February 18, 2024 • 28 mins
When Nolan Clark swapped the Canadian frost for Mexico's sun-soaked Riviera Maya, he didn't just find warmer weather; he discovered a whole new way of life. Now, as a seasoned real estate broker and developer, Nolan joins us to share the inside scoop on thriving as an expat and navigating the property market. We also learn about Nolan's career pivot, revealing how a passion for music and frequent conversations with fans led him to become both a popular local entertainer and a trusted real estate agent.
Our conversation takes a turn towards the unique experiences and advice for expats, punctuated by the allure of eco-conscious living in developments like Haven. Here, the mystical cenotes play a central role, and we discuss their significance to the Yucatan Peninsula's real estate offerings. We offer a transparent look at what potential investors can expect when diving into property rentals, providing a realistic outlook on returns and the importance of savvy marketing.
We are incredibly thankful for engagement and stories from our listeners, who have found their own sense of 'home' across the globe. Stay tuned as we continue to share the wisdom and wanderlust of those who've charted their unique international courses. We'd love to hear your comments and questions. Email them to expatslikeus@gmail.com
For more information and content, follow Expats Like Us on Facebook and YouTube
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
My biggest advice to anyone who's the one, I guess
one sentence would be don't buypre-sale.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah, right, right, does it might never happen.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Well, there's lots of reasons, but that's the biggest
one there is.
You know it may not happen, butalso there's just.
There's a lot of properties outthere and if your expectation
is to rent it out right, it'sgoing to be a challenge.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Welcome to ExPATs Like Us.
A co-production with me, vitaMargarita, exploring the world
of US ExPat Life in Mexico.
In each episode, we'll meet newpeople and hear their stories.
We'll also learn more aboutExPat Life and get a few tips on
everything from making yourmove to settling in, to living
your dreams and, most of all,having fun.
(00:52):
Let's dive in.
I'm your host, bob Bussey.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
And I'm Chris Kowalski and we are friends and
expats who, in the summer of2021, sold our possessions,
retired from our jobs and madethe move to Mexico.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Today we're thrilled to be talking with Nolan Clark.
Nolan is a friend and a realestate broker and developer in
Riviera Maya.
He's also an interesting guywho's well known in the area for
his music performances, eitherwith a band or solo.
Nolan is here to share hisexperience in moving from his
original home in Canada toliving mostly full-time in
Mexico and adapting to a newlife in a new country.
(01:40):
He'll also give us some insightinto how real estate markets
work here in Mexico and some ofthe best practices in finding a
home in the area.
Hi, nolan, and welcome toExPats Like Us Afternoon.
Bob, chris, thanks for havingme on.
Thanks for coming.
So first thing, tell us aboutyour pre-Mexico life.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
So yeah, as you mentioned, I'm from Canada.
I grew up in Vancouver and Imoved to the interior British
Columbia.
I spent about 15 years there.
I had a 25-year career in theIT field, doing various things,
from education at a localcollege to database development
and application development,things like that Things.
I moved in the fall of 2015,.
So I've been here a little overeight years.
(02:20):
I always had a love affair withMexico.
The first time I got here was,I'd say, 1990 or something like
that, and I went to Mazatlan andI really enjoyed the culture,
the people, obviously, the foodand the climate all things
Mexican.
But I started a family early inmy life as an adult, and so it
(02:41):
took a while.
And then, yeah, had sometragedy happen in my family and
a divorce happened.
So, yeah, that was kind of theimpetus for me saying, okay,
it's time to go Check it out andwhat was the process of making
the move from Canada to here?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
What was that like for you?
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Well, it was relatively simple.
I had just been divorced so Iwas restarting in Canada.
I didn't have a whole lot ofitems that I had to sell.
I had a home that I'd purchased, and I ended up just finding
kind of a roommate guy who wouldtake care of the place.
I sold a lot of my possessionsand when I got down here, I had
a house that I had purchased inaround the 2008.
And so it was a relatively softlanding.
(03:21):
I came down with my backpackwith some t-shirts and shorts, a
laptop and my guitar, and thatwas it.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
So did you start real estate as soon as you got here,
or did you start?
Speaker 1 (03:35):
music, no.
So I started.
Actually I wasn't sure what Iwas going to do and I just I
brought the laptop but I reallydidn't want to get jumped back
into the IT environment.
But someone did offer me aposition doing some work with
their hotel.
But the rate I was going to beasking for was, she said, well,
that's what doctors make.
So it kind of didn't.
(03:56):
It fell apart.
There I could have done somecontract work for companies in
Canada that I knew, but I reallydidn't want to, so I kind of
held off.
I started playing guitar at alocal restaurant here weekly and
it was very interesting becausejust about every time I played
I'd do a set you know nine, 10songs and I'd put the guitar
down and somebody would wave meover and offer to buy me a beer
(04:17):
and ask me well, what are youdoing over here playing guitar
in this little, you know sleepylittle town?
So I would mention that youknow I just moved to the area
and I had a house you know thatI'd purchased years earlier.
And the question was always thesame Well, what do you know
about the real estate market?
So real estate, actually, justit really did fall in my lap.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
So how have you adapted your personal lifestyle
to living in a great question?
It's not a foreign country toyou anymore, but at the time a
foreign country.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
So well, things like.
You know I don't wake up to analarm.
Those are the things that Ithink are the nicest.
You know, I wake up when thesun wakes me up, and you know
the birds.
I don't commute nine to fiveanymore, so things like that.
Obviously, I've had to learnSpanish, which after eight and a
half years I'm pretty good atit.
I can get by for sure.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Tell us about the transition to your new life in
Mexico.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Well, that was very interesting.
My original plan was actuallyto come down here.
I earlier, like maybe a yearearlier, I had gone to Seulita,
which is a town north of PuertoVallarta on the West Coast, and
I kind of liked that town.
I saw a couple of properties Iwas interested in and my
original plan was to come downhere and fix up my house here
and sell it and then purchasesomething over on the other side
.
I ended up doing therenovations.
(06:00):
I kind of reignited my passionfor this house.
I put a pool in and things likethat and I just started making
some routes, you know.
So getting to know people inthe area, and obviously the real
estate, as I mentioned earlier,started to kick off.
So I just thought, why would Iabandon this?
It's beautiful over here, sothere's a lot of pluses.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Right, absolutely.
So during this process, did youhave any unexpected challenges?
Speaker 1 (06:27):
I wouldn't say they were unexpected.
Nothing unexpected, I would sayyou expect to have a challenge
with the language.
I guess maybe something wasunexpected.
Was I missed playing highsocky?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Oh, okay.
Yeah, you really don't see alot of that down here.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
I understand they're putting a rink in, so we'll have
some nice things soon.
I can't count.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
And, from your experience, what are some of the
things people should considerwhen they're getting ready to
start a new life in MexicoAnother good question.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
So what I tell people is you know, try to find out,
try to think about what'simportant to you.
If it's going to be more of asense of community, or, let's
say, proximity to the beach andaccess to the beach, those
things, those are two superimportant things and that's why
we're down here.
Right, it's to be at the beachas often as possible.
Things like access to amenities, restaurants, those types of
(07:23):
things.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
So Okay, and what are some of the things that people
that you think?
Have you seen people that didnot really think through the
process of moving down here andwhat sort of things that were
they not thinking about whenthey did that?
Speaker 1 (07:40):
No, I can't say that.
I do know.
I know that there are peoplewho have moved into certain,
let's say I'll just say it downinto Tulum.
Let's say, 15 years ago theybought some land, they built a
house in Tulum and Tulum hasgrown up around them.
So they've been unhappy withthe changes in that area, and
that happens in Playa del Carmen.
The hats happened in Cancun orCozumel as well.
(08:02):
So they've wanted to sell andmove somewhere that's maybe a
little quieter.
Tulum is very I won't say,transient, but there's a lot of
Airbnb properties down there now.
So for people in our agecategory, I'm happy to show
people down property down inTulum that I like to.
It's kind of a younger person'stown Exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
We shared on our expats like us Facebook page, I
believe while back we shared aphoto of Playa del Carmen in
1989, an aerial photo versustoday, I think I saw that and it
was, like you know, a couplelittle grass, a couple little
bamboo huts in 1989.
And now it's hundreds ofthousands of people.
(08:43):
Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, you got to.
You got to plan on there beingsome big changes for sure,
potentially wherever you go.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
So as a well known guy in the area, particularly
because of your entertainment,your music, tell us about the
work you did as a singer and amusician.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Well, I was really just a kind of camp campfire
singer up in Canada.
I didn't do any professionalsinging at all.
I jumped in on a couple of openmic sessions in Canada.
But when I came down here Iplayed music in my backyard and
a few neighbors came by and theyliked it.
So they said, well, Lapa Lapa,which is a local restaurant here
(09:21):
, they had just opened, taken,you know, by new management.
So one of my friends kind ofthrew it out there that I should
play there, and that's reallywhat kicked off the music.
I bought some equipment andstarted playing on Wednesday
nights.
And then, because I had theequipment, someone suggested I
do some karaoke.
So I started up a karaoke.
That was on Monday nights.
There's another restaurant thathired me to do karaoke and or
(09:44):
play and I also did some hermitcrab races over there which
really took off.
Through all of those events Ibecame pretty well known in the
area and also then I wouldshamelessly promote myself when
the house was packed.
I'd say by the way, if you'rehaving a good time, I sell real
estate during the daytime.
So coming here and get a card.
So I think you still do that, Istill do that.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
That's a good idea and that's probably the way to
do it.
But, yeah, you're well knownfor for entertainment, but
you're also known around here tome as the guy to talk to if
you're looking to buy or sellreal estate in the area.
And how did you first getinvolved in that and what was
the process?
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Well, I've been pretty lucky with it.
As I said, it did fall in mylap, so I guess it was early
2016.
I went down to Tulum.
I talked to a couple ofdifferent brokerages and all of
them told me that I could startthe next day.
So I won't mention which one Iended up getting on with, but I
worked with them for about fiveor six months.
I met a gentleman from Dallaswho convinced me that, hey, you
(10:45):
know what you could be doingthis on your own.
So I looked into it.
I started up a corporation, andthat was that.
I got licensed, and the rest iskind of history.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
So what's the licensing process like here?
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Well, it's changed a little bit, it's.
It was very difficult for mebecause I had to take a 120 hour
course in Spanish, and that wasbefore.
My Spanish was very good, sothey assisted, they helped, they
were pretty good, and now it's.
You can go through a differentorganization called Ampe.
So I went through Sinetis andnow it's through Ampe and they
(11:19):
offer it in English.
So I've actually just takensome, I guess, continuing
education through Ampe, so I'llhave that licensing shortly as
well.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
I've heard in the area, there's a lot of people
that present themselves as areal estate agent but they're
not actually licensed.
Is that something?
Speaker 1 (11:36):
you see, or that you come across, oh, absolutely, I
call them the Bicycle RealEstate Agents.
So when I first would put an adout on a couple of the
different pages and somebodywould call me and say, oh, I've
got a property that might fit,and I'd say, oh, let's meet at
the coffee shop or somewhere,okay.
And then I'm waiting outsideand they roll up on their
bicycle I'm not kidding you.
So yeah, licensing is requiredhere in this state and in Baja
(11:59):
California, sir, but I thinkthat's it.
These two, and maybe MexicoState as well.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
So is there a way that one of our viewers, if they
were looking for a property,that they could make sure that
they're dealing with the leaseEventually.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
That's what we're trying to move forward with.
Is actually, you know,requesting.
Let's see your license, let'smove forward from that.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
I do remember that when I first got the idea of
moving down here, we had afriend that lives in, have a
friend that lives in Playa delCarmen, and she said oh, if you
want me to hook you up with ahouse or something, let me know
she goes in Mexico, everybody'sa realtor.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Well, that's true too , I always remember that.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
And then so now, when I see people who are real to
say they're realtor as, I alwayswonder you know, but we know
that you're the real deal.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
So yeah, and I've been very lucky.
You know, like I said throughjust word of mouth in the area,
it's a small community, it's avery good, tight community.
So, yeah, I've been, I've beenvery lucky.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Yeah, very good.
So do you sell, or is some ofyour clients, or some of your
clients, spanish speaking people, or is it?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
mostly.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Yeah, I've dealt with , but it's a small percentage.
I would say five.
Under fewer than 10% of myclients have been Mexican or
Spanish speaking, but there area few.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Okay, so what's the current real estate market like
here in Riviera Maya?
Speaker 1 (13:13):
That's a really good question.
Right now is high season, soit's it's.
You know it's hot.
I guess I've sold fiveproperties, four properties, in
the last five weeks.
So the first five weeks of 2024got four properties sold or
under contract.
Anyways, covid was kind ofweird, so everything just kind
of was stalled during the COVIDyears and then the year when
(13:33):
COVID was done, I sold three orfour times more property than I
ever had and then last year wasa little slower.
It was kind of got back tonormal.
So there is a high season and alow season.
There's a cycle here.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So right and it kind of mirrors the tourist season
Precisely.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
People come down, they time they know they're
going to buy or they're thinkingabout buying and think time
their vacation with purchaseOkay.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
I got a couple of questions about this development
here that you're currentlyworking on.
So how does it work?
Are they solar powered?
Is there CFP here?
Do they have wells?
Do they have?
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Yeah, so yeah, welcome to Haven Haven Executive
Estates.
Yeah, so it's a bit of a Idon't know snooty name, but so
yeah, haven is a Gated communityseven single family lots, good
size, 13,000 plus square feet.
We do have CFE at every lotline brought in, each lot has
its own well as well, and we doa very a closed in septic system
(14:28):
.
So the septic chamber has fiveanti chambers or sub chambers
for water separation.
It has a biodegester, which isa requirement by law, and it has
a basically just a holdingchamber for the gray water, the
final gray water, with a pumpand that pumps out into enclosed
planters, so a planter with abottom and sides that's sealed
(14:49):
and it runs, you know, severaldozens of meters.
So Basically, the water flowsout from that, from your house,
and into, eventually into yourplanters, and then just gets
absorbed or evaporates.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Oh okay.
So it's kind of a whole littleecosystem.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Yeah, it doesn't go back into the, into the cenote
system below.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Okay what about the water?
Speaker 1 (15:07):
that you bring into your house.
Yeah, so the water is pulled upfrom the cenotes and that's why
we're very careful with what weput back out of the house,
right, so we don't want tocontaminate the water that we're
pulling up into the house.
So describe what a cenote is,because people listening to this
might not know cenote is reallyjust a term for the underground
water, but you know the sonacenotes themselves are typically
thought of as the openingswhere the the ground has caved
(15:30):
in.
There's very, very few lakes orPonds here.
So cenotes, as you guys know,are where the land has kind of
fallen in and now you can seethe water flowing.
It's crystal clear, normallybecause they get a lot of flow
and, yeah, it's super cleanwater because it's been filtered
.
So when it rains it goesstraight into the cenotes, which
are probably 50 feet below the.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Right ground level somebody.
I read somewhere the other daythat Mexico does not have any
navigable rivers because of thelandform that's so high in the
central and it's so low on thesite on the coast that there's
no.
You know, the rivers are eithertoo fast or In like.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
In this area they're underground last year I visited
Chiapas and I did see a river.
There was a beautiful that.
The valley there is spectacular.
Okay, you're gonna go onvacation.
I would definitely recommendchecking that out so we could
have taken the boat tour whichactually goes up a navigable
river.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I'm worried we could take the road.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
we chose that road and we went up and just you know
, your 2000 feet above the like,I don't know, a thousand feet,
you're way up there anyways, andyou're looking down and just
the views were spectacular,right?
So yeah, I think there are, butfor sure, here in the Yucatan,
I wouldn't think there's anynavigable rivers, right yeah?
Speaker 2 (16:43):
So as far as the real estate market here, tell people
what you know, what's kind ofthe low end of a house that you
can get and what that would costand and what would be included
with that All the way up to, youknow, middle range to the high
end okay.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
So where I bought my first house in Mexico in 2008
was a little community calledChanchema wheel.
I still have property for salethere for 110,000 and that is a
basic two-bedroom, one bathhouse.
It's got a front yard, backyard.
There's no HOA there.
The house itself is about 650square feet and it would need
some work so you may be able topick it up for a hundred
(17:18):
thousand us a USD.
Everything I talk about indollars is are in as far as
money goes, is gonna be in USD.
Yeah, and that's kind of thestarting point.
I would say, okay, typicalsales for me are condos in the
Tulum country club, where youguys you know are your area 200
(17:40):
to 250,000 for a typicaltwo-bedroom, not penthouse, and
then 300 to 350 for a penthouse,single family homes anywhere
from 350 to well, this guy's thelimit you know.
So I've got a very nice villafor sale for 800,000 down in in
(18:00):
In Tulum.
I've got a Beachfront propertyfor three and a quarter.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
So what do you get for 800,000 in Tulum?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
That's a beautiful house.
It's Tulum style, which meansit's got all the kind of the Not
rough finishing but polishedconcrete and chacum which is the
the wall finishing.
I guess.
Okay, three bedroom, three anda half bath, plus a big pool,
plus a guest house, and thenthat's in a gated community as
well.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Okay so yeah, very, very cool.
Some people, like you know,think they're gonna buy places
as an investment is.
Do you recommend something likethat, or you know, is that a
good thing or a bad thing?
Speaker 1 (18:37):
loaded question there's.
There are some opportunities,but generally speaking, People
they tend to get over.
People will over-promise thereturn on investment potential
and that's what gets peopleexcited and they make the
mistake of purchasing withoutreally working through the
numbers.
I tell people to be verycareful.
(18:57):
You know, interview severaldifferent vacation rental
management companies, becausethat's really who you're going
to hand it over to.
You're going to buy a propertyand you're going to give it to a
vacation rental managementcompany who will be promising
you probably higher returns thanyou're going to see.
Ask to maybe interview one ortwo of their clients as well and
maybe have them pick them atrandom if they can.
It's always better if you canaugment through your own social
(19:20):
media or your own networks,through work or wherever you
know, if you can augment thepromotion of your property.
So I think it's a realisticexpectation to expect that your
property may be net zero andwhat I mean by that is you'll
have enough rentals through theyear that your HOA, all of your
payments, you know, will becovered by the rental.
(19:42):
So HOA and your property tax,which is negligible here, and
your utilities, internet, etcetera.
So Okay.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
You got anything, chris?
Is it better for an expat torent her own?
Speaker 1 (19:56):
would you say oh, it depends what they want to use
the property for.
If they, obviously.
If they're going to come downhere to live, I would recommend
that they purchase something forsure, because then it's theirs.
They can do what they want toit.
Do you cover any rentals?
I don't do any rentals at all.
Yeah, but I do advise people tocome down.
If they're not sure, come ondown, spend a month or two, rent
a place and make sure that youyou know that this is the place
(20:19):
for you.
A lot of my clients havevisited the Riviera Maya over
the last 12, 15 years and theyalready know this is where they
want to be.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
So they'll just come down and it's my understanding,
there's not currently an MLStype system here, but you guys
are working on one.
Is that accurate?
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Yes, that's correct.
So, you know, somebody wants tolook at just a sampling.
They can come to my website.
It's to loomexpertrealtycom.
There's a big aggregator.
You've probably heard of pointtwo homes as well, so you can
look at property all over theworld on point two and you can,
you know, zero down.
But yeah, there's just.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Do you find that there's a lot of homes that are
for sale that are not listed onthose sites?
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Not so many, yeah, but there's duplicates and you
know this is where it gets alittle complicated in the
Mexican real estate market,where multiple brokerages have
the opportunity to list the sameproperty.
So you might, I don'tparticipate in those.
It's called a non exclusivelisting and it just doesn't make
any sense for me to take a nonexclusive listing where I might
work my butt off for to try tosell that property and then some
(21:21):
other brokerage sells it, so itjust doesn't make sense.
But you get these situationswhere multiple brokers have
different pricing for the sameproperty, or the property was
sold a year ago but the ownerdidn't tell the other five
brokers, so it's still listed upthere and they use it as kind
of a bait and switch tactic aswell.
So an MLS is overdue.
(21:41):
Right, we're looking forward toit, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
I will say that my personal experience is, when we
started looking at places, welooked at condos, like a lot of
people do.
We looked in Playa, we lookedinto loom All the ones in to
loom that the guy took us to toshow us all they were trying to
sell it on was return oninvestment as a rental and it
was going to be, you know, 30%return on investment and I don't
(22:05):
know a single person that'sever seen that happen, that
actually bought one of those.
You know, or yeah it's, yeah,that's a.
That's one of the things Ithink you got to watch out for
down here.
That can't be the reason.
The reason has to be that youwant to have something to do
with Mexico, yeah, and perhapslive here, probably.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
So my biggest advice to anyone who's the one, I guess
one sentence would be don't buypre-sale.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Because it might never happen.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Well, there's lots of reasons, but that's, that's the
biggest one there's.
You know it may not happen, butalso there's just.
There's a lot of properties outthere and if your expectation
is to rent it out, right, you're, you're it's going to be a
challenge, yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
So what's the best place for people to begin their
real estate search?
If they've been coming downhere and they think, yeah, we
could live here, where do theybegin?
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Well, like I said, they can check my website out.
They can call me.
I'll give you guys my number.
I don't text or phone call.
I use WhatsApp almostexclusively, okay, but yeah,
they can hit me up on thewebsite, that's that's it.
I'm happy to share theinformation, like.
One of the things that Ihonestly enjoy is just sharing
the information with people.
(23:15):
I don't have to sell you ahouse, it's just.
You know, I'll spend half anhour with somebody on the phone
and just share the informationand maybe they'll decide that,
hey, this isn't the place forthem.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
But yeah, well, that's very good I was going to
say so as an expat.
What are your favorite thingsabout living here and what are
your least favorite things?
Speaker 1 (23:35):
I was going to mention earlier Compromante de
Domicilio.
So this is one of the thingsthat I try to teach people.
Compromante de Domicilio, youguys probably know, is proof of
address and that's one of thechallenges.
And it just seems that you knowI joke with people that
sometimes you need to bring yourCompromante de Domicilio to buy
a loaf of bread.
That's an exaggeration.
It just seems like Well, weknow how that goes right, you're
(23:57):
trying to get something doneand you just don't have the
right paperwork.
Oh, do you have a copy of yourpassport?
Yep, oh, but you need to.
Yeah, today you need to.
Okay, so there are somefrustrations.
I'm not sure.
I love the beach.
My girlfriend and I have asailboat so we go sailing a lot.
You know we'll hit Cozumel anddo things like that.
So just the outdoor living.
You know there's a lot to do.
(24:19):
The golf course here isfantastic.
Yeah, absolutely yeah.
I can't say that.
I have one specific that I likethe most Not being cold.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
I guess that's probably it, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
That's.
I think that's a big attractionfor Chris and I too.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
I'll never be cold again.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Yeah Right, I will never shovel snow again is what
I always say.
So if you had a list of the topthings people should consider
when making the move either justfor themselves or buying
property or whatever what wouldthose things be?
Speaker 1 (24:46):
So I would consider sense of community.
That's probably number onething.
Do you want to be near people?
You know, when you wake up inthe morning you look across the
street, or you know the pationext door, or walking, you know,
down the trail.
Is that a new face or is thatsomeone that you've gotten to
create a relationship with?
So the transient nature Ifyou're buying down in Tulum,
(25:09):
you're going to see a lot morebecause there are tons and tons
of Airbnb.
So that's probably number one.
It's just what's more importantto you a sense of community, or
is that important at all?
Proximity to the beach andaccess to the beach.
So how close are you to thebeach and how difficult is it to
get onto the beach?
Because not all places, eventhough you may be close to the
beach, it might be a little moredifficult to get on it.
(25:31):
And then, obviously, you knowthings like amenities.
We have a great pickleballcommunity here, there's tennis
courts around here, we can gowalking and cycling, and
obviously the golf courses thatpepper the area as well, and the
beach, you know, yeah.
And I guess, lastly would bethings to do and restaurants.
(25:53):
So, and price, I guess that'sthe last thing too Right.
So in some of those, the biggercenters, the prices are
starting to go up.
There there are US prices forsure.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
What do you think, chris?
I think it's been fun yeahthat's pretty much it.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Do you have any more questions?
No, I don't.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I think you've answered them all Well.
Thank you so much, Nolan Clark,and thanks for joining us on
Xpats.
Like Us.
Hey, give us your website realquick Okay.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah, it's toloomexpertrealitycom.
Okay, and you can throw a wwwin front of that, okay.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
That's easy enough to remember Toloomexpertrealitycom
.
That's right, all right.
Well, thank you very much,nolan Clark.
Thanks, chris.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Hey, thanks, bob.
Thanks for having me on guys.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
You bet All right.
In each episode of Xpats LikeUs, we're going to teach you a
new Mexican slang word.
This is something you may notfind in your phrase book or your
online Spanish class or yourSpanish app or wherever you're
learning your Spanish.
Instead, this is a term usedprimarily by Mexican Spanish
(26:49):
speakers.
Today's word is Metiche Metiche.
I have no clue what that means.
Can you spell it?
That is M-E-T-I-C-H-E Metiche.
Okay, and what does Metichemean?
Speaker 3 (27:06):
It's a person who has his or her nose in someone
else's business.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Okay, very good, don't be a Metiche.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Gracias, erika Kowalski from Mi Vida, margarita
.
We'd love to hear your thoughtson today's topic.
Just look up Xpats.
Like Us on Facebook or send usan email at xpatslikeus at
gmailcom.
You can also see the videoversion of today's discussion
(27:34):
and all of our discussions onour YouTube page.
Follow, like, subscribe andleave us a review.
Thank you to today's guest,nolan Clark.
Thanks also to my co-host,chris Kowalski, and our
co-producers, erika Kowalski andSherry Bosse.
Most of all, thank you fortuning in to Xpats Like Us and
(27:54):
thank you for interacting withus on social media.
Next time we'll bring you morefirsthand information about your
international move.
Until then, remember, our homesare not defined by geography or
one particular location, but bymemories of dense people and
places that span the globe.
My biggest advice to anyone who's the one, I guess
one sentence would be don't buypre-sale.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah, right, right, does it might never happen.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Well, there's lots of reasons, but that's the biggest
one there is.
You know it may not happen, butalso there's just.
There's a lot of properties outthere and if your expectation
is to rent it out right, it'sgoing to be a challenge.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Welcome to ExPATs Like Us.
A co-production with me, vitaMargarita, exploring the world
of US ExPat Life in Mexico.
In each episode, we'll meet newpeople and hear their stories.
We'll also learn more aboutExPat Life and get a few tips on
everything from making yourmove to settling in, to living
your dreams and, most of all,having fun.
(00:52):
Let's dive in.
I'm your host, bob Bussey.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
And I'm Chris Kowalski and we are friends and
expats who, in the summer of2021, sold our possessions,
retired from our jobs and madethe move to Mexico.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Today we're thrilled to be talking with Nolan Clark.
Nolan is a friend and a realestate broker and developer in
Riviera Maya.
He's also an interesting guywho's well known in the area for
his music performances, eitherwith a band or solo.
Nolan is here to share hisexperience in moving from his
original home in Canada toliving mostly full-time in
Mexico and adapting to a newlife in a new country.
(01:40):
He'll also give us some insightinto how real estate markets
work here in Mexico and some ofthe best practices in finding a
home in the area.
Hi, nolan, and welcome toExPats Like Us Afternoon.
Bob, chris, thanks for havingme on.
Thanks for coming.
So first thing, tell us aboutyour pre-Mexico life.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
So yeah, as you mentioned, I'm from Canada.
I grew up in Vancouver and Imoved to the interior British
Columbia.
I spent about 15 years there.
I had a 25-year career in theIT field, doing various things,
from education at a localcollege to database development
and application development,things like that Things.
I moved in the fall of 2015,.
So I've been here a little overeight years.
(02:20):
I always had a love affair withMexico.
The first time I got here was,I'd say, 1990 or something like
that, and I went to Mazatlan andI really enjoyed the culture,
the people, obviously, the foodand the climate all things
Mexican.
But I started a family early inmy life as an adult, and so it
(02:41):
took a while.
And then, yeah, had sometragedy happen in my family and
a divorce happened.
So, yeah, that was kind of theimpetus for me saying, okay,
it's time to go Check it out andwhat was the process of making
the move from Canada to here?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
What was that like for you?
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Well, it was relatively simple.
I had just been divorced so Iwas restarting in Canada.
I didn't have a whole lot ofitems that I had to sell.
I had a home that I'd purchased, and I ended up just finding
kind of a roommate guy who wouldtake care of the place.
I sold a lot of my possessionsand when I got down here, I had
a house that I had purchased inaround the 2008.
And so it was a relatively softlanding.
(03:21):
I came down with my backpackwith some t-shirts and shorts, a
laptop and my guitar, and thatwas it.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
So did you start real estate as soon as you got here,
or did you start?
Speaker 1 (03:35):
music, no.
So I started.
Actually I wasn't sure what Iwas going to do and I just I
brought the laptop but I reallydidn't want to get jumped back
into the IT environment.
But someone did offer me aposition doing some work with
their hotel.
But the rate I was going to beasking for was, she said, well,
that's what doctors make.
So it kind of didn't.
(03:56):
It fell apart.
There I could have done somecontract work for companies in
Canada that I knew, but I reallydidn't want to, so I kind of
held off.
I started playing guitar at alocal restaurant here weekly and
it was very interesting becausejust about every time I played
I'd do a set you know nine, 10songs and I'd put the guitar
down and somebody would wave meover and offer to buy me a beer
(04:17):
and ask me well, what are youdoing over here playing guitar
in this little, you know sleepylittle town?
So I would mention that youknow I just moved to the area
and I had a house you know thatI'd purchased years earlier.
And the question was always thesame Well, what do you know
about the real estate market?
So real estate, actually, justit really did fall in my lap.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
So how have you adapted your personal lifestyle
to living in a great question?
It's not a foreign country toyou anymore, but at the time a
foreign country.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
So well, things like.
You know I don't wake up to analarm.
Those are the things that Ithink are the nicest.
You know, I wake up when thesun wakes me up, and you know
the birds.
I don't commute nine to fiveanymore, so things like that.
Obviously, I've had to learnSpanish, which after eight and a
half years I'm pretty good atit.
I can get by for sure.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Tell us about the transition to your new life in
Mexico.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Well, that was very interesting.
My original plan was actuallyto come down here.
I earlier, like maybe a yearearlier, I had gone to Seulita,
which is a town north of PuertoVallarta on the West Coast, and
I kind of liked that town.
I saw a couple of properties Iwas interested in and my
original plan was to come downhere and fix up my house here
and sell it and then purchasesomething over on the other side
.
I ended up doing therenovations.
(06:00):
I kind of reignited my passionfor this house.
I put a pool in and things likethat and I just started making
some routes, you know.
So getting to know people inthe area, and obviously the real
estate, as I mentioned earlier,started to kick off.
So I just thought, why would Iabandon this?
It's beautiful over here, sothere's a lot of pluses.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Right, absolutely.
So during this process, did youhave any unexpected challenges?
Speaker 1 (06:27):
I wouldn't say they were unexpected.
Nothing unexpected, I would sayyou expect to have a challenge
with the language.
I guess maybe something wasunexpected.
Was I missed playing highsocky?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Oh, okay.
Yeah, you really don't see alot of that down here.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
I understand they're putting a rink in, so we'll have
some nice things soon.
I can't count.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
And, from your experience, what are some of the
things people should considerwhen they're getting ready to
start a new life in MexicoAnother good question.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
So what I tell people is you know, try to find out,
try to think about what'simportant to you.
If it's going to be more of asense of community, or, let's
say, proximity to the beach andaccess to the beach, those
things, those are two superimportant things and that's why
we're down here.
Right, it's to be at the beachas often as possible.
Things like access to amenities, restaurants, those types of
(07:23):
things.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
So Okay, and what are some of the things that people
that you think?
Have you seen people that didnot really think through the
process of moving down here andwhat sort of things that were
they not thinking about whenthey did that?
Speaker 1 (07:40):
No, I can't say that.
I do know.
I know that there are peoplewho have moved into certain,
let's say I'll just say it downinto Tulum.
Let's say, 15 years ago theybought some land, they built a
house in Tulum and Tulum hasgrown up around them.
So they've been unhappy withthe changes in that area, and
that happens in Playa del Carmen.
The hats happened in Cancun orCozumel as well.
(08:02):
So they've wanted to sell andmove somewhere that's maybe a
little quieter.
Tulum is very I won't say,transient, but there's a lot of
Airbnb properties down there now.
So for people in our agecategory, I'm happy to show
people down property down inTulum that I like to.
It's kind of a younger person'stown Exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
We shared on our expats like us Facebook page, I
believe while back we shared aphoto of Playa del Carmen in
1989, an aerial photo versustoday, I think I saw that and it
was, like you know, a couplelittle grass, a couple little
bamboo huts in 1989.
And now it's hundreds ofthousands of people.
(08:43):
Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, you got to.
You got to plan on there beingsome big changes for sure,
potentially wherever you go.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
So as a well known guy in the area, particularly
because of your entertainment,your music, tell us about the
work you did as a singer and amusician.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Well, I was really just a kind of camp campfire
singer up in Canada.
I didn't do any professionalsinging at all.
I jumped in on a couple of openmic sessions in Canada.
But when I came down here Iplayed music in my backyard and
a few neighbors came by and theyliked it.
So they said, well, Lapa Lapa,which is a local restaurant here
(09:21):
, they had just opened, taken,you know, by new management.
So one of my friends kind ofthrew it out there that I should
play there, and that's reallywhat kicked off the music.
I bought some equipment andstarted playing on Wednesday
nights.
And then, because I had theequipment, someone suggested I
do some karaoke.
So I started up a karaoke.
That was on Monday nights.
There's another restaurant thathired me to do karaoke and or
(09:44):
play and I also did some hermitcrab races over there which
really took off.
Through all of those events Ibecame pretty well known in the
area and also then I wouldshamelessly promote myself when
the house was packed.
I'd say by the way, if you'rehaving a good time, I sell real
estate during the daytime.
So coming here and get a card.
So I think you still do that, Istill do that.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
That's a good idea and that's probably the way to
do it.
But, yeah, you're well knownfor for entertainment, but
you're also known around here tome as the guy to talk to if
you're looking to buy or sellreal estate in the area.
And how did you first getinvolved in that and what was
the process?
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Well, I've been pretty lucky with it.
As I said, it did fall in mylap, so I guess it was early
2016.
I went down to Tulum.
I talked to a couple ofdifferent brokerages and all of
them told me that I could startthe next day.
So I won't mention which one Iended up getting on with, but I
worked with them for about fiveor six months.
I met a gentleman from Dallaswho convinced me that, hey, you
(10:45):
know what you could be doingthis on your own.
So I looked into it.
I started up a corporation, andthat was that.
I got licensed, and the rest iskind of history.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
So what's the licensing process like here?
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Well, it's changed a little bit, it's.
It was very difficult for mebecause I had to take a 120 hour
course in Spanish, and that wasbefore.
My Spanish was very good, sothey assisted, they helped, they
were pretty good, and now it's.
You can go through a differentorganization called Ampe.
So I went through Sinetis andnow it's through Ampe and they
(11:19):
offer it in English.
So I've actually just takensome, I guess, continuing
education through Ampe, so I'llhave that licensing shortly as
well.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
I've heard in the area, there's a lot of people
that present themselves as areal estate agent but they're
not actually licensed.
Is that something?
Speaker 1 (11:36):
you see, or that you come across, oh, absolutely, I
call them the Bicycle RealEstate Agents.
So when I first would put an adout on a couple of the
different pages and somebodywould call me and say, oh, I've
got a property that might fit,and I'd say, oh, let's meet at
the coffee shop or somewhere,okay.
And then I'm waiting outsideand they roll up on their
bicycle I'm not kidding you.
So yeah, licensing is requiredhere in this state and in Baja
(11:59):
California, sir, but I thinkthat's it.
These two, and maybe MexicoState as well.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
So is there a way that one of our viewers, if they
were looking for a property,that they could make sure that
they're dealing with the leaseEventually.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
That's what we're trying to move forward with.
Is actually, you know,requesting.
Let's see your license, let'smove forward from that.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
I do remember that when I first got the idea of
moving down here, we had afriend that lives in, have a
friend that lives in Playa delCarmen, and she said oh, if you
want me to hook you up with ahouse or something, let me know
she goes in Mexico, everybody'sa realtor.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Well, that's true too , I always remember that.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
And then so now, when I see people who are real to
say they're realtor as, I alwayswonder you know, but we know
that you're the real deal.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
So yeah, and I've been very lucky.
You know, like I said throughjust word of mouth in the area,
it's a small community, it's avery good, tight community.
So, yeah, I've been, I've beenvery lucky.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Yeah, very good.
So do you sell, or is some ofyour clients, or some of your
clients, spanish speaking people, or is it?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
mostly.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Yeah, I've dealt with , but it's a small percentage.
I would say five.
Under fewer than 10% of myclients have been Mexican or
Spanish speaking, but there area few.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Okay, so what's the current real estate market like
here in Riviera Maya?
Speaker 1 (13:13):
That's a really good question.
Right now is high season, soit's it's.
You know it's hot.
I guess I've sold fiveproperties, four properties, in
the last five weeks.
So the first five weeks of 2024got four properties sold or
under contract.
Anyways, covid was kind ofweird, so everything just kind
of was stalled during the COVIDyears and then the year when
(13:33):
COVID was done, I sold three orfour times more property than I
ever had and then last year wasa little slower.
It was kind of got back tonormal.
So there is a high season and alow season.
There's a cycle here.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So right and it kind of mirrors the tourist season
Precisely.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
People come down, they time they know they're
going to buy or they're thinkingabout buying and think time
their vacation with purchaseOkay.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
I got a couple of questions about this development
here that you're currentlyworking on.
So how does it work?
Are they solar powered?
Is there CFP here?
Do they have wells?
Do they have?
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Yeah, so yeah, welcome to Haven Haven Executive
Estates.
Yeah, so it's a bit of a Idon't know snooty name, but so
yeah, haven is a Gated communityseven single family lots, good
size, 13,000 plus square feet.
We do have CFE at every lotline brought in, each lot has
its own well as well, and we doa very a closed in septic system
(14:28):
.
So the septic chamber has fiveanti chambers or sub chambers
for water separation.
It has a biodegester, which isa requirement by law, and it has
a basically just a holdingchamber for the gray water, the
final gray water, with a pumpand that pumps out into enclosed
planters, so a planter with abottom and sides that's sealed
(14:49):
and it runs, you know, severaldozens of meters.
So Basically, the water flowsout from that, from your house,
and into, eventually into yourplanters, and then just gets
absorbed or evaporates.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Oh okay.
So it's kind of a whole littleecosystem.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Yeah, it doesn't go back into the, into the cenote
system below.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Okay what about the water?
Speaker 1 (15:07):
that you bring into your house.
Yeah, so the water is pulled upfrom the cenotes and that's why
we're very careful with what weput back out of the house,
right, so we don't want tocontaminate the water that we're
pulling up into the house.
So describe what a cenote is,because people listening to this
might not know cenote is reallyjust a term for the underground
water, but you know the sonacenotes themselves are typically
thought of as the openingswhere the the ground has caved
(15:30):
in.
There's very, very few lakes orPonds here.
So cenotes, as you guys know,are where the land has kind of
fallen in and now you can seethe water flowing.
It's crystal clear, normallybecause they get a lot of flow
and, yeah, it's super cleanwater because it's been filtered
.
So when it rains it goesstraight into the cenotes, which
are probably 50 feet below the.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Right ground level somebody.
I read somewhere the other daythat Mexico does not have any
navigable rivers because of thelandform that's so high in the
central and it's so low on thesite on the coast that there's
no.
You know, the rivers are eithertoo fast or In like.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
In this area they're underground last year I visited
Chiapas and I did see a river.
There was a beautiful that.
The valley there is spectacular.
Okay, you're gonna go onvacation.
I would definitely recommendchecking that out so we could
have taken the boat tour whichactually goes up a navigable
river.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I'm worried we could take the road.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
we chose that road and we went up and just you know
, your 2000 feet above the like,I don't know, a thousand feet,
you're way up there anyways, andyou're looking down and just
the views were spectacular,right?
So yeah, I think there are, butfor sure, here in the Yucatan,
I wouldn't think there's anynavigable rivers, right yeah?
Speaker 2 (16:43):
So as far as the real estate market here, tell people
what you know, what's kind ofthe low end of a house that you
can get and what that would costand and what would be included
with that All the way up to, youknow, middle range to the high
end okay.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
So where I bought my first house in Mexico in 2008
was a little community calledChanchema wheel.
I still have property for salethere for 110,000 and that is a
basic two-bedroom, one bathhouse.
It's got a front yard, backyard.
There's no HOA there.
The house itself is about 650square feet and it would need
some work so you may be able topick it up for a hundred
(17:18):
thousand us a USD.
Everything I talk about indollars is are in as far as
money goes, is gonna be in USD.
Yeah, and that's kind of thestarting point.
I would say, okay, typicalsales for me are condos in the
Tulum country club, where youguys you know are your area 200
(17:40):
to 250,000 for a typicaltwo-bedroom, not penthouse, and
then 300 to 350 for a penthouse,single family homes anywhere
from 350 to well, this guy's thelimit you know.
So I've got a very nice villafor sale for 800,000 down in in
(18:00):
In Tulum.
I've got a Beachfront propertyfor three and a quarter.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
So what do you get for 800,000 in Tulum?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
That's a beautiful house.
It's Tulum style, which meansit's got all the kind of the Not
rough finishing but polishedconcrete and chacum which is the
the wall finishing.
I guess.
Okay, three bedroom, three anda half bath, plus a big pool,
plus a guest house, and thenthat's in a gated community as
well.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Okay so yeah, very, very cool.
Some people, like you know,think they're gonna buy places
as an investment is.
Do you recommend something likethat, or you know, is that a
good thing or a bad thing?
Speaker 1 (18:37):
loaded question there's.
There are some opportunities,but generally speaking, People
they tend to get over.
People will over-promise thereturn on investment potential
and that's what gets peopleexcited and they make the
mistake of purchasing withoutreally working through the
numbers.
I tell people to be verycareful.
(18:57):
You know, interview severaldifferent vacation rental
management companies, becausethat's really who you're going
to hand it over to.
You're going to buy a propertyand you're going to give it to a
vacation rental managementcompany who will be promising
you probably higher returns thanyou're going to see.
Ask to maybe interview one ortwo of their clients as well and
maybe have them pick them atrandom if they can.
It's always better if you canaugment through your own social
(19:20):
media or your own networks,through work or wherever you
know, if you can augment thepromotion of your property.
So I think it's a realisticexpectation to expect that your
property may be net zero andwhat I mean by that is you'll
have enough rentals through theyear that your HOA, all of your
payments, you know, will becovered by the rental.
(19:42):
So HOA and your property tax,which is negligible here, and
your utilities, internet, etcetera.
So Okay.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
You got anything, chris?
Is it better for an expat torent her own?
Speaker 1 (19:56):
would you say oh, it depends what they want to use
the property for.
If they, obviously.
If they're going to come downhere to live, I would recommend
that they purchase something forsure, because then it's theirs.
They can do what they want toit.
Do you cover any rentals?
I don't do any rentals at all.
Yeah, but I do advise people tocome down.
If they're not sure, come ondown, spend a month or two, rent
a place and make sure that youyou know that this is the place
(20:19):
for you.
A lot of my clients havevisited the Riviera Maya over
the last 12, 15 years and theyalready know this is where they
want to be.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
So they'll just come down and it's my understanding,
there's not currently an MLStype system here, but you guys
are working on one.
Is that accurate?
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Yes, that's correct.
So, you know, somebody wants tolook at just a sampling.
They can come to my website.
It's to loomexpertrealtycom.
There's a big aggregator.
You've probably heard of pointtwo homes as well, so you can
look at property all over theworld on point two and you can,
you know, zero down.
But yeah, there's just.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Do you find that there's a lot of homes that are
for sale that are not listed onthose sites?
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Not so many, yeah, but there's duplicates and you
know this is where it gets alittle complicated in the
Mexican real estate market,where multiple brokerages have
the opportunity to list the sameproperty.
So you might, I don'tparticipate in those.
It's called a non exclusivelisting and it just doesn't make
any sense for me to take a nonexclusive listing where I might
work my butt off for to try tosell that property and then some
(21:21):
other brokerage sells it, so itjust doesn't make sense.
But you get these situationswhere multiple brokers have
different pricing for the sameproperty, or the property was
sold a year ago but the ownerdidn't tell the other five
brokers, so it's still listed upthere and they use it as kind
of a bait and switch tactic aswell.
So an MLS is overdue.
(21:41):
Right, we're looking forward toit, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
I will say that my personal experience is, when we
started looking at places, welooked at condos, like a lot of
people do.
We looked in Playa, we lookedinto loom All the ones in to
loom that the guy took us to toshow us all they were trying to
sell it on was return oninvestment as a rental and it
was going to be, you know, 30%return on investment and I don't
(22:05):
know a single person that'sever seen that happen, that
actually bought one of those.
You know, or yeah it's, yeah,that's a.
That's one of the things Ithink you got to watch out for
down here.
That can't be the reason.
The reason has to be that youwant to have something to do
with Mexico, yeah, and perhapslive here, probably.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
So my biggest advice to anyone who's the one, I guess
one sentence would be don't buypre-sale.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Because it might never happen.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Well, there's lots of reasons, but that's, that's the
biggest one there's.
You know it may not happen, butalso there's just.
There's a lot of properties outthere and if your expectation
is to rent it out, right, you're, you're it's going to be a
challenge, yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
So what's the best place for people to begin their
real estate search?
If they've been coming downhere and they think, yeah, we
could live here, where do theybegin?
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Well, like I said, they can check my website out.
They can call me.
I'll give you guys my number.
I don't text or phone call.
I use WhatsApp almostexclusively, okay, but yeah,
they can hit me up on thewebsite, that's that's it.
I'm happy to share theinformation, like.
One of the things that Ihonestly enjoy is just sharing
the information with people.
(23:15):
I don't have to sell you ahouse, it's just.
You know, I'll spend half anhour with somebody on the phone
and just share the informationand maybe they'll decide that,
hey, this isn't the place forthem.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
But yeah, well, that's very good I was going to
say so as an expat.
What are your favorite thingsabout living here and what are
your least favorite things?
Speaker 1 (23:35):
I was going to mention earlier Compromante de
Domicilio.
So this is one of the thingsthat I try to teach people.
Compromante de Domicilio, youguys probably know, is proof of
address and that's one of thechallenges.
And it just seems that you knowI joke with people that
sometimes you need to bring yourCompromante de Domicilio to buy
a loaf of bread.
That's an exaggeration.
It just seems like Well, weknow how that goes right, you're
(23:57):
trying to get something doneand you just don't have the
right paperwork.
Oh, do you have a copy of yourpassport?
Yep, oh, but you need to.
Yeah, today you need to.
Okay, so there are somefrustrations.
I'm not sure.
I love the beach.
My girlfriend and I have asailboat so we go sailing a lot.
You know we'll hit Cozumel anddo things like that.
So just the outdoor living.
You know there's a lot to do.
(24:19):
The golf course here isfantastic.
Yeah, absolutely yeah.
I can't say that.
I have one specific that I likethe most Not being cold.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
I guess that's probably it, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
That's.
I think that's a big attractionfor Chris and I too.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
I'll never be cold again.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Yeah Right, I will never shovel snow again is what
I always say.
So if you had a list of the topthings people should consider
when making the move either justfor themselves or buying
property or whatever what wouldthose things be?
Speaker 1 (24:46):
So I would consider sense of community.
That's probably number onething.
Do you want to be near people?
You know, when you wake up inthe morning you look across the
street, or you know the pationext door, or walking, you know,
down the trail.
Is that a new face or is thatsomeone that you've gotten to
create a relationship with?
So the transient nature Ifyou're buying down in Tulum,
(25:09):
you're going to see a lot morebecause there are tons and tons
of Airbnb.
So that's probably number one.
It's just what's more importantto you a sense of community, or
is that important at all?
Proximity to the beach andaccess to the beach.
So how close are you to thebeach and how difficult is it to
get onto the beach?
Because not all places, eventhough you may be close to the
beach, it might be a little moredifficult to get on it.
(25:31):
And then, obviously, you knowthings like amenities.
We have a great pickleballcommunity here, there's tennis
courts around here, we can gowalking and cycling, and
obviously the golf courses thatpepper the area as well, and the
beach, you know, yeah.
And I guess, lastly would bethings to do and restaurants.
(25:53):
So, and price, I guess that'sthe last thing too Right.
So in some of those, the biggercenters, the prices are
starting to go up.
There there are US prices forsure.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
What do you think, chris?
I think it's been fun yeahthat's pretty much it.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Do you have any more questions?
No, I don't.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I think you've answered them all Well.
Thank you so much, Nolan Clark,and thanks for joining us on
Xpats.
Like Us.
Hey, give us your website realquick Okay.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah, it's toloomexpertrealitycom.
Okay, and you can throw a wwwin front of that, okay.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
That's easy enough to remember Toloomexpertrealitycom
.
That's right, all right.
Well, thank you very much,nolan Clark.
Thanks, chris.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Hey, thanks, bob.
Thanks for having me on guys.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
You bet All right.
In each episode of Xpats LikeUs, we're going to teach you a
new Mexican slang word.
This is something you may notfind in your phrase book or your
online Spanish class or yourSpanish app or wherever you're
learning your Spanish.
Instead, this is a term usedprimarily by Mexican Spanish
(26:49):
speakers.
Today's word is Metiche Metiche.
I have no clue what that means.
Can you spell it?
That is M-E-T-I-C-H-E Metiche.
Okay, and what does Metichemean?
Speaker 3 (27:06):
It's a person who has his or her nose in someone
else's business.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Okay, very good, don't be a Metiche.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Gracias, erika Kowalski from Mi Vida, margarita
.
We'd love to hear your thoughtson today's topic.
Just look up Xpats.
Like Us on Facebook or send usan email at xpatslikeus at
gmailcom.
You can also see the videoversion of today's discussion
(27:34):
and all of our discussions onour YouTube page.
Follow, like, subscribe andleave us a review.
Thank you to today's guest,nolan Clark.
Thanks also to my co-host,chris Kowalski, and our
co-producers, erika Kowalski andSherry Bosse.
Most of all, thank you fortuning in to Xpats Like Us and
(27:54):
thank you for interacting withus on social media.
Next time we'll bring you morefirsthand information about your
international move.
Until then, remember, our homesare not defined by geography or
one particular location, but bymemories of dense people and
places that span the globe.
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