Looking for a farm close to Masaya. Need to start looking in other areas. Please help.
Submitted by ClassyGuy on Sat, 2011/11/26 - 13:27.
I am Freddy, when visiting my family in Central America I met a wonderful woman from Nicaragua and have been with her ever since. I left Nicaragua to work but Nicaragua never left me. I miss the natural beauty and the bright people everyday. So much so that I am going to live off the land in Nicaragua. My wife has been looking for farms near her house in Masaya for over a month. The locals know that she is married to a US national because word gets around fast, and it has made buying a farm near her family impossible. The farms that we did find didn’t have a safe title (death in the family they said) and they asked us to pay 3000 cordobas to help fix the title. That sounds skechy because after we pay they could just back out of the deal. She also has looked on carretera tititapa in between masaya and tipitapa (lots of farms and it is cheaper there) where they don’t know her, but it is still close to her home. I hoping to find information on where we might look to find a property around 3 manzanas. What areas close to Masaya should we look. Prices seem to vary significantly I think they are mostly based on how desperately the owner wants to sell it. Thank you! This is a great site.
Grenada is too expensive The area between Masaya and Grenada is affordable but there is nothing available becuase everyone knows her and they are asking for $80,000 for a manzana. She looked near Guanacastillo (between tipitapa and masaya) and said there wasnt much, Mabe I am not sure if she is not talking to the right people. But last time I checked the economy is tough why wouldnt people want to sell? How does one find a property without gringofied prices? Like I found my apartment? walk around with a nicaraguan and talk to everyone with a "se aquilan" sign. I am clueless. A friend metioned looking in the Boaco area, less expensive but very far from her family. I apriciate any help. I am looking for a flat piece of land 2 manzanas just to grow food for my family, not for cattle or coffe, with a maximum distance of an hour from a town.
La Concha
A friend of mine has a farm in La Concha area, 2 manzanas, beautiful trees, he is a business man and bought to have his horses, No horses any more so he will be able to sell.
I will ask if you like the area.
Best Regards,
Paul Tiffer ptiffer@cablenet.com.ni
find a local agent
Most of the people here I know who are property owners found a local agent, and I don't mean someone from Century 21. There are locals who speak English well who will help you find what you want. When you get here you can ask around. I met one in line at the grocery store, he helps any way he can, he has a family to support. He charges a fee for his services. I haven't used him, but I would use someone like him to do my ground work if I were looking for something.
Our landlord has a local person who knows the area who does his groundwork for him including finding the property and doing the negiotating on price.
Check on craigslist.org. Nicaragua can be hard to find, but it is on there. Craigslit is interesting if you follow it. It tends to be expensive but you can learn mucho. Property here is really going up, Nicaragua is now listed as one of the best places to retire and the locals are responding. Can't blame them for it, I would too. Keep in mind that the area you want is being sold over the internet. You will be competing with everyone on this planet who has access to the net. Property here is hot at this time.
I think people on this sight can help you the most, but be flexible in your choice of location. Nicaragua is small and you can cross the whole country in a day.
Only one disagreement
I think this is good advice except for the part about locals who speak English. My general experience is that is a big negative. Your wife clearly speaks Spanish and I assume you do as well. If you are working with someone who does not speak English, in my experience, you are more likely to get reasonable (as in fair) prices.
It depends on :
What size? What purpose? proximity to urban centers? etc.
If you want a Quinta then 1 manzana can be enough, but if you want to have Coffee or Cattle, then it is a different story. Nothing in Nicaragua is worth 80K... unless it a working casino or something. Let us know more about what you want, maybe then you can get some suggestions.
thanks. I put more
thanks. I put more specifically what I am looking for on the last sentence of my post.
2 Mz
Then talk to Mike from Nicaliving, he knows some good land located in Masatepe (very close to Masaya) with great views. You can get 2 mz farm for about 5 to 15K per Manzana in cool areas like Carazo. Prices tend to be much higher per manzana for smaller Quintas. PM me and i can put you in touch with some "Corredores" from this area if Carazo interests you.
Prices
From what I have seen up here in the north (Estelí area), it can be a pretty steep curve to get prices down. For example, in an area where 2 mz might cost $10k/mz, 20 mz might cost $3k/mz and 100 mz might cost $1k/mz.
Also, figure out where your water will come from. If it is a well, be cautious. Wait until April to see if there is still any water.
We all face the same problem.
From buying a bag of tomatoes to buying a few manzanas.
A few comments:
You might have to move away from her family to "Live off the Land", depending what you want to do and how you want to live.
Find some places you like and "love them enough to walk away from them all". Eventually someone may sell you the land for market value or a price you feel is right (two different things of course).
Perhaps your somewhat arrogant comment; "But last time I checked the economy is tough why wouldnt people want to sell?" is coming through in your negotiations. Not all of them go for the quick fix or even need to. I know lots of land rich Nica's that are poor, but not dirt poor. i.e they have some and nobody can buy it.
I didnt mean to come off
I didnt mean to come off arrogant from that comment. If anything Nicaraguans own their land unlike most North Americans, and comparing the US to Nicaragua is apples and oranges but maybe when times get tough the Nicas dont have the urge to sell their propertys and cut their losses like many from the US do (or are forced to foreclose from a mortgage they cant pay). I am not doing any negotiating. I dont even buy clothes, the moment I open my mouth and they see I am not from there the price just went up. My wife does all the negotiating. I will keep looking in different areas. Thanks!
Freddy
I've sent you a private message so please look for it in your mailbox.
You are quite right about being suspicious when people ask you for 3000 cordobas to fix clouded title to land. This is a well-known scam in these parts.
There is a legal way to pay people to clean up title to their land in a way that locks them into selling you the land on an agreed-upon price once their title has been inscribed. However, it is quite complicated and you have to be dead certain they can actually get clear title. There is quite a lot of due diligence involved so you need a lawyer who is meticulous and honest. My advice is, be patient and stay away from a seller who does not already have clean title to the land, because you run a very high risk of being scammed and lost your investment.
As for the price of land ....
Expatriates are often shocked at the expensive price of farmland in Nicaragua seeing that the people are poor. But that is exactly why farmland is expensive. Poor people are desperate to hold on to their farmland or hold out for a very high price because they know that if they sell, they won't be able to find decent work and will end up living on the knife edge of survival. But as long as they have their farm, they have a place to live, food to eat, and from time to time a surplus to barter or sell for some necessities. So at least they can survive.
As a result, generally, farmers don't sell unless they are sure the price is high enough to retire on, or sometimes to start a business they think is surefire.
All Very Good Points
We wound up convincing someone with a 35 Mz farm to sell us 10 Mz. I believe he will eventually part with the remainder, but we are in no hurry. And, we can do a lot with the 10 Mz anyway.
It was a good deal for us, and he really needed the working capital. He started out asking $3500 / Mz and we finally settled for $2200. We spent a couple hundred for the survey and property line markings, and a map. We bought the hilly areas with the fantastic views (good for what we have in mind) and he kept the bottom land.
We had an "escrow" in the lawyer's office and she was extremely helpful, taking quite a bit of time to make sure I understood everything. No one spoke English. We counted out the money right there, paid the agent his commission (10%), and the seller went with me the next day to Somoto to register the escritura, pay the transfer taxes, etc. That was very helpful, would have taken me two days by myself.
Any deed has to be very carefully vetted, preferably by a couple of independent lawyers. The lawyers charge so little . . . .compared to what we are used to in the US.
Have you considered
Nindiri as a potential location? It is right next to Masaya, and has a lot of nice property ouside of the city.