We have created a very safe, transparent sales process that works, and is a product of years of testing and constant revision. We continue to have long-term goals and plans in the real estate industry, therefore this process is in place to create long-term relationships with our clients.

INTRODUCTION

For many years, the Riviera Maya has been at the top of American and Canadian’s list of places to invest in foreign real estate.  That interest continues to grow, and in an area like the Riviera Maya where the service industry dominates, more and more locals are gravitating towards real estate sales, as one single commission can cover months of pay in many other jobs.  Unfortunately for foreigners, less and less of these new salespeople are receiving the proper training and education necessary to ensure a safe buying process for their clients, which puts your hard-earned investment money at risk.

Here at Colibri Property, we have decades of experience in all facets of the real estate industry here in the Riviera Maya, and aside from brokering deals as buyer and seller’s agents, we are also investors in the area, and have been in your shoes. Therefore, what we have done is created a very safe, transparent sales process that works, and is a product of years of testing and constant revision. As opposed to many in the industry, we continue to have long-term goals and plans in the real estate industry, therefore this process is in place to create long-term relationships with our clients. We want to go ahead and lay it out for you, so you know exactly what to expect from us, and you know what we expect from you. There is a saying in Spanish, “Cuentas claras, amistades largas,” which translates to “Transparency creates long-term friendships.

FIRST CONTACT

The Colibri Property’s website is full of valuable information covering a wide range of different real estate asset classes, opportunities, and educational information. A lot of time, money, and effort has been invested into it to make it interactive (like the map search tool) and informative (free ebooks). Whether we earn your business or not, please use it as a resource for your own due diligence when investigating the idea of investing in Mexico. 

Once you have found an investment opportunity that is of interest, we have several different methods that will allow you to begin a conversation with one of our team members (whatsapp, live chat, call scheduling, form fills, social media, etc.). Depending upon your method of choice, you can expect an email, message, or call back requesting a good day and time for some sort of a live call (phone, FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom).

FIRST CALL

Yes! We want to talk to you from the beginning, not just exchange texts or emails. Call us old-fashioned, but we have yet to come across a client willing to entrust hundreds of thousands of their hard-earned dollars to someone that they’ve never spoken to before. We want to properly introduce ourselves, our expertise in the real estate industry, and the services we provide. We also want to learn about you, your investment goals, and exchange ideas about what next steps should be taken in your search. The other thing that a call does is make our communication more efficient. What can be discussed in a 10-15 minute call could take hours of typing and multiple emails to cover. Selfishly, a call also helps us differentiate the serious from the curious. The vast majority of Mexican real estate is paid for without any type of bank financing, and as you can imagine, we prefer not to spend hours gathering information on properties that do not fit within someone’s investment parameters.

At the conclusion of the first call, we should both have an accurate description of what area, type of property, budget, payment method, and timeline you are looking at for an acquisition. The call should conclude with the follow up email to be sent, and a follow-up call to go through the information and answer any questions.

FOLLOW-UP EMAIL

Following the initial call, you will receive a follow-up email thanking you for your time, and will contain the best properties within the area and budget that were discussed. In the case of new inventory, there are hundreds of new developments in the Riviera Maya.

For a buyer, the downside is that it makes it quite difficult to discern between a reputable, well-funded developer that is going to deliver the property you think you are buying, and one that does not have financing in place for construction, and is relying upon sales to complete the project, which does not always work out. Also, there is no Multiple Listing Service in Mexico, which means that you must rely on our expertise in the industry to help you find the best deal. With our vast experience in the Riviera Maya market, we do our best to only promote developers that have everything in place to deliver on their promises. Of course, if you come across any other interesting deals out there, we would love to investigate them on your behalf.

FOLLOW-UP CALL

Within a week of our initial call, another call, or better yet a Zoom meeting is great to take you back through the information that has been sent, and go over any outstanding questions. If there is anyone else involved in the property acquisition, like a spouse or business partner, it would be great to have them on this call as well. If it can be previously arranged, we would love to bring a trusted outside legal advisor into the call that will represent you on the transaction, and can help answer any questions on that front. Depending upon the property of interest, and barring any pending items, this may be the right opportunity for you to move forward with choosing an exact property and making a fully-refundable reservation deposit to take that property off the market. This idea may sound pushy, but we cannot tell you how many times clients have waited to make a reservation deposit until they were able to come down to visit, only to have their favorite property snatched up by someone else in the process. Inventory is moving rapidly, and sometimes the best deals don’t even make it to the internet

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Depending upon your timeline for acquiring a property, plan to hear from us periodically in order to keep you up-to-date on current events in the area, as well as the latest and greatest real estate opportunities. Plus, we want to hear more about your life (and rub in our never ending summer in the event you have winter).

LEADING UP TO, AND YOUR VISIT

Once we are about a week out from your arrival, we will go back over your best investment options (depending on the movement of inventory in the event that you did not already make a reservation), and go ahead and schedule a couple of half-days to meet and visit them. As you can imagine, setting things up in advance allows us to give other real estate professionals plenty of notice to make time for us in their busy schedules. We have also found that meeting for half-days at a time prevents you from reaching information overload, as well as allows us to dedicate time to other valuable clients. After a couple of half-days out together, we will be able to:

  • 1. Visit our beautiful office on Highway 307 in Playa del Carmen, as well as other major points of interest throughout the Riviera Maya, reassuring you that you are investing your money in the right place.
  • 2. Meet with your attorney, face to face, who will represent you throughout the acquisition process and will answer any outstanding legal questions pertaining to your specific property of interest.
  • 3. Confirm that you made a deposit on the right property, and move forward with an Offer to Purchase.
  • 4. Find a better option than your original property of interest, and move forward with an Offer to Purchase.
  • 5. Enjoy some sunshine, cold beverages, great food, better company, and beautiful Caribbean beaches.

COMPLETING A SAFE ACQUISITION

Once we have completed and submitted an Offer to Purchase for your property of interest, it may take going back and forth a couple of times to reach a deal that both you and the seller are content with. Once an agreement is reached, the seller will submit all of their documentation to your attorney for due diligence on the property, and a Purchase Agreement will be drafted. You should already have a good idea regarding how long it will take you to prepare funds for a downpayment or the full acquisition price, so that as soon as we get the green light from the attorney, we can move forward with the execution of the Purchase Agreement and a downpayment (in the case of many new developments), or await closing arrangements (in the case of a resale). If you are unlikely to return for the actual closing, it is a good idea to execute a limited power of attorney with your attorney specifically for that transaction. That way, the transaction can be completed smoothly while you are abroad. Taking delivery and possession of your new property can vary depending upon if it is already built.

Please keep in mind that no two deals are exactly alike, and what you may find out of the norm given your real estate experience may be very customary for us given the number of transactions we have under our belts. The process that has just been outlined is definitely subject to change, but please remember that your protection is our number one priority. So, if at any point during the process you have a question, or feel uncomfortable, please ask, and we can explain exactly why something is being done in that way. Again, while there is risk with every investment, our goal is to have happy, satisfied clients that are going to continue working with us for years to come.