Unión del Norte

About Unión del Norte:

Unión del Norte lies a few kilometres north-west of Montijo town, and its name is a plain statement of where it sits: the northern part of the district. It was carved out of Montijo’s own cabecera by Law 42 of 2003, after residents of Florentino, Buena Vista, San Cristóbal, Chumical and Llano Largo met to ask for a corregimiento of their own and picked the name by vote. San Cristóbal became the seat. To the south, the line with Montijo climbs the Quebrada El Salao from the Río San Pedro to the top of Cerro La Loma, then follows a chain of creeks down to the Río Martín Grande.

The economy is the one that runs all of Montijo: cattle, crops and smallholdings, with Puerto Mutis on the gulf as the district’s working port. Montijo town is the nearest centre for daily needs. For hospital care, banks, government offices and bigger shopping, people head to Santiago, the provincial capital. San Cristóbal has a new initial and primary school, Doña Cristina Pozo Rodríguez, built for more than 70 children, and the municipality has put an upgrade of its water system out to tender.

Fewer than 700 people lived here in 2010, spread across 35 square kilometres, so think hamlets and open ground rather than a town. The land alternates between pasture, low hills and creeks running down to the Río San Pedro and the Río Martín Grande. Roads are the real limitation. The streets of Llano Largo, El Florentino, Chumical and Buena Vista Norte are mostly dirt, and the municipality is working on the one through Buena Vista Norte. The main Santiago–Montijo–Puerto Mutis road is long overdue for rehabilitation, and the national government has listed it among the Veraguas roads it plans to put out to tender. In the rainy season, a lot reached by a dirt track is a different purchase from one on a firm road.

The hamlets are small and spaced apart by pasture. The new housing on the San Cristóbal road is aimed at families who want a house and a yard within reach of Santiago. One thing to weigh before choosing a spot: Montijo’s municipal landfill lies near Buena Vista and El Florentino, and burning at the site has sent smoke over both communities. The mayor’s office is pursuing its closure; until then, check the distance and the wind direction from any parcel on that side of the corregimiento.

Houses in Unión del Norte:

Existing homes are country houses in the hamlets and along the roads that link them. When you view one, ask whether it is connected to the community water system, and see how the access holds up after a heavy downpour. On the Buena Vista and El Florentino side, go back at different times of day to find out whether smoke from the landfill reaches the house. A house on a firm road, with its own water connection, is worth more here than its floor area alone suggests.

New Developments in Unión del Norte:

The newest stock is on the main road leading to San Cristóbal, where a residential project offers two- and three-bedroom houses with lots from 300 m², twenty minutes from central Santiago. Prices are set to qualify for Panama’s preferential interest scheme, which lowers the mortgage cost on eligible new homes. A model house is available to view. Before you sign, ask which corregimiento the titles will be registered in, what the developer delivers in water and street paving, and when the units will be handed over.

Land and Lots in Unión del Norte:

Much of the land for sale in Unión del Norte is either a house lot on the roads between hamlets or a larger parcel of pasture behind them. Frontage on a firm road is worth paying for, since most internal streets are still dirt. Where a creek or the Río Martín Grande forms a boundary, walk it with the owner and confirm where the line really runs. Ask too whether the parcel is titled or held as possessory rights, because that decides how you buy it.

FAQ:

• Where exactly is Unión del Norte?

  It is the northern corregimiento of Montijo district, a few kilometres north-west of Montijo town. The seat is San Cristóbal, and the other hamlets that founded it are Florentino, Buena Vista, Chumical and Llano Largo. From the San Cristóbal road, central Santiago is twenty minutes away.

• The deed says Montijo, not Unión del Norte. Should that worry me?

  Not by itself. Until 2003 this whole area belonged to the corregimiento of Montijo, so an older title can place the land there. What matters is that the survey plan fits today’s boundaries, which on the south side follow the Quebrada El Salao and Cerro La Loma. Then check at the Public Registry who the registered owner is and whether there are liens, and treat possessory rights as a separate kind of purchase from titled land.

• Are the roads paved?

  Mostly not. The streets in Llano Largo, El Florentino, Chumical and Buena Vista Norte are dirt, with some municipal improvement under way. If you plan to build or live here year-round, drive the access in the middle of the rainy season before you commit.

• How close is the Montijo landfill?

  It sits near Buena Vista and El Florentino, and fires there have carried smoke into those communities. The mayor’s office is seeking to close it for good. If you are looking on that side, visit more than once and ask the neighbours how often it affects them.

• Is there water and a school?

  San Cristóbal has a community water system, and an upgrade has been put out to tender. It also has a new initial and primary school. For hospital care and banking, Santiago is the reference, with Montijo town closer for everyday shopping.