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Another - No BS article by DAVID MANDICH
Baja California Real Estate and Consulting Advisor
If you are going to relocate or retire – and are on the
market for a luxury first or 2nd home - why suffer San Diego when you
can live in Los Cabos?
While fabulous luxury homes are plentiful in both communities, one gets
more bang for their buck in Los Cabos in terms of house and a far better
lifestyle than one gets in many Stateside premier communities.
 If
you want waterfront luxury – say a 5,000 sq.’ casa in La Jolla California,
you may have to start at around eight million dollars and go as high as
twenty-four million dollars. That’s triple or more for what a comparable
home would cost in Los Cabos.
And, having spent many childhood days swimming in the La Jolla cove, and
attending nearby schools, I can say with confidence that the quality of
life in La Jolla doesn’t begin to compare with Los Cabos; at any price.
More below...
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Excellent international bi-lingual schools for the kids
are a stones roll away down the hillside. There are new major chain grocery
stores and downtown Cabo, with a myriad of clubs, restaurants and the
marina are close by. There you can tie-up your 65’ Sportsfishing yacht
and gaze up at your mansion in Pedregal or vice-versa. Life is good in
Cabo and Pedregal is THE place to live if you have Cabo in your heart.
The Los Cabos Corridor: Many fine newer luxury home developments
are to be found along the nearly twenty
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I know folks are going to ask what I’ve been smoking (Cohibas from Havana
if you want to know) so I will state my case. La Jolla is extremely congested
with traffic. (as is Laguna, Newport, Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica etc.)
The sad truth is that you often have to drive around the block several
times to find a parking space at the supermarket… or to even find a metered
parking space on the street. And (important to me) the ocean water in
all of Southern California is much colder and much less clean than here.
And the beaches and beach parking lots are overcrowded on sunny weekends.
Indeed you have to pay to park in beach lots in Venice, Santa Monica,
Huntington Beach and many others. Worse at some - you have to park a quarter
mile away and take a shuttle to the beach.
While the youngsters may not feel the cold water, Southern California
beaches have been quarantined annually for weeks at a time due to sewage
system overloads. In San Diego and La Jolla there’s a relative scarcity
of golf courses per capita, ditto for big game such as marlin; and the
lobster and abalone have been virtually dived out for decades. It’s hard
to go to the beach or downtown anywhere in Southern California (or Miami
etc.) without being panhandled for money, or risking a car break-in/radio
theft.
Because Los Cabos is separated by water from mainland Mexico and by 1,000
miles of desert from the USA – Los Cabos is without many of the social
problems associated with life in big cities: or life on this planet… The
world’s problems take little notice here. Maybe that's why turtles come
here to nest and whales to breed.
Los Cabos is wall-to-wall with luxury homes on desert and ocean golf courses.
Here you’ll discover un-crowded beaches with crystal clear warm waters,
world class big game fishing, un-crowded fine restaurants and full service
American style hospitals. The latter is a biggie for us Baby Boomers.
For those who are really addicted to the American way-of-life, we now
have one of each of the following: Home Depot, Office Depot, Costco and
a major mall built on the marina waterfront full of boutiques, restaurants,
and movie theaters with leather Pullman recliner seats at 1960’s admission
prices. Then there’s my favorite “boutique”- a Harley dealership in the
marina mall with a waterfront café and bar overlooking all the yachts.
There, affluent bikers can indulge themselves in everything from $50,000
Harleys by Porsche Design to lacy Harley panties…
 La
Jolla California as a basis for price comparison with Los Cabos is about
as good as I’m going to be able to do without being accused of comparing
margaritas and ceviche’ to a Big Mac, fries and a coke. The La Jolla Chamber
of Commerce may howl, but in my opinion, La Jolla was a charming place
in which to live – in the 1950’s. Visit on a weekend or during a daily
rush-hour and you’d think the wheels on your Mercedes were made of cement.
Besides resort living, Los Cabos offers the Luxury homebuyer first class
options for home ownership. Many famous Mexican architects and builders
have been building high quality Mexican and International style homes
hereabouts for almost two decades now. You would be hard pressed to find
more granite, marble, exotic woods and decorator touches in a home in
Beverly Hills vs. here. Fine luxury homes in Los Cabos feature top quality
European cabinets, stainless steel appliances, disappearing flat screen
TV’s, garages for golf carts, as well as your Hummer, Beemer or Caddy.
Some houses even feature waterfront garages for your wave-runners and
surfboards!
Back to La Jolla vs. Los Cabos - There’s only one golf course in La Jolla
– Torrey Pines. And last time I checked – none in Malibu. Los Cabos has
more golf courses than you can shake a club at. And MANY more are in the
works for Los Cabos, the East Cape and along the Pacific side all the
way up to Todos Santos and over into La Paz! Soon, there will be more
golf courses than taco stands in Baja Sur! If golf is your game – then
welcome to the new golf capital of the world!
Pedregal is Cabo’s original luxury home development located in the hills
above Lands End. Here homes will start around $500,000 and range up to
fifteen million dollars or more. You may have neighbors like Stallone,
Madonna, several real estate agents and lots of vacationers who rented
your neighbors villa to party for the night… or for all week. Brad Pitt
and crew camped out there while filming Troy. Pedregal is secure, the
views of Cabo and the ocean are stupendous and the quaint cobble-stone
roadways, built of local rock before asphalt was available - will wreck
havoc on your SUV’s shocks and your dentures. Tip – for a softer ride
– let a lot of air out of your tires.
Check out the availability of water when investigating
Pedregal. It’s in short supply and homeowners have been trucking it in
at $200 per truckload. (Sorry all you Pedregal Realtors – this is a no
BS article). A new desalinization plant (under construction) MAY come
on line this year… or next year, and it MAY help alleviate the problem.
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mile Corridor between Cabo and San Jose del Cabo. These include Cabo Bello,
Santa Carmela, Cabo del Sol, Cabo Real, the Dorado and Querencia Country
Club developments, Cabo Colorado, Palmilla and I’ll include the older
Campo de Golf development in San Jose itself. These are mostly ocean side
of the State highway, golf course, ocean view or a combo of all three.
And by and large, they don’t have water problems.
These developments are solid, proven investments. Prices
start in the high $500’s along the older Campo de Golf development (Mayan
Palace 9-hole) and will range up to ten million or so asking for a fabulous
waterfront palace. In Palmilla, homes surround ocean
side golf courses (public), others like the Dorado are private and membership
only. Lot prices may range from the 200’s to over twelve million for a
waterfront lot at the Dorado Country Club. If you want the very best in
life; it is here, at a price, for those who can afford it.
Puerto Los Cabos: Puerto Los Cabos is new terrifically design concept
for a luxury marina, golf community development – it is currently undergoing
a typically difficult birth. Issues that need to be resolved are a bridge
to cross the arroyo from San Jose (prone to wipe-out during hurricanes),
the relocation of the foul smelling San Jose sewage plant, and the slowdown
by authorities in Mexico of approval of property purchase transactions
by foreigners. This slow down is a result of a bottle neck in the government
processes and it is affecting a lot of developments. However, there are
still hundreds of property buyers have put their money on the line as
they see the future outcome being well worth it. Property values have
increased enormously over the last two years since inception. Waterfront
lots went from 1.5 million to almost 4 million during this period. It’s
a great project and in our opinion, one of relatively low risk for those
with a little patience.
The East Cape: long a secret destination for the sea and desert nature
lover who would put up with miles of washboard dirt roads to escape civilization
– is fast becoming the next Malibu. Those in-the-know including celebrities,
ex-politicos and old time surf pros have been buying in for years. And
land prices have been almost doubling annually the past several years.
The coming demise of this last frontier in this Baja Sur Paradise – was
recently foretold by the government when they announced the imminent paving
of the East Cape road from San Jose all the way to La Ribera - a distance
of around fifty miles depending on how your Hummer flies. Ocean view lots
currently range from around $50,000 on up to $250,000 to four million
dollars plus for waterfront in Puerto Los Cabos. Once the road gets paved
–Malibu prices will be just around the corner. Note: This paved road has
been discussed for years so the demise might not be as soon as they think
but it will eventually happen. The latest East Cape road announcement
was made over six months ago - and nothing has been started to date...
Aaaah Mexico.
Almost all East Cape lots from outside of Puerto Los Cabos
to Cabo Pulmo are off-the-grid. This means going solar, trucking in water
and waiting for civilization to play catch-up. Many folks have been living
this way for years, and fine architect designed homes can be bought for
$500,000 to a couple of million for waterfront. Imagine Malibu or La Jolla
a hundred years ago – all those coves and beaches with not a soul around
– and just you. The East Cape is a fine investment, and here you will
be able to live in peace, quiet and serenity forever – or until they pave
that road.
Beginning at Lighthouse Point Estates on the East Cape (south of La Ribera)
– one starts finding building lots fully serviced with utilities again.
But we’re talking over an hours drive from Los Cabos. (Just a normal daily
commute for many in Southern California.)
If your time is your own – don’t follow the crowd and consider looking
here first for an affordable place in the sun by the sea. Serviced Ocean
View Lots here range from $40,000 on up to $250,000 for Sea of Cortez
waterfront.
I drove the East Cape a few weeks ago. Wild burros still roam the countryside
just as in downtown Cabo on a Saturday night. (Cabo has the two legged
variety.) I stopped my Tahoe SUV and one burro with long eyelashes and
beautiful eyes ambled up to my window where I rewarded it with an apple
I had in the cooler. The folks in the backseat really enjoyed this especially
when he stuck his entire head inside the car window and let everyone scratch
his ears. Yes, it’s still wild and natural in Los Cabos – and folks are
constantly driving their Beemers into cattle and horses on the local streets
and highways. So pay attention and keep an apple in the cooler for the
kids to feed the ponies.
Baja California Real Estate and Consulting has the inside track on luxury
homes in Los Cabos and especially where to buy and where not to…
We are real estate agents, real estate writers and consultants who work
independently AND with the top brokers in the area. Work with us and we
will help you find your place in paradise - The right place, at the right
price and with no BS. Our goal is – Helping our clients safely invest
in Los Cabos and making Los Cabos a better place for us all to live in.
Click here to contact David Mandich
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Baja
California Real Estate & Consulting
Cabo San Lucas • Las
Vegas, NV
(702)-953-8756 or
Cabo San Lucas
624-143-4327
David Mandich is a Real Estate, Travel, Medical & Dental
Vacation writer. A former American Banker who specialized in construction
lending, he makes his home in San Jose with wife Dra. Rosy Peña the Dentist
with the Touch of an Angel.
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