Buying a Beachfront Estate in Baja: What $3.5M Gets You

What does $3.5 million buy on Baja's Cerritos Beach?

On Cerritos Beach in Baja California Sur, $3.5 million buys a private, off-grid, six-bedroom estate spread across three separate units, with an infinity pool overlooking the Pacific, a six-car garage, and an operating Airbnb business that pulls in about $1,700 a night. It sits in the gated Tortuga del Sol community, roughly 20 miles from Cabo, and it can be sold furnished and turnkey with seller financing on the table.

By Rachael Smith | July 4, 2026

I just spent several days living in this home, not just walking through it for a listing video.

That matters, because a beachfront estate feels completely different when you wake up to the Pacific every morning than it does in a glossy photo. I was down in Baja with my coach and a group of creators, working out of one of the bedrooms and cooking dinner in the kitchen every night. So this isn't a drive-by tour. This is what the property is actually like to use.

Here's the full walkthrough, then I'll break down what a buyer should really be thinking about.

Let's start with the number everyone wants: $3,499,000 for 5,249 square feet, six bedrooms, and seven and a half bathrooms. In coastal California that price gets you a nice home on a normal lot. Here it gets you a compound.

Why the "three units" detail changes the whole conversation

The thing that makes this property interesting isn't the finishes. It's the structure.

This isn't one big house. It's three distinct units on one lot. The main house is three bedrooms and three and a half baths. Then there's a two-bedroom, one-bath unit, a one-bedroom, one-bath unit, and a standalone manager's quarters with its own kitchenette tucked near where the water gets pumped in. Watch me walk the layout at 2:17.

Why does that matter to a buyer? Because separate units give you options that a single floor plan never will.

You can live in the main house and rent the other two.

You can run the whole thing as a large-group vacation rental — it sleeps around 15 comfortably.

You can host family in one wing and keep your own space in another.

When you're buying at this price point, flexibility is the asset. A home that can be a full-time residence, a second home, and an income property — all at once — protects you. If your plans change, the property still works.

The income is real, but read it correctly

The estate currently runs as an Airbnb and brings in about $1,700 a night. I mention the income figure at 4:03.

That's a strong nightly rate. But here's the coaching part, and it's the same thing I tell every investor buyer I work with in Big Bear: a nightly rate is not a return.

Before you fall in love with $1,700 a night, you want to see the whole picture:

• Occupancy. A great rate on 40% occupancy is a very different business than the same rate at 70%. Ask for the actual booking calendar and payout history, not a projection.
• Operating costs. Off-grid living has its own line items — solar maintenance, water delivery, management, cleaning turns, and repairs in a coastal climate that is hard on everything.
• Management. This home comes with a manager's unit for a reason. Remote-owning a rental in another country means you're paying someone to run it, and that cost is part of your yield.
• Seasonality. Baja has a high season and a slow season. Annualize the numbers before you underwrite the deal.

None of this is a reason to walk away. It's a reason to buy with your eyes open. The sellers being willing to sell it furnished and turnkey is a genuine advantage here — you inherit a working operation instead of starting one from scratch.

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Off-grid is a lifestyle, not just a feature

This is the part that surprises most buyers, and it's the part I'd want you to understand before you ever write an offer.

The estate is completely off-grid. Power comes from solar. Water isn't piped in from a city system — it's trucked in and stored in three large tanks on the property, and you can't drink from the tap, so there's a dedicated drinking-water station in the kitchen. I explain the off-grid setup at 0:57.

For the right owner, this is freedom. You're not tied to municipal infrastructure, your energy is self-generated, and the privacy is total — really private lot, no one on top of you, homes only in the distance.

But off-grid ownership asks something of you. You manage your own systems. You plan around water deliveries. You budget for battery backups and solar upkeep. It rewards people who like being a little self-reliant and punishes people who expect a home to just run itself.

If you've ever looked at a remote mountain cabin, this will feel familiar. It's the same trade I talk through with buyers considering newer walk-to-lake homes in Big Bear versus something further out — convenience versus independence. There's no universally right answer. There's only the right answer for how you actually want to live.

Where the money went in the build

Walk the property and you can see the craftsmanship. This is custom work, not production finishes.

Hand-carved wood doors that look like chocolate. Arched, hand-laid brick ceilings with an almost Venetian feel. Roughly 30-foot ceilings with massive beams in the great room. Custom stone sinks — including one carved piece that stops you in your tracks — a copper kitchen sink with an enormous basin, two kitchen islands, and dual Sub-Zero-style refrigerators built for a full house.

Then there's the outdoor living, which is really the point of a beachfront home. An infinity pool that circulates back into itself, a ledge that walks you down to the sand, an outdoor shower, and a security alarm at the beach access. See the pool and beach access at 22:45. There's an outdoor kitchen with granite counters and a turquoise-and-copper sink, a fire pit, and shaded dining right off the main kitchen.

The master is essentially its own wing — a gym or office space, a spa bathroom with a jacuzzi tub facing the ocean, a double-headed shower, and a bedroom with huge windows framing the shoreline. I tour the master suite at 27:01.

And the garage is genuinely a feature, not an afterthought: six bays, room for roughly 12 to 14 cars on the lot total, battery backups, an extra washer and dryer, and enough finished space to double as a workshop.

What buying in Mexico actually involves

If you're a U.S. buyer, the most important thing to know is this: you can absolutely own beachfront property in Mexico, but the ownership structure is different.

Because this home sits inside Mexico's coastal restricted zone — the strip of land within about 50 kilometers of the shoreline — foreign buyers generally don't hold the title directly in their own name. Instead you typically hold it through a fideicomiso, a bank trust that gives you full rights to use, rent, improve, and sell the property, or through a Mexican corporation if you're running it primarily as a business.

This is standard and well-established. Thousands of Americans own Baja real estate this way. But it means your team matters even more than usual — a qualified local real estate attorney and a Mexican notary are not optional. I'd want you to understand the trust, the closing costs, and the annual carrying costs before you commit, and I'm not a substitute for legal or tax advice on cross-border ownership, so build that professional team early.

The seller here is also open to financing, which is worth exploring. Traditional mortgage lending works very differently in Mexico, so seller financing can be one of the cleaner paths to a deal — if the terms make sense for you.

So, is it worth it?

Here's my honest take after actually living in it.

As a pure lifestyle purchase, it's spectacular. The privacy, the sound of the Pacific from nearly every room, the indoor-outdoor design — pictures really don't do it justice.

As an investment, it can pencil, but only if the occupancy and operating numbers back up that nightly rate, and only if you're honest with yourself about the work that off-grid, cross-border ownership requires.

The best version of this buyer is someone who wants the lifestyle first and treats the rental income as a strong bonus that helps carry the property — not someone buying a spreadsheet. That's the same principle I bring to waterfront buyers in Big Bear: buy the life you'll actually live, then make the numbers work around it.

Common questions about buying beachfront property in Baja

Where is this estate located?
On Cerritos Beach, in the gated Tortuga del Sol community of Baja California Sur, about 20 miles from Cabo San Lucas.

How much does it earn as a rental?
It currently operates as an Airbnb earning roughly $1,700 a night and can be sold furnished and turnkey.

Is it on city power and water?
No. It's off-grid — solar power, with drinking water trucked in and stored in three large on-site tanks.

Can Americans buy it?
Yes, typically through a fideicomiso (bank trust) or a Mexican corporation, since it's in the coastal restricted zone. Use a local attorney and notary.

Whether you're eyeing a beachfront estate in Baja or a cabin in Big Bear, the fundamentals don't change: understand the layout, verify the income, and know exactly what ownership will ask of you. That's the work I do with every buyer, and it's the kind of breakdown I share on my channel every week. Subscribe on YouTube so the next tour lands in your feed.

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About Rachael Smith
Rachael Smith is a top-producing real estate agent with RE/MAX Big Bear, specializing in mountain homes, short-term rental investments, and luxury properties in Big Bear Lake and surrounding areas. With over a decade of experience and hundreds of homes sold, she helps buyers, sellers, and investors make smart, strategic real estate decisions. Through her strong online presence and data-driven approach, Rachael connects clients with opportunities both on and off the market.