We had a ton of stuff left in Texas, 3 TV's, clothes, kitchen things, pots, pans, plates, coffee pot, blender, etc and I bought a brand new lawn mower. We always planned to live in Mexico just because of the cost of living so we got my wife a visitors visa, good for up to six months with a six month extension customary.
We went in to apply for the extension a month in advance and the lady told us that they were 6 months behind and that is on a 6 month visa. So we applied and received a reply that it was being processed. This is as good as an extension as you are legal while waiting for the actual extension. But if you leave the country they may or may not let you back in, its all up to the particular agent that you encounter and some of them are real jerks. He can push the "why did you leave?" point.
My wife had a death in the family and had to go take care of the grand kids back in Mexico. I packed the truck to the walls and ceiling under the camper and the entire back seat, it was crammed full and I was prepared for the worse on import taxes. The woman I got as an agent in Matamoros spoke some English so I just told her the truth. That my wife was from Mexico, I had a notebook with transparent sleeves and I showed her our marriage license, an electric bill that proved my residence in Mexico and even a few wedding pictures of my wife.
I then explained about the visa expiring and what happened causing my wife to have to leave. I showed her my wife's clothes and purses in the back seat. I bought a new 60 inch Samsung TV and wrapped the box in brown paper to hide the fact that it was a huge TV to deter theft. She took one look at the box and asked, "Is that a TV?"
After looking through a few boxes of kitchen supplies she said, "I believe you about your wife's visa, but we still have things being imported to Mexico so I will say 1,000 pesos.
I was delighted.