Puerto Vallarta: Expat Hotspot & Dream-Properties

Video Transcript - (with Troy & Kira)

Kira:

Hey, Troy, what originally brought you to Puerto Vallarta and what made you stay?

Troy:

So it was about seven months into COVID, I'm weird with dates and times. I could get on a plane. It usually traveled quite a bit. I couldn't there for a few months, so as soon as I can get on a plane, my wife and I went down to Puerto Vallarta. And we went down there because there is zip lining, repelling, water slides, all kinds of adrenaline stuff to do. And there's nothing like, it's in the mountains there. So in PV you've got the green, lush mountains that meet the bay, which is beautiful. It's awesome, it's truly, truly incredible. So that's what brought me there first and that's what kept me going back, going back, going back. We would do the same adventure over and over and over again, like two and three times a year to where I have my own name now called the Alto Gringo. It's quite funny.

Kira:

Well, it sounds fabulous.

Troy:

Yes, ma'am.

Kira:

I'll need to come spend some more time there.

Troy:

Yes.

Kira:

Okay. Well, tell me what a day in the life for you is as a senior loan officer based in PV.

Troy:

So it starts quite early. I'm one of those early guys up around 4:00 AM. Do my reading, stretching and so on and then I will head down to the gym, Anytime Fitness at Versailles, and then on up to the Mirador to do some hiking. I'd like to start my day with being active as much as I possibly can and have for 30 something years now. And then after that we get ready, we head down to the office for a few hours. And then I time block Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, and sometimes Saturdays and Sundays to office time and then out to the street and just make cold calls, talk to people, coffee meetings, lunch meetings, and so on throughout the week.

Kira:

Nice. Sounds like a fantastic balance for you.

Troy:

Yes, ma'am.

Kira:

Nice, best of both worlds. So if someone's never been to Nayri or to Punta de Mita, how would you describe the vibe? What's the feeling like there?

Troy:

Magical. Magical. It is. It's magical because you have a lot of people from different areas and we're all there for the same reason, it's lifestyle. The beach, the sand, the sun. So it's nice just anywhere around there. You can see a little bit of a difference in Sayulita versus Porto Vallarta. So whatever is your gig, whatever is your vibe, if you want to surf and hang out you stay up in Sayulita or do a little bit of both. So it's wonderful.

Kira:

Nice, nice. I actually spent some time in San Pancho and that was pretty fabulous too.

Troy:

Yes. Yeah, totally. Yes.

Kira:

Yeah, that was a special place for sure, also.

Troy:

Yep.

Kira:

So lots of good areas nearby.

Troy:

Definitely.

Kira:

So tell me about some of your local spots. Coffee shops, beaches, sunset views, anything anyone's visiting that really wants to check out more of the local things.

Troy:

As far as my coffee spot, I'm one to go to the same places a lot because I know they have good coffee, I know they have good tacos and so on. So La Comer, it's a grocery store, incredibly beautiful grocery store. You can eat off the floor, it's that good. They've got a great little coffee spot in there. Again, a lot of people conjugate and you can chat with different people and then obviously do your grocery shopping there.

If you're not into that, there's all kinds of spots all over. From Zona Romantica, Cinco de Diciembre, central Versalles, Fluvial, all the way through there's all kinds of great coffee spots. The beach I like the most, which is secluded, which is south of town, about a mile south of Zona Romantica, it's by the old El Set restaurant. There's nobody there. It's great. So it's easy to get in there and out of there and park and so on. And sunsets, pick a spot. Malecon, or from the balcony from a condo. It's wonderful. So the sunsets are incredible.

Kira:

Wow. Nice, nice. So how does living in Mexico now change your perspective on home ownership and lifestyle?

Troy:

Home ownership, it can become a reality. It can become a reality for those that don't think they can have the opportunity to be a homeowner in another country. And that's pretty special. We all travel, we all travel there and spend a lot of money to do all these things. And then after you're there, you're like I wonder if I could possibly own a property? And then from there, lifestyle, I come down there anytime. So a lot of times people will purchase and then they find themselves there for a month or two, but they can work from their computer. And then at the same time when they head back to the states, they can Airbnb it to make money to offset their mortgage, which is real nice.

Kira:

It's definitely the best of both worlds to be able to have a place there. You'll get to know the locals, get to know the spots. It's really a terrific place to have a second home for sure or an investment.

Troy:

Right, totally. Yes, yes, absolutely.

Kira:

All right, great. So tell me a little bit about working with you. If a realtor or an agent wants to work with you, what's the best first step?

Troy:

Reaching out. Reaching out any way that they can, right? Via WhatsApp is obviously big in Mexico, emails, phone calls, if you know how to send a smoke signal. I can read smoke signals, so that works too. So any of those. Through our website, any way that you possibly can. I get a lot of WhatsApps out of nowhere, seven days a week of hey, this is such-and-such, I've got a question for you. I have a buyer for you to talk with. So WhatsApp is definitely probably the best way. And I'm a quick response, right now let's go.

Kira:

And I know you're available early.

Troy:

Yeah, you WhatsApp me at four in the morning, you're going to go get a WhatsApp back at 4:01 most of the time.

Kira:

I was going to say, I know you're available early because usually when I sign on if I need something, I know I can reach you.

Troy:

Yes. Yeah, I think that's important.

Kira:

Absolutely. So what's your communication style with agents and clients? What can they expect from you to guide them?

Troy:

Again, the first step is to reach out like we just talked about. And then my style is once the agent connects with me and has their buyer, I feel it's super important that lead, if you will, to contact, it's got to be rapid, it's got to be super quick. Sometimes that can be a little bit too quick, but I think that's super important.

And then the communication with the buyer. For example, I had an incredible referral the other day from an agent downtown, Zona Romantica. She's a huge agent in the marketplace, and as soon as it came through, we contacted the buyer immediately, and then I let the agent know the next steps. Here's where we are, we're going to take application, and so on and so forth. So I try and give that agent updates at least once a week, at least once a week, even if there is no update. I think that's super important.

Kira:

I agree. I think it's really important to build that team together and make sure everyone feels like they're working together.

Troy:

Right, yes.

Kira:

So what do you love most about helping people buy homes in Mexico?

Troy:

That they can actually fulfill a dream that they have, to live in another country full-time or part-time for those individuals that never thought that they could. That's special. I think that's wonderful. So yeah, it's super fulfilling.

Kira:

It is. It's exciting that it's being made available to more and more people.

Troy:

Mm-hmm.

Kira:

So what would you say to a developer who's considering working with MoXi for financing?

Troy:

Oh boy. This is a good one, this is what I tell developers all the time. If the developer can sell their product much quicker, much quicker, possibly for more, once they are MoXi approved and the project is vetted, get your project vetted through our partnership program and then the closings will happen much quicker after we go through a couple, right? Because we're going to use the same notary, we're going to use the same title company, the appraiser, and so on and so forth. So they can sell out incredibly quicker than if they're just sitting back waiting for cash, cash, cash.

Kira:

Thanks. Let's talk about the advantages of our pre-qualification and pre-approval process. Tell me what that looks like.

Troy:

Yeah, just like in the US, 90% of buyers use financing, and we tell them the same thing in the US or in Mexico, get your pre-approval. Become a golden buyer so you already know, plus it takes a week or two out of the whole entire process when you have your pre-qualification, when you have your pre-approval. So talk to your lender, me, first to get that pre-approval before you head out. And it's quite simple, reach out. I can take application over the phone or you can fill one out online. I'll look at it.

If it's a deep, multiple businesses that we own, I'll need to push it on over to get our approval with our underwriter. If it's an easy peasy W2, shoot, I can probably run the numbers and tell you to move on from right there to go out looking for a property. So it can be 20 minutes or a couple of days, just depends on the buyer.

Kira:

It really gives the buyers such an advantage in the marketplace for many reasons. I think it makes sellers more willing to work with buyers if they can see that they're already invested in the process and that they're serious buyers for sure.

Troy:

Right, definitely. And the sellers want that, right? They want to know, especially in Mexico, they want to know that that buyer is pre-approved and a serious buyer, like you just said. I think that's super, super important.