Guanajuato, Mexico -- The Rip Off Factor

I debated whether or not to call this blog entry one of my "Most Hated Gringo in the World" entries or what I posted above. Either way: I wrote of the "Rip Off Factor" years ago in both books and articles. This was one of the many things that earned me the title: THE MOST HATED GRINGO IN THE WORLD.

The Rip Off Factor is a warning. It an alert. It is what happens when the Gringo moves to Mexico, Guanajuato or where ever, and who has this horrid misconception that Mexico and the United States is one in the same. They really do think that Mexico is just another United States of America. Mexico is America.

Years ago I tried correcting this misguided notion. In my first book I repeated the phrase, "Remember, Mexico is not America." When this book hit the shelves was when I received the first example of what happens when you go public with just about anything.

A woman from New York, which explains a great deal if you must know, read that book and threatened to come to Guanajuato to find me and slap me. She actually published that comment on Amazon.com and now is banned from posting on Amazon for her nefarious efforts.

I've heard this from so many Mexicans I've interviewed in the tourist industry. Americans come to Mexico expecting everything to be just like America. Now, these tourists are making their way to Mexico as Fakepats and their ignorant notions haven't changed a bit.

Not only do potential Gabacho Fakepats have unscrupulous Mexicans to contend with that will try to rip them off in the house purchasing nightmare, but there are unscrupulous Americans who come here and set up shop with no accountability whatsoever. They too can, and often do rip off the Gringo.

San Miguel de Allende is a case study.

In Shelia Croucher's great article about SMA, THEY LOVE US HERE, she makes my point exactly how Americans have moved to SMA and begun illegal businesses. They pay no taxes, they do not pay their hired help's Social Security--require by law--and generally operate as lawless entities with no oversight, ignoring Mexican law.

If they will ignore the Mexican law in unethical defiance and immoral behavior, what makes you think they will treat the American looking to buy real estate from them in any more ethical or moral manner?

Unethical behavior begets unethical behavior.

The linguistic and culturally uneducated has to watch out for the Mexican and now the American trying to sell him or her a house.

The Rip Off Factor has grown by the power of two.

This says it all:

The new real estate developments make no sense at all. They are asking approx. $5000 per 1m2. in a country where a decent salary is $500 per month. Again, it makes no sense. Once you buy a unit in such development good luck selling it. If the locals cannot buy it then who can?

Only a foreigner.

Well...considering how many structures are going up there is a good chance that one will be stuck with it for good. Are there any disclosure regulations? Does one know what he/she is buying?

The man who worked in some real estate office tried to sell me a unit for 200K. He called it "fractional". When I told him that fractional is just another definition for a time share he objected and was demonstrated to me to me that he was insulted. Speaking of manipulation! According to him a time share is 1 week but that particular fractional was for a month. So, I told him if one buys a 4-week period it becomes a month. Anyway, they think that if you come from the USA you must be dumb but rich.. The money we earn in the US are grown on trees. -- Online Forum

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