TalkBaja.com » Baja Mexico Forums » Moving to Baja Full/Part Time

I'm moving some personal items from San Diego, all used except the gas grill and the boxed parts for a 12'x24' steel building, to some recently acquired property in Baja. I understand I have a period of time after acquiring the FM3 to bring stuff in duty free. I am making a list in English and Spanish describing the items. I want to build an unattached deck to the parked 5th wheel, should I buy deck material at the Home Depot in San Diego or Ensenada, considering sales tax in CA and possible Mexican duty charges, higher cost in Ensenada, etc.

All thoughts appreciated.

Thanks,

Bob

I have heard, but not verified that the one time FM-3 exemption is no longer valid.

Decking material in Mexico is a crap shoot. If possible, it would be advisable to try and use an importer and bring in TREX or other composite........also a steel storage shed??????......I would try and get a Rubbermaid or similar shed (try COSTCO)....would last longer.

just my 2 cents worth

I keep hearing that the manaje de casa has been discontinued, but I know one person who initiated the process with their hometown Mexican Consulate within the last 3-4 months & another person who is using the same one-time tax-free importation of household possessions in the immediate future....so I'm not personally convinced it's no longer a viable option.

By the way, you're going to get nailed on the storage shed if it was purchased within the last 6 months regardless; the manaje de casa specifically excludes obviously new items/still in OEM packaging.

byoungquist, you do have to apply for it officially; if you simply make up your own inventory with 3 copies in Espanol & spring it on the guys at the border, you'll be subject to paying importation taxes on your itemized list. Check with your local Consulate to make a determination whether the hassle & fees for the certified translation & copies might break even or exceed the importation fees since you seem to be talking about a whole lot less than an entire household worth of goods.

Metal vs rubber/plastic....this is one of those damned if you do & damned if you don't situations! The salt air will rust or corrode virtually all metals here & the intense sun bakes plastic items into a very brittle mass muy rapido. There's always wood, but then you're dealing with voracious Mexican termites!

Regarding the decking....have you considered steps down to a poured cement patio? Might be more cost-effective & require less maintenance over the long-haul.

BajaGringo would be an invaluable resource to discuss the best materials suited to various projects for that geographical area. (BG, I'll be watching for a check in the mail!)

I wouldn't bother trying to bring in duty free household stuff. It's all used and if you work with one of the brokers at the Otay Mesa crossing and let him know that you don't want to pay a lot of duty, he'll take care of everything. A discrete tip at the end of the transaction would be appropriate. The duty on used items will be a drop in the bucket. Even new stuff can be "undervalued" by the broker. Good luck.

Two questions.

I have an FM2 and plan on trying to use my one time free import of household goods.

I have a 6 x 12 enclosed trailer with a bunch of used household items in old booze boxes. I also have a few new things like a small 8 cu ft freezer, microwave, 19 inch flat screen TV etc which are new within the last month. I still have them in their original boxes but have removed the stuffing, foam and manuals. I thought I could convince them that I saved the boxes for travel!!

Second question is do I have to go through the Otay crossing? I have always went through Mexicali in the past.

Any advise and suggestion is always appreciated.

Warren

We looked into bringing our belongings "duty free", but the paperwork, accounting, inventory, and hassle wasn't worth the effort. From what some here on the board say, it may not be an option anymore anyways.

When we moved all our personal goods a year and a half ago through OTAY MESA, this is what we did:

Take EVERYTHING out of it's original box and re-pack it in U-Haul, Lowes, or Home Depot type moving boxes, even if it's 10 years old. If it's a large appliance like a fridge, get big pieces of cardboard, foam, or whatever you can find to wrap and protect it. Items in their original boxes will only cause you headaches as you argue with customs about its "newness".

Try to pack like items together, this makes it easier when they inspect you. And they WILL inspect. We made two trips with a loaded 19 foot cargo trailer, and both times they partially unloaded the trailer.

The only thing you want to spread around is clothes. For some reason they are a bit picky about clothes. They don't like to see you bringing a bunch of them.

We made a simple inventory of our items:

Kitchen Supplies
Books
Refrigerator
Living room furniture
Table
Chairs
Dresser
Book Shelves
Etc.
Etc.

Just a simple list like above, but do make sure you somehow include EVERYTHING that's in the trailer. If they find something that you can't put in a category in the list, they will dig further to see what else they can find.

As far as value, we let them decide the value. We were told by many others, and found through personal experience, that the value they assign will be far less than what you would have claimed. Used goods have a much lesser value in Mexico than in the U.S.

If you have some new items you're worried about, pack them so they're accessible, claim them as new and pay the duty. It will be about 16%.

MAKE SURE YOU BRING PESOS! They will not accept dollars, credit, or debit cards. Estimate what you believe your goods are worth, multiply that by 16% and make sure you have enough pesos to cover the duty. It's almost certain their estimate will be below what you think it's worth, so you should have plenty of pesos to cover expenses.

Overall the experience was pleasant, if not a bit time consuming. Customs was very courteous and professional, and the brokers were easy to deal with. The whole process takes from about 1 to 2 1/2 hours depending on how crowded the customs area is.

Make sure you pack so it's easy to unload at least part of your goods as it's a given they will take at least some of the items out of the trailer to inspect them:

Most excellent advice there; thank you!

Wooo, I take it the gross smell you intentionally "cured" into your new refrigerator to give it an "essence of age" aroma still hasn't totally gone away....since you didn't offer advice on how to "age" a new item!

Thanks BigWooo for the advice. I'll post a picture of how I have the trailer packet so you can comment on it. Looks like I need to repack a bunch of stuff.

Longlegs - I wonder if I put a dead chicken in the freezer would cause them to think it is used haha.

I see no one has commented on if we need to go through at Otay. We have always crossed at Mexicali. Last time in March we went here with a pickup loaded to the max and a small 14 foot fishing boat loaded also with household items and they did not even look at anything. We had the detailed list in English and Spanish and we prepared for inspections but no one even looked.

Warren

wrjorgen, sorry, I've only crossed at TJ, so don't have any information on the requirements vs pros & cons of other crossing points.

Besides, my one-time tax-free household move with done by a professional moving company in February 2000 & I wasn't at the border when it crossed & was inspected....but in hindsight WISH I would have been! Nothing that was unpacked & inspected was repacked at all, so open boxes with fragile items all tossed back on top of their individual original packaging materials was what I discovered upon receipt of delivery...things which left my home crated for protection (leather & oak sofa) were no longer crated by the time they arrived in La Paz. Two legs broken (one at the joint & the other mid-leg) off a tall (long-legged) antique oak sofa table my grandfather made in the late 1800's!

The dead chicken idea would only work if the freezer was off for a month or two!! But you may wanna rethink that idea, since the smell apparently TOTALLY PERMEATES the interior for a long, long, long time!!!

Everybody I have talked to recently that has brought down more than what you could stuff into a large suitcase tell me it is much easier at Tecate right now. If you are going to be bringing a lot and need a broker it will probably be easier at Otay.

Wooo gave some excellent advice and I would strongly consider it...

Need a couple of questions answered.
1) Do you need to have an FMT at a minimum to bring household items across the border? I will get one to be safe.
2) If I bring a load of say $3000 worth of household items. (Mainly large items) 2 couches 2 bedroom dressers, a bedroom chest of drawers, 3 large area rugs, a grandfathers clock, a office desk, and a book shelf and go to the declare lane will a broker be available at OTay crossing during normal daytime hours. Or do I have to obtain one ahead of time?
3) I heard that there is a $1500 limit? Is that the limit without getting a broker?
Thanks Keith decerning

Originally Posted by Amigo Arizona

Need a couple of questions answered.
1) Do you need to have an FMT at a minimum to bring household items across the border? I will get one to be safe.
2) If I bring a load of say $3000 worth of household items. (Mainly large items) 2 couches 2 bedroom dressers, a bedroom chest of drawers, 3 large area rugs, a grandfathers clock, a office desk, and a book shelf and go to the declare lane will a broker be available at OTay crossing during normal daytime hours. Or do I have to obtain one ahead of time?
3) I heard that there is a $1500 limit? Is that the limit without getting a broker?
Thanks Keith decerning

We've done lots of importing over the years with FMT, FM3, and FM2. We've never been asked for our immigration status for import purposes.

A broker will be available during normal daytime hours at Otay. The broker office is closed on Sunday, I'm not sure about Saturday.

When we did our big import two years ago, you had to have a broker if it was over $1000.00. The broker only cost the equivalent of about $150 dollars.

If your items are used, let them determine the value, don't offer a value of $3000 dollars. That price is probably based on what you feel the goods are worth in the U.S. Used items don't have as high a value in Mexico.

In the 8 + years I have lived in Baja my immigration status has never came up when bringing things into Baja when we moved all our furniture down we didnt even have a tourist visa. the only place it has ever ben asked for is at Guerro when going south if its open. On ocasions where we had to pay they just told us how much.

I think "unofficially" you gain a little leverage on some things with an FM-2 or an FM-3.

We would bring in a car load a litle at a time at Otay. For single large items, we would use Tecate.

I'm now a firm believer that you should buy as much as you can in Baja....washers, dryers, refrigerators.......some good deals to be had at the segunda shops on used and NEW items. Eliminate the border hassle, support the locals.

Originally Posted by Teniente

I think "unofficially" you gain a little leverage on some things with an FM-2 or an FM-3.

We would bring in a car load a litle at a time at Otay. For single large items, we would use Tecate.

I'm now a firm believer that you should buy as much as you can in Baja....washers, dryers, refrigerators.......some good deals to be had at the segunda shops on used and NEW items. Eliminate the border hassle, support the locals.

I totaly agree I bought or replaced all of my large apliances since I have ben here just purchased a new Samsung Triple door refigerator for 1/2 of what it cost in the States.

I am going to try and bring a vehicle pulling a 24 foot trailer and another vehicle pulling a 12 foot trailer. Wonder if they will accept both vehicles each pulling a trailer as one load or if I will have to pay the broker fee two times, one for each trailer.

Hola. Where di you buy your refrigerator? Ensenada?

When I moved here with household furniture I too made an inventory in English & Spanish, had my FM3 in hand and the proper form from the Immigration Office in San Diego. Two trailers (not enclosed) covered with tarps and towed by pick ups.
Entered the "Declare Lane" at San Ysidro on a Sunday morning at 0800.

Would not allow us to go through. "Come back tomorrow"! We had to as friends helping me were still employed so it had to be today. I asked if we could pay some extra money and be allowed to pass through (thinking a bribe might work at this point). He grabbed a preprinted pad and walked back to the two trailers and did a walk around. Scribbled out one of the forms and told me to take the form over 'there' and pay at the bank!

I did. $53.00 dollars, the form was stamped and I returned to the same man and gave him the papers. He waved us through and away we went! That's it, end of story.
So no matter what you plan on you just never really know!
Good luck.

PS: I tried to give him $5 dollars afterwards for helping me out but he refused the $$.

The great thing about the current guys working Mexican customs at San Ysidro and Otay mesa is that I have found them to be much more professional than the previous crew. I have never even sensed a hint of any of them wanting a bribe when I have brought merchandise through. Also, if you don't have a receipt and the items looks even slightly used (hint-hint), everything is negotiable. I recently had purchased four 240 watt solar panels from a guy outside San Diego who was building solar into his new home construction. He had bought two pallets of the panels and the county made him cut down on the size of his roof from a neighbor complaining that he was blocking his view.

So I got four new panels at a very good price but with no receipt. I was prepared to pay $3-400 in duty but was able to negotiate it down to just $90.00.

I wish now I had bought all 8 panels he had left over. I will be putting panels up on top of the terrace sun room soon...