Best Real Estate Agency in Yucatan 2008
If you are living here in Yucatan, chances are one of the first things you did was to buy or rent a home.
While some of us were savvy enough or spoke Spanish well enough to trato directo (deal direct) with the sellers or landlords, many of us spent our initial days here with a helpful real estate agent. So we're pretty sure that almost every reader of Yucatan Living has something to contribute to this poll.
In order for a real estate agency to qualify for this poll, it must list and sell properties in and around the state of Yucatan. And it must also have at least one bilingual employee who can deal competently with English-speaking extranjeros.
Please consider a few other things when voting for the best real estate agency. Naturally, the best agency should hire and employ knowledgeable agents. They should know the territory, the process of buying and selling a house here in the Yucatan and how to get things done in this environment. They should treat customers well, with both patience and respect. They should have integrity (loosely defined as doing what they say they are going to do). They should be pleasant to work with, and after the deal is done, you should feel comfortable recommending them to family and friends.
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Some things we feel are not in the real estate agent's control, especially here in the Yucatan. We believe you can’t judge a real estate agent on how long it takes to buy or sell a house, for instance. Or on whether or not the seller or buyer had integrity. Or on how happy or unhappy you are with the house once you move in. Sometimes, forces of nature (or forces of Mexico) create havoc for the best of professionals.
We open this poll with five real estate agencies that work regularly with extranjeros, but this is certainly not an exhaustive list. New agencies appear on the scene all the time, and we are not the best judges... that's why the Poll is here for our readers to make their favorites known. So please vote (one person - one vote, please) and may the best agency win!
The Nominees Are...
Here in alphabetical order are the initial 2008 nominees for Yucatan Living's Readers Choice Award for Best Real Estate Agency in Yucatan:
Buena Vida Realtors – Run by Rupert Millautz, Buena Vida Realtors is a small agency that prides itself on providing good service.
Casa Blanca Real Estate – Probably the oldest agency that works with English-speaking extranjeros, the agency is run by Jorge Caceres with offices on the corner of Calle 55 and Calle 66.
Mexico International – Founded by Mitch Keenan, the first extranjero to set up a real estate agency in Merida. His team of agents is based out of their offices in the Fiesta Americana building next to the Sanborn’s restaurant.
Real Estate Yucatan – The husband and wife team of Gabriela Isaac and Alec Stephens, and Gabriela's brother Isaac Salim, run this agency. Gabriela and Isaac are Yucatecos and Alec hails from Mexico City, but spent many years working and living in the USA.
Tierra Yucatan – This agency is represented by Jennifer Lytle, her socio, David Palomo and a team of agents. Jen has traveled and lived in Mexico for over 30 years after moving here from San Antonio, Texas. Jennifer’s team works out of their renovated colonial office on Calle 66 in Merida’s centro historico.
Nominate Your Favorite
If you know the name of an agency that deserves to be nominated for the 2008 award, please leave a comment with the name of the company, the agent and the website address. We'll add them to the Poll. Nominations will be accepted until September 1st, giving everyone plenty of time to add their favorite agency. Voting will continue under the very end of 2008, and not a minute sooner!
Reader's Nominations:
Mayan Living - Jim Mann has run this very successful real estate firm for as long as we've been in Merida.
Mayan Realty - A local real estate firm owned by Jorge Mazún.
Bookmark Yucatan Living and come back often to see how your favorite agency is doing. Then, come back again in early 2009 to read about the winners of the 2008 Yucatan Living Readers Choice Awards for Best Real Estate Agency in Yucatan.
Comments
Nancy Walters 16 years ago
I just want to say a big thanks to Anny at Casa Blanca Realty for showing property to my partner and myself and then sending photos and keeping up with us when we changed our minds and opted for another property. She was honest about the neighborhood and showed photos over the internet which helped me make up my mind. She guided us though the buying process and more than a year later I am still happy she was my agent.
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Working Gringos 16 years ago
We'd be interested to hear what others have to say about this. From what we can see, prices have not gone down here... they just are not rising as fast. Merida is a great place to come when you can't afford life in the USA, so we think more people will be retiring down here than ever before.
There are a number of nice condo developments at the beach... not sure about within Merida. You might want to check out Yucatan Real Estate Paradise... they seem to have a lot of condo listings.
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casey 16 years ago
Have the prices of houses in Merida gone down due to the economic problems in the US and the rest of the world for that matter. Also, are their condos in Merida?
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David Christian 16 years ago
Anny with CasaBlanca has gone beyond the call for me in the last 6 months. Not only has she showed me houses, and advised me by answering my litereally hundreds of emails to her, but she has paid my bills after the purchase, and taken care of other business for me, as well...which she certainly was not obligated to do. Being a "former Gringo" herself, I think she understands the confusion and anxiety that often accompanies buying a property in Mexico, not just before & during...but also AFTER the sale. This is where, I believe, the true "worth" of an agent is tested. Does he or she offer help, advice & assistance AFTER your money has been paid? In Anny's case, the overwhelming proof is indeed a resounding "YES"!!!
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tx2mx 16 years ago
Two primary reasons for the strong dollar: 1) major decline in the price of oil, and 2) the financial "crisis" is a worldwide one and the perception is that the US is best equipped to deal with it, creating a reliable, valued currency.
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CasiYucateco 16 years ago
Today's (10.11.08) closing price was 13.44 pesos to the dollar. Incredibly, despite the financial crisis in the USA, there are worse problems elsewhere. It appears that the dollar is in demand as a safe haven during difficult financial times, even though the Federal Reserve rate has been lowered yet again.
Wide fluctuations in all sorts of investments and currency exchanges are likely until the world financial markets regain some confidence in one another. A lot of confidence is being expressed by investors in the strength of the US government and in its expertise in resolving the collapse in global banking and trading. My fingers are crossed day and night, hoping their confidence is well-placed.
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maria luisa and bill 16 years ago
can someone tell us why the peso/dollar exchange is suddenly above 13.?(10/9/08) it was 9.8 just weeks ago! what's happening? this is historic high dollar!
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Robert Nolin 16 years ago
Jim Mann knows real estate, We told him what we were looking for then took us a step or two further. Not only was the property just as cited, he went on showing the different things that could be done to improve it's worthiness and even offered suggestions on how to go about it, for next to nothing. The man is a wealth of information. A few things I checked on and he was correct. Way to go Jim! We look forward to our purchase from here on out. I would wholeheartedly reccommend Jim Mann at Mayan Living. Our choice in Real Estate.
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Patrick 16 years ago
I have bought more than one property here in the Yucatan. I have had problems with two real estate companies and moved on.
I was so happy working with Jim at Mayan Living. I have never been treated better or felt more relaxed and confident. Jim is not out to just make a buck. Others can't say that and I'm sure it will catch up with them.
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Janine Pouliot 16 years ago
We worked with Doug and Teresa Wiley when looking to buy in and around the Progreso area. Even before we came down, they were immediately responsive, returning calls, providing incredibly useful information, doing anything in their power to help us learn about the area. Once we arrived, the excellent service continued. They were always available to us and went out of their way to show us not only the listed properties, but the whole area, as well, so we got a good feel for what living there would be like. Both Doug and Teresa are good listeners and pay close attention to the needs and requests of their clients. They stayed right on track when showing us properties and answered any and all questions we had with great patience. We couldn't have asked for more. In fact, they are the reason we did buy there and would highly recommend them to anyone.
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Sandra & Francisco 16 years ago
We met Mr. Jim Man (Mayan living) on september 13rd, 2008; he's helping us to find the correct home in Merida for my family and I; we are very confident with their help and we hope to close the process very soon. We think that Mayanliving is the best option to buy a propertie. Thanks Jim for your help.
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