A new bilateral agreement between Mexico and HAR will extend numerous benefits to agents from both markets.
By Peter Ricci
The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) has signed a bilateral agreement with AMPI, the real estate association in Mexico, that solidifies the business relationship between agents in Houston and their neighbors south of the border.
The agreement, explains Richard Miranda, who chairs HAR’s International Advisory Group, was signed at a Texas Association of Realtors convention in San Antonio with 35 different real estate leaders from Mexico.
AMPI Agreement – Relationships and Referrals
There were two overarching purposes for the agreement, Miranda explains. First, the agreement solidifies the working relationship between real estate agents in Houston and Mexico. Previously, Miranda says, such working relationships could be troublesome, but now, members of HAR have access to the AMPI website, which gives them a much more direct way to contact agents in Mexico.
So if, for instance, Miranda has a client who is interested in a beachfront property in Playa Del Carmen, he’ll now have better access to agents in a particular area to begin discussions; and likewise, if an agent in Mexico has a client who wants to buy property in The Woodlands or Houston’s Inner Loop, that agent will have similar access to HAR’s network, which, Miranda adds, will be great for Houston’s referral base throughout Mexico.
Trust, Miranda says, will be the most important factor in these transnational deals, considering that the paperwork in Mexico and the U.S. does not necessarily mesh; thus, agents in Houston and Mexico must trust one another to complete the transactions and ensure that all the necessary parties are properly compensated for their time and efforts.
AMPI Agreement – Professionalization and Legitimacy
The second reason, Miranda says, is even more important – the agreement will be pivotal to professionalizing the real estate industry in Mexico.
Real estate south of the border, he explains, is still a relatively young industry. Though the U.S. has been tinkering with its approach to selling property for more than a century, professional real estate has only existed in Mexico for 50 years, and many of the federal laws, licensing requirements and federal protections that agents in the U.S. enjoy are not present in the country.
Thus, Miranda says the agreement will demonstrate to Mexican consumers how important a strong real estate industry is, and that perception will then spread to the legislative bodies, which can then draft real estate laws and progress the industry – and of course, strengthen Houston’s relationship with the industry even further.
I likes, but, there’s no email or website information in Mexico. Please advise.
Nice. Now we can co-op with agents who don’t speak English? Good move, HAR
I am happy to be moving forward in legitimizing the cooperation of real estate agents in Mexico and the US. Many of us who do speak Spanish are looking forward to doing business with our neighbors to the south!
I am extremely excited about this HAR move.
I feel like we will make some good connections and as result great business.It will allow for many us to go into the vacation home sales.
I am fluent in the Spanish, therefore I look forward to working with our paesanos!
I know clients on both sides will feel more at ease knowing that we’re all cooperating, abiding by the same ethics and principles.
I’m really looking forward to my first transaction on a vacation home.
International Realestate is my ultimate goal!
This is great news!
Looking forward to an even busier 2013. 🙂
I am so excited at this news. My husband and I spend much time between Houston and San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, and I expect to continue as a realtor when we move there at retirement. There are so many people who are also buying retirement homes in Mexico, and as our closet neighbor, this just makes sense. Good move HAR and excellent example of why HAR continues to be ahead of the curve.
This is a good way for us agents to expand the trend. I am excited and I will share this news with all the agents in my office.
Good information and timely from my personal perspective as I just returned from vacation in Isla Mujeres (island 30mins ferry from Cancun) and have been to Playa Del Carmen in 2009; each time coming home with interest in knowing more about their real estate over there (more for retirement). I noticed American agents already located on the Island selling Mexican real estate (one was Re/Max). So in response to Cindy Cole’s comment, there are English speaking agents over there to co-op with; and I found many of the people tend to speak some level of English, unlike me that speaks little to no Spanish.
Interesting move on HAR’s part and I pat them on the back.