Writing about property values in Mexico

Sabrina Tourtlotte
Originally uploaded by Brite light photos.

LA CRUZ, BANDERAS BAY, Mexico - It's so nice to think about warm water and the sun of Banderas Bay, particularly when having to look outside in Sacramento at dreary cold weather.

Oh, and it just started to rain. Again. Even the squirrels are hiding under the porch to stay dry.

I won't complain, too much, however, as my friends in upstate New York and the Northeast are dealing with a lot worse weather than a little rain and cold.

The photo with today's blog accompanied a story I wrote for The Log newspaper, which has its headquarters in Irvine, Calif. I worked for them a lot about five years ago, then didn't do anything while I was in Mexico. Wait, maybe I didn't do anything for The Log... But I did a lot of stuff: surfing, swimming, snorkeling. Just not too much commercial writing.

The story is at:

The Log

Beautiful La Cruz harbor is about to get a 400-berth marina, but the property owners, including the lovely Ms. Tourtlotte here, are up in arms because the developer decided to build some more beachfront 80 meters out from the shore - right in front of their beachfront houses, in apparent violation of a stack of Mexican laws - even his own building permits. He wants to build hotels and condos and all kinds of, well, neat stuff, depending on whether the neat stuff would block your view.

The view Sabrina Tourtlotte will have is likely to be piles of trash cans behind a multi-story hotel, not the sailboats you can see in the distance over her shoulder.

Developers, it seems are the same north and south of the border.

The gravel in the background is what's left of the first effort. Mother Nature, thanks to some huge swells that came all the way from the Gulf of Alaska, staged her own protest and was quite effective.

The whole issue of property rights for gringos is taking on new importance with all the American and Canadian purchases of property, beachfront and everywhere else. From Mazatlan to Zihuatenejo, gringos have been buying up property like crazy. The admiral and I have even looked at the lots in La Manzanilla, on Tenacatita Bay.

Hmm... If what's happening in La Cruz is any indicator, perhaps it might be a good source of ongoing stories for The Log and other publications - and a good reason to take some 'business trips' to Banderas Bay to check things out again.