The best time to buy property in Lake Chapala is now!
With mortgage rates breaking 7 percent, now my be the time to liquidate your home in the U.S and move to Lake Chapala. According to Realtor.com, the typical home buyer in October paid 77% more on their loan (per month) than they would have last year. Based on average asking prices in the U.S and a 10% down payment, that works out to an additional $1117 every month!
The recent increase interest rates has effectively slowed the housing market and this weakness has put pressure on home values to reduce....and it is expected to slow even more, by as much as 20-30%.
For now, most people have not had to renew their mortgage yet, and with the typical homeowner having a mortgage of only 3.5%, few think of selling right now as they would face higher borrowing costs on their next property..... but the day is coming when you will have to renew and likely be paying much higher interest rates! Are you ready?
What if you sold, took the equity out of your home, and purchased in Lake Chapala? Seems like the smart thing for home owners to do is to sell up north, take whatever equity you have in the home and buy here in cash, effectively getting out from the increasingly high mortgage rates. Obviously, you missed the peak of the market but you can still be a winner by not having to pay a high mortgage rate for years to come.
So how much equity do you need? Housing prices have gone up in Lake Chapala over the past 6 years but the average home sale is still under $300,000 USD and new homes can still be purchased for as low as $200,000. This makes living in Lake Chapala a very affordable proposition.
Adding to this is the very low carrying costs for the home in Lake Chapala.
Carrying costs in real estate (also called holding costs) are the fees for owning a property. Carrying costs are made up of mortgage payments, property tax, insurance, HOA fees, utilities, cable/phone/internet, and maintenance.
Let's look at average carrying costs for a home in Lake Chapala: Prices in USD
Mortgage $0 (You are free of the mortgage payment!!)
Insurance $0 (almost nobody insures their home here)
Property taxes $250 /YEAR
Water $250 /year
Electricity $450/year
Gas $450/year
Phone/T.V content/Internet $600/year
Home Maintenance $3000/year (small & large; 1% of the value of the home)
Total: $5000 per year! ($416/month)
I just read an article on ThinkHomeWise which stated average carrying costs are in excess of $18,000 per year! ($1500/month!) What are your Home Carrying Costs??
So, can you save $$$$$ by selling in the U.S, getting out from your mortgage and purchasing in Lake Chapala?? You bet. If you are thinking now is the time to retire then “make it so” and visit us in Lake Chapala and let me show you how you can stretch your retirement income further and live a better life in Lake Chapala.
Michaela & Ricardo are your FULL SERVICE Real Estate Agents. Along with our Retirement Seminars, our over 20 years of combined experience Lakeside, and our network of area Professionals, we help guide you to from beginning to forever in your Retirement Journey to Lake Chapala, Mexico.
