Meeting Yassine happened sort of by chance, but whether it was fate, serendipity, or the alignment of the stars and planets, we sure lucked out. My husband and I had decided to retire early and leave the United States. Mexico was our destination of choice, but we weren’t sure quite where we wanted to be. We had visited Mexico many times, and we kept coming back to Puerto Vallarta because it seemed authentically “Mexican” – more so than Cancun, Playa, Cabo, or other expat destinations.
Once we were ready to commit to purchasing real estate, we made a trip and decided to start looking at properties. But where to start? We researched a few real estate companies and decided that MexHome seemed to have the best mix of property types – with lots of options that fit our criteria and our budget. We made an appointment online, asking to see some properties, and that’s when we met Yassine. He spent several days with us, driving us around the different colonîas, showing us all kinds of properties – mostly condos – but none of them felt like a place we could make a home.
We returned to the States, but we weren’t deterred. After chatting with Yassine (via phone calls and texts) he came to better understand what we were really wanting. He contacted us, saying he had found a few more properties to visit – could we come back to look? I was busy with work, so my husband made the trip without me. One option was a pre-construction condo project – Mangrove Living – and even though it wasn’t ready (and wouldn’t be ready for many months) – it ticked all the boxes: price, location, amenities, size, and a quiet neighborhood! We were sold!
We chose a small unit – knowing it would serve us well while we transitioned to our new life in Mexico. But while my husband was in Vallarta closing the deal, I found a second property – which fit a whole different set of criteria. Once my husband returned – we ran the numbers – and as crazy as it sounds – we decided to purchase a SECOND property in Mexico. The second property is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. It was also a pre-construction project – but this time it was a stand-alone home, high in the Sierra Madre mountains. This property also ticked all the boxes: price, location, altitude and climate, a much larger size, and COMPLETE privacy!
We will use the house in the mountains as our permanent residence and the condo in Puerto Vallarta will be used for trips to the coast to enjoy all the delights that Vallarta has to offer – sea, surf, fabulous dining options, retail therapy – and a great place to host friends and family when they come to visit.
Yassine was a HUGE help, guiding us through the complicated (and intimidating) process of buying not one, but TWO separate properties – in a foreign country – where we didn’t yet speak Spanish. He made sure that all the paperwork was completed, legitimate, AND verified. He took the extra time to ensure that both builders were legitimate business owners and helped us feel secure in the knowledge that these expensive and complicated transactions were done correctly and thoroughly. He utilized MexHome’s team of professionals to have all documentation translated into English so we could feel 100% comfortable with the negotiations and ensured that all the details and legalities were addressed and nailed down.
Throughout the entire process, we had COMPLETE confidence in Yassine’s professionalism and expertise in the complicated world of conducting real estate business in Mexico. He is a real gem – knowledgeable, professional, and a legitimately kind and wonderful person. We cannot recommend him enough!
