The term "cottage industry" probably originated in England, where such enterprises were common before the industrial revolution. Those of you who read Silas Marner (it was once the standard novel for 10th grade English) remember that Silas was a weaver who had his loom right in his cottage. The village blacksmith had his smithy, if not in his cottage, at least on his grounds. It was customary for many small shop owners to live over or behind their shops. And what was the family farm but a cottage industry?

Business in America started out the same way. The family farm, the corner grocery, and the blacksmith are all examples of early cottage industries.

Many Americans heap scorn on immigrants from Mexico, calling them wetbacks and other derogatory names. They deplore the fact that by being here these people are breaking the laws of the U.S. and the states in which they come to work.

It is interesting to note that the same phenomenon is happening in reverse in Sonora. A number of Arizona real estate agents have been observed putting up signs, handing out cards, and holding open houses in Puerto Peñasco in an effort to sell real estate there.

Thirty-five years ago we used to travel to Rocky Point to vacation with a group of friends. We'd form a caravan of 3 or 4 vehicles so that if one of us got stuck in the sand, there would be others to dig us out.

In those days, the town was quite small, and the streets were unpaved. Las Conchas had not yet been conceived

I get calls every once in a while from people who want to buy property in Mexico and who are astounded when they find out financing is not generally available there. It shows how likely we are to take our own institutions for granted or to assume that business runs the same way everywhere as it does in the U.S.

To understand financing in Mexico it will be helpful to go back and review some history, since where Mexico is now is where the U.S. was a couple of generations ago.

What can real estate clients expect from their agents? It's a good question, especially when buying or selling real estate in Mexico, where the industry is in its infancy, and regulation is still minimal.