When it comes to purchasing property in the Riviera Maya you want to avoid playing trick or treat. While it may be fun to engage during the Halloween season, when you’re house hunting, you want to avoid any trickeries that agencies, real estate agents or sellers may pull on unsuspecting buyers. That is why we have gathered our trick vs treat real estate tips for you. So, when you’re out there looking for your ideal home in Mexico – for whichever reason you want a home – you’re not faced with the daunting process of trying to figure out if you are being tricked or not.
Trick: Fly & Buy Programs
You will find many developers and master broker agencies offers Fly & Buy programs. While these seem very attractive, keep in mind that they will make your wish list adapt to their products, rather than finding something suited to your criteria. When it comes to these types of agencies, they will only put their products out on offer. This is because they have no more inventory. So, if you think that their limited inventory suits your needs, by all means go for it. But if you want the home to adapt to you, rather than you to the home, you might want to skip these expensive programs.
When you purchase a Fly & Buy package with an agency, you will fly down to the Riviera Maya, see their developments, be sold on something and go home. That is the base of it all.
Treat: A Personal and Customizable Real Estate Tour
At Top Mexico Real Estate, we believe in educating our clients before they go around purchasing property. That is why we created the carefully detailed Live It Tour. This tour is an experience to get to know different neighborhoods in your city of choice (including Bacalar, Mahahual, Merida and all of the Riviera Maya). Within your desired destinations your agent will find properties that suit your wish list, needs and wants. Whether you are investing, retiring or finding a second home, our professional Buyer’s Representatives help you narrow down your ideas and plans until you are satisfied with the type of property you are searching for. He will also answer all your questions regarding the real estate market in the Riviera Maya.
Moreover, during this tour you get to sit one-on-one with industry experts. They educate you on the purchasing process including all its legalities, documentation, and more. And if you are looking to rent out your property full- or part-time, you will meet with an expert property manager. He will show you how the market behaves and what to expect from renting your property out for vacation rentals.
The Live It Tour grants you access to five hours of online classes prior to your trip. That way you’ll know what to expect and what questions to ask when you’re face to face with our experts.
Trick: For Sale by Owner
Many times, foreigners feel the need to skip the real estate agent process and deal directly with the seller. This can work out if you’re lucky. However, experience has taught us that this is not usually the case. When you deal directly with the seller, there is no mediator to make sure that all the paperwork is done properly. Or to check that the seller, in fact, has paid off everything needed for him to sell the property. When you buy directly from the owner you will need to do all the research, questioning, lawyering and much more by yourself.
Moreover, you will end up looking at a bunch of properties that don’t meet your criteria or budget. And if a seller notices you are unrepresented, they will think they have the greater bargaining leverage from the start. Other times it’s not so much about them ripping you off, but rather that they aren’t completely sure of how the process works. This could result in them overlooking steps such as taxes or other paperwork that could turn into a nightmare down the road.
Treat: Professional Buyer’s Representatives
Each one of our clients is assigned to a professional, accredited and experienced Buyer’s Representative. Our team of focused and exceptional real estate agents works to represent only the buyer. Therefore, they look out for the buyer’s best interests. They will do all the house hunting based on your criteria, price range and needs. You can definitely help your Buyer’s Representative if you see a property they haven’t sent to you that you are interested in. Just let them know and they will call and arrange a visit. Most times, however, if they haven’t chosen that property to show to you, it’s because it doesn’t quite meet your expectations.
Your Buyer’s Representative does all the work, contacting and follow up. All you have to do is show up for the tours. They will also be able to answer all your real estate questions, and if there are specifics you need to know about a certain property, they will find them out for you right away.
Trick: Hidden Fees and Commissions
This is a big setback for foreigners wanting to purchase property in Mexico. Sometimes sketchy hidden fees and commissions end up making the whole process much more expensive than expected. In fact, when you are working with unexperienced agencies or dealing directly with the seller, you will end up trying to figure out who pays for what. You must remember that purchasing a property entails extra costs for commissions, fees and closing. You must also consider the bank trust or Mexican corporation costs.
When you are dealing with unexperienced sellers, they might not be aware of all the extra fees that must be paid. Once they start realizing that there are other fees, they might want stick them on you.
Treat: Clear Communication, No Hidden Fees
There are two things that we are constantly taking care of: transparency and communication. That is why when you work with our Buyer’s Representatives, you have no hidden fees or commissions that will surprise you when closing comes. From the get-go, we let you know the estimated closing costs you will need to cover for your transaction. These include attorney and Notary fees.
The buyer never pays for the sales commissions, either. The seller covers this in every transaction we close. That way, we protect the buyer’s interests and make sure that the asking price doesn’t increase due to these fees. Additionally, at Top Mexico Real Estate we have a specialized Closing Department which takes care of the whole closing phase of the transaction. These closing experts take care of everything that needs to be done. Right down to delivering the keys for your brand-new home.
Trick: Marketing Budget but No Experience
Many smaller real estate agencies allocate large sums of money for their marketing budget, therefore reaching large markets. These efforts are done in good spirit to get their name out there. However, their reach does not equal their experience necessarily. Prior to working with any agency, make sure you find out as much as you can about them. Especially how much experience they have when it comes to working with foreigners. A lot of these companies focus on national markets and have less experience dealing with the foreigner process. So, make sure you do your research and work only with those who could go through the process with their eyes closed.
Treat: Years of Experience in the Market
At Top Mexico Real Estate, we not only have the best real estate experts, but we also have over 11 years of experience in the industry. The founder and CEO of the company, Thomas Lloyd, was the first-ever recipient of a Mexican real estate degree. This certified him as knowledgeable in the market. All of our Buyer’s Representatives must be credited to work. They must also have proven experience and near-perfect records of closed sales without any issues.
We have grown with the real estate market in Mexico. We have learned through the good and bad times on how to adapt to changing laws, falling economies and individual issues. Today, we have over 1000 satisfied clients who are now happy homeowners in the Riviera Maya.
If you feel ready to invest in Mexico, make sure you skip the trick and head right to the treat. We have thousands of properties available for all types of price ranges and criteria.
And remember, at Top Mexico Real Estate…we make it happen!