One of the most important points to check when choosing your Mexico real estate office is qualifications. While there are no legal requirements in most of the country for someone to work in real estate, Mexico agents can choose to gain qualifications to better serve their clients; it is to your advantage that your agent’s office holds these kinds of qualifications.
Some of the key qualifications to check include:
ü     Membership in AMPI – AMPI (Mexican Association for Real Estate Professionals) is Mexico’s only professional real estate association. They promote professionalism, business ethics and training. It is important that the real estate office you choose is affiliated with AMPI.
ü     Degrees – In 2009, Mexico created a new university degree in Mexico real estate. Because it is so new, few agents hold this degree, but it is an asset. Otherwise, degrees in business and related fields from the U.S. or Canada speak well of the level of professionalism.
ü     Certificates & Other Training – There are also certificates and other training programs, offered by AMPI as well as various educational institutions. These indicate that an agent is interested in keeping up to date with the most recent and relevant changes in the industry.
ü     Experience – While this is not an official qualification, per se, years of experience searching for and selling Mexico homes for sale can count for a lot, especially combined with the qualifications listed above; an experienced broker will know how to apply the knowledge gained from courses, etc.
It is important to remember that the specific agent helping you in your search process does not necessarily have to hold these qualifications, but they should be working under a broker who does. Be sure to ask your agent about their office’s qualifications – preferably before you start the search process.
TOPMexicoRealEstate.com; Mexico’s Leading Network of Specialists for Finding and Purchasing Mexican Properties Safely
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. In the summer of 2009, he received the first federally applied Mexico Real Estate Degree and Mexico Professional Real Estate License S.E.P. #5978657. He is the current president of TOPmexicorealestate, you can contact him at (512) 879-6546
When people want to find out how experienced a real estate agent is, most just ask how many years of experience the agent has. Keep in mind that many agents work in real estate part time and average less than 1 deal a year. I’d recommend digging a little deeper and finding out how active an agent really is, and if he or she works in real estate full time.