In order to relax your nerves, you should come prepared to interview the real estate agent on your first meeting. Don’t feel awkward about conducting this interview, as the real estate agent expects you to ask plenty of questions so you can determine if you are a good match. Similarly, the real estate agent is likely to ask you plenty of questions in order to learn more about your home and to determine a plan for selling the real estate you are looking to sell.

Questions to Ask the Real Estate Agent

When you meet with the real estate agent for the first time, there are several questions you should ask in order to determine if you are good match. These questions include:

• How long have you been in this business?

• What is your list-price-to-sales-price ratio?

• What is your marketing plan?

• What are your references?

• What separates you from the competition?

• What do you charge?

• What type of guarantees do you offer?

Although it is possible to get good service from a real estate agent that hasn’t been in the business for a long time, you are better off dealing with a real estate agent with experience in the business. If you are considering working with a newer real estate agent, find out more about that agent’s mentor or supervising broker in order to see if he or she has someone with experience to help with the process.

The average list-price-to-sales-price ratio is also an important consideration because you want to choose a real estate agent that will be realistic about the asking price and that will work hard to get you the amount you are asking for. Similarly, you want to learn more about the real estate agent’s marketing plan, such as where and how he or she advertises.

The real estate agent should also be able to provide you with references, and you should be sure to follow up with those references and to ask them questions as well. In addition, the real estate agent should be able to clearly explain to you what he or she can offer that the competition cannot. Finally, the real estate agent should charge a reasonable fee while also providing guarantees, such as allowing you to cancel your contract if you are unhappy with the agent’s services.

Questions Your Real Estate Agent Will Ask You

In order to best serve your needs, your real estate agent should ask you several questions as well. For example, the real estate agent will want to know whether are not the real estate you are trying to sell is currently occupied. If so, the real estate agent will need to make special arrangements when showing the house to prospective buyers.

The real estate agent will also want to know if there is anything special about the property that you think should be highlighted while showing it to potential buyers or if there are any problems with the home that need to be repaired. Similarly, the real estate agent might want to know if you are willing to spend any extra money in order to make improvements on the home in order to improve the chances of making a sale.

In all, you should expect your real estate agent to communicate with you effectively and to make an effort to make the entire process as convenient and as profitable for you as possible.”

The main purpose of any Internet Marketing for Real Estate campaign is to help you get the leads you need to be able to make a prospects list. This prospect list is composed of people you believe have the potential to become customers for you eventually. And this means managing traffic to your website appropriately.

Internet Marketing for Real Estate websites have to be useful somehow to visitors. Visitors who get disappointed by your website will never return and since you know how hard it is to get a person to visit in the first place, your Internet Marketing for Real Estate website has to offer as much information pertaining to the real estate biz as you can fit in without making your site look cluttered or disorganized. This leads us to the next tip.

The right Internet Marketing for Real Estate campaign will work if you snare the attention of visitors as soon as they enter your site. Yes, first impressions definitely last – but for them to lead to a possible sale, you have to have follow-through as well.

To produce follow-through, try examining your Internet Marketing for Real Estate website as if you were yourself just a visitor: what do you see? Do you just see a website like any other, or do you see a website that would attract people interested in real estate, that provides information that is actually usable for them, and that tells people the owner of this website is the person they should look for when trying to buy or sell real estate? Hopefully, it would be more of the latter for you.

When visitors drop by and leave a note, what is your Internet Marketing for Real Estate follow-through? Do you just take note of them then drop their names into a giant database to be swallowed up and forgotten forever? If you are a true follower of Internet Marketing for Real Estate follow-through techniques, you should follow through by sending them a message at whatever contact address they may have left. If all they left was an email address, that is okay already. You can start by sending them a thank-you email for visiting your website and tell them that you hope they will agree to be part of your subscription list for your business-oriented newsletter. It is always part of ethical Internet Marketing for Real Estate practice to ask before adding anyone to an emailing list – think of it as good etiquette for real estate agents.

Your Internet Marketing for Real Estate website would be incomplete if all you have are the same static content to showcase day in and day out. This means that your Internet Marketing for Real Estate articles on the website should always be updated, maybe even replaced when necessary, so that visitors get intrigued and come back for more. The better the service you provide this way, the more visitors will want to read and learn about what you have to offer.

Internet Marketing for Real Estate may be misused in one way though, and that is by using too much data that visitors get glassy-eyed and click on the mouse to find a less burdensome site to visit. It is tricky, this Internet Marketing for Real Estate campaign work, so you need to have a good sense of when you are overdoing the content.

If you want to add a personal touch to your Internet Marketing for Real Estate website, you may want to use a blog on your website as well. This helps visitors see things through your eyes.

Mexico, as beautiful as it is, has a somewhat different way of doing business and a completely different set of laws. Additionally, all legal transactions, including real estate transactions, are done in Spanish. Therefore, for those of you that may be considering locations in Mexico as possible retirement destinations, the following information should give you some insight as to how the Mexican real estate industry works, list some of the possible pitfalls, and most importantly, give you the guidance required to assure a pleasant and safe experience.

In 1984, we made our first real estate purchase in Puerto Vallarta; a condominium in Mismaloya, about seven miles south of town. Our second purchase, two years later, was the adjacent condo. A year later, we removed the wall between the two condos and remodeled them into one very spacious three bedroom condo. For thirteen years, while still working in Houston, we thoroughly enjoyed visiting Vallarta two or three times a year.

At some time after the purchases of the two condos, we noticed that our original escrituras (legal property documentation similar to a title or deed that is held in a fidecomiso or bank trust) showed the property values to be about one third of what we actually paid for them. When we inquired about the discrepancy, we were told that the lower values were used in order to reduce our annual property taxes.

It wasn’t until many years later, when we decided to sell the condo, that we learned that capital gains taxes were due on the huge difference between the selling price and the documented purchase price. Ouch, we owed substantial taxes on a paper gain, when in fact; there was very little real gain! We then learned that the condo developer entered the extremely low sales prices on all the escrituras in the condo complex in order to evade paying substantial capital gains taxes. As we later learned, the developer could have entered the selling price, the appraised value, his cost of construction, or just about anything imaginable into the escritura, and we, being the naïve Americans that we were, were at his mercy!

Upon the sale of the condo, we bought a beautiful new mountainside villa with a panoramic view of Banderas Bay, El Centro, and the Sierra Madres. We saw the new villa advertised in one of the local magazines and asked our realtor friend to show us the property. He showed us what seemed to be every property in town, before reluctantly taking us to see the villa in the magazine. Some time after buying the villa, we learned that our realtor friend received only 10% of the commission on the sale because that was all the listing agent was willing to pay. The listing agent ran the ad in the magazine and didn’t feel that an agent representing a buyer was necessary in order to sell this beautiful new villa. Therefore, our agent spent a couple days showing us nothing but properties listed by his agency before caving in to our demands and taking us to the villa of our dreams; one that we have thoroughly enjoyed for more than a decade.

These experiences revealed the tip of the real estate iceberg and after living here for ten years, we’ve finally been able to expose the entire iceberg and share some of the details below.

To begin with, there are no licensed real estate brokers or agents in Mexico! In fact, there is no mandatory licensing for real estate agents in all of Mexico because the Federal legislation process has yet to accomplish it and therefore such legislation remains in limbo. In Puerto Vallarta, where there are in excess of 80 real estate agencies, there are probably more than 500 real estate agents with minimal qualifications. With the booming real estate market and economy that exists today, it’s quite obvious why we have such a diverse group of agents and brokers in Vallarta.

In order to have some degree of continuity from agent to agent, a voluntary association for real estate personnel exists in various areas of Mexico. The Asociacion Mexicana de Profesionales Inmobiliarios A.C., known as AMPI, is quite active in Vallarta with the membership of approximately 50 of the 80 real estate agencies in Vallarta. Although membership in AMPI is not compulsory and has no bearing on the capabilities of the agents representing the buyers or sellers, it is considered to be the standard bearer for listing agents in the area.

A second real estate association, mainly consisting of Mexican agencies based in the Vallarta area, is Asociacion de Profesionales Inmobiliarios de Vallarta A.C., known as APIVAC.

These associations schedule periodic conferences, conduct educational programs, and hold various meetings where they attempt to keep their members and the public current on activities in the area as well as changes in the Mexican law as it pertains to real estate. They have codes of ethics and they do attempt to establish uniform sets of operating policies and procedures, some of which are in writing, others understood but not documented. They bring real estate personnel together where their members voluntarily agree to abide by their organizations´ statutes and codes of ethics while attempting to operate with some degree of continuity and professionalism. For sure, these associations are better than nothing but still not to be confused with associations such as the National Association of Realtors or NAR in the US. Dual agency disclosure, designated agency, full disclosure, confidentiality, imputed knowledge and notice, implied knowledge, fiduciary duty, loyalty, and vicarious liability are foreign concepts to the majority of real estate agents in Mexico. Consequently, misleading or inaccurate statements often made by many of the agents can put both the buyer and seller in intolerable predicaments in Mexico.

Although AMPI and NAR do have a working relationship, one example of the differences between AMPI and NAR is that NAR provides its member agencies with standard statewide listing forms, pre-qualification forms, escrow account and earnest money forms, standard purchase agreement forms, letters of intent, etc. In Vallarta, there are no such forms provided by AMPI or APIVAC. Each real estate agency has its own listing form or uses a form provided by an outside privately owned publisher, which clearly depicts the listing agent as receiving 100% of the commission upon sale of the property. Also, NAR has written and enforceable guidelines regarding the handling of commissions and the sharing of commissions between the selling and buying agents. Although there are guidelines in Mexico for real estate commissions, they are still flexible, and to some degree negotiable with the seller. The listing agent can then negotiate commission sharing with the buyer’s agent.

All other forms vary from agent to agent and are not necessarily written in the best interest of the buyer. Also, most forms and contracts for North Americans are in English; however the Spanish version is the only document that has any legal standing in Mexico. Therefore, regardless of what you read in English, a Spanish speaking attorney should always represent you along with your agent.

Another major difference between the Mexican based associations and NAR has to do with the Multiple Listing Service or MLS. In the States, the MLS is controlled and monitored by NAR and is available to all NAR agents. In certain Mexican cities, including Vallarta, there is an MLS; however it is not controlled by AMPI or APIVAC. Instead, it is privately owned and operated by a local publisher and is available for property searching to the public at no charge. AMPI members are able to list their properties on the Vallarta MLS, with the general public as well as the other AMPI and APIVAC members having access to the listings.

Once you understand the inner workings of the real estate industry in PV, you need to learn a little about Mexican real estate law. It can be quite complex regarding trusts, escrows, mortgages, treatment of taxes, etc. and is often open to interpretation by a state appointed attorney, known as a notario. A small percentage of the realtors in Vallarta have a fair understanding of Mexican law as it pertains to real estate transactions; however the vast majority of them are sorely lacking in this field. Even with little or no knowledge of the law, they will be anxious to advise you, right or wrong; therefore, the best law to follow is caveat emptor, or buyer beware!

Because of the many pitfalls that a buyer can encounter while purchasing real estate in PV, we learned over twenty years ago that it is wise to interview realtors with scrutiny, keeping in mind that most all will be promoting their own listings first and meeting your needs second. It’s just human nature and with virtually no control in Mexico, it’s pretty much assured. Also, because almost 100% of them have listing agreements with the sellers, they are legally bound to act in the best interest of the sellers, and not necessarily in the buyer’s best interest. Because the buyer usually has no contractual agreement with the realtor, he will in all probability get the “short end of the stick” in this conflict of interest.

Of all places, in Mexico you should select an agent that is 100% dedicated to helping you find the property that meets your needs and satisfies your requirements; preferably, a contractual agreement with an agent with no listings, no axe to grind, no ulterior motive, and is exclusively representing buyers and their best interests.

A true buyer´s agent in PV should have no property listings, should have complete access to the Vallarta MLS, should know the areas and growth trends in and around Vallarta, should be able to professionally negotiate on the buyer’s behalf, should have a decent understanding of Mexican real estate law, should have a working relationship with the local notarios, real estate attorneys, escrow and title agents, mortgage bankers, insurance agents, inspectors, appraisers, and lastly, your representative must have a thorough working knowledge of the local real estate industry and understand the idiosyncrasies associated with it.

Buying your dream home or condo in Vallarta should be one of your best experiences, however without due diligence, it can be a nightmare. Obtaining an exclusive buyer´s agent with 100% dedication to you is a prerequisite for assuring a pleasant beginning of your retirement in Paradise.