REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS IN THE RIVIERA MAYA
The real estate professional is, and should be as the word says, a well prepared entity, combined with broad knowledge and skills in the real estate business. He should look after the security and proper development of a real estate transaction from the very beginning all the way through the closing, and for as long as it takes. Within the world of the real estate business, and during the process of a real estate transaction, we meet promoters, agents, developers, brokers and notaries, as well as bank executives, architects, engineers, accountants, all professionals which have a part in one way or another in the transaction. We also learn about the various kinds of real estate properties and businesses as well as the instruments or legal entities to which the property will be assigned. Nevertheless, it is mainly the real estate agencies, along with the promoters, lawyers and notaries who provide the most important parts and relevance for effective counseling to the parties involved in a real estate transaction.
It is unfortunate in many cases (with few exceptions, of course), these professionals do not have the necessary expertise or knowledge to provide the proper advice, and they also do not guide the client through the process of a real estate transaction, by limiting themselves to certain stages.
The real estate procedures are extensive and require a thorough search and investigation from the very beginning of the documentation to provide for their authenticity, to verify the right to own and to provide full identification of the owners. Similarly, from the very beginning it is necessary to do a feasibility comparison between that which is stated in the documents presented and the physical location and the measurements and dimensions of the property.
The listings for properties and the public promotion of the real estate properties, require a search and investigation. But, many times, some groups or independent promoters do not verify this and delegate this task to lawyers and notaries.
Once a purchaser is found and the terms regarding the price, payment, time and delivery are set up, then the legal aspect will be important. This is when a lawyer and notary public become involved, and as I stated above, some real estate agencies abandon the clients - they leave them in the legal professionals hands and unfortunately, some of these legal professionals do not provide the proper legal advice nor do they inform the parties properly.
The original ownership of a property (where the land tenancy stems from) and the particulars of each transaction as well as the parties involved, provide the legal scope in which the assignment of a property shall take place. I have commented in previous articles, on the legal resources people tend to resort to, such as private contracts, granting of powers of attorney, as well as the incorporation of corporate entities for the acquisition of property for commercial purposes or the exemption of taxes in extremely reserved cases for non residents abroad. These situations have been common in the Riviera Maya, and have resulted in bad counseling in the legal arena.
There is also a final stage in the real estate process, and that is, the proceedings after the registration of the public instrument granted by the Notary Public, as it relates to the updating of name (change of owner name) in the corresponding municipal documents. Also, and even though it is not a common practice in this State, real estate insurance, mainly in those zones such as the Riviera Maya, for there exists the possibility devastating natural phenomena.
In everyday practice, there is no professional offering of integral services such as that mentioned above which follows along with the parties through each and every stage of the real estate transaction. And since this is the scenario, it is recommended to turn to well established groups (real estate agencies), as well as to law firms that are well known in this area, in order to avoid situations affecting people’s property and the economic situation.
