|
The State of Baja Sur and COVID.
Baja Sur is busy for the high season! Mexico seems to be one of the only places US tourists can still get away, so people are showing up in droves. Tourists are out and about, and luckily most are very respectful of social distancing and wearing masks. Restaurants are open and activities are happening across the peninsula, while taking COVID precautions. All in all, everyone in the area is enjoying themselves in the sunshine while sipping that margarita. People that have decided to visit are mainly the ones who have chosen to take the risk to travel so have a slightly different mentality than people with higher risks. Beaches are all OPEN. We do see the crowds at Cerritos more spread out then a typical season. We have not seen the camping communities on beaches as we have seen in the past. We are not exactly sure if this is banned, or simply discouraged this year. The other thought is these were mainly Canadian communities, and Canada has made traveling much more difficult than the US, so many travelers may have decided to stay home. COVID. It is hard to know of COVID numbers exactly as it is still expensive to get tested, but not impossible. We have not heard of any major outbreaks in the community lately, and typically that news spreads quickly. That being said, the state has announced we may go from “orange” to “red” on their stoplight system, but no specifics are being said yet on timing. There is also an article posted on Baja Insider stating that it is a law to wear a mask outside of your home. That being said, there is no enforcement of this except in restaurants. We have seen places temporarily shut down until they are meeting COVID guidelines. http://www.bajainsider.com/article/face-coverings-now-law-bcs Below is information on Mexico’s traffic light system. The color is reassessed every 2 weeks. https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/mexico-s-covid-19-traffic-light-7584965/ You can also learn more and stay up to date on the 2 week changes: https://ogletree.com/insights/red-orange-yellow-green-go-considerations-for-reopening-in-mexi co-social-educational-and-economic-activities/ Appreciation and Apologies. We would first like to appreciate our incredible Tu Casa community for standing with us during our family emergency. We have been beyond touched and humbled by the support and love, plus the abundance of patience you have given us. This was of course 100% unforeseen, and you have allowed us to continue our business while doing what was need as a family. You are our lifeline. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! On that note - I apologize we have not had a newsletter since August! Sal’s injury was in September, so it makes sense August was the last one. Wow, it seems like a lifetime ago. I am getting back on the newsletter writing bandwagon. :) We are happy to keep everyone updated on Caringbridge, and LOVE the comments of support and encouragement. We are VERY happy with Sal’s growth, and general miraculous recovery. I will not get into details here as I am trying to keep that for Caringbridge. We are hopeful Sal and I will be back in Mexico full time in the Spring. We will find out more details next week after the next round of images. https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/saldamarco Business News. Alex just arrived back in Mexico today, January 7th. Nancy, Marta, Bibiana, and Meghan have been working their tails off while we were both gone. We have a few contracted employees you may have seen around, or heard us speak about, Luis and Chuy. Our team is growing and we could not be happier. We have so much appreciation for our intelligent, hardworking, problem solving, and committed Tu Casa team members. We have hired Meghan Dohnal part time to help with invoicing and financial tracking. We are working hard to create systems that work with our growing business. If you see any mistakes on invoices, please let us know so we can quickly make changes. Thanks for your hard work team, and we appreciate all that is done to help grow Tu Casa. Taxes. Many questions have come in about taxes now that we finished awful 2020. I am sure many of you have seen the new regulations showing up in AIRBNB and VRBO emails. After speaking with our accountant earlier this year - we learned about the new short term rental law that went into effect JUNE 2020. I will write my best description of what this means for you, but I do encourage you to do some research beyond what I am writing so you can make the best decisions for your rental property. There are some areas that I am still unsure about, so again - please continue to do research and update us if you learn more than we know! Mexico has caught on to the income generated that is not being taxed through venues like Airbnb and VRBO/Homeaway. Airbnb and VRBO/Homeaway (and other sites) will now ask for your Mexican Tax ID. If you are able to provide your Mexican Tax ID then nothing will change. The government will assume you are already claiming your income and paying taxes accordingly. If you are not able to provide a Mexican Tax ID, the site will begin to take your taxes from your income. The breakdown looks like the following - Airbnb and VRBO already take 3% Hotel tax. This will not change. They will begin to take the 16% VAT tax. This is the basic sales tax for all of Mexico. Also, they will manually collect income tax. This is based on your monthly generated income: up to 5,000 pesos - 2%, up to 15,000 pesos - 3%, up to 35,000 pesos - 5%, over 35,000 pesos - 10% ● Let’s do some numbers:
What you really need to know: Airbnb is insinuating it is easy to obtain your Mexican tax ID - RFC number. This may be a good option for some, but there are positives and negatives for both getting this and not. If you have an RFC number, you are then committing to being a temporary or permanent resident of Mexico. This also means you will need to begin paying income taxes on your rental income - 30%. Although, you can also make deductions to reduce that rate. You will need to hire an accountant in Mexico that you pay monthly. You will also have to make payments to and from Mexican bank accounts for this money to be seen as taxed or as a deduction. If you are using your RFC number to send money to pay us, for example, you will have to pay the 16% VAT tax, which you later get back as your deduction. Confused yet?? It isn’t a terrible process, but in my opinion, if you are not living in Mexico as your primary residence, plan to start a corporation to hold your Mexican home, or have another greater purpose for needing an RFC, we strongly recommend allowing the booking site to automatically deduct your taxes. You can then claim that deduction and income through your US tax claims, as you will already have paid in Mexico. All in all, if you do not have an RFC number, you are not breaking any Mexican laws, you are having your taxes automatically taken out of your earnings from the booking site. Please let us know if you have any questions, as we are happy to connect you with accountants and lawyers that have helped us.
0 Comments
Storm Prep Time The State of Baja Sur. We have seen an upsurge in rental activity, however mainly long term rentals. We are also getting some short term rentals for people wanting to get away for a short weekend, or who are already in Baja. We are hoping people continue to see the benefit of beautiful rural Mexico as a COVID getaway. Let’s continue to think positively about the return of tourism and the end of COVID! Todos Santos, El Pescadero, and Cerritos areas are still generally reopened; however, beaches are officially closed. Luckily local authorities are not being very strict. We take our family down a few times a week without issues and happily enjoy the ocean. Police do head that way from time to time and politely ask people to leave. The beaches will clear and fill again within an hour. COVID-19 is growing in the area unfortunately. Many local families and expat families have reported being sick. We’ve also heard the beds in local Cabo hospitals are full, but I am unsure about private hospitals. Local restaurants are mainly open and following strict precautions, and authorities are shutting down places that are not abiding by sanitation rules. The airport continues to allow tourists. Hurricane Genevieve. As of today, Hurricane Genevieve is set to closely pass Baja. Currently the storm is a Category 4. We are securing all houses by bringing all furniture inside, making sure windows are secured, and putting up any hurricane shutters that are available. Please let us know if you have any specific needs. Alex and Nancy will be making rounds during the storm to ensure houses are safe and check for leaks. After the storm, we will assess any damage and send out reports to owners. By the end of the day we will have visited ALL our homes for storm prep. Please feel free to reach out with specific concerns. Tu Casa Logos. We have 6 vehicle Tu Casa magnets that are on the cars most used for business purposes. If a neighbor sees a car parked outside your home, please ask if they see a Tu Casa logo on the drivers side of the car, then they can rest assured it is someone from our team. We are also asking all staff to wear Tu Casa hats or shirts when they are working on property. This helps owners, guests, and neighbors alike trust the person in the home is with our company. Cleaning Updates. We have hired a full time cleaner, Bibiana. She has a background cleaning a high end hotel for over 15 years, and is already doing a fantastic job with Tu Casa. We have been working closely with her to learn everyone’s home with the direct help of Nancy. Nancy still acts as our cleaning manager, putting Bibiana’s schedule together, as well as teaching her the ins and outs of your homes. Alex or I still put eyes on the houses to ensure quality. This change allows us to go to your homes more often for spot cleans between guests without additional charges. We are happy to support this local family, and are hoping as we get busier to hire a second cleaner of equal caliber. She is also able to clean other homes under Tu Casa name. Please let any friends or neighbors know you know of a reliable cleaner through Tu Casa! We are trying to fill her schedule so we can keep her on full time. As a reminder: We will add an extra $10 per cleaning onto your bill from the cushion money provided from the renters for cleaning supplies. Luckily you will no longer see the cleaning supplies on your materials charges with the 20% increase. We will provide all cleaning supplies for turn-over cleans, including hand soap and dish soap refills, as well as sponges. We will still individually buy the following for homes with a charge - toilet paper, paper towels, dishwasher pods, and laundry detergent. At this point we will update your rental log to show the difference. I assure you, you will barely see a change, except for Alex’s happy face when he is no longer studying Walmart receipts! Home servicing. Air-conditioners were successfully serviced. We serviced 23 units in a two day period! You should be set for the next 6 months. We are currently working on our next 6 month service date so we are on the schedule. Note: Getting your air conditioner serviced is very important. If a gecko is in the compressor, the unit will short when someone turns it on. We also find freon runs low, the hoses need to be blown out, or the units need cleaning. These are all simple fixes with a service, but can be detrimental if not taken care of regularly. In-home Foodie Experience. We have a new team serving locally sourced food and drinks in your home, for both owners and guests. Chef Martha and Bartender Charlie will make food and drink to order, professionally serve, and even clean after! This duo is incredible and comes highly recommended. We’ve put together an exciting menu for the in-home service. I will send this in a follow up email once a few aspects are secured. Chef Marta will also be available for cooking classes as an experience - menu: ceviche, chicken mole, homemade tortillas, and mexican rice. It doesn’t get much better than an authentic Mexican cooking you can do when returning to the states!! Taxes. Remember, Airbnb and VRBO have officially started taking taxes out of any account that does not have a legal Mexican tax ID. Once we start seeing bookings again, we may need to adjust pricing to reflect these additional charges. A few personal notes. Please stay safe and healthy. We are all in this together, even if we are in different places in the world. Stay positive and reach out if you need anything at all. We will keep you updated on your homes. We are here for you!  Hats and Short Sleeve Shirts!!!! These are just the renderings, but short sleeve shirts and trucker hats will be here soon!! Please let me know if you’d like to purchase. Only $15 to sport and support Tu Casa!!! Let us know your order… who knows, we may run out. :)   The state of Baja Sur.
Baja has generally reopened! Tourists are starting to fly back in, and all is coming back to life… we think. Baja was set for reopening, but COVID-19 continues to inundate the world as we all know. Beaches were open for a brief period, but then they shut back down last Friday. We heard La Paz beaches were jammed packed, and Cerritos was similar but everyone was respecting social distancing here. Cabo beaches stayed open for a short time after we shut, but that was also short lived. There is no word as to when all will reopen at this point. The airport continues to allow tourists. Hotels and larger restaurants are strictly following guidelines to wear masks, use hand sanitizer, and step on clorox mats (we are not totally sure how effective the mats are). Smaller restaurants in Pescadero are not following such strict orders. Todos Santos in general is starting to buzz again, which is a great sign. Hopefully everyone stays healthy! We have not seen much in rental activity unfortunately. We had a small surge, but then it fell off again as cases began to rise in the states. We are hoping people see the benefit of beautiful rural Mexico as their first post COVID destination. Overall, construction is still happening, the area continues to grow, prices have not yet dropped, and there still seems to be a positive outlook. This is the perfect area to escape from the city, and social distance. Let’s think positively about the return of tourism and the end of COVID! Good News: We have seen a reduction in theft since business have started to reopen. There was also a slight surge as people became desperate, but once construction began again, all seemed to drop off. That being said, we are still vigilant of your homes and have continued to make extra visits. Tu Casa’s next steps. As we grow, we are working diligently to create better systems for our business efficiency. Much of this happens in real time as we don’t know we need a change until we are pulling our hair out from stress. We then have to step back and reassess our needs. Cleaning: We will no longer be billing for each home’s individual cleaning supplies. This was a monotonous and time consuming task of sifting through receipts for who received the extra large Cloro or the new mop. Instead, we will now ensure our cleaners have all supplies for the homes they clean. We will add an extra $10 per cleaning onto your bill from the cushion money provided from the renters. Luckily you will no longer see the cleaning supplies on your materials charges with the 20% increase. We will still individually buy toilet paper and paper towels for homes, as this is not included. We will not change this amount until we have run through the cleaning supplies that are currently in your home. At this point we will update your rental log to show the difference. I assure you, you will barely see a change, except for Alex’s happy face when he is no longer studying Walmart receipts! Staff: We officially hired Nancy as a FULL time Tu Casa staff member!!!!! She has now worked part time for many months, but she agreed to 100% be a part of the Tu Casa team. This is a very big deal as she has many talents. We have 100% trust in her ability and feel very lucky to have her. Meghan and Kevin are doing a great job with our Todos Santos branch! We all make a great team! Home servicing: With the hot season comes bugs and aircon use. We highly recommend any home that has an AC to get serviced. We are also seeing an uptick in scorpions and roaches due to the humidity and heat. We are scheduling full days with Gio (bug mitigation) and Azia (Aircon servicing company) next week. Please let us know if you would like to be on this schedule to get your AC serviced or your home sprayed. Note: Getting your air conditioner serviced is very important. If a gecko is in the compressor, the unit will short when someone turns it on. We also find freon runs low, the hoses need to be blown out, or the units need cleaning. These are all simple fixes with a service, but can be detrimental if not taken care of regularly. New chef and bartender team. We have a new team serving locally sourced food and drinks in your home, for both owners and guests. Chef Martha and Charlie will make food to order, create and serve drinks, and even clean after! This duo is incredible and comes highly recommended. A client tonight is getting a chicken mole meal accompanied by watermelon mint margs and spicy cucumber margs. Is your mouth watering? The food is beyond delicious and very reasonable. Full menu coming soon. Please spread the word!! Taxes: Remember, Airbnb and VRBO have officially started taking taxes out of any account that does not have a legal Mexican tax ID. Once we start seeing bookings again, we may need to adjust pricing to reflect these additional charges. A few personal notes. Please stay safe and healthy. We are all in this together, even if we are in different places in the world. Stay positive and reach out if you need anything at all. We will keep you updated on your homes. We are here for you! Bringing in the summer: The state of Baja Sur. We have entered Mexico’s Stage 3 of COVID-19. The government has issued a proclamation stating only 1 person per vehicle with no travel outside of essential needs - medical and food. Anyone who is caught will be fined or given community service. This began as of April 26th and will continue through May 31st. As of now, all is scheduled to reopen on June 1st. There are physical roadblocks at the south entrance of Todos Santos and all access points around Pescadero except through the main Oxxo road. There were locals acting as a checkpoint for the Pescadero entrance and north Todos entrance. Those checkpoints are no longer there, but there is still single access into both towns. We have heard of some looting, including a car being stolen from Cerritos recently. We have not heard of home looting. We do know there is some desperation in the area as resources start to get thin for people without paychecks. That being said, the overall feeling with locals is still upbeat. Neighbors are looking out for one another and many people are working hard to keep people supported with food. Our understanding is the roads to drive to and from all US access points are still open. We have had a few clients successfully drive back to the states within the past week, and a few more leaving within the next few days. We are seeing many Americans and Canadians leave that were planning to ride it out in their MX homes. We are also reading there are a few planes still flying down, but they come through with only a few passengers. Finally, we are hearing that tourism travel is not supposed to get into MX, but we have not heard of anyone blocked from entering. Tu Casa’s next steps. We will continue to do 4-8 home visits per month. When we can do more we will. We will also try to bring our family to homes as often as we can. We are loud and bring life to any space, so please be aware if we are all visiting your home or community, we are doing this intentionally. We’ve also been given permission by many owners to make use of the pool or decks to show a presence. If this is something you are strongly against, please let us know; otherwise, we may try to make an afternoon or evening out of a visit. This seems to be the best way to avoid intruders. Donate. There are many organizations working together to support food bags for local families. Please consider donating to ACTS. Airbnb & Tu Casa. Based on the information through Airbnb, our understanding is they are giving 25% of all canceled reservations to owners within a certain date range. We also believe there is nothing that needs to be done on the owners end to claim this money. This is great news! We understand these reservations were canceled, and typically when our owners receive payout from a canceled reservation, we still collect commission. When an owner does not receive a payout for a canceled reservation, we do not collect our commission. All that being said, Tu Casa was prepared to not collect any money to help the cause as we knew our owners were also acting selflessly. Our ask - we are not going to calculate the 20% of the 25% of commissions collected. If you are able to pay Tu Casa our commission, this is greatly appreciated. If you are not able to pay based on your own needs, we completely understand this is a difficult time for all. Please know, we are a small business within our first two years and we are working hard to stay viable. We continue to pay our people and give work to locals whenever we can, as we have not cut salaries to our workers. While the 20% of 25% may not seem like much, this will help us get through these next 6 months. Our goal is to stay afloat as we are offering this needed service. We love living here and want to continue to grow as tourism comes back. Now, as many do, it is time to make it through this tough phase. We also greatly appreciate any help with referrals for security checks on homes, side jobs that need completed that either we can take or we can offer to our local employees, or any other sources of income. We will continue to work hard for our clients, and to rebuild this beautiful place we all love so much. If you do choose to include the commision with your future payments, please send an email so we can properly account for the money received. We want to make sure all is tracked. Thank you! A few personal notes. Please stay safe and healthy. We are all in this together, even if we are in different places in the world. Stay positive and reach out if you need anything at all. We will keep you updated on your homes. We are here for you! TCCPM. Cerritos, BCS tucasabaja@gmail.com Rachel’s cell: 720.354.0022 Alex’s cell: 203.892.5133  Coronavirus Updates:
The state of Baja Sur. As we all know, we are in an unprecedented situation. There are many uncertainties and unknowns moving forward. There is no need to reiterate all we’ve been watching and hearing on the news. Here are some points pertaining to Pescadero, Cerritos, and Todos Santos areas specifically.
Tu Casa’s next steps.
Invoices. Our biggest issue is getting our invoices out in a timely manner. We apologize for this delay. We will take this break in rentals to get fully caught up and then create a better system for moving forward. Please be on the lookout for your invoices for February in the next few days. We understand this is a tough time financially, and we truly apologize for not having this done sooner. We appreciate your support. A few personal notes. Many of you reached out about our little guy’s surgery. He had his tonsils and adenoids removed plus tubes put in his ears this past Thursday. As kids do, he is recovering well. We appreciate your support and patience for the few days Alex and I were not as responsive as we focused on family. We are so happy to have such a supportive network. Please stay safe and healthy. We are all in this together, even if we are in different places in the world. Stay positive and reach out if you need anything at all. We will keep you updated on your homes. We are here for you! Take a load off in Baja! Employment shout out.
Nancy has been our right hand since I worked at the Hacienda. She helps us with translation and interpretation, navigating systems we do not understand, and most importantly - with all of your home cleaning. If you happen to see Nancy, please give her a huge THANK YOU for all of her hard work. She works as our part time employee, and she is also our cleaning manager - overseeing the ladies that clean your homes. We truly appreciate Nancy!! Cleaning and set-up. When you come to visit your home, we ask that you set up the beds, cushions, cabinets, kitchen drawers, and artwork just as you’d like, then take pictures. We will pass these on to Nancy. This greatly helps us help you. If we can get new pictures once a year or as you bring in new items, we can keep our cleaners up to date with your needs. New Mexican rental tax laws. Big Changes! After speaking with our accountant - we learned of a new short term rental law going into effect JUNE 2020. I will write my best description of what this means for you, but I do encourage you to do some research beyond what I am writing so you can make the best decisions for your rental property. There are some areas that I am still unsure about, so again - please continue to do research and update us if you learn more than we know! Mexico has caught on to the income generated that is not being taxed through venues like Airbnb and VRBO/Homeaway. Airbnb and VRBO/Homeaway (and other sites) will now ask for your Mexican Tax ID. If you are able to provide your Mexican Tax ID then nothing will change. The government will assume you are already claiming your income and paying taxes accordingly. If you are not able to provide a Mexican Tax ID, the site will begin to take your taxes from your income. The breakdown looks like the following - Airbnb and VRBO already take 3% Hotel tax. This will not change. They will begin to take the 16% VAT tax. This is the basic sales tax for all of Mexico. Also, they will manually collect income tax. This is based on your monthly generated income: up to 5,000 pesos - 2%, up to 15,000 pesos - 3%, up to 35,000 pesos - 5%, over 35,000 pesos - 10% Let’s do some numbers: $2,000 USD income on rentals in January 10% - $200 (Income Tax) 16% - $320 (VAT Tax) 3% - $60 (Hotel Tax - already deducted) Total: $580 taken for taxes plus your airbnb/vrbo fees. This is significant. While it is frustrating, I also understand why the Gov’t is stepping in, and this is also happening in other areas of the world with short term rental sites. The issue is many of you pay taxes on this income in the states or Canada. I recommend speaking with your accountant, as I have no idea what those next steps would look like so you do not pay double. If you are considering obtaining a Mexican Corporation to hold your rental under, we can recommend a wonderful and honest lawyer to do your paperwork. This does not take place until JUNE so there is still time to problem solve. We would love to have further conversations to help you create an individualized plan based on your rental goals. Business updates. Facturas, Taxes, and Fees WE NOW HAVE OUR MEXICAN BANK ACCOUNTS - USD & PESO! If you would like us to provide you with a factura for our transactions, we will charge an additional 16% VAT tax. You can still pay into our US accounts, and we will transfer the money to our MX accounts, or you can pay us directly into our MX account. If you are paying into our bank account and/or paying the 16% tax, then this means you can claim this as an expense. Otherwise, you can continue payments through Venmo, Zelle, direct deposit (US BANK), or Paypal into our US account. Paypal has further fees than they have had in the past, so we are trying to avoid this method. Please know the client is responsible for fees. The ATM fee is 14.87 USD per money withdrawal. You will begin to see this on your invoice as it has greatly impacted our bottom line. We love offering you this service of paying bills, but need a system where we are not negatively impacted. Also, we are charging a 5% money holding fee for money we put on our credit card or take out of our accounts, as we are losing money for the amount we are paying upfront. Our goal is to NOT charge fees!!!! Here are a few ideas - 1) You provide an account we draw directly from for your MX money needs. You provide us with an ATM card as we withdraw as needed, of course providing receipts for all. 2) Provide pesos on hand to use for your specific needs the next time you are in town. 3) Provide us with USD on hand. You would still be charged the ATM withdrawal fee but not the 5%. 4) We go through our Mexican bank account, charge the 16% VAT taxes and you deposit money from the bill directly into our account. We have no major fees when we pull money out of our Mexican ATM, so no ATM fees. 5) We are open to any other ideas!! Administrative and Combined Inspection Fee (just as a reminder) After being operational for one year, becoming legal (and all that comes with it), and understanding individual property needs, we have an understanding of our business and each property’s scope more completely. For full transparency, to maintain our level of service, for a typical rental property, we will charge a flat monthly fee of $100 USD. This price includes the 4 (security) HOME INSPECTION checks per month plus the basic administrative oversight for your account (~10 hours per month). As we know, new charges are never fun and we understand you may have some questions. Please feel free to contact us as we are happy to discuss. You will see the change on your January invoices. We truly appreciate your understanding. Managing expectations. One of the largest hurdles we face is the guests’ expectations versus reality. People all across the globe are reading about Todos Santos and Cerritos as a hidden gem, then quickly book without a lick of research. While we don’t want to scare people away, we also don't want people to have a miserable experience, thus leaving a negative review. I have added a paragraph in our listings explaining the reality of the area, this way it covers us as the managers and you as the owners. The issues I listed are the majority of complaints we receive. We would rather be upfront so we can be on the front side of complaints. If you manage your site, please feel free to copy and paste to your site. If we newly manage your site, we will take care of adding this. Cerritos, Pescadero and surrounding areas are considered RURAL Mexico. We love our guests to have this understanding before arrival, which helps manage expectations. Infrastructure and certain amenities are still developing in many ways. Electricity is fairly new to this area (within the last 3 years), so there are times of power outages. Many systems are only on solar and are not tied into the power grid in any way, solely relying on sunny days. Driving at night is dangerous due to cows on the road or cars without headlights (not banditos!) Please go slow. Most roads off the main highway are dirt and all roads in the area have potholes with lots of bumps. Most roads do not have street names, and houses do not have addresses. You must rely on the maps provided and do a little research of your own. Baja midnight is considered 9:00pm, and expect many businesses to close at this time. Buildings typically leak during rains, and water can come under doors depending on the amount of rain. We are in the desert with many new human inhabitants, therefore, the natives do make appearances. We attempt to mitigate this as much as possible, but please do not be surprised if you see a mouse or two, flies and gnats (bobos), ants, scorpions, or a rare snake. This area is considered safe, but we do still have petty theft. Please lock electronics and valuables in safes or locked cabinets when you are not home. We recommend trip insurance as unfortunately we cannot refund for weather or rural Mexico related incidents. Growth. We are officially growing. Welcome to the Tu Casa family Casa Marina, Casas Quain, Casa Palmeda, Casa Poole, Casa Margan, Casa Rustika, Casa Lita, and Casa de Sur (2.0). We are happily overseeing the HOA maintenance and grounds at Puesta del Sol as well. All of this growth means we can expand our resources and continue to hire. We are in the process of updating our website to reflect our new rentals and properties. Kevin and Meghan are doing amazing work with our new Todos Santos expansion! Happy New Year from Baja!
As the tourists arrive, your houses are filling up! Whether you are a seasoned renter or new to the game, surprises come around every corner. This newsletter is to keep you updated on the latest and greatest in the area, and with our business. New Hire. We have officially hired a new part-time employee, Danny. Danny is the office manager at the Hacienda Cerritos. Rachel and Danny worked together previously and he comes with the highest recommendations. Danny speaks English and Spanish, and has multiple resources for vendors within the community. Danny will help negotiate work with these vendors for our clients, he will coordinate timing and work completion, and will also oversee our invoicing. We are working on streamlining our systems to ideally get our invoices out in a more timely manner. We are very excited to have Danny as a part of the Tu Casa team!! Security. We have had a few break-ins in the area. Luckily, Alex was able to be onsite within minutes of one situation on New Years Eve. The thieves mainly stole electronics. (Thank our small children for us being at home at 11:30 at night!) In all seriousness, we’ve been fairly lucky for a while, but we can never let our guard down. We will discuss with guests, cleaners, and vendors that ALL windows and doors must be locked. We will also ask that outdoor lights are left on if renters are going out in the evening. If you are interested in further home security systems, we do have a few contacts that can install cameras, charlie bars, or sensor lights. We want you, your home, and renters to be protected and have a sense of security. Let’s hope these incidents were isolated and we continue on a positive path. Business and Monetary Updates. Facturas and Taxes If you would like us to provide you with a factura for our transactions, we will need to charge the 16% VAT tax. We will have a corporation bank account in Mexico within the next week. To pay us directly to this account, you will be charged the 16% VAT tax, which also means you can claim this as an expense. Otherwise, we can continue our payments through Venmo, Zelle, direct deposit (US BANK), or Paypal. Paypal has further fees than they have had in the past. We are trying to avoid Paypal as much as possible for this reason. Please know the client is responsible for fees. Peso Needs Now that we do not have a source of getting peso cash on hand (Hacienda), we have to pull money out of our US account to pay for any items that we do not receive into our Mexico account (which needs to include that tax). You will begin to see our ATM transaction fee for up to 6,000 pesos we pay out of pocket for items. The ATM fee is 14.87 USD per money pull. You will begin to see this on your invoice as it has greatly impacted our bottom line. We love offering you this service of paying bills, but need a system where we are not negatively impacted. If you have a better system, ie - you have an account you would like us to draw directly from for your payments, we are happy to do this - or if you would like to give us pesos on hand to use for your specific needs, we are also happy to use this as an option. We are also open to other ideas. We have a new client with a different mode of payment. They opened a Mexico specific bank account in the states. We hold the bank card and they transfer money in as needed - to pay vendors (gardener, CFE, etc.) and to pay us our invoice. We withdraw out of the ATM in pesos as needed. We think this is an excellent method if you are able and interested to do something similar. Please let us know. Administrative and Combined Inspection Fee: After being operational for one year, becoming legal (and all that comes with it), and understanding individual property needs, we have an understanding of our business and each property’s scope more completely. For full transparency, to maintain our level of service, for a typical rental property, we will be charging a flat monthly fee of $100 USD. This price includes the 4 (security) HOME INSPECTION checks per month. As we know, new charges are never fun and we understand you may have some questions. Please feel free to contact us as we are happy to discuss. You will see the change on your January invoices. We have many clients that use our services for more than vacation rental management - but home management or construction oversight. We love offering this service for our clients. If you would like to discuss a set monthly price for this service, please let us know; otherwise, we will continue to bill hourly. (ie meeting contractors, opening the home for services, and any outside work from the rental management and four monthly Home Inspections.) We can create a specific price depending on your needs. Go Slow to Go Fast. We are exploring the option of expanding our service area to Todos Santos and further north. We have a couple, Meghan and Kevin, that will begin working for us as contractors to service northern properties. Alex and Rachel will continue to manage all communication and online forums. Just as our business grew slowly with our Cerritos and Pescadero properties, we will keep the same model for further growth. We are looking to expand to between 1-3 houses maximum for the time being until our systems are in place. Our goal is to ensure our customer service for owners and guests alike always remains constant. We always appreciate referrals!! Exceptional offerings. IN HOUSE CATERING: We have a fantastic local chef that will cook delicious multi-course meals delivered to your home. The chef and his wife deliver the food, set the table, and then return a bit later to clean. We’ve had a handful of guests take advantage of this and absolutely LOVE the whole experience. Prices: Between 28 - 55 USD per person depending on meal specifics and number of people. (plus tax and service fee) IN HOUSE MASSAGES: We use a local and licensed massage therapist. She will visit your home to give a professional massage on your private patio or in your room. This is a great offering to guests that are looking for the full relaxation experience. Prices: 65 USD for 60 minutes or 90 USD for 90 minutes Please help us promote these offerings as it makes your guests stay absolutely memorable! TCCPM. Cerritos, BCS tucasabaja@gmail.com 720.354.0022 203.892.5133 Tu Casa Baja - Concierge Property Management
The Season is Upon Us! The beach is busy and the town is packed! As the tourists arrive, your houses are filling up! Whether you are a seasoned renter or new to the game, surprises come around every corner. This newsletter is to keep you updated on the latest and greatest in the area, and with our business. Business News: Our Mexican Corporation is officially formed. We submitted our paperwork 7 months ago, and are finally official. Our corporation name is -TCCPM-. We will meet with our accountant shortly to see if there is any information you need as our client. We will let you know as soon as we know more. We survived the rain: As we all know, Baja construction is not built for rain. From our 3-day rainfall last week, most houses had some leaks or water coming in through doors. There were guests that understood, and others that were upset. Lots of towels were used to mitigate the rain coming into your homes. Next steps: It is important that you decide as an owner how you want to handle the inconvenience of rain. We see a few potential options 1) offer some type of discount or gift certificate for the trouble of a home leaking, or 2) state something in your listing about not being responsible for weather or inconveniences due to weather. Either way, I think a good idea for all is to put in the listing a blurb about infrequency of rain in Baja, but if it does rain, please be aware of the following - leaking, rain in doorway, etc. Please let us know your preference so we are able to accommodate your guests accordingly. Also, when we do have heavy rains, you may incur extra laundry costs outside the normal cleaning bill. Depending on the size of the house, we have seen an extra 2-5 loads of towels when there is an abundance of water. End of the year bonus: According to the Mexican work laws, all employees are entitled to 15 days (two weeks) of pay as a Christmas bonus. How does this impact you? If you have gardners, housekeepers, cooks, or anyone working for you (even if it is as cash only exchange), this is the time of year to pay their bonus. We are happy to facilitate this for you if needed. It is important to uphold this law, and as a general standard you have incredible people working for you on your homes so we want them to know they are appreciated. https://www.focusonmexico.com/christmas-bonus-mexico/ What can you expect from your renters: This is the time of year you will make a large majority of your rental profits. We will do our very best to make sure all renters have a great experience. We always provide a welcome package from Tu Casa Baja including 4 beers, limes, chips, and avocados. We want renters to come in and enjoy a little snack and drink as they get settled into their new home. If you would like to add something to this from the owner, please let us know and we are happy to make it happen. We also continue to communicate with renters when they are in-house, and quickly respond to their needs. All that being said, there are times that no matter what we do, renters are just not happy. Many times people come down to Cerritos and Pescadero thinking we are just like Cabo, when we are truly still rural Mexico with a few extra perks. We have found our best defense is first to continue to be kind, and second, to be preventative by managing expectations of the area - dirt roads, no major grocery stores, etc. This is truly the charm of the area, but it takes some people a little longer than others to see it! ;) We will do everything in our power to give your guests a fantastic experience, and get you a raving review! Communication and work timeline: We pride ourselves on quick communication. That being said, we also have to prioritize our tasks at times. Please know, when vacation guests are in house, they are always the first on the list! We will drop whatever is necessary to help them with immediate needs. If owners are in house, we know our response time is important as well. We do ask for 24-48 hours response time for non-emergency but more immediate needs. If a task needs to be accomplished that is not an emergency - we will have to schedule this for the future. With so many guests in house and reservations actively coming in, unfortunately we are not able to jump at each non-emergent task. Alex is doing very little handy-man work, so these types of tasks will likely be sourced out, or put on hold until the season slows down. Thank you for understanding! Keeping your home stocked: As your home is more frequently occupied, you will run out of certain soft goods, and from time to time items may go missing or break. We will make Costco runs and local shopping trips for supplies. We are happy to purchase items for you if you are not here to resupply yourself. We do upcharge 20% to cover cost and time on all items. If you need a larger item, we are happy to negotiate a fixed price. SOFT GOODS:
Exceptional offerings: IN HOUSE CATERING: We have a fantastic local chef that will cook delicious multi-course meals delivered to your home. The chef and his wife deliver the food, set the table, and then return a bit later to clean. We’ve had a handful of guests take advantage of this and absolutely LOVE the whole experience. Prices: Between 28 - 55 USD per person depending on meal specifics and number of people. (plus tax and service fee) IN HOUSE MASSAGES: We use a local and licensed massage therapist. She will visit your home to give a professional massage on your private patio or in your room. This is a great offering to guests that are looking for the full relaxation experience. Prices: 65 USD for 60 minutes or 90 USD for 90 minutes Please help us promote these offerings as it makes your guests stay absolutely memorable! TCCPM Cerritos, BCS tucasabaja@gmail.com 720.354.0022 203.892.5133 |
RachelCo-Owner of TCCPM Archives
January 2021
|
RSS Feed
