BajaNomad

Looking for real estate agent in San Felipe.

Sprocket - 5-21-2012 at 08:49 AM

Looking to sell our family home in San Felipe (El Dorado Ranch). If you know of someone you trust or have had a good experience PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

thanks Brett.

J.P. - 5-21-2012 at 10:31 AM

I think that Giant Sucking sound you heard over there was when all the Bottom Feeders left town . the last time I was there. There was only one left at Eldorado and his wife supported him.

E.D.R.Rick - 5-21-2012 at 10:38 AM

so sad but so true

mcfez - 5-21-2012 at 12:55 PM

If you contact Randy at the BRR...........his website does real estate ads.....highly effective FYI. He has a large following at his site.....I certainly wouldn't use SF.com/mex

www.blueroadrunner.com

Real Estate agents in Baja.......the local thief would be more honest.

meme - 5-22-2012 at 06:58 AM

Yes, my reccomendation would be sell it yourself or find a friend (real friend) willing to help you get it sold.IMPO ofcourse.

Riom - 5-22-2012 at 08:44 AM

As a buyer, I'd highly recommend Darryl and Michelle at Baja Sun Real Estate http://www.bajasunrealestate.com - they do take the time and money to do things things properly (unlike many!). They're a leading part of helping cleaning up the real estate business in San Felipe with AMPI and (finally) real professional training and licensing.

During the lean last few years, when the "part-time" real estate agents have been running stores or have left town totally, Darryl and Michelle have been sticking at it with good online marketing (beyond the local websites) and low overheads, and are now getting some steady sales when the asking prices are realistic (see their listings for examples).

As a seller, the key is to ask a realistic price (which probably has no connection to the price you paid to build the property, just like in many parts of the US now). There are still many, many, many more listings than buyers, not a lot of fresh buyers (due to all the negative publicity about Mexico).

So give away prices are the way to get a sale. If you don't need to sell, don't.

Doesn't matter whether you sell direct (tough to find a buyer, none of the local websites get much traffic) or through an agent, price is key. At the right price, many of the buyers are middle class Mexicans from Mexicali and elsewhere (although at El Dorado they're mainly interested in La Ventana del Mar rather than the mountainside). The re-launching of marketing at El Dorado soon might help a little, but it's going to be a bargain-hunters buyer's market for many years to come.

Rob

[Edited on 2012-5-22 by Riom]

mcfez - 5-22-2012 at 09:50 AM

While your post had good information.....it was misleading too. If anyone is in the market to buy or sell.......just Google it. As you can see.....theblueroadrunner.com comes up first in the listed search. bajasunrealestate.com is listed below them.

It's clear that as you wrote: "(beyond the local websites)"................that statement is not correct. Also......."Darryl and Michelle have been sticking at it with good online marketing" IS a local website!

Anywhere in San Felipe including the ED................is not a good time to sell. Prices are rock bottom everywhere including the beach front properties south of SF. The re-launching of marketing at El Dorado will not work.............the re-launching of the US markets has to happen first before the buyers come swimming back to SF for vacation homes.

http://tinyurl.com/c8t339m
Quote:
Originally posted by Riom
As a buyer, I'd highly recommend Darryl and Michelle at Baja Sun Real Estate http://www.bajasunrealestate.com - they do take the time and money to do things things properly (unlike many!). They're a leading part of helping cleaning up the real estate business in San Felipe with AMPI and (finally) real professional training and licensing.

During the lean last few years, when the "part-time" real estate agents have been running stores or have left town totally, Darryl and Michelle have been sticking at it with good online marketing (beyond the local websites) and low overheads, and are now getting some steady sales when the asking prices are realistic (see their listings for examples).

As a seller, the key is to ask a realistic price (which probably has no connection to the price you paid to build the property, just like in many parts of the US now). There are still many, many, many more listings than buyers, not a lot of fresh buyers (due to all the negative publicity about Mexico).

So give away prices are the way to get a sale. If you don't need to sell, don't.

Doesn't matter whether you sell direct (tough to find a buyer, none of the local websites get much traffic) or through an agent, price is key. At the right price, many of the buyers are middle class Mexicans from Mexicali and elsewhere (although at El Dorado they're mainly interested in La Ventana del Mar rather than the mountainside). The re-launching of marketing at El Dorado soon might help a little, but it's going to be a bargain-hunters buyer's market for many years to come.

Rob

Riom - 5-22-2012 at 01:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by mcfez
If anyone is in the market to buy or sell.......just Google it. As you can see.....theblueroadrunner.com comes up first in the listed search. bajasunrealestate.com is listed below them.


Google customizes search results by user and location, so if you visit blueroadrunner more often it'll appear higher in your searches. In other words, the result is different for each user.

Click on "more search tools" in the left column at Google and then "verbatim" to remove the personalisation. This gives results closer to what a user would see the first time they search, if they never visit other SF websites, then over time their results will change to emphasize the sites they visit more often.

I know from the traffic to SanFelipeRealEstate.com (a placeholder site until the market picks up, even so it's usually in the top three results) there are very few searches for San Felipe real estate right now. Barely tens of searches a day, not hundreds or thousands (and some of those are for the other San Felipes in other countries).
Quote:

It's clear that as you wrote: "(beyond the local websites)"................that statement is not correct. Also......."Darryl and Michelle have been sticking at it with good online marketing" IS a local website!


Craigslists, postlets, etc., that's what I mean, as well as lots of money spent on Google ads (to get people interested in San Felipe, rather than just advertising to those who have already found San Felipe). The number of people who read the San Felipe websites is really tiny, and even less of them read any classified ads on the sites.
Quote:
..the re-launching of the US markets has to happen first before the buyers come swimming back to SF for vacation homes.


In some bits of the US, property is starting to sell. A street I was looking at recently in a small town in Arizona had all three available houses sell in the past three months, none were foreclosures, all got near asking price. Two of the buyers were snowbirds, so even for seasonal property some people have the money.

The prices (in this town in AZ) were comparable to El Dorado, but with much better services, shopping, (perceived) safety, etc, so apart from the sea view it's tough to sell any benefits of San Felipe to somebody who has never been there. Used to be the cheap option, but no longer. There's also no longer the El Dorado advertising (and RV park) drawing people in.

For Canadians the fact that San Felipe is not in the US is a great feature (no time limit on stays), so they are likely a better market than Southern Californians right now. But there are a lot less of them ...

Rob

mscowpatty - 5-22-2012 at 02:12 PM

I've found Darryl and Michelle very professional and courteous....Lots of good information about the community!

Let's not paint a pretty picture .......get real

mcfez - 5-22-2012 at 03:42 PM

A debate?

The US real estate market............is in overall poor condition. Let's not fathom numbers here........much less come up with pocket areas that may be doing okay with their markets......such as saying "In some bits of the US". Stop dreaming. Funding for US homes now requires MUCH stricter qualifications. It's all new ball game out. Getting a second for a vacation home is NOT easy...........selling your primary home.....is NOT easy.

Many retirees will not risk buying in Mexico. It is not like it was three - four years ago.

Another factor is many folks have lost not only their retirements...and such.................have lost any such equality in their existing homes. That knocks out a lot of the players for the SF market.

If that is not enough.............the on going slew of bad PR about Mexico is keeping the buyers away also. The cartels and the Newspapers have done a great job in suppression the real estate in Baja.

The El Dorado is flooded with homes for sale. San Felipe has "signage pollution".... from all the "for sales" signs. Many of the so called real Estate offices DONT exist any more. Let's add this scene to the pacific side of Baja too. Why? There are limited buyers in a flooded market......

How bout all these shady deals that have gone south? There are FOUR incomplete highrise apartments in SF.........with deposits gone to the fishies! These stories flooded the newspapers several years ago......flooded the buyer's minds too.

For example..... the legal issues that have wreak havoc in the San Felipe area, such as Pat Butler and Jesus Olmos of the El Dorado Ranch have lost their court case over the ownership of Playa Blanca. The Executives of San Felipe's El Dorado Ranch were charged with fraud. That sounds like a positive PR to me!

Hundreds of complaints throughout the web does not help the home sales in San Felipe either. Most potential home buys are not stupid....and do their homework. Some folks will find that forum...created by the residents of the ED....full of anger.

Here's a sample of a complaint I found......
_________________________________________________________
Question


I was attempting to purchase a lot in Eldorado Ranch Baja Mexico from a real estate agent who recomended a LLC closing agent in California. I was told she had lots of experience in the closing process, I wired her the initial deposit $3500.00 on March 31, 2010 on June 10 2010 I wired the balance for the purhase and closing costs total of another $16500.00. Since that we had sporadic updates on the closing, I was getting concerned with the lack of comunication at which time i nrecieved an email where she reassured me my money was being held in escrow. On Nov 30 2010 we got a reply from her that deal should close on Dec 2 2010. Since that last contact the realtor nor myself have been able to contact her either by phone or email, no returned messages or emails, I have requested my funds be returned so I can proceed with the purchase through another closing agent to no avail. The seller was also told the the deal would close and he would get paid in Dec 2010 he is also upset. At this stage I have filled out a complaint form to the Department of Corporations in California but I am lost as what else I can try do do. P.S. I am in Canada so I cannot just drive there to try and confront her. Any advice would be greaty appreciated.
Yours Truly
Larry Best

Expert's Answer

Okay, thank you. They are indeed registered with the state:

Entity Name: BAJA CLOSING SERVICES, LLC
Entity Number: 200804610061
Date Filed: 02/11/2008
Status: ACTIVE
Jurisdiction: CALIFORNIA
Entity Address: 74-760 HWY 111 #200
Entity City, State, Zip: INDIAN WELLS CA 92210
Agent for Service of Process: ROMAN M. WHITTAKER
Agent Address: BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP, EX
Agent City, State, Zip: *

Therefore, we know that they are not a fake corporation. However, that does not mean that they are not trying to swindle you. I highly recommend hiring an attorney to write them a demand letter threatening to sue for this matter unless the situation is resolved, and adding the threat of filing a complaint with the Attorney General of CA, California Secretary of State, and the FBI (the last is a little too much, but if they really are swindlers, they will not want the FBI to be involved).

Hopefully, this will be resolved without the need for your to actually litigate.

_________________________________________________________
So...................
While I was being polite in my retort about your post.....
"....While your post had good information..."

You decide to come back with a not so nice approach.


The Google search will show ANYONE in this world the results for buying and selling a house in San Felipe. I understand the search engines...thank you. I can twist around statements also....but I am not here to debate. I was adding information. With all this above that is going on.......you say the Google search is not a useful tool :-) Wow!




I suggest to you .......learn how to obtain the proper information from properly execution of words......... in Google search. Craigslist......is not a bad venue either to look for a house down there. One just may find a hell of a deal from an anxious buyer. Good tip to you........don't limit your tools to buy and sell!

One more thing.......I not once said anything negative about your friends Darryl and Michelle...............did I? That's what your retort here sure sounds like what it is all about.
Quote:
Originally posted by Riom










[Edited on 5-22-2012 by mcfez]

Riom - 5-22-2012 at 05:11 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by mcfez

You decide to come back with a not so nice approach.


Sorry if you got that impression, I was trying to point out where the results from Google could be misleading because of their personalisation. It wasn't an attack on you, just a clarification that what you see is not what others see (the "verbatim" search on Google isn't that widely known). I apologize if it came across as personal or if you already knew all that.

Prices in the US have fallen to the point that homes ARE actually selling in some places (as usual not all) - often the snowbird markets don't rely on mortgages but are cash (real, not home equity) or owc. Not just stories, there are even some gentle price increases: see http://www.zillow.com/local-info/AZ-home-value/r_8/ (even higher and sustained rises in Miami over an entire year, from a low base).

I agree places without jobs or too much finance (like California) are of course different (and there's more of them now). The market there will be dead for longer.

So I think we're in agreement: prices in San Felipe are low because most Americans - especially Californians - can't buy (and if they can, they prefer America at these prices), because of the large number of properties on the market, and because of the negative publicity from failed projects in the past (much of it it justified, as you point out, although I wouldn't agree that all are accurate, especially those that attack specific people).

Plus there are the continual "northern border violence" news reports. So almost nobody is looking to buy in San Felipe - there needs to be expensive marketing to new markets to get new buyers. Really the agents should get together to fund that, but it'll never happen.

I do think the original poster should only put the house on the market if they really really need to sell and want to give it away for a silly low price. I don't think we disagree there either?

I'm not sure what else offended you, but I'll apologize for that now anyway, I don't intend any factual points to be taken personally (and I don't get offended if people selectively misquote me either, it's expected and happens all the time when attention spans -and fuses - are so short).

Rob

desertcpl - 5-22-2012 at 05:59 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Riom
Quote:
Originally posted by mcfez
If anyone is in the market to buy or sell.......just Google it. As you can see.....theblueroadrunner.com comes up first in the listed search. bajasunrealestate.com is listed below them.


Google customizes search results by user and location, so if you visit blueroadrunner more often it'll appear higher in your searches. In other words, the result is different for each user.

Click on "more search tools" in the left column at Google and then "verbatim" to remove the personalisation. This gives results closer to what a user would see the first time they search, if they never visit other SF websites, then over time their results will change to emphasize the sites they visit more often.

I know from the traffic to SanFelipeRealEstate.com (a placeholder site until the market picks up, even so it's usually in the top three results) there are very few searches for San Felipe real estate right now. Barely tens of searches a day, not hundreds or thousands (and some of those are for the other San Felipes in other countries).
Quote:

It's clear that as you wrote: "(beyond the local websites)"................that statement is not correct. Also......."Darryl and Michelle have been sticking at it with good online marketing" IS a local website!


Craigslists, postlets, etc., that's what I mean, as well as lots of money spent on Google ads (to get people interested in San Felipe, rather than just advertising to those who have already found San Felipe). The number of people who read the San Felipe websites is really tiny, and even less of them read any classified ads on the sites.
Quote:
..the re-launching of the US markets has to happen first before the buyers come swimming back to SF for vacation homes.


In some bits of the US, property is starting to sell. A street I was looking at recently in a small town in Arizona had all three available houses sell in the past three months, none were foreclosures, all got near asking price. Two of the buyers were snowbirds, so even for seasonal property some people have the money.

The prices (in this town in AZ) were comparable to El Dorado, but with much better services, shopping, (perceived) safety, etc, so apart from the sea view it's tough to sell any benefits of San Felipe to somebody who has never been there. Used to be the cheap option, but no longer. There's also no longer the El Dorado advertising (and RV park) drawing people in.

For Canadians the fact that San Felipe is not in the US is a great feature (no time limit on stays), so they are likely a better market than Southern Californians right now. But there are a lot less of them ...

Rob





very good Rob,, I like this,, well stated

mcfez - 5-22-2012 at 06:20 PM

Perhaps I am lacking a diet of fish tacos...............and am grumpy that I am not "home" in San Felipe.

I am sorry that I over reacted.

The good side of all this...some good info came from both of us.

My regards. Deno aka McFez
Quote:
Originally posted by Riom
Quote:
Originally posted by mcfez

You decide to come back with a not so nice approach.


Sorry if you got that impression, I was trying to point out where the results from Google could be misleading because of their personalisation. It wasn't an attack on you, just a clarification that what you see is not what others see (the "verbatim" search on Google isn't that widely known). I apologize if it came across as personal or if you already knew all that.

Prices in the US have fallen to the point that homes ARE actually selling in some places (as usual not all) - often the snowbird markets don't rely on mortgages but are cash (real, not home equity) or owc. Not just stories, there are even some gentle price increases: see http://www.zillow.com/local-info/AZ-home-value/r_8/ (even higher and sustained rises in Miami over an entire year, from a low base).

I agree places without jobs or too much finance (like California) are of course different (and there's more of them now). The market there will be dead for longer.

So I think we're in agreement: prices in San Felipe are low because most Americans - especially Californians - can't buy (and if they can, they prefer America at these prices), because of the large number of properties on the market, and because of the negative publicity from failed projects in the past (much of it it justified, as you point out, although I wouldn't agree that all are accurate, especially those that attack specific people).

Plus there are the continual "northern border violence" news reports. So almost nobody is looking to buy in San Felipe - there needs to be expensive marketing to new markets to get new buyers. Really the agents should get together to fund that, but it'll never happen.

I do think the original poster should only put the house on the market if they really really need to sell and want to give it away for a silly low price. I don't think we disagree there either?

I'm not sure what else offended you, but I'll apologize for that now anyway, I don't intend any factual points to be taken personally (and I don't get offended if people selectively misquote me either, it's expected and happens all the time when attention spans -and fuses - are so short).

Rob

grace59 - 5-26-2012 at 07:57 AM

Hi Brett,
I would also recommend Darryl at Baja Sun. We have friends that have had very good experiences with him. I've called on him a couple of times to show homes to friends of ours who were visiting us at El Dorado. Our best friends just completed a purchase of a house that he had listed and he's been very helpful in assisting them with everything that needed to be done.
What I appreciated about Darryl is that he takes the time to really know the house that he is showing so that he can answer questions from the prospective buyers...things like construction materials, contractor, water systems, etc. We've viewed homes listed with other agents (who are still there and will remain unnamed) who couldn't answer half of our questions. Not a good way to make a sale!! I find Darryl to be knowledgeable, relaxed and accessable!! Some of the agents come on much too strong in trying to make a sale and this just causes me to put my defenses up! One agent showed our friend a home, couldn't answer half of their questions and then asked them if they were ready to make an offer....on what....hard to make an offer when you don't know what you'd be getting!!
BTW, your home looks familiar to me. Are you in Los Medanos?? If so, we are neighbors just down on the next street and the house Darryl sold our friends is another block down.
Good Luck...sorry you have to sell, but hope it goes smoothly!
Quote:
Originally posted by Sprocket
Looking to sell our family home in San Felipe (El Dorado Ranch). If you know of someone you trust or have had a good experience PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

thanks Brett.