Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in Merida

Attached below are some pictures of our oldest son's Boy Scout Troop including the country club at which his meetings are held every Saturday afternoon. The seed for Boy Scouts in Mexico was planted as far back as 1912 in the port city of Veracruz. In 1981 the opportunity for girls to enter scout troops presented itself. Many of the youth in our city participate.

The website to Mexico scouts is http://www.scouts.org.mx/about_mexico.html.

Our son is very much enjoying his participation in the program. A number of the youth are bilingual in Mexico today as many take varying levels of English study in schools. So if you move down with children you are not going to have a problem finding a troop for them. We know of another American family here that has their 10 year old daughter participating. Let us know if you have more questions.



Club Campestre



Our son's Scout Troop.



Mexico Postal Service

Mexican Postal Service 

Regarding the Mexican Postal Service (Servicio Postal Mexicano), there is an open debate about its effectiveness. No self-respecting business that places much importance on the timely distribution of its correspondence would rely on it for anything other than mass-mailings. Nor do most of its private citizens.

Couriers in Mexico

Companies tend to have propios, in-house messengers, for the delivery of important correspondence and paperwork of any kind within the city limits. Invitations for important functions are also hand delivered, although usually by a specialized delivery company, for about 8 pesos per delivery. Remember that most require up to a week to make the delivery from the time that they receive the material from the sender. For intra-Mexico correspondence a local carrier, such as Estafeta, usually does the trick.

Finally, for international deliveries, any of the well-known international companies work well, especially in the "overnight" categories (DHL, FedEx, UPS). What we are saying is that if you really want to get mail to someone in Mexico, scan and email the docs, fax them or send local deliveries by a local courier, out of town mailins by one of the big three previously mentioned.

Personally, I have never even seen a Mexico Postal Official deliver anything to my house nor have I seen them out driving around on the streets. Also, as it pertains to important bills like cable/internet and electricity and water, those companies have there own reps/couriers deliver their bills to your mailbox. What does that tell you? And even then you may not get the bill until the day it is due, or even the day after, if even at all. My advice...... keep a copy of your account #'s on each of your utilities and pay them monthly or bi-monthly (electric and water) at the pay stations at the mall (Grand Plaza) or at your local OXXO. Or you can try to pay them on-line.....if you can figure it out.

Don't get me wrong....it is very easy to pay your bills. You just need to plan on doing so when you are at the mall or in town if you live on the beach. Word to the wise.

Caio,

Jay Blackshear

Updated Fees for FM3 or FM2 Visas

The fees for FM2 or FM3 visas have been updated at the Mexican Immigration Office as of 2010. To apply for an FM2 there is a one time application fee of $669.00 MX Pesos and a yearly fee of $2,800.00 MX Pesos. Both fees are charged by the immigration office for each person applying for a visa.

The fees for the FM3 are as follows: Yearly fee of $1,294.00 MX Pesos and a one time application fee of $491.00 MX Pesos.

Each visa is good for a period of 5 years but must be renewed annually. When renewed you must pay the yearly applicable fee again but the application fee that is paid the first year is not charged again. That means that if you have an FM2 or FM3 right now and you need to renew it, you will pay either $2,800.00 or $1,294.00 when you renew each visa. You will not pay the initial application fee again. Hope that makes sense. Email me with questions at jayblackshear@yahoo.com.

Saludos,
Jay

How To Buy Real Estate In Mexico

Properties in México can be legally purchased by foreigners
If you are interested in purchasing property outside the restricted area (32 miles from the coast or 63 miles from the borders), you can do the same way you can do it anywhere else in the world, with a simple deed.

Fideicomiso
To purchase a property that is within the restricted area, which includes Mérida and most other popular areas of Yucatan, you will need to sign a trust contract with a Mexican bank. Such contract is called a "fideicomiso", and both your name and the bank's appear in the "escritura" (contract).

The contract creates a trust for the benefit of you, the foreign buyer. The bank has a fiduciary obligation to the owner. The owner retains all the benefits of ownership and has legal rights to rent, sell or inherit property as they see fit. Normally these contracts expire after 50 years, but they can be renewed at the end of those 50 years for an additional 50 years. There is no limit on the number of times the fideicomiso contract can be renewed. The 50 year renewal cost is currently about $900 USD.

Currently, the cost to start a trust is approximately $2000 USD. There is an annual fee to the bank for maintaining the trust, which is based on a percentage of property value. For a house in the range of $100,000 USD, the fideicomiso maintenance cost is approximately $ 600 USD a year.
Currently, the law only allows trusts for properties of less than 2000 square metres (about 21,520 sf). You can apply for an exception to this law.

Owning a Mexican company
If your property is over 2000 square meters, you can create a Mexican corporation to buy the property. The cost to create a legally-registered company is approximately $ 1500 USD. You need to be incorporated under the laws of Mexico and all the proceedings must take place under the supervision of an accountant. The cost of the accountant varies from $ 50 to $200 USD per month, depending on how much activity takes place in your corporation.

To form the company requires at least two partners who are at least 18 years of age. The legal representative of the company must be in possession of an FM-3 Visa. You can apply for a visa yourself in the offices of Mexican immigration or you can hire a lawyer to do it for you. The cost for a visa is about $ 500 USD.
Whether buying a property, starting a business, or creating a corporation, you should always consult with a local lawyer. Our sister company, Yucatan Lawyers, provides legal services for real estate transactions, immigration issues and all corporate issues.