Last week we invited Kami Kemp, a new professional property manager from Texas to share some ideas and thoughts regarding the Playa del Carmen real estate market Below is the second part of this interview The first interview is located at Playa del Carmen Rental Market Interview

5) Who is your Playa del Carmen Market, your typical client

Good question. Our clients as well as our customers are all very diverse. I cannot pick one specific type of person that wants to do business with Prime Properties other than our Property owners are comprised of professional real estate investors as well as many homeowners who continue to hold and lease their properties. Our client s are typically those that are looking for long-term appreciation, that are not looking to make quick cash on their investments, one that has reasonable expectations, is verbal about their long term goals and is open to allowing us to help them achieve those goals.

Our Customer is the person or family that is looking for a place to call home; even if it is not for a lifetime. Our customer is one that will care for the Landlord s property, pay their rent on time and report any maintenance issues that should arise from living in the property.

6) The news all over the internet is the BailOutBill .how do you see this topic affecting the sales market and the rental market here in Playa Carmen

Real estate, regardless of location, has historically been one of the safest risks for investors; but many are faced with the challenge of no longer being able to qualify for loans, especially if they have more than four investment properties already. We have already seen a change with how lenders are approaching mortgage loans, even for those that have credit scores that actually qualify for a loan. Many are no longer lending for investment purposes; they are requiring the loans to be classified as secondary residences. As a result, I believe that this may hinder some investors from purchasing multiple investment properties as some are now opting for stock investments. Given the decline in the stock market, many stocks are affordable right now and investors are looking at the stock market as potentially being a profitable investment.

Just as most markets in the U.S., it s in my opinion that the sales market in Playa may decline for the short term. However, I believe that Playa will regain momentum as credit becomes more readily available for the average person and investor. In the interim, we could begin to see that the developers will become aggressive on their pricing to attract buyers which could mean stable sales numbers.

Just as it has in many U.S. markets, the rental market in the Riviera Maya, both short and long term, should remain strong.

Although the U.S. economy has temporarily taken a nose-dive, Playa does not solely depend on the U.S. for tourism dollars. People from around the world make Playa del Carmen a vacation destination and as long as they continue to vacation here, we will continue to see short-term vacation rentals in demand; we just may see occupancy rates a little lower than what we have grown accustomed to. However, at the end of the day, I believe that most people will try to allow for vacations to remain in their budgets. We all need mental, emotional, and physical breaks as well as some type of balance in our everyday lives.

In the Playa area, there appears to be two driving forces dictating the necessity for long-term rentals First is tourism. As long as tourism remains strong, we will see an increased demand for long-term rentals. Tourism equates to additional hotels, transportation solutions, as well as general tourist activities. Strong tourism means an increased demand for additional labor which results in the need for additional long-term housing. This is all part of the continuation of economic growth.

The second driving force for long-term rentals is there are three basic elements in life that one must have in order to survive; food, water and shelter. If an individual cannot qualify for a loan to purchase a home, they still must have shelter. If someone wants to move to Playa but is not ready to commit to a 20 or 30 year loan, they rent. There is a need for longer-term rentals than what is currently available to the local person. I see that there will be a great demand in the coming months and years that will dictate that we, as Investors, step up to the plate and begin offering our locals long-term rental solutions.

7) What package services do you offer, what can you do, and rough ball park figure of the cost of this service

Our Leasing services include listing your property for rent, showing to prospective Tenants, application processing, and preparation of rental documents.

Our Property Management Services include facilitating move ins and move outs, lease renewals, enforcement of lease terms, rent collections, Tenant relations, monthly and annual statements and disbursements for our owners

Maintenance Services include make readies, repairs and landscaping. We also include on-call services for emergencies.

Our prices will depend on if you are looking for leasing, management and maintenance services or just one of our services. Our management fees range from 8%-12% of the monthly collected rent for long term rentals, and our leasing fees are structured to include all advertising and co-brokerage fees. Our goals are aligned with our Client s; we do not make money until our owner collects rent.

Well this is the end of this short interview with Kami Kemp She has opened up a new business of property management here in Playa del Carmen raising the bar here in the region with her vast experience and knowledge of the rental markets We invite you to contact us with your opinions, comments or questions regarding this subject You will be hearing more of Kami Kemp as I plan to invite her again to share some of her know how with our group

Thomas Lloyd graduated from Purdue University Krannert School of Management with a degree in Management/Financial Option Investments. He has been living, investing, and working professionally in Mexico for over 15 years. Active broker and current president of TOPmexicorealestate, you can contact him at (512) 879-6546 or through the company`s web site www.TOPmexicorealestate.com