Rustic, 1/2 Agricultural, Ranch for Sale in Cuencame, Durango, Mexico

Purchase or Joint Venture(Jatropha Curcas,alfalfa,cattle )

This property is located 20 minutes East, Northeast of the village of Cuencame, Durango, Mexico. Access from Cuencame is via a seasonally maintained flat dirt road. Cuencame is 48 miles South of Torreon, Coahuila. The highway from El Paso, Texas (562 miles) is a divided toll way with an exit five minutes North of Cuencame. The trip is a smooth 11 to 12 hours, with services and security along the way. Cuencame is a town of 7,000 people (debatable) with limited services for the tourists. There is bus service, however. Numerous small locally owned restaurants, four low end hotels/motels, and a gas station. There is a small town square, church, schools through high school, a local police force, and a lively small business commercial community. Daily scheduled jet flights service from two major towns (Durango and Torreon) within two hours distance.

The climate is high desert (5,183 feet altitude) with the mean temperatures being 38/93 degrees Fahrenheit. Annual rainfall is 16.4 inches with the bulk between late June and mid October (12 inches).

The surrounding property, which is owned by Ejidos (collective group of people holding land formed in revolution times) who raise goats, cattle, engage in some dry land farming (mostly corn), and the mining of Bentonite(white clay). Neighbors on one side have a large pond and on the other, an old Spanish well. An adjacent Ejido has a 6-8 inch well at 45 meters(cost is 50 U.S. dollars per meter). My property has no well, but is in a better position as far as water tables go. A test well was drilled some years ago. As of November, 2008, there is a 12 inch well being drilled right next to the West property line. I talked to one of the people associated with that 3/4 inch test hole and he said water was at 8, 18 and 30 meters in quantity. Permits to drill and extract are available. The cost is about 250.00 U.S. Dollars and takes 90 days. Wells in the area run from 15 meters to 490 meters.

Recent agricultural investigation shows that drilling a well and doing pivot irrigation primarily for Alfafa, which has a ready local market and for exporting, is very profitable. I am told you can get eight cuts per year. The run off can be terraced with grass for cattle, which also has a local or export market. Recently, it was determined that Jatropha Curcas, one of the best Bio-fuel feedstocks can be grown here (no frost). The Jatropha Curcas can be inter-cropped for a 30% increase in revenue. The inter-crops would be sun-flowers, an other oil based product. Most farmers here grow dry land crops, primarily maize. Across the valley to the South are Mennonites who grown a variety of vegetables I am told. Most of this information has been verified by people who know the area and visiting prospective purchasers who are either farmers, ranches, or bio-fuel feed stock operators/investor people.

This property is in two adjacent sections butting up very close to a beautiful mountain range to the north. I am told there are deer, which can be hunted in those mountains, but I have no first hand knowledge. The only animals I have seen on this property have been rabbits and coyotes. There are a couple of small rises on the property about 40 feet high and the other maybe 150 feet. The property is gently sloping, so it is well drained. There are only piles of stones for the surveyed corners of the property. The vistas go for miles here. There is one arroyo on the property which could be dammed up to hold running water, which happens occasionally. The city informed me that this could be dammed and just notice given. No permit is necessary. There is no standing water on the property. The ground cover is primarily cactus plants, scrubs, and grasses of many kinds. It is often very colorful when they are in bloom. I have never seen this property "burnt" like it was totally desert. It reminds me of the Tucson, Arizona area, but not that green and without the Saguaro or Organ Pipe Cactus. There are a very few trees in the lowest area where the water test hole is. A recent trip with ranchers/farmers indicates there is deep top soil (witnessed 18 feet) for maybe 1/3 of the ranch.

This area has some mining, primarily Bentonite. In Cuencame, there are several processing plants for this product. The product is white dry clay. It is use in pottery, well casings, medicine, and in kitty litter. There are some deposits on the property. My caretaker, who is a Bentonite guy (has worked as a purchasing agent and exploratory engineer for one of the principal companies), says that I may have a 2 or more hectares(five acres) of Bentonite on the property. He has suggested I rent a back hoe and do a little "exploration" mining to see what is there. Back hoe cost per day, including driver, which should be adequate to obtain samples is 250.00 usd total. There is local labor and transportation to do this with little or no investment.

There is adequate skilled labor in this area to put this property into a Jatropha Curcas Fuel Farm, a working cattle/goat ranch, activate a mine, produce some animal feed, build a home, sub-divide and set up a ego-agri-tourism project, or to just protect and maintain a retreat.

Recently, power crossed the property. It will cost about 3,000 dollars to install a transformer and interconnect. There are transmission towers next door and they have been stepped down with poles on the property.

The caretaker says the property can be completely fenced for 5,000 usd. Very little of the property is fenced (maybe 15%). Rustic barbed wire fence of course!

A well, tank, and electic pump can be put in for less that 3,000 usd.

This property is owned by a dormant Mexican corporation I own 99%. The taxes are paid up to date. The recent taxes for three years (2003,4,5) were 2507.15 Pesos. That is, at current exchange rates, 220 bucks, or about 73 dollars a year for 2,000 acres. The 2007 taxes are paid amounting to 40.00 U.S. Dollars. Not too shabby.

I can sell all(99%), or parts thereof, of the current issued shares of the Mexican corporation. I own these shares. An interested party would gain a corporation which has a broad ranch of available business activities, not just farming or ranching. And there are no taxes in this sort of a transaction. A Joint Venture would very very easy to activate.

Foreigners can own corporations and property in Mexico. Corporations need two owners and they can both be foreigners. The property can be titled and recorded locally. It takes a Notary public, which in Mexico is a special sanctioned lawyer who has a legal responsibility to execute buy/sell agreements and record same. There is a cost of course and each time property changes hands, there is a transaction charge. There is a new computer system in Mexico that you can have access to and sooner or later, you the owner, will show up as the registered owner. Taxes are now being handled locally. They will inform you of the taxes (you kind of have to remember to call or fax them at these early stages of the system) and you can wire the funds into the taxing authority bank account from outside the country. Just like any wire in the states. Then, you need to fax the info to the taxing authority. I paid the taxes for 2007 by depositing in a Ciudad, Chihuahua, Mexico bank called BanNorte, which is immediately across the border from El Paso, Texas.

The selling price includes all legal fees to transfer the property into the entity you choose. If you choose to form a Mexican corporation, the actual cost (your expense) will run from 1,000 usd here on the border if I hand walk you through it, to 3,000 usd maximum if a lawyer in the Cuencame/Durango/Torreon area does it. You will need original papers, or Mexican notarized copies, of your legal identification (like a birth certificate) or Immigration papers, or Incorporation papers. It is far easier and cheaper to buy the corporation, or part of it.

If you wish to finance the purchase, the sales price is 1,000,000 usd. A 300,000 down payment is required, the balance (700,000) is payable at 6,100 usd per month for 120 months, interest included(approx 4.6% simple, non compounded interest). In addition, you have to pay all the legal fees and taxes involved in the transfer at end of the 10 year contract. That could run as high as 20% of the sales price. If payments be in arrears 4 months, I will repossess the property and all improvements/assets contained on the property with no recourse by you. For this, an American style contract is acceptable and it would be legally recorded with a notary public lawyer (bilingual) in Mexico (here on the border in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua) which is fully legal and enforceable by both parties.

There is a caretaker, who can guide you to the property. He is reachable by phone and can meet you in Cuencame and show you the property. This means you have to drive there, or fly into Torreon and rent a car to get there (about an hour to an hour and a half). He only speaks Spanish. If you wish for me to accompany you, you will cover all hard costs associated with the trip. I can pick you up in El Paso, drive to Cuencame and return. This will require three days, but it certainly will give you a hands on understanding of Mexico, the local area and it's people if you have not had the experience. My time is flexible. If you wish to drive there yourself, be sure to bring the title to your car, so you can get the proper permit to take your vehicle into Mexico, or a notarized letter, converted to Spanish giving you the authority to bring the car into Mexico. You will need Mexican insurance on your car when you cross into Mexico. Generally, that can be arranged with your insurance company before you leave. You only need a birth certificate (original or notarized copy), to get into Mexico for personal permit purposes. With the new Homeland Security rules, you will need a passport to re-enter the U.S. if you fly from the States to Mexico and then return by flight. If you drive, either a passport or an orginal birth-certificate will be needed.

Email or call me if you have any questions. FritzMonson@: 915-263-0562 and 915-219-5250 U.S. or my cell 915-274-4303. If in Mexico call +52-656-12-1134 or my cell +52(1)-656-136-7772..