Pesos vs. Dollars...Make up your mind!!!!!!!!!
When I moved to Mazatlan it did not take me very long to realize..."hey, their money looks funny". Mom said I wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. In the beginning, I continued to use my US dollars, after all this is what I was comfortable using. Why change? When I arrived in Mexico, the exchange rate was close to 10pesos/1dollar....easy math. I would go to a restaurant and my bill was 200MXN (pesos). It did not take a "Bill Gates" to figure I owed about $20US, "mas o menos" (more or less). But my change was in pesos....now what do I do?? How do I get my "comfortable" dollars??
Today, the exchange rate is 13.1225 against the US dollar. The exchange rate is 12.0357 against the Canadian dollar. The exchange rate is 18.5507 against the Euro!! Does anyone have the phone number for Bill Gates??
Once I accepted the premise, "In Rome, do as the Romans", life became much simpler. I began to notice the paper pesos were very colorful. The coins had the denominations written on the coins!! Maybe I should just use pesos!! When I dined with fellow foreigners, occasionally I noticed they were still using their "comfortable" currency. Bring out the calculator, Bill!! "What's 15% of 200pesos, I mean dollars....what do I mean? What is this, centavos!!! Move over, Bill, I am pulling out the American Express!!"
Well, the same holds true in real estate. When a transaction is completed at the Nortario's office (lawyer), the sale price is paid in pesos (remember, we are in Mazatlan, MEXICO, not Mazatlan, OREGON!). If an offer is submitted and accepted in another currency, the conversion is done at the exchange rate THE DAY OF CLOSING. Because of the recent, and dramatic, fluctuation of the exchange rates, this can give everyone (including yours truly) a heart attack.
We can not ignore the fact the world economy currently revolves around the US dollar (apologies to my many friends in Canada) and is the reason most condominium projects and many houses are priced in dollars. However, the Mazatlan Dream Team encourages home owners to price their real estate in pesos. This resolves many surprises at closing. If the foreigner is the buyer, they may or may not be happy as to the amount of their OWN currency they must bring to the table, but they do know the purchase price (in pesos). If the foreigner is the seller, they can deposit their pesos into their Mexican bank account and wait for an exchange rate they are happy with. Many of my friends make (or lose) money by selling or buying different currencies....a topic I am not familiar with and is the reason I AM STILL WORKING for a living.
I realize this is a lame attempt in answering the question, pesos vs. dollars. But Selene and I have noticed it is a FAQ on our website. If you still have questions about the debate, please........ask my colleague, Selene!!! LOL She has lived both in the US and Mexico and traveled Europe....and she has a calculator.