Best Real Estate Agency
The Yucatan Living Reader’s Choice Poll gives the expatriate community a chance to express their preferences for local merchants and service providers in Merida and Yucatan.
Reader’s Choice Polls are open for voting until the end of the year. Readers may vote in any of the polls that interest them, voting for the designated nominees, or recommending a nominee of their own during the opening week of the poll.
After the polls close, special awards will be beautifully produced and awarded to the winners sometime in January. We hope that the winners will proudly display their awards in the knowledge that they have provided an outstanding service to the community.
Best Real Estate Agency in Merida
If you are living here in Yucatan, chances are one of the first things you had to do was to buy or rent a home. While some of us were savvy enough or spoke Spanish well enough to trato directo (deal direct) with the sellers or landlords, many of us spent our initial days here with a helpful real estate agent.
Please consider many things when voting for the best real estate agency. Naturally, the best agency should hire and employ knowledgeable agents. They should know the territory and the business. They should treat customers well, with both patience and respect. They should have integrity (loosely defined as doing what they say they are going to do). They should be pleasant to work with, and after the deal is done, you would recommend them to family and friends.
We believe you can’t judge a real estate agent on how long it takes to buy or sell a house, for instance. On whether or not the seller or buyer had integrity. Or on whether or not you are happy with the house once you move in. Sometimes, forces of nature (or forces of Mexico) create havoc for the best of professionals.
We open this poll by nominating the five largest and most popular real estate agencies used by gringos and other expatriates moving to Merida and Yucatan State. This is certainly not an exhaustive list.
Here in alphabetical order are the initial nominees:
Casa Blanca Real Estate – Operated by Jorge Caceres, a Yucateco by birth who lived and worked for years in the USA, this agency has been around longer than any others on our initial list. Located on Calle 55 at Calle 66.
Mayan Living – Established by Jim Mann, an expatriate who has been working and selling real estate here for about five years.
Mexico International – founded by Mitch Keenan, the first extranjero to set up a real estate agency in Merida. His team of agents is based out of their offices in the Fiesta Americana building next to the Sanborn’s restaurant.
Real Estate Yucatan – The husband and wife team of Gabriela Isaac and Alec Stephens run this agency. Gabriela is a Yucateca and Alec hails from Mexico City, but spent many years working and living in the USA.
Tierra Yucatan – This agency is run by Jennifer Lytle and her able-bodied socio, David Palomo. Jen has traveled and lived in Mexico for over 30 years from her former home in San Antonio, Texas. Jennifer’s team works out of their renovated colonial office on Calle 66 in Merida’s centro historico.
Reader Nominees:
Casa Barbarita – For the past several years, Gabriella Kretsch has been helping people from around the world find their dream home in Yucatan. Her real estate agency is the first reader nominee.
Comments
Floydilou Kerr 17 years ago
It's been over two years that we started to look for real estate in the Merida area.
Our first visit to Merida and working with Anny at CasaBlancaYucatan.com was a very good experience. Anny had exceptional knowledge of the area along with specific details to look for in the old Spanish Colonials in which we were interested. We continue to search for a property that suits our desires and budget. I enjoy going to their website on a weekly basis and using their 'advance' search button, which allows me to see new listings in a quick manner. Casa Blanca always has unique properties for sale that can't always be found on the other sites. I do however, enjoy MexIntl.com for the same reason above; easy access to new listings. Another note about MexIntl.com is this Henry Ponce guy. Who is this talent?! My dream one day is to buy a home he has designed or have him design my desired Spanish Colonial. Another important honourable mention should go to Real Estate Yucatan. I had contacted them for a particular property and was impressed by their honest answers and their professional attitude.
All in all I have had nothing but favourable experiences with Mexican real estate. We have bought in Bucerias, Nayarit. Our agent and broker were OUTSTANDING.
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Anita de Wit 17 years ago
I highly recommend Anny of Casa Blanca. She was my realtor when I bought my casita in Merida and was a fountain of information. Her assistance did not end when the transaction completed - she is still available for advice and/or the odd favour. Thanks, Anny!!
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Ditler Mayer 17 years ago
gradige frau gabriela i will sie danken fur she dist sie und alec in yucatan uns gegeben haben, wu hoffen bald zuruck zum merida him gehen , ditler mayer
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Paul Chavez 17 years ago
My experience with Gabriela Isaac from Real Estate Yucatán was outstanding, I have bought several properties here in America and the way Gabriela Isaac handle the deal with her crew was wonderful for us, she is a real Real Estate Pro!!.
My vote goes to Real Estate Yucatan.
Cheers from Minnesota!
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Gavin Turner 17 years ago
I am currently living in California at the moment, I recently bought a property in the nice north side of Merida and I am thrilled!!, it is in perfect shape and with a Laaarge Pooool!! Among other fantastic features, I hope to retire in a couple of months (if things change here) and definitely move to my house in Mexico full time.
Alter checking several websites, I chose Gabriela Isaac from Real Estate Yucatán, I can`t believe that someone else would have the same knowledge as her in the legal part of the deal and of course I recommend her and her husband Alec Stephens for being there for me all the way.
See you soon guys!
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Pat Randall 17 years ago
I recommend Tierra Yucatan to everyone that wants to buy property in Mexico. Jen made it so easy. All of her staff is wonderful. I count them among my friends as well as business associates.
Pat Randall & Mick Brennan
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william nolan 17 years ago
Hi. ive been working with jorge at Tierra Yucatan. That team has made me feel like they can handle anything. By reading other replies i see the outcome of this poll is a dead issue. lol
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Kay Eason 17 years ago
Tierra Yucatan has my vote! Everyone there is pleasant and accomodating. Their web site is easy to manuever around and has a lot of information for prospective buyers. But, my greatest accolades go out to Carlos Hassey. Carlos is an agent for Jen. He not only helped us to find, buy and insure our condominium but has overseen numerous other tasks for us while we were state side and had to get things done in Mexico. He has basically held our hands from day one and will always have our vote for the realtor numero uno!
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Lisa 17 years ago
Without qquestion, my vote is for Jen Lytle and Tierra Yucatan. Lovely, professional firm with great service.
Lisa.
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Don and Shawni 17 years ago
Tierra Yucatan gets our vote for the best. She makes buying realestate in mexico a breeze. We recommend her to all our friends and tell them she is number one!! in our book. We felt so secure with her. She really and truly cares about helping people. We felt like family when everything was completed. In our opinion, There is no one better!
Don and Shawni
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Marco and Kathy 17 years ago
Mexico International would be have been my top choice only if Kevin Graham were still there! There must surely be other agents/brokers there as honest and hardworking as that fine gentleman...and they way he helped out the people in Costa Maya after the devistation of Hurricane Dean was truly heroic.
Our vote would have to go to Jen of Tierra Yucatan for overall performance.
Marco and Kathy.
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