Market Update

Although it is common for us to have clients who visit San Miguel de Allende for a few days, find a home they want to purchase, return to wherever they came from, and let one of our agents handle the inspection and closing in their absence, a couple of times a year we work with a client who for various reasons ends up purchasing a property in San Miguel de Allende sight unseen.

However, since the beginning of this pandemic, we are seeing more clients wanting to do this or who we have already helped do this. So I thought it would be helpful to lay out some guidelines.

Some of the clients already know San Miguel while others have never even been here. Some were already planning to move here and just couldn’t visit again, while others have been motivated by the pandemic to either have a safe place to retreat to in the coming years or are wanting to get some of their assets out of the US.

The more time you have spent in San Miguel, particularly looking at real estate the easier this process will be for you since you probably already have a good idea of what you will end up with and where you would like to live.  However, for those of you who have never been here, it puts you in a much more vulnerable position never having visited the various colonias nor being familiar with the typical construction styles of central Mexico.

Whether you know San Miguel or not, the best piece of advice I can give you is to find an agent that you can absolutely trust. One who you immediately feel that they are forthright and more interested in helping you than they are just making a sale. Buying sight unseen will also dictate that your agent should be answering the questions that you don’t even know to ask – about the neighborhood, pros and cons of the house, rental potential, resale potential, etc.

With today’s technology it is easy enough to show a property via live video so that you feel comfortable with what you are getting.  But your ultimate happiness with the purchase will probably come down to you finding the agent who will tell you what you need to hear but don’t know to ask.

Of course since we have carefully selected and trained the agents of Realty San Miguel, we feel that we can offer you the best representation.

I also make myself personally available to jump in with any client who is purchasing site unseen.  If for any reason you would like the added assurance of having a conversation with me, please feel free to contact me.

Philip Hardcastle