Prudential Vallarta Blog

Quizá éste no sea el medio para hablar de futbol pero he decidido que ¡por qué no!

El delantero mexicano, Javier (El Chicharito) Hernández se ha ganado la admiración, respeto y cariño de propios y extraños, con su excelente desempeño en el Manchester United. Es el sueño de muchos futbolistas que nunca logran salir de los equipos nacionales, y este muchachito lo logró a los 23 años cuando emigró al club inglés, uno de los mejores del mundo.

Ya le hicieron una canción llamada “Chico Is The Man”, en la que se halaga al jugador por sus cualidades técnicas y haciendo referencia del lugar de su nacimiento, el estado de Jalisco. Esta canción fue creada por el grupo The World Red Army, el mismo que creó el cántico del Manchester United “Glory Glory Man United”.

A los 9 años, Javier se inició en las categorías inferiores del Guadalajara, y ha participado con la Selección Mexicana en varios partidos.

Viene de una familia de futbolistas reconocidos, su abuelo fue leyenda en el Guadalajara y participó en el Mundial de 1954. Su padre, Javier El Chicharo Hernández, jugador del Tecos de la UAG, participó en el Mundial de 1986.

El Chicharito participó en el Mundial de Sudáfrica 2010, en el que fue el jugador más rápido alcanzando una velocidad máxima de 32,15 kilómetros por hora.

A su corta edad ha recibido muchos reconocimientos y distinciones, y seguramente seguirá dando momentos de orgullo a sus seguidores.

Acaba de ser incluido dentro de los 50 futbolistas considerados para El Balón de Oro, como el mejor jugador de la temporada. Estará compitiendo con los mejores futbolistas del mundo, como Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Forlán, Neymar, entre otros.

La competencia está dura pero ojalá El Chicharito gane este reconocido premio, ¡lo merece!

 Articulo cortesia de *Carmen Garica

*Carmen García es una agente inmobiliaria de Prudential California Realty-Vallarta Division.  Pueden contactarla en carmen.garcia@prurealtypv.com

Great news for Mexican cinema – and justice!

On Monday night’s News & Documentary Emmy ceremony in New York, Roberto Hernández, co-director and co-producer of this Mexican documentary, won the Emmy 2011 for outstanding investigative journalism — along with his wife and fellow UC Berkeley grad student, Layda Negrete.

This film is the story of a street vendor accused of murdering a woman he never even met. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail, twice, despite the all the proof of his innocence. Six years ago, Roberto and Layda began shooting video footage inside Mexico’s courtrooms and detention centers in connection with this criminal case.

When receiving his Emmy, Hernández noted that while Mexico has a long way to go to improve its justice system, unlike the U.S. it has no death penalty. “That’s why we were able to save Toño,” he said. 

Hernández attributes the film’s international accolades to the fact that “it’s affected the hearts of people. They can imagine themselves in Antonio’s shoes, where only a camera can save your life.”

“Presumed Guilty” was nominated for three Emmys — Outstanding investigative journalism (long form), Best documentary and Best research — and has received some 20 festival awards, in many countries.

This article is courtesy of *Carmen Garcia

Carmen García is a sales associate with Prudential California Realty-Vallarta Division. She can be contacted at carmen.garcia@prurealtypv.com

Lights, Camera………….Beauty! It is official; Puerto Vallarta is hosting this year’s annual Miss Mexico Pageant. The stage is being unloaded and the girls are getting ready.  This year is so exciting for Puerto Vallarta as we are the “host” city which is going to help tourism and bring visitors from all over Mexico and North America to watch this exciting competition. Secondly our very own Puerto Vallarta born beauty is competing! Lucia Silva Gonzalez born and raised in Puerto Vallarta has made us all very proud winning this year’s Miss Jalisco crown after never having stepped foot on a cat walk and this was her very first competition. We are sure she will not stop there and Prudential Vallarta will be cheering her on.  She will be up against 34 of the most beautiful women IN MEXICO all who have made it to the semi-finals. and hopefully Lucia will make our town famous by winning MISS MEXICO! If she does……….on to Miss Universe!

Do not miss this event because she is sure to take down that crown for all of us in Puerto Vallarta! Do not miss it!

The dates of this event are as follows: August 18th will be an elimination round. August 20th is the grand finale! The event is being held in the Centro International de Conventions in Puerto Vallarta. Tickets sales information has not yet been released to the public. The price will be between 150-300 pesos.

This article is courtesy of Prudential Agent Jayme McSweeny.

Normally during Puerto Vallarta´s summer season most people would complain about issues like: lack of parking, slow moving traffic, beach clubs packed with tourists, common area pools hinting on shades of green and crowded grocery stores.

PV seems to be experiencing some growing pains again. This summer feels like it did before 911,  pre-swine flu, pre-negative economies, pre-bashing by the US media; We are busy! At Marina Vallarta there is an excess of cars parked along Paseo de la Marina the majority with out of state license plates. Some restaurants are closed during regular low season Sunday or Monday but establishments that are open might have large tables with groups of 6 to 10 and lots of kids and there is plenty of foot traffic to people watch!

The reality is that there has been tremendous support for our local economy by the Mexican nationals and it is evident in all the out-of-state license plates  we see. San Luis Potosi, Aguascalientes, Nayarit, Colima and Mexico City.

With up and coming events like the Pan-American games and next year the highly anticipated Tianguis Turistico Travel Expo 2012. The energy and excitement  in Puerto Vallarta is flowing thanks to our faithful Mexican National Tourists.

The Hotel and Real Estate deals that our US compatriots are not taking advantage of will be picked up by our Mexican contingency. Our northernmost neighbor´s, Canadians, especially British Columbians and Albertans are here now to grasp opportunity even though their summers are spectacular. Why? The are looking at all the deals that are available before the shift in the economy begins and the prices start to increase.

This article is courtesy of Prudential Agent Grace Ramirez 

With great pleasure we announce our marketing relationship with the developer of Arena Blanca (Aura Desarrollos, Grupo Anima of Mexico City) for their project located in the Bay of Banderas at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Riviera Nayarita.

Arena Blanca’s first phase with only 41 beachfront residences, was just completed in May of 2011.  This project is perfect for Mexican nationals and return buyers and should be considered when they visit and come back to our beautiful Bay this summer.

Arena Blanca was designed by Edmonds International, a renowned group with worldwide experience.  This  low density boutique project  consists at the moment of 41 luxury grand beachfront residences ranging from 364 square meters (approx. 3,900 sqft) to 696 square meters (approx. 7,400 sqft).  We have 14 units left from the developer. Phase II will also consist of another 41 residences.

Sales Executive Manuel Flores is onsite at the sales office located inside the project by the highway from La Cruz to Punta de Mita after the curve north to Real del Mar, from Monday to Friday 10.30am to 6.30pm, Saturdays 11 AM to 4 PM. Sunday´s upon request and previous appt.

Manuel Flores: Nextel 145.1687 / Telcel 322.227.5175 / email: manuel.flores@prurealtypv.com

Toll free 1.800.77.ARENA

Bahia de Banderas (Bay of Banderas) is shared with Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit. The Bay has excellent sailing conditions, the best wind, weather, and sailing can be enjoyed year round.

Not only will you enjoy the views of the skyline and silhouette of the beautiful Sierra Madres….. During your sailing experience, you will witness many beautiful things in nature. From whales, turtles, enormous mantarays, jumping marlin are just a few.

One of my favorite is the many dolphins frolicking in the water and they will be “people watching”!

In the months between November through April, the bay will offer you Humpback whales. The new mommies will be playing with their new babies, and you boaters will be enjoying a free whale watching show!

The bay has so much to offer and there is a diversity of beaches at every turn unlike no other. I love to share these experiences with my friends or my clients and one of the greatest way to enjoy a sailboat is a sunset sail that leads into the night to watch firework displays throughout the bay or anchoring at the Malecon and enjoying a nice bottle of wine while our crewmate prepares us a fresh ceviche.

What you will see at night, is the moon, and depending on the time of month, you will see the moon in its different phases. When the moon is not in the sky, the stars light up even more!

The best areas to for fabulous are Nuevo Vallarta and La Cruz de Huanacaxtle.

A beautiful romantic spot is in front of the Malecon. You can watch the fireworks at night, view them from your hotel room or from the Marigalante Pirate ship.

Laura Barajas has been with Prudential since they first opened their doors in 2003 and spends all of her free time sailing and has travelled overseas to partake in regattas with the Puerto Vallarta´s womens team.

Did you know that you can travel to and from Puerto Vallarta with your pet so that they can also enjoy some sunshine and beach play? Did you know that you can take a shelter or street animal back with you if you where to rescue one in need? Open your heart and share your airline ticket! A Mexican Mutt or Cat will be truly grateful to travel to a forever home with you.
This past month, Prudential Vallarta Broker Tere Kimball, performed her 21st dog rescue; this time after several attempts, it was thanks to her own rescue dog “Tootsie”, that they rescued a former poodle. Tere has rescued 21 dogs in the past 2 years, each from unfortunate situations and all now in good homes. This result, comes from great effort and team work, but it can be done if we open our hearts and our minds and not turn our heads when there is an animal in need of desperate help.
¨Finding the right home for a rescue animal is as important as finding the right home for a client”, we have to put our hearts to it. Tere´s right hand Nicole Martin,  performed her animal placing magic and found Eli (the former Poodle) a home in Victoria British Columbia and a flight was booked! Nicole is experienced in traveling with shelter animals and jumped on the opportunity and took another rescue puppy and two kittens from PuRRProject, all with forever homes waiting for them. ¨Traveling alone with 4 scared animals can be challenging, but the reward is so great, that I will keep doing it and hope I can encourage others to do the same¨.
Here are a few tips as to what steps should be taken to travel with animals. IT’S EASY! Please consult with your airline first as each one has different criteria and requirements.
1. A Health Certificate: (carta de salud) is required by all airlines and can be easily obtained from any vet.
a. Ie, a Rabies Vaccine is required for pets over 12 weeks of age.
b. Common tests on stray dogs that you may have rescued would be PARVO and DISTEMPER.
c. Ask your vet what YOUR animal needs to be able to fly home with you.
2. Make a reservation: You must reserve a spot on the plane for your animal. You can even do this after your flight is booked….so if you find an animal that you want to take back after your flight is booked, you probably CAN! Just check with your airline.
3. Small animals can fly in the cabin under the seat in front of you. Your airline will provide the details (hard or soft kennel – and size restrictions apply).
4. Larger animals: need to fly in cargo. Again, your airline will provide the details. If your animal must go in cargo, DO check with your airline – especially on “temperature restrictions” for departure and arrival as it is NOT safe for animals to fly during some months (extreme summer heat in Vallarta or extreme winter cold up north)
5. Airline blackout dates: most airlines have these in place for the safety of animals that fly in cargo due to extreme temperatures…or during busy seasons (Christmas, Easter…). Check with your airline.
NOTE: Kennels are more affordable in supermarkets in Canada and the US than in Vallarta…so if you KNOW you are going to rescue an animal, consider purchasing your kennel up north and bring it down to Vallarta ‘empty’ with you. If you find yourself in a situation where you rescued an animal and don´t have a carrier, contact Tere or Nicole and they can probably get you one as a loan. People in Canada are always ready to help and bring back those empty carriers so we can keep doing this work and save more lives.
Check with your airline to see if they would accept an empty kennel on your trip down to Vallarta…. explain what is it for and find out if there is a charge to do this, if there is, is worth the money, the satisfaction of rescuing an animal in need is pretty amazing.
For more information on how you can travel with animals, please contact nicole.martin@prurealtypv.com
Here is more!

Prudential Vallarta is proud to announce Lulu Gutierrez as their most recent addition to their strong sales force.  Broker Tere Kimball says “I am honored to have such an experienced realtor and lovely lady join our team with her sales assistant Mary Enciso! What a dynamic Duo”

Lulu Gutierrez was born in Tepic, the largest city in the State of Nayarit, North of Puerto Vallarta (2 hours by car).  She spent most of her childhood in San Blas, a fishermen town located North on the Pacific Coast, also in the State of Nayarit.  In spite of her family’s tradition that “a career was only for men and women were raised to be housewives, mothers and to stay at home”,  Lulu was on a mission not to follow that conservative and old tradition. She knew she could strive to have both.  Lulu has two beautiful adult children whom she loves, two grand children which she adores and an extensive and successful career in real estate.

Lulu´s impressive real estate background comes from having spent many years associated with two franchise real estate names in the area,  Century 21 and Remax.  She found that having policies, established guidelines and structure was what she needed to become a respected real estate professional in the area. Lulu is an experienced professional, she has been the owner and broker of her own company (8 years) so she understands both sides of the coin and knows that it takes devotion and passion to be involved in real estate and be successful in a competitive market environment.  Lulu´s has specialized in large land transactions.  She knows every single mountain, field, plantation, swamp, river crossing, etc and she is very well liked by all the Ejidatarios and private land owners of the area.

Lulu starts a new phase in her real estate career and has joined the Prudential Vallarta Sales Team.  She embraces the fact that team work matters and that she can learn and grow faster and better if she joins a winning team.  Lulu is a very happy person, smiles and laughs most of the time; she likes to do research and she knows that support from a team and a positive attitude is what she needs now in her life to continue her journey in this fascinating business and become one of the Bay of Banderas Top agents.

“My clients’ needs will always come first.  I will pursue the best options for them and will usually wind up with a new long time friend.”

info@prurealtypv.com

A few months ago, we travelled to Puerto Vallarta on a due diligence trip looking to open up a real estate marketing company. During our trip, we met “everyone who was anyone” in the real estate market in Puerto Vallarta.

Now, let me preface this conversation by giving you a little of my back ground. I have had the great pleasure in my personal career to have the opportunity to work in the trenches and for corporate America. I have given my time and talent to a boss as well as stockholders for a Fortune 500 insurance company who entrusted me with seven countries for business expansion. More than that, the person I am talking about is a real estate professional that impressed a guy who owned the franchise rights for a couple of states in Mexico for a major real estate firm. Let’s suffice to say that I am an expert in the field that recognizes talent! This article is not about me, it is about the hidden treasure of Puerto Vallarta!

So, in my travels I encountered a lot of “very important people” not by my standards, but that is what they told me they were. The names will not be mentioned in the article because it is not important. I have run across many “important people” in my life that were the worst business people known to man…..but anyway, enough about my life, let’s get into the good stuff.

While I was in Vallarta, I thought it might be a great idea to buy a condo seeing that the market was soft and money was tight. I had a little money that day and wanted to see a few properties shown by various realtors to see not only the properties, but the talent level in the Bay of Banderas as it related to the real estate market. You won’t believe this story, but that will not make it not true, why would I tell you different, since this story, I have exited the real estate industry to pursue other ventures that captured my attention.

So there I was, I wanted a condo, I wanted to buy it that week and I wanted it in Marina Vallarta. I didn’t tell anyone why I was there, but I did say that if I found what I perceived to be a value that day, I would deposit the money within 24 hours and the deal was done. Let’s suffice to say that I was a stone cold buyer!

Ha! Ready for the punch line….I bought nothing! I happened to have been shopping in PV during a weird time that owners still thought everything was roses and me, the gringo, would pay whatever it took to buy the condo of his dreams. Well, they were wrong but the story gets better! Don’t give up on me yet………..let me tell you about the treasure I found!

Here is a summary of three listings I saw that day…

1. First property. The owner was desperate to sell, she met us in her unit with the realtor. I could smell the blood and forgive me, I was a little excited! I thought our day would end as soon as it began and this was the unit I would buy…..and then disaster struck! I was willing to pay the asking price for the unit that day and right then….as we were leaving the showing the realtor looked at me in the elevator and told me that the buyer would except 20K less than the offering price. In a puzzled expression I asked him why he would tell me that? He told me that she was desperate and he wanted or needed to make a commission that week. No lie, that is what the guy said! I expressed to him who I was and that he ought to find a new line of work because if he had not of said that, the unit would have been sold. Unfortunately, I cannot do business with anyone that represents a seller contractually that would tell me, the buyer, what he told me. Forget the value, I’m moving on!

2. I saw a gorgeous unit in Marina Golf displayed to us by a kid that may have still been in high school….we’re not sure. He asked about our taste in music, recommended us to the finest strip bars in Vallarta…..yes, you heard us right! We said we were really focused on buying a condo that day…he seemed dismayed! He showed us a gorgeous unit with a great view and told us that the seller was motivated. The asking price was way too high but we said, call the owner right now….we will pay $$$$$$$ today, not a penny more. He explained to us that he had previous engagements that day and could not accommodate our offer until the following day in the afternoon. We explain3d to him that he should finish high school, go to college or whatever he was doing and stop trying to sell real estate…..he really sucked at it! We don’t know if he took our suggestion but he should have….only time will tell. We have not seen him since.

3. We were tired, frustrated…a little pissed off but we had one more appointment that day and as realtors, we would never stand up one of our brethren. So with all that we could muster, we went to see the final listing. The property was overpriced, the owners were not close to realistic but the agent representing the property absolutely convinced us to just take a peek and see what happened.

Ready for the moral of this story? We hope so at this point! Within ten minutes of entering the property the agent in question asked us about 20 questions….that was a good start, she may actually care about us as customers! Once she figured out that we were buyers, she showed every square inch of the condo pointing out every good quality of the unit that was possible to take note of. Mind you, this property was terrible! Dated, owners never spent a penny, furniture straight out of a 80′s flick when Darrel Hanna was still a “10″…..you get the drift! Now….for every good, great or aspiring to be great salesperson in the world…..listen to what happened!

A. The “agent in question” presented me with over 10 trial closes during the presentation (trust me, I was counting)

B. The agent knew her property, within short order knew her client and although she was showing us and absolute impossible sale (for us), never missed a beat!

The end of the story is this, we never bought a property in Puerto Vallarta!
No…just so you know, we live here today but the rental market was so attractive we couldn’t find a compelling reason to buy that day….period!

What we did find that day was the only true real estate asset in the bay that we still rely on today for real estate advise.

No, nobody paid me or us to write this. No, we have never bought anything from her. That is what makes this recommendation so compelling!

Is you are a seller, buyer, interested party, shopping for a friend, know how to spell real estate or know where Puerto Vallarta is…..well, you should get to know this person!

Grace Ramirez is the most professional, diligent, endearing and trustworthy person we have met in the real estate industry in Mexico….remember, coming from people who had over 38 agents in Baja and yes…..you heard it here first. We would never buy, sell, trade, speculate or any other thing in the Bay of Banderas without talking to Grace! We all want to buy, sell or trade something with people we trust, people we would invite to our house for dinner. Not because of what they represent, but because of who they are.
Grace is that person, period! I have never in my life wrote this compelling of a recommendation but here it is and it is rare! Call this woman!

Dennis Hamilton

Just in case you are a doubting Thomas about who I am…….

http://www.assurantsolutions.com/news/news_010306.html

http://www.adobe.com/engagement/pdfs/partII.pdf

http://www.traceli.com/directory/real-estate/mo/nixa/flair-real-estate-servi
ces,-llc

http://www.facebook.com/DennisLHamilton

Trust…but verify “Ronald Reagan”

Grace Ramirez can be contacted at

grace.ramirez@prurealtypv.com

If you didn’t call here first…well, what can we say, “buyer beware”!

By Marilyn Newman

The last Friday of every month brings a new focus of continuing education to the three regional chapters of the Mexico Real Estate Association (AMPI – Asociacion Mexicana de  Profesionales Inmobiliarios) with the most recent course entitled, AMPI:  Mission and Vision.

Some of the topics covered by Katy Ochoa, Administrator of Vallarta-Nayarit MLS, were organizational structure for the three chapters working together, communication tools and plan, and how all of this together allows real estate professionals to better serve their community and clients.  Following her presentation, hands-on training in the new MLS system and a question and answer session were provided.

Continuing education is a prominent issue for AMPI in order to guarantee that all area agents have the ability to serve their community with the utmost professionalism and training available.

More information regarding the Mexico Real Estate Association can be obtained at www.vallartanayaritmls.com.

Marilyn Newman is a real estate consultant with Prudential California Realty-Vallarta Division.  She can be reached by e-mail at marilyn.newman@prurealtypv.com