  

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g499405-d1911244-r127430531-Adobe_Walls_Inn-Ajijic_Pacific_Coast.html

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.

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.

http://www.mexico-insights.com/Articles/default.aspx?c=archives&p=201207 

user name:  jul2012 

password:   horses