February 2011 Newsletter

Hello again from Acapulco!

I just returned from Phoenix, Arizona where it was rainy and cold, with highs around 46F (8C).  It is so hard to get used to all the rules and regulations in the US after living most of my time in Mexico.

Everywhere we went we were told what to do, how much we could do it and for how long.  I won't bore you with too many details but at one point I even ended up getting roughed up by the local police and put in handcuffs (photo below!) because I had stepped outside of a bar with my drink to talk to a friend!  Here, in Mexico, if you walk outside of a bar with a drink the worst that happens is some nice, cute waitress asks you if you'd like a plastic cup with ice!

That's the first time I'd been in handcuffs in my life and it occurred two hours after I arrived in Phoenix!

I was only there for a few days speaking at an Investment Conference and was very happy to return to Acapulco just a few days ago.

There is lots to update this month so let's get right to it.

Units For Sale and Sold

Unit #2503S sold in January which had me scrambling to find any available units left under $50,000 USD (pre-renovation).  But only a few days ago I happened upon a couple from Mexico City who approached me to help them sell their condo... and I was THRILLED to find out it has one of the best locations/views in the entire building and they only want $50,000 USD for it.

It is unit #2909S and is located on the 29th floor (sub-penthouse).  Anything over the 25th floor is in high demand and many others with similar condos for sale want more than $60,000, so I was thrilled to come across this one!

You can read much more about the unit here: http://www.acacondos.com/2909s/ 

We are offering it for $50,000 as is or for $69,500 USD with the full renovation package.  I should emphasize, as well, that we can and usually do (if the owner wishes) handle EVERY facet of the purchase.  Even if you didn't want to come to Mexico we can handle the entire transaction remotely, scanning and emailing you all the documents, going to the Notary and to the Bank (if you are a foreigner and need a bank trust) on your behalf.  As well, if we renovate the unit, we handle absolutely everything.  It usually takes 4-6 weeks and the owner doesn't have to do a thing except tell us their particular details they'd like (color scheme etc).  As example, the new owners of 2503S wanted a few extra upgrades and asked us to get a quote on things such as a very large (perhaps 60") flat screen TV and wall mount (they told us to find the largest TV the wall could support!) and they wished to replace the patio bars with an elegant all-glass structure - so we will be getting quotes on that and overseeing all the work.

Here are two photos of the view from condo #2909S:

 I, personally, LOVE this suite and doubt you will ever see a unit on the 29th floor sell for under $50,000.  I just happened to come across the couple from Mexico City who were a bit desperate to sell.

In fact, I like this unit so much that if it doesn't sell in the next month or two I may just buy it myself.  But, for now, you have a chance to get an amazing 29th floor beach condo for $50,000 or for $69,500 USD fully renovated with all new furnishings, kitchen, bathroom, large flat screen TV, US/Canadian satellite HDTV hook-ups and much more.

Ask Us

If you don't see any suites on our site that meet your particular tastes, don't hesitate to send us an email to sales@acacondos.com to let us know what you are looking for... often times we can find what you need.

Photo Gallery

We also have a fairly new Photo Gallery up now on our website which has a number of pictures of the building, the swimming pools and surrounding area which you can see here: http://www.acacondos.com/photo-gallery/

Special Discount Room Rental in One of Our Owner's Suites

We had one cancellation this week in our boutique hotel (http://LTGPS.com), which is where we rent out rooms on behalf of owner's who have bought suites here in the AcaCondos building and we'd like to take this opportunity to offer a VERY special rate just to those on this mailing list.

We have one studio condo available from February 25-March 18.  If you look on our website you will see we have that room offered for $129 USD/night.  We expect we will get some last minute bookings but in the meantime I am happy to offer it to you for $89 USD/night!  For all of you freezing your way through the 5th or 6th massive snowstorm to hit the North East US, find a flight and come down to beautiful and balmy Acapulco.  The best months for weather here, by the way, are January-March.  Every month is excellent here but those are the coolest (averaging 30-32C or 86-90F) and very low humidity.

Hasta La Vista

That's it for now.  Until next time, you know where to find me... on the beach!

Regards,

Jeff Berwick

Manager

January 2011 Newsletter

Happy New Year from Acapulco!

Welcome to a photo-filled edition of our monthly newsletter!

We spent new year's eve here in the building.  We invited over a number of friends  including other condo owners and even some of the guests staying in our hotel suites and had a fun night on our patio in our new apartment (more on that below) overlooking all of Acapulco Bay.

I've been here for 3 years but last year I spent New Year's Eve in Puerto Escondido and the year before that I don't remember where I was, but I wasn't here.  So, this was my first Acapulco new year's and I have to say, the fireworks were very impressive.

The reason it was so impressive is because everyone around the entire Bay all set off their own private fireworks in a big, chaotic showdown that went on for nearly 15 minutes!  There must've been hundreds and hundreds of fireworks set off in all and it was quite a beautiful sight.

I didn't take any pictures of the fireworks but I took a few sunset photos from my apartment here.  Here is a selection:

Then, a few minutes later, I snapped this photo:

And then a few minutes after that, the encore:

RENOVATIONS

We finally got around to putting up some before, during and after photos of some of our renovations.  You can see a full page with all the photos here: http://acacondos.com/renovations

If you remember, we sold 1510N to an American lady in November.  Inside of 6 weeks we turned her apartment from this:

 to this:

to this:

We had it completely renovated and rented out, gaining income for her, literally one day after we finished renovations.

We just received a really nice note from the woman who owns that apartment, here is what she said upon seeing all the photos and video of the upgrade (which you can see here):

Dear Jeff:  Thank you so much for taking the photos and putting them all together!!  I love it!  I can hardly believe that I now am the proud owner of that condo!!  Wow!!  Thanks!! Without you it would have been impossible!

As well, you may remember we had 2906/2907S available for sale in November but it was sold.  Who bought it?  I did.  It was two front units, combined into one unit on the 29th floor.  I originally planned to buy it, renovate it and resell it... but we did such a great job that I just love living here now and so, for the time being, I am not going to resell this unit (although I've already had many offers!).  Here are a few photos:

THEY TOOK OUR PHOTO FROM SPACE

And, before we go, NASA Astronaut, Douglas Wheelock took a number of amazing pictures from space which you can see here.  Scroll down to photo #18, or click here, to see a great picture of Acapulco Bay taken from the Space Station.  We are almost exactly in the middle of the bay where you can see a few large rocks sticking out. 

ADIOS POR AHORA

And so, with that, I bid you adios until next month!  If you have any plans to come down to Acapulco please let me know and I'll give you a discount on our condos that we have in our boutique hotel (http://LTGPS.com).

Cheers from paradise!

Jeff Berwick

Manager

December 2010 Newsletter

Hello from Warm & Breezy Acapulco,

We've had a massive influx of interest and signups to receive our monthly newsletter in the last month.  I presume it is because of the unbelievably brutal weather almost anywhere north of here!

I've watched some news reports showing almost unlivable cold and snowy conditions from all across Canada, the US and Europe.  Even in normally warm places like Miami people have been putting on sweaters and mittens and snuggling up to their hot chocolate.

The colder than normal temperatures have even affected Mexico.  Places like Cancun and Puerto Vallarta have been dipping into the low 50's F overnight.  While not cold, those temperatures do count as being "nippy".  Last year in January Cancun was regularly dipping into the 40's F... that is not what people expect when they go for a Mexican winter vacation!

Acapulco is also noticeably cooler this year but because it is much further south, "cooler" here just means less hot.  This is the forecast for this week in Acapulco.  It probably won't change my more than 2-3 degrees either way until April when it will start to get a little warmer.

That's highs around 31c and lows around 20c, in Centigrade.

As I am writing this I am sitting at my workstation with the patio windows open and a nice warm breeze flowing in.  In the background I have the TV on, tuned to the Monday Night Football game in Minnesota.  For those who didn't know, Minnesota's Metrodome stadium roof collapsed last week from the weight of the snow and they are forced to play this game outdoors tonight in 9F (-13C) snowy conditions!  I always enjoy watching games like that from the beach in Acapulco.

SAFETY IN MEXICO

I hate to have to bring it up again but it is quite obvious that the American/Canadian media have people questioning the safety of Mexico.  

We recently had guests stay in one of our suites at the hotel (http://LTGPS.com) from Chicago and the first thing they asked me when they arrived was, "Is it safe?"

I responded to them, "It's safer here than Chicago."

They were so shocked by that statement that they couldn't even respond.  I decided to break the awkward silence afterwards by stating, "Did you know, the average amount of people shot in Chicago every weekend is over 30?"

They both then, laughed, and said, "Oh, well, we don't live in that part of town."

I responded, "Neither do I, here."

Another person forwarded me a "news" story titled, "Mexico's Drug War Leaves 30,196 Dead in Four Years".

But if you run the numbers, that is 7,549 per year in a population of over 100 million.  That works out to a murder rate of 7.5 per 100,000.  How does that compare to US major cities?   Washington DC has a murder rate of 31.4 per 100,000.  Philadelphia is 23.0 and Chicago 18.0. Mexico City, by the way, has a murder rate of 8.1 per 100,000.

Another headline I saw recently stated "45 Murdered in Mexico Today".  Well, the amount of people murdered in the US in 2009 was 15,241.  That works out to 41.7 per day.  Where is the headline stating, "42 Murdered in the US Today".

I don't want to belabor the point but I did want to point out that in almost any statistical category the amount of crime and violence is higher in the US than in Mexico.

A DAY AT THE BEACH

There is a really nice beach restaurant/bar/lounge about a 5 minute walk from AcaCondos called Santa Lucia Playita.

I was there, yesterday, spending another beautiful day on the beach and I took a bit of video to give you an idea of what kind of vibe is here.  It's a great vibe... lot's of people go with their families.  I went with my girlfriend and my little girl.  We spent about 3 hours on one of their beds they have on the beach.  My girlfriend had 2 vodka/tonics and I just had a large Coconut and a bottle of water.  Total cost: $12.

Here is the video:

If you ever visit us and stay in the hotel or buy a condo and are living here I highly recommend regular visits to Playita!  You'll see me there at least a few times per week!

SUITES FOR SALE

The double-sized Suite # 2906S sold this month and so we currently only have 2 studio suites at 2503S and 2809S and Penthouse #3006N.

We mentioned last month that there were new laminated floors going into 2809S and that we would soon have pictures.  Well, the flooring went in as planned but the suite has been booked solid ever since so we have not had any opportunity to get in and take pictures.  The suite is quite solidly booked until March but we are hoping to sneak in and take photos in between guests.

All of our suites which owners have placed with us to rent are almost completely booked from now until March, which is excellent news for anyone considering buying a suite and wanting to get some rental income because we really need to get more suites into our inventory as we've turned away many more hotel guests than we would like!

If you are looking for a vacation/investment property, now is a great time to buy as we can have a suite like 2503S renovated and rented out for good income usually within a month of purchase.  Or, even better, you can purchase 2809S which is already in the rental pool and getting excellent Return On Investment as it is already booked fairly solidly right through until Spring.

HOTEL

This is the space where I normally say, if you are interested in buying a suite but want to come down and stay in one first to try before you buy, we offer discounts to prospective buyers.  The only problem is, all of our rooms are nearly booked solid until March.

We still have the following dates available:

Penthouse Unit #3009N - January 2-13 is still available - and then it is completely full until March 15

Studio Suite #2809S - February 1-19 is still available

Studio Suite #1510N - January 5-15 is still available

Everything else is completely booked until March. So if you see any dates above that you are interested in let me know as soon as possible as they are booking up very fast.

And so, with that, I will bid you adios until next month!  Have a great holiday season, new year and keep warm!

Cheers,

Jeff Berwick

November 2010 Newsletter

Hello from Sunny Acapulco,

I am especially happy to be here at the moment as I just returned from a short trip to San Francisco - and while there are plenty of great things to say about San Francisco I found myself having to take 5-10 hot showers a day as I just couldn't keep warm with near freezing temperatures and a bone-chilling wind.

But, as I write this I am stationed on my patio in Acapulco with nothing but the sound of waves lapping below, blue skies and the sun beating down and I am very happy to be back!

The Mexican Tourism Conundrum

I always love reading mass media - it's like pablum and propaganda mixed into a dangerous puree of spin and misinformation.  My favorite is whenever the media declares a "conundrum".  As example, I remember watching an American media program a few years ago and they brought up the "French Conundrum".  How could the french eat such fatty foods such as cheese and unlean meats and still stay thin, the news anchor asked, perplexed.  And, he added, they even drink wine with every meal!  The commercial then went to break and a succession of Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald's advertisements followed with happy families sitting down at a meal of fried chicken and fried potatoes and washed down with a half gallon of coca-cola - total calorie count likely somewhere close to 2,000 calories (an entire day's worth) - most from fried transfats, sugar and salt.  Yet, the "French conundrum" of a people who tend to eat a fairly small portioned meal of fresh meats, vegetables, some nice cheeses and a glass of white wine, usually at a leisurely pace, continues on!

And so, it was with the same general level of amusement and disdain that I recently heard a similar conundrum.  Given that Mexico is the most dangerous place on Earth, as reported by western media, a reporter recently stated how he couldn't believe that Mexican tourism numbers for 2010 were at record high levels.  Perplexed, he stated that, "the drug war fails to deter holiday makers".  But, just like the French conundrum the Mexican conundrum is also based on an incorrect premise - that premise being that Mexico is particularly dangerous - something which just isn't true.  In fact, only one city in Mexico would even rank in the top 20 against other American or Canadian cities in terms of homicides and certainly in terms of "crime" - that city being Juarez.

A Must-See Video on "Safety in Mexico"

The reason Mexican tourism is up, of course, is because anyone who has been to Mexico knows that, in general, it is paradise.  This video on YouTube best shows the silliness of some of the arguments people who have never been to Mexico have about Mexico.  It has some coarse language, so if you have sensitive ears you may wish to skip it.. but if you don't, it is excellent.  It's a perfect video to send your friends when they ask you if you are "f*#$king crazy" for going to Mexico! Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pzb3dIazGc

New Units For Sale

We have a beautiful new unit for sale.  It is unit #2809S and it is available for $73,000 USD.  It is located on the 28th floor and it is all fully renovated and has been in our hotel pool for a few months now so it is an excellent property for someone who wants a vacation property for a few weeks per year and wants to rent it out the rest of the time - or as a 100% investment property.  We already have the unit rented almost solid for most of December and January so it is an excellent revenue generator.  As well, we are just putting in all new laminated flooring this week - so check back in a few days to see the pictures of the suite with the new flooring.

As well, we have unit #2907S available for $149,000 USD.  It is a double-sized unit that has now been fully renovated with the most luxurious of furniture and finishings including a 60" Sharp Quattron LED flat screen TV and 7.1 Onkyo Surround Sound system.  The unit has just finished being totally renovated and we are just putting in the last touches now so we will also be putting photos of this suite at www.acacondos.com in the next week as well.  It is located on the 29th floor and it is the 2 front-most facing suites combined together - it is, by far, the most beautiful and luxurious condo in the building.

Studio unit #2503S is also still available for $65,000 USD.  It won't be available for long - it has one of the best views in all of Acapulco.

And we still have available one two-bedroom penthouse unit, #3006 in the North Tower for $115,000 USD "as is" or for $149,000 USD with full renovation package which will make it eligible for rent in our boutique hotel, Las Torres Gemelas Private Suites (http://LTGPS.com).

Stay With Us to Try Before You Buy

As I always say when I sign off, if you are interested in buying any of our remaining suites let us know.  If you'd like to come down and try staying in our suites before you buy we offer discounts.  Just email us at sales@acacondos.com and we'll let you know what we can do.  Let me know soon, though, as we are getting almost completely booked from now until March - strange how people keep coming here despite the "drug war" - I guess it's just one of those strange conundrums that no one will ever figure out!

Until then, you can find me on the beach!

We'll look forward to seeing you down here!

Cheers,

Jeff Berwick

Manager

October 2010 Newsletter

Hello from Sunny Acapulco,

It is October and we are right at that point where most of the Mexican tourists are all back to school and work yet many of the American, Canadian and European snowbirds have yet to arrive.

In other words, it's quiet, real quiet.  There are really only two months like this in Acapulco - June and October.  Every other month of the year is quite busy.  Although business has been brisk here as two of our units were sold this month including one that I just returned from with the client and new homeowner here at the AcaCondos building.

But before I detail more on which condos have sold and what we have left, let's talk about a few other topics.

Expatriation Write-up

I am a bit of an entrepreneur.  A quick Google search will show you a lot of what I have been up to in my life.

But of all the things I do, there is one that I have a true passion for.  I have been and am very involved in the financial markets and believe in freedom - which is why I am in Mexico, because it is one of the "free-er" countries in the world.

As such, I write a financial newsletter called The Dollar Vigilante which covers topics such as investing in gold & silver for asset protection and about how to expatriate yourself and your assets to protect yourself from voracious governments and to declare personal independence.

I recently wrote a Special Report on expatriating to Mexico for our paid newsletter (the cost is $25/month or $300/year) but I am offering you access to it for free, here:

http://www.dollarvigilante.com/tdvmexicospecialreport

I go into far greater detail in this report as per items like cost of living in Mexico as well as the prospects for Mexico in the future.

New Wastewater Treatment Plant for Acapulco

Acapulco continues to make strides to upgrade and improve this 500 year old city with modern amenities.  Recently the Mexican President was in Acapulco to inaugurate a new $25 million USD wastewater treatment plant.  You can read more about it here:

http://www.presidencia.gob.mx/en/search/?contenido=59531&pagina=1&palabras=investment

Acapulco was known for letting some of its infrastructure fade in the 80s and 90s and lost a lot of foreign tourist business because of it.  But great strides have been made in the last decade and it is my opinion that Acapulco is on the verge of a rebirth in which it will regain the status it held from the 1950s through to the 1970s.

Real estate prices are still incredibly cheap here when compared to places like Cancun and Cabo but that won't stay that way for long once the world re-discovers Acapulco.

Units Sold & Units Remaining

It was a quiet month in terms of tourist traffic but not in terms of interested buyers.  The double-size unit #2907S sold a few weeks ago and just as I write this today #1510 in the North Tower sold.

That means we currently only have 2 units for sale.  Studio unit #2503S is still available for $65,000 USD.  It won't be available for long - it has one of the best views in all of Acapulco.

And we still have available one two-bedroom penthouse unit, #3006 in the North Tower for $115,000 USD "as is" or for $149,000 USD with full renovation package which will make it eligible for rent in our boutique hotel, Las Torres Gemelas Private Suites (http://LTGPS.com).

We may have an already renovated studio suite coming up for sale in the coming weeks.  It already is part of our boutique hotel and already has good rental income and bookings - so it is excellent as an investment property (which you can also use as you wish, as well).  It is a beautiful studio suite and will likely be priced in the $70,000s.

In fact, once suite #2503S sells I doubt we will have any suites available under $70,000 anymore because of the increase in demand and increase in prices in general here in Acapulco.

My personal opinion is that these suites should be valued around $100,000 anyway so it is a real bargain to get them for anything less than that.

Stay With Us to Try Before You Buy

As I always say when I sign off, if you are interested in buying any of our remaining suites let us know.  If you'd like to come down and try staying in our suites before you buy we offer discounts.  Just email us at sales@acacondos.com and we'll let you know what we can do.

But, again, we suggest you book early because almost all of our suites are nearly full from November through to March right now.  Our hotel brand has become very popular and we have limited availability in the winter months.

Until then, I'm heading down to do some Yoga at the pool.

We'll look forward to seeing you down here!

Cheers,

Jeff Berwick

Manager