When you first decide to buy Puerto Vallarta real estate, there are a couple of things you can do to get your search process off on the right foot.  One step is that you can make use of Mexico real estate service portals to help you begin get a grasp on prices, locations, styles, etc.

What do you think of when you think of Puerto Vallarta real estate? Luxury condos overlooking the beach? Maybe villas in trendy new areas? What aboutPuerto Vallarta land for sale?

As previous readers of this blog know, my profession is selling Real Estate in Puerto Vallarta and my sporting passion is tennis. However, when golfing legend and the world’s number one player for three consecutive years, Lorena Ochoa, gave a golf clinic at my Puerto Vallarta homes neighborhood, El Tigre last week, you bet I was there.

By: Jim Scherrer

Great question; let me narrow them down to my top 5 reasons of moving to the Puerto Vallarta real estate region:

Within the Mexico Real Estate market, one of the favorites for luxury condos and high-end villas is the Puerto Vallarta Real Estate area. In Puerto Vallarta, condo owners enjoy the benefit of being only a few hours away from their home city back in the U.S. or Canada, as well as a large community – currently about 50,000 – of other Americans and Canadians who have already decided to enjoy life in a Mexico Condo in one of the country's top beachfront cities.

I have been working in the Puerto Vallarta real estate market for many years, and this is one of the questions I hear most often; “How do we meet people in Puerto Vallarta?”  This can be a challenge for many new residents as they are moving to a different country with a different culture and language.  So a good place to start might be to take a Spanish language class. Yes, this is a tourist town and many of the locals speak English.  There are plenty of long-time residents who have gotten by without speaking Spanish.  But you want to thrive, not survive!  A basic Spanish vocabulary can always come in handy, and it can be a real pleasure to be conversational.  Besides, understanding the language will give you a good insight to the culture and the Mexican way of thinking.  Hint:  “ahorita” does not necessarily mean “in just a minute”…

When you buy Puerto Vallarta real estate, it is much more than just buying a property – you are becoming part of a community. This community is a reflection of the physical city of Puerto Vallarta, combining the modern and international with the local and traditional. This can be seen in the expat community, which includes about 50,000 Americans and Canadians, which shares the city with Mexicans and residents from many other countries.

AMPI is the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals.  Dedicated to raising professional standards and protecting private property rights, this organization was formed over 50 years ago and currently has a membership of over 1,000 companies and 10,000 professionals.  In the Puerto Vallarta real estate region, there are three AMPI chapters, AMPI Vallarta, AMPI Riviera Nayarit and AMPI Compostela.  Currently there are no licensing requirements in place on a national level in order to regulate Mexico real estate brokerage and sales.  AMPI however, does have significant requirements in order to be a member broker.

In order to meet higher anticipated demand to your Puerto Vallarta homes for 2010 and beyond, Westjet, Alaska Airlines and US Airways significantly increased flights to Puerto Vallarta.

Westjet, Alaska Airlines and US Airways added direct non-stop flights to Puerto Vallarta, increased the number of seasonal flights, and converted seasonal flights into year-round flights. Puerto Vallarta’s International Airport, operated by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, now reports that there are now 28 national and international airlines and charters flying into “Presidente Gustavo Diaz Ordaz” international airport.  For any resort Mexico real estate region, factors that influence the appreciation and rental occupancy levels include the important item of transportation ease and costs.

WESTJET NEW FLIGHTS TO PUERTO VALLARTA

WestJet will increase the number of flights to your land or your Puerto Vallarta Homes this winter from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Montreal, Toronto and Prince George B.C.

ALASKA AIRLINES NEW FLIGHTS TO PUERTO VALLARTA

Alaska Airlines announced new flight service between San Diego, California and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico starting November 12, 2010. The carrier already has direct flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta.

US AIRWAYS NEW FLIGHTS TO PUERTO VALLARTA

US Airways began daily year-round service to Puerto Vallarta Mexico from its Charlotte, N.C. hub. Read the details of US Airways Charlotte announcement.

PUERTO VALLARTA AIRPORT ANNOUNCEMENT

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), which operates Puerto Vallarta’s International airport, reported an increase of 12% in passenger traffic in Puerto Vallarta Mexico for the month of June 2010. GAP informed that the new flights to Puerto Vallarta are a [positive] material event to its financial statements for 2010 and beyond. There are now 28 airlines flying into Puerto Vallarta.

NEW AIRFARE COMPARISSON

The lowest available round-trip fare for the December 2010 -January 2011 winter & holiday season is Mexicana from Chicago at merely US$305 Round Trip.

The law has not changed in the Puerto Vallarta Real Estate zone, but the interpretation and enforcement have.  It is very important to remember that the intent of the exemption granted for Capital Gain tax on the sale of a primary residence is supposed to be just that; YOUR PRIMARY RESIDENCE!  That means you can’t have your primary residence in the US and exempt your capital gain tax there and do the same here in the Mexico real estate region.  The SAT (Servicio de Administracion Tributaria), also known as “Hacienda”, is the federal tax collector in the Puerto Vallarta real estate region.   They collect all federal taxes such as the ISR (Income or Capital Gains) tax, the IVA (Added Value) tax and the IDE (Tax on Cash Deposits).

Absolutely!  Not everyone can afford to pay cash for Puerto Vallarta real estate. Fortunately for the rest of us, financing here is readily available. With the turmoil currently being experienced in the US Real Estate market, this is great news for us!  Although rates and fees are slightly higher than in the US, you can now take out a loan against your real estate in Puerto Vallarta, rather than tie up valuable home equity in the US.