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Property tax predial


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1 hour ago, Alpha1 said:

...which have no bearing on the construction dimensions in question.

I agree...what I was trying to suggest, if you have not made any unauthorized changes etc then go ahead and invite the guys in....however!!! the unintended consequences of not being completely "true full" could  give you other exposure ...or not your house.... your choice

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If you invite any official into your home you are probably a fool. But if you do, make sure you pat them down before they get out the front door. Our neighbors, Roger and Carol, let a cop and 3 firemen into their house when there was a fire next door to them. The next day Roger sheepishly asked me if perhaps I, who was also in the house at the time, had taken a very expensive camera that was laying around plus his wife's passport. It was a rhetorical question and he admitted he knew better but in the excitement he invited them in.

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Just now, pappysmarket said:

If you invite any official into your home you are probably a fool. But if you do, make sure you pat them down before they get out the front door. Our neighbors, Roger and Carol, let a cop and 3 firemen into their house when there was a fire next door to them. The next day Roger sheepishly asked me if perhaps I, who was also in the house at the time, had taken a very expensive camera that was laying around plus his wife's passport. It was a rhetorical question and he admitted he knew better but in the excitement he invited them in.

I guess another subject and topic for discussion if we have the time and space

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When I discovered that the construction square meter was way off , several years ago I ask the people at city Hall to remeasure the house.. They measure everything constructed included patios that are not covered, pool and palapa. and lowered the square footage. No one asked to come inside the house.. The bathrooms are used by the water company not for predial. This lowered the taxes for the years to come, forget getting refund or credit on previous taxes  there is something really wrong in the dimensions of construction or lot or floors get it fixed before paying the taxes. 

I gave them the taxi money as they did not have transportation at the time....

Chapala is the head of the municipality Maincoons so it is normal that they work on it first , like it or not.

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Ferret,

I am only reporting what the man in City Hall told me when he checked on my information.  He drew a picture of the floor plan of the house without the roof and showed the dimensions of the walls which is said is what the builder reports and is the square meters of the house.  Then he showed the same house with the roof on and demonstrated where the extra square meters came from.

 

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Ferret,

I am only reporting what the man in City Hall told me when he checked on my information.  He drew a picture of the floor plan of the house without the roof and showed the dimensions of the walls which is said is what the builder reports and is the square meters of the house.  Then he showed the same house with the roof on and demonstrated where the extra square meters came from.

 

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1 hour ago, bmh said:

Chapala is the head of the municipality Maincoons so it is normal that they work on it first , like it or not.

For the most part they work on it only.  Big difference.  You and I have both been here long enough to remember when we had decent street repair and sweeping and the Malecon was maintained far better than now.  I see no indication that Chapala has had a similar decline in services.  

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We take all of our visitors to Chapala.  The waterfront and surrounding areas these days is lovely, well maintained and interesting and I'd say from direct observation the level of upkeep and improvement has increased considerably there over the last few years.  I don't begrudge that, my problem is the steady decline of similar services for Ajijic over the same time and the failure of our largely absentee (except at tax time) government to take responsibility and deal with that skate park blight they created and ignore, the general lack of upkeep on our Malecon and the increasing dirty and potholed streets here. 

The Malecon would be a lot worse if not for Canuck Bob (of Inside Lakeside) and the volunteers and money he marshaled to do Chapala's job for them.  They all deserve many thanks from all of us.  Recently they were at it again getting the benches repainted, thanks again Bob.  Last year you may recall another local group tried to raise other funds to deal with the proliferating potholes.  They were not nearly as successful as Bob and the Malecon volunteers.

While what all these volunteers do is extremely laudable I think it just encourages and enables the Chapala government to neglect Ajijic all that much more.  I expect they'll just continue to do little or nothing with the expectation that the people here will continue to do their job for them.  I don't think that is a good thing in the longer term.  I would hope the Ajijic business community, and particularly the Realtors, would be more more proactive in getting a better shake for our pueblo.

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We had the same problem of a large increase.  No need to hire a lawyer.  It took about 45 minutes of waiting for our turn but in the meantime one of the men did the research needed and had the documents ready for the man that was verifying and changing the information on the computer.  Both of these men that helped us spoke English.  We wound up paying less than last year instead of more.

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First, don't panic if you get a higher amount. As has been previously explained, they are using satellite to check on the actual square footage versus old records. Due to another issue, we had a property survey done and found we had a LOT more than what's on the deed...not quite as much as the municipality thought, but still... We were going to go through a lawyer to do the right thing and get the records updated, but it was a change of administration and it wasn't the time to do it, according to the lawyer. In all honesty, it got put on a back burner and we forgot. Then, I went to pay the predial. Wow, did it change...much more than expected. So, I went and explained the situation (there is a gentleman who speaks excellent English if you need help and he's really nice...in fact, they all are) and was told to bring our survey in. I went back the next day and the rep took the new stats, entered them into their data base and VOILA! we're now up-to-date and saved the lawyer's fees. Heck, I was happy (probably surprised the hell out of the official). Yes, it went up, but it is now accurate and fair. It was also as fast as possible in a busy time. The officials aren't looking to screw you over with a "gringo tax," they're just updating the database. 

One other note:  they're just doing their jobs. I saw a lot of folks trying to jump the line, get irate, etc, etc, over something we're all going through. Just be patient, be polite (bring a book or your cell) and wait your turn. In the end, we're still paying less for the entire year than we paid 15 years ago for one month in our last home in the US.  And yes, I know I'm comparing apples and oranges :)

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Tingting, I was given a reasonable explanation and supporting information on the increase. My measurements and their "estimate" were virtually identical, based on this I paid. I spoke to an English speaking  gentlemen there as well who was courteous and very understanding who helped in clarifying the situation.

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21 minutes ago, Alpha1 said:

Tingting, I was given a reasonable explanation and supporting information on the increase. My measurements and their "estimate" were virtually identical, based on this I paid. I spoke to an English speaking  gentlemen there as well who was courteous and very understanding who helped in clarifying the situation.

Alpha, I honestly don't know if you're now happy or not with your outcome (hope happy, of course), but I do know this is a frustrating time for many. I was extremely happy with our outcome because it actually saved us a step (going through a lawyer and having the same outcome). I was just trying to give others my particular experience in the hopes that folks would go in a little less riled up once they understood what was behind the increases. 

(Edit because I'm clearly not writing with a sharpened pencil!) OOPS...my bad (what a surprise!). Sounds like things worked out for you, Alpha. I'm really glad!

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