Because of all the pros and cons regarding the purchase of a retirement residence in Mexico, I felt that I needed to document our purchase of a Casa in Merida, Mexico for those who come after us.  This saga all started because we needed a place to stay for the month of March 2017.  We tried to book in our regular vacation spot of Ajijic, Mexico but everything was booked solid for Spring Break.  I’d remembered that a good friend of mine (Mike Nicholls) had sent me photographs of a good friend’s Casa in Mexico.  I remembered that the friend had built a fantastic residence in Merida some three or four years earlier and all the pictures were spectacular.

A View from the roof – Looking North over Lot 404-B

After much discussion, we decided that Merida was the place to go so we booked our flights and booked Casa Musa through VRBO – it was a 2-bedroom Casa just outside of the Centro in what is known as the “White City”.   I contacted my buddy Mike and asked if I could get an email introduction to his friend in Merida – maybe, just maybe he could be someone who might recommend a few places to tour or some good restaurants in the area.  After a few emails were exchanged, meetings set-up with Don Roberto, we left Vancouver on March 01st, 2017 to yet another Mexican adventure.

Looking west on the roof of lot 404-C and the dividing wall to lot 404-B

Our realtor from Mexico International (Colm Cooney) walks along the roof of lot 404-C

After we got set-up in our rental house – Casa Musa – we decided to reach out to Mike’s friend “Don” Roberto.  He gave us directions to his Casa and not more than ten minutes in an UBER  we headed out.  I buzzed the intercom/camera/doorbell and the door unlocked – we had our first meeting with “Don” Roberto and his lovely wife that would develop into a very special friendship very quickly.  Both Roberto and Denise toured us through their Casa, all I could say was WOW at every turn.  It is truly a spectacular hacienda home.  Everything about their home was perfect – I knew that we could see ourselves in just the same kind of home.  Just as the sun started to set on what was yet another tremendous evening in Merida, Roberto asked us if we’d like to see one more house just down the street and around the corner.

We arrived at the next house, a much different house layout than what we had experienced at Roberto’s – the house was just 7 meters (21′) wide and 65 meters deep (200′), a large rectangular lot.  As soon as he opened the metal front door, all I could hear come from my lips was Wow – Wow and more Wow’s.  It was fantastic.    I knew then and there, I had to have one of these places.  At that point in time I had been retired for five years and we knew that our long-term plan was to retire to the warmth of a southern climate.  I knew this was definitely it.

Deborah and I have always thought about the option of a home somewhere in the sun. We’ve traveled extensively throughout the last few years and Colonial Merida just seemed to tick all the boxes for us and only 30-minutes from the town of Progreso and the Gulf of Mexico.  So within two weeks of arriving in Merida, we put offers in on two lots on Calle 66 in Colonial Centro.

There were two old, crumbling buildings on these two lots, buildings that had not been lived in for more than 30 years or so I’d guess – they were in a horrible condition, slanted floors, broken concrete and a jungle in the back –  but I guess we had a vision of what it could be.   In these first thirty (30) days we got so much accomplished – we found a lawyer – Luis Loria, we found a bank – Intercam, we found an architect – Jan Zak and we found a contractor – Adam Kowalski of Casa Yucatan Construction.

We  submitted an offer to Colm Cooney (also part-owner of Hennessey’s Irish Pub on Paseo Montejo) of Mexico International for the one lot – 404C on March 14, 2017.  Coincidentally Roberto’s builder Adam Kowalski of Casa Yucatan Construction owned the adjacent property and he’d committed to us that he’d give us the property for what he’d paid for this on the provision that he would be selected as our  contractor for the project.  Having seen Adam’s work in both Roberto’s and Boris’s casas, we immediately submitted an offer for his adjoining lot (404-B) on March 16, 2017.

Everything was accepted and signed off, but the real issue in Mexico is the real estate trust.  As a foreigner we are not allowed to purchase property outright in Mexico. There is a requirement on properties within a certain distance of the ocean to arrange for a Fideicomiso or in basic terms a real-estate trust with one of the local banks.  Because we  now had two properties we needed them to be combined into one – in the end it would take us some seven (7) months to get this completed and filed.  Our lawyer said in our final meeting he would never do a transaction again where one of the properties was held under a business – it was just too much aggravation.

We had arranged to retain a noted Polish/Canadian/Mexican architect, Mr. Jan Zak to represent us in our endeavor but because of health reasons Jan had to bow out of the project.  It was suggested that we should speak with a local Merida architect – Mr. Jesus Berzunza about taking over the project – we did our due-diligence and he is now our architect on record.  We’ve worked with Jesus via SKYPE regarding the design and layout for our new Casa starting in May 2017.  After close to eight design changes and layout modifications we finalized on our design and we’re ready to submit to the building office for permit approval.   Our layout and plan submissions were submitted on or about September 15th and we scheduled our second trip to Merida for the month of November 2017 – we departed to Merida on October 31st.

One of the most amazing things happened during the later stages of our purchase.  A few nights after we’d put forward our offer to purchase we made a call to Deborah’s best friend in the world – Ms. Jean Norris.  We told her what we had done and conveyed our excitement for the project.  It didn’t seem to be anytime before we heard “I’m In – I want to be part of this project too”.  Jean hadn’t been to Mexico in years, needless to say – she’d never been to Merida before – what did she mean she wanted “in?”  This I can tell you is the sign of a true friend, a sister from another mother I guess – she said she was very comfortable with our taste in real estate – our sense of residential design – she had to be part of the project and so we’ve gone forward.  We are so very pleased to have Jean as a 50% partner on this project.

The three of us returned to Merida – our second trip – Jean’s first trip on October 31, 2017.  We had arranged to stay one (1) month in a casa called Casa de la Iguana – a small two-bedroom casa that was located on Calle 54 just across the street from what would become one of our favorite restaurants – Oliva.  We went down originally in October so that we could take part in their “Black Friday Appliance Sale” which usually takes place in mid November and everything for your home goes on sale for 50-75% off.  Unfortunately because of the delays on our Fideicomiso and delays that have come to light from the Building Permit office, we visited all the retail outlets, made our lists with all the sku numbers, but decided to hold off on any purchases until a later date.

A look to the east along the well-manicured lawns of lot 404-C

Jean surveys her new investment

Jean stands in at the front doors of both lots