Would I recommend investing in property in Mérida? What is it like to renovate an old home in the city? What problems or challenges can you be aware of if you are considering a project in the city? Let me fill you in on the details of our two and a half year journey with property in the 'white city.'
In October 2021, my husband and I decided to go all in on a restoration project in Mérida, Mexico. Our plan was to renovate the 1880s home and place it on AirBnb in order to one day earn passive income and at the same time secure ourselves a vacation home for years to come. Wins all around!
Over the last couple of years, tourism to Mérida has grown in leaps and bounds and we indeed purchased our property at a good time as prices continue to rise for these types of centrally-located houses.
Lesson #1: Specify what you are looking for before committing to a house
Our first challenge was to find a house within our budget, within a reasonable distance to the city's tourist attractions, and to find a house with 'good bones' - a house that we would not have to practically bulldoze in order to turn it into a renovated oasis.
We almost closed a deal on a tiny house in La Ermita zone which was on the beautiful cobbled Calle 64A street and just steps away from La Ermita church and park. The renovation project was almost complete, which would have saved us a lot of time and resources.
However, we started to have second thoughts as we were unsure how our family would fit into the space to sleep, let alone how we would be able to invite guests ever. Not to mention that the pool looked more like a small water fountain than an actual pool.
In the home's favour, many single people and couples come to visit the area and don't need or want much space. But, it was not a match for us. It took us all of this to figure out what we really wanted in our renovation project: we wanted the best location possible and enough space for our family plus a couple of guests.
We later found a house that was only slightly over budget and it had a full facade. The front of the house was 8 metres wide, which can be hard to come by, as many homes in the area are subdivided multiple times leaving long strips of oddly-laid-out homes and land sometimes measuring 4 metres wide by 40 metres long.
The house that we chose came with great bones - thick walls, high ceilings in the front sections of the house, original ceiling beams, space for three bedrooms, and a fantastic back yard. And now the fun really began.
Photo: The back yard with view of the original construction before beginning modifications.
Lesson #2: You will have to find an architect that understands the final project you are looking for, and keep in mind that you may be subject to the timing of the INAH
Thankfully, we found an architect quite quickly who also worked as our project manager. A local of Mérida, his knowledge of local materials like chukum, hand-painted tiles, hard woods, and bajareque made us feel more comfortable working with him. We visited multiple projects he had worked on before making our decision. His style was perfectly aligned with what we were looking for - a combination of modern comforts while retaining key elements of the structure without losing its Yucatan essence.
If you are in certain sections of downtown Mérida, you need to get permission from the INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia) to build, besides all the other usual building permits. This can hold up your construction project for a very long time - from months to years, so if you are considering restoring a home in the city, be sure to check and see if the property falls within the INAH domain.
Lesson #3: Budget situations and construction delays are par for the course; take them into consideration as early as possible to avoid challenges
As per usual, we experienced the typical construction delays that most projects undergo. Not to mention, we were significantly more over budget than we had initially thought. We certainly had to get creative around the halfway mark to make it all come together.
However, we were on track to finish the project completely for our first family trip to our casona in August 2022 when advances came to a halt.
The rainy weather was supposedly to blame as the carpenter disappeared for days at a time. The wood couldn't be treated properly with all the humidity. The wet weather also affected the individual making and hand-painting our floor and shower tiles - he could not get the tiles to dry and they were just crumbling to pieces.
We stayed in the house for three weeks that August with construction going on all around us, floors incomplete, and minimal furniture - but, at least the air conditioning was installed and the pool was mostly in working order!
The floor tile and some carpentry elements put us back almost three months... While we had hoped to launch in September 2022 on AirBnb, we ended up with our first 'trial' guests in late November 2022 and our first 'official' guests in January 2023.
Photo: Some of the construction being done in the main house during our stay in August 2022.
Lesson #4: Be picky about your property management team
The key to a successful AirBnB is certainly highly related to the property management team that you have working with you. We live in a different state in Mexico and there is no way that we could manage this property from where we are with the quality of service that we want to offer.
After interviewing multiple managers, we went with the most costly option - a highly experienced team with close to 10 years working in the area. We definitely made the right choice. Their suggestions for setting up the house were vital to our success.
With any new home, there will always be issues that come up while the house 'settles' so to speak. Our property managers were on top of everything and they also managed to keep the house occupied about 70% of the past 18 months, which, for a new home is stellar.
Our property management team recently underwent some restructuring and we are in the midst of a switch, but I am sure that we have found a great new manager to work with who will hold the high 4.96 rating that was established on AirBnb.
Lesson #5: Learn to treat your vacation home as an investment and keep on top of maintenance
This final challenge, we saw coming. We know that all homes require maintenance, especially in hot and humid areas where the sun and moisture can affect different elements of the home. We also need to dedicate funds to keeping on top of maintenance and making ongoing improvements - our next investment will be solar panels, for example.
We have visited our casona multiple times in Mérida and are always so thrilled to be there, in our own home, that feels something like a hotel. However, our main goal for the property at this point is to ensure that it is bringing in money to maintain the house and to earn a reasonable income from it. So, at times we hold off on booking the house in particular during top travel season so that we can take advantage of the increased influx of visitors.
Photo: Almost ready for our first guests. View of renovated original construction.
Summary
This experience has indeed been a journey of learning, and one that we are still on. However, we have really enjoyed the entire process - except for maybe the three week stay in a construction zone! All in all, we are so proud of the transformation the house underwent and how much our guests enjoy staying at our place.
Even with the multiple hiccups along the way - and trust me, there have been plenty more than those mentioned here - we would not have it any other way.
Photo: View of back yard and new construction ('casita' or third bedroom and full bath).