The Mérida Fix

I was correct in my previous assertion that there had been a delay in closing. But Alonso got it all worked out and everything is done. We are now the owners of a garbage filled lot in Merida! For better or worse.

It was a good day. It was my mom's birthday, my dad passed his driving test to get his license back and we found out that the land was ours.

It's an odd feeling, knowing that we own a piece of Merida. Something I thought might never happen, that seemed like a silly dream for so long. It solidifies a connection for me.

I wish we had the money to built right away, but that's not realistic. But boy are ideas running through my head and my Pinterest page is fattening up. I've started following architects from Merida on Instagram and Facebook. I am ready to do this!

I'd love to fly down and get the keys and hang out in our garbage dump. But that will have to wait a little bit. Maybe in October sometime. There's no hurry, I guess.

I knew this post wasn'…

I have still heard nothing. Do I own that property or not? I don't know.

In fairness to all involved, I have not inquired in a week. The last email I sent was the one to Alonso and Isaac saying the check was ready to be picked up for closing.

I've debated whether I should email them again and ask what's happening. But there's some part of me that just thinks, no news is good news. I've done all of the things I can reasonably do, so hopefully this silence is either just nothing, and everyone is satisfied and has moved on to other things and kind of forgotten to say "hey, everything is cool." Or they are having problems on their end, maybe getting the timing right for closing, that doesn't really involve me. And which I needn't bother them about.

I sneak on Isaac's site occasionally to see if the property is marked sold yet. Still "under contract."

I will probably wait another week before I email anyone again. I feel like there's a…

It's Wednesday. The day closing is taking place in Merida. At least, I think today is closing.

I heard from Alfonso on Tuesday that they received my paperwork and had the cashier's check ready to roll.

I emailed Alonso and Isaac, letting them know that it was ready to be picked up.

So far, all I have heard back is silence.

I can't say that I'm too concerned. I've done everything I can do at this point, so it either will get done today, or it won't. Nothing I can do anymore.

It's a sort of tranquility I guess I haven't had much of since this whole thing started. It's an odd feeling. I'm no longer searching online for properties to buy, or wondering if I'll ever own one or stressing about signing things or moving money. I'm just kind of existing with the knowledge that I'm almost there and I guess this is the next chapter.

Not much else to say today. Just wanted to provide an update. Even if I didn't really have a satisfying one to…

On Friday, close to 5 p.m., I finally received the email I had been waiting for.

Someone from the bank wrote me back to confirm the info so I could sign the paperwork, mail it to Merida and get the check prepared for closing on Wednesday.

I confirmed the info, she emailed me the document, and I printed out a few copies and did my best to sign exactly as in my passport.

I got up early Saturday morning and drove to a WalMart. I thought it would be nice to include a post card from North Dakota with a thank you to Alfonso, for when he opened the package.

I mean, he may not care and will probably toss it out, but I figured it's best to be true to who I am. And I like that kind of cheesy, personalized type of stuff. WalMart had nothing of interest, so I stopped at CVS. Selection was limited there too, but I found one good enough.

I drove over to FedEx as they opened and had them help me ship it off.

Two pieces of paper and a postcard. $57

Yikes.

But, whatever. Maybe the post office woul…

On Wednesday I emailed Isaac and Alonso. Letting them know the exchange was done. The money was all ready. All I needed was a firm date on closing so I could book my flight. Was it going to be June 20th?

I didn't hear anything Wednesday.

Thursday morning I received an email from Isaac. The documents were all back and ready to go, and since I had the limited power of attorney in place and the seller wanted his money, closing would be next Wednesday, June 13th.

Well, this is a problem. On a couple of fronts.

Of course I can't make it in less than a week's notice. That's maybe not a problem, just a disappointment.

The bigger issue is the cashier's check to pay the owner.

For that to happen with me not there requires some finagling. First, I need to know the name on the check and the amount. Check, easy enough. But then I also need to have the name of the person who is going to pick the check up in Merida along with their personal ID, presumably someone working at Alon…

Back home in the U.S. on Monday I went to my bank and wired money to my Mexican bank.

So, here's how best I understand the process that took place.

I wired the money domestically, not internationally. I am wiring the money into a U.S. account which is held by the Mexican bank. My money goes in there, other people's money goes in there. It's just an account with a lot of money and my money is just tagged with a description like "hey, this is Jason's" or something to that effect. When I am ready to exchange the money for pesos, the Mexican bank "buys" my dollars and pays me in pesos into my account in Mexico.

Anyways, Monday I wire the money and I wait. I assume it takes awhile to go through, so I don't expect any updates that day.

Tuesday morning I check the exchange rates and the peso is falling. Past 20:1 at times.

I am nervously anticipating Alfonso's call. I know the bank opens at 9. Maybe 9:30?

The peso is still falling. But for how long…

I flew into Merida last Thursday night. Friday morning at the bank to set up my account with Alfonso. Friday afternoon meeting with Isaac, the realty agent, and Alonso, the notary, to set up a limited power of attorney in case I can't make it back down for closing. Saturday morning meet the owner at the property to look around. Sunday back home again.

It was a quick trip, so quick and so busy it almost feels like I hallucinated it.

The flight down took most of a day, arriving in Merida Thursday night around 7 p.m. Got through the airport and took a taxi to my hotel.

I know! I stayed at a hotel in Merida! This was a first. Every time before involved renting a house. But this time I felt like it would just be easier to rent a room, especially since I was going to be running around so much, there probably wasn't going to be a lot of time to enjoy a house.

I stayed at Koox Art 57, in the Santiago neighborhood. It is a small boutique hotel and the room I stayed in had a tiny side p…