Dear Realtor,

I came to find your email address via Facebook. That's perhaps the first time I've followed a linked advertisement there!

We've recently started thinking about buying an inexpensive condo apartment in Puerto Vallarta. We live in Vancouver and most recently visited PV in May of last year. We are in our mid-50's and have a little bit of saved cash which could go into a retirement apartment for future winters.

I expect the market isn't as affected there as in many warm-weather US spots. Being no mortgage meltdown, I know many owners are willing to 'wait out' this period of declining prices in the US sun-belt. Still, the market must be less active than several years ago. Eventually, sellers will probably have to encounter a little more reality when they cannot sell at the 2007 bubble prices.

We do not desire anything posh or large. We are simple folks with a modest lifestyle. We are looking for a small, simple apartment in the centro area of PV proper. I absolutely hate the McBox-type apartments out by the marina and hotel zone. We have travelled the world and are perfectly happy 'roughing it' a bit. The charm of PV comes from the real Mexican-style, vintage buildings on the slope behind the Romantic Zone. As we are not seeking any mortgage, we must stay within the budget price range. (Have you seen what $70,000 buys in a place like Palm Springs, California nowadays! Quite a lot!) We especially want to be within walking distance of the town, the river, and beach. I wish there were resources where I could read up on all the old town developments from the 80s and 90s. I would imagine that there are no cheap listings to the south, but we did see how easy it would be to live anywhere along Route 200 as far south as Mismaloya.

Anyway, we'd love to hear from you about what you think of current market conditions and the availability of the type of property in which we're interested. We're not desperate to get into the market immediately and wish to pick the best time over the next several years.

We look forward to your suggestions and thank you for your time.

Dennis S. Hurd