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Post by itsme Sun Jun 27, 2010 9:08 am

I know this is lengthy but felt it needed to be shared here before the "Powers that Be" on TOB send it into cyberspace! Oh, ya think Senor Duran is related to Frankie? Sound like he could be, doesn't like gringos!


Friends
Please read this story of an 80+ year old single retired school teacher who came to Ajijic and was taken for $10000+ by Casa Mexico Real Estate in Ajijic.
She needs all of our support to get her money back and to remove this bad apple from the community.
I have blind copied you on this message for your privacy. Please do consider trying to help this lady. It may take only 20 calls or emails to this errand realtor to have him make things right.

Todd


Todd D. Stong PhD
Licensed Professional Engineer
224 West Main Street
Leola, PA 17540
TEL: 877-645-5926

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
From: Dorothy Ann Lykens <dalykens@gmail.com>
Subject: IMPORTANT MESSAGE!!
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:15:10 -0400


Dear Friends at Lakeside,

I feel it would be totally irresponsible of me it I did not share with the Lakeside community what happened to me, an 80 year old single retired school teacher in Ajijic, with two real estate firms--Casa Mexico and Ajijic Real Estate. I had made an offer on a condiminoun in central Ajijic; and when I counteroffered as part of the bargaining process I in writing made my offer "subject to inspection." I did this because I was aware it was an older property, about 20 years old, and I had little technical understanding of local construction. After receiving two professional inspections, which revealed a number of issues beyond what I could handle at my age (e.g plumbing and electrical deficiencies and most importantly water coming via hidden locations through the roof and walls into the home interior and the electrical outlets) I realized that it would be too much of a risk for me to take on as I was investing all of my retirement savings into this purchase.

So I informed Adolfo, the broker at Casa Mexico, I wished to exercise my option to withdraw from this transaction and would appreciate his returning my l0% deposit of $10,500 to me as soon as possible. I informed him I would be leaving for the States due to a commitment I had there, and so he should wire me the money. I, also, secured two local Mexican attorneys as my Power of Attorney to represent me should something be needed with me being in the US.

Soon thereafter both real estate firms went to their Mexican Arbitration body in Ajijic (GIL), without any notification to me or representation for myself to be present. That body then decided to divide the entirety of my $10,500 among themselves and the seller.
I understand that Casa Mexico took 25%, that Ajijic Real Estate took 25% and that 50% was sent to the seller who will go on to sell this place to someone else. Can you believe that?? When I had spoken to a Notario previous to my withdrawing from this transaction, he informed me that he saw no problem, legally, in my having my deposit returned to me. He was, literally shocked to hear of what these realtor did to me after I had gone back to the US.

I want all of you to know that this has happened to me, and no matter how I have implored them to return my deposit, I have been completely ignored. It was as if I never had a viable contract with them. To this day I have yet to receive anything in writing from this GIL Arbitration Board, neither a notice to appear nor the notice they were going to take my money.

As a post script let me add a bit more. Not finding any help even from those I had asked in Ajijic to represent me I emailed Dr. Todd Stong, a very busy but very productive fellow I had met at one of the LCS lectures. Many of you know him as an public spirited, energetic volunteer engineer who these past 8 years has been working non-stop with local governments for better water supply in rural villages, as well as addressing a number of issues regarding the purity of the lake. Previous to being here in Mexico he did like service in Africa and Asia for 7 years, all free. Dr. Stong agreed to try and help me. He soon invested a lot of time and energy with my problem of regaining my $l0,500 deposit. Dr. Stong first set up discussions with (1) a very well known notario who said my money should be returned, (2) Jaime Niembre (ReMax Realty) the president of the GIL Arbitration Board who said more words should have been put into my counter offer and he felt it appeared Casa Mexico acted unethically in not advising me on the expanded wording GIL wished, and (3) with a number of well respected realtors in Ajijc. He then sought a meeting with Adolpho Duran the broker at Casa Mexico who apparently pressed personally for not returning my money after Ajijic Real Estate (property lister) told him to not given me the money back .

Dr. Stong met with Adolfo on 28 April 10, confirmed the details of the contract and the counter offer which had been written in English only, and sought the reason Adolfo (1) elected to ignore the “subject to inspection” clause and (2) why he took the matter to the Arbitration Board with no notice to Miss Lykens. Adolpho became very angry that he was being questioned. Dr Stong noted that Adolfo said, “You are a foreigner. I am a Mexican” He said his firm had invested much time in showing Miss Lykens various properties. Dr. Stong suggested that type day to day service was a normal part of the realtor profession and the reason why percentage type fees were the norm. Adolpho then said that the words “subject to inspection” were inadequate as per the way Mexican realtors were accustomed to recognize a cancelling of a contract. Yet, Adolpho on representing me never suggested he wished more words then these to address my desire to be protected. Dr. Stong said that the leader of the GIL Arbitration Board noted at another meeting that it was common practice by some Mexican realtors using a contract in English to address this type condition, “subject to inspection” by the insertion of a paragraph that has about 200 words in it. I of course knew nothing of this wordier device sought by Mexican realtors. As I just said above the realtor that I sought to represent my interests, Adolpho, never said a word to me. The GIL Arbitration Board leader (Jaime Niembre) suggested that Adolpho had a responsibility to his client, me, to advise me correctly. Yet, it seems he elected instead to go directly for my $10,500 cash as soon as I had gone north, and to strike up a deal with Ajijic Realty and the seller while I was away in the USA with zero word of any of these actions. Dr. Stong said the meeting with Adolfo was quite stressful due to this man’s anger, his most obvious dislike of foreigners and his extreme arrogance. In the end when presented with the full logic Adolpho told Dr. Stong that this was his country, not ours and that they made the rules, not us.

Dr. Stong later saw the order of 15 April 10 from the GIL Arbitration Board which was never sent to me. It was signed by Ricardo Guevara, Louis Mantano and Marvin Golden. The paper, says as per Dr. Stong, “Buyer This is to notify you that the GIL’s arbitration committee received and has reviewed your request for arbitration in reagrds to the contrct to purchase ….” I of course never had any communication with GIL. I of course made no such request to any group.

Dr. Stong after advising me about his research, his meetings in my behalf and his discussion with Adolfo to reconsider the return of my money, suggested I would need to seek public support among the 18,000 foreigners who live at lake side. This matter was clearly outrageous, but he had seen often how agreements in Mexico had no legal value despite the law since enforcement could be quite arbitrary. He suggested that the cost to go to trial had been quoted at over $3000 as an opener, and thus I needed to accept this was a yet a Developing World nation and there was no guarantee of justice despite logic or law if engaged with a man like Adolfo.

Given Dr. Stong’s efforts, loyal backing and his advice, I am appealing to you to do the most you FEEL you can DO to make things right with the real estate business at lakeside. Please also consider forwarding my message to any you know at lakeside or up north with an interest in having things right at Ajijic and all about the lake. While there are clearly reputable firms at lakeside I regrettably made a bad choice in going with Casa Mexico Realty. If you have it within your spirit and conscience of fair play I would ask you to visit, phone and or email Casa Realty, Ajijic Realty and even the GIL organization for realtors to voice your support for me. Who knows how many other foreigners have been taken and will continue to duped by these firms with their questionable ethics and the making of their own rules on a day by day basis and in turn their use of the GIL Arbitration Board as a rubber stamp. Below are the addresses of these two firms.

Selling Realtor: Adolfo Duran, Broker/Owner, Casa Mexico email as follows: (376) 766-2610, 333-101-8092, Christin Perez = agent. E-Mail: adolfo@casamexicorealestate.com. Vonnage phone to and from the USA and Canada 661-310-0797.

Listing Realtor: Paty Becerra, Office Manager, Ajijic Real Estate, #4 Calle Morales, Ajijjc, (376) 766-2077, the Seller's real estate office, totally, in agreement with Adolfo Duran. This email is email@ajijic.com.

Seller: Wilma Sue Griffin - only Ajijic Real Estate knows where she may be

Arbitration: GIL MLS (Grupo Inmobiliario del Lago, A.C.) President Jaime Niembre (ReMax Realty), (376) 766-5383, E=Mail: gil@gilmls.com

We cannot allow such unethical real estate companies to, literally, rob a client, like me, in this case, as who knows what unsuspecting foreigner could be next!

Thank you for giving this your response as soon as you can.


Dorothy Ann Lykens June 2010

E-Mail: dalykens@gmail.com TEL: 717-738-4881

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Post by Carry Bean Sun Jun 27, 2010 10:53 am

One thing I don't understand is that Paty Becerra is the office manager, not a realtor at Ajijic Real Estate. I checked the site & she has no listings.

I've heard of this happening before.

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Post by gringal Sun Jun 27, 2010 4:51 pm

They locked the thread on TOB, but not until it had several pages of responses.
The general consensus was that the chances of this poor lady getting her money back are not great, and that the general run of real estate transactions can be summed up in:
BUYER BEWARE.
From TOB(before its gone over there) 18717

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Post by Demonio Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:16 am

BUYER BEWARE INDEED!!! The other lesson to be learned is -- we ain't in Kansas anymore. In general, some good advise was posted. Most notably, have the home inspection done BEFORE making an earnest money deposit. Also, get competent legal representation. NOB, real estate agents are regulated and protect their clients. Not necessarily true in MX.

On another note, some idiot with the user name DonMac posted the following:

"Most disturbing is Adolpho's attitude toward foreigners. If I ever had doubts about what Mexicans think of us this just spelled it out clearly."

Typical racist mentality. Take the actions and words of one person and judge an entire people by it. I didn't have a chance to publicly humiliate him cuz they locked the thread, but I PM'd the fool.
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Post by gringal Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:56 am

The logic is typically racist: One guy makes a statement about how he feels and then it somehow becomes "what Mexicans think of us". There's no doubt in my mind that some Mexicans have pure contempt for some expats. Sometimes well deserved. Not to be extended beyond that, however.

I'm in favor of taking people as they come, one at a time.

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Post by Carry Bean Mon Jun 28, 2010 1:27 pm

Isn't that the guy who was raked over the coals several months ago for using the honorary term "Don" which is only given to those who are highly esteemed?

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Post by gringal Mon Jun 28, 2010 1:53 pm

Carry Bean wrote:Isn't that the guy who was raked over the coals several months ago for using the honorary term "Don" which is only given to those who are highly esteemed?

I think Don Mac is somebody else, based on reading the posts. Maybe he's named Don?
Don Pedro is another story. SNORK.

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Post by lands end Mon Jun 28, 2010 6:48 pm

I send e-mails to all three offices telling them that none of my friends here or abroad wll ever do buisiness with them.
I RECEIVED REPLIES FROM ALL OF THEM.

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Post by David Mon Jun 28, 2010 9:18 pm

Wow! What did they say? Do tell!
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Post by Carry Bean Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:38 pm

Maybe it was Don Pedro. I don't remember.

I'm not having ANY problems & neither did friends of mine with Ajijic Real Estate. I didn't do that kind of deposit deal, though. What I can't get from what I read is who kept the deposit, Casa Mexico (which is the way it looks to me) or Ajijic Real Estate? Anyone know?

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Post by CanuckBob Tue Jun 29, 2010 7:32 am

itsme wrote:I understand that Casa Mexico took 25%, that Ajijic Real Estate took 25% and that 50% was sent to the seller who will go on to sell this place to someone else.

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Post by ctsrle Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:40 am

Could someone explain to me why anyone buying real estate in any country would sign a contract and give a 10% deposit before inspecting the property? Am I missing something? Ms. Lykens could have had the property inspected before she signed, especially an older property. If the realtor refused her request, this would be a sure indication of trouble. Every time I have signed a contract for a property an agreed deposit (a sign of good will) was all that was required. If the offer was accepted, then the 10%. Once you reach that stage you are the new owner. It looks to me that Ms. Lykens decided she made a mistake, changed her mind and wanted her money back after she signed the contract. She would loose in the states too.


Last edited by ctsrle on Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:42 am; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : misspelling)
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Post by David Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:56 am

Not if the offer was contingent on inspection. When the inspection reveals problems then nogotiations commence and the issues get resolved or the deal is off. At least that's the way it is where I came from.
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Post by Carry Bean Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:58 am

Yeah, that's the way it usually works but in this case it wasn't worded correctly as to if the inspection didn't go well.

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Post by ctsrle Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:24 pm

I agree the contract seems to have been a bit sketchy. Ms. Lykens added the inspection request in the counter offer. I wonder if the contract was rewritten and resigned by all parties? If she was having doubts at that point why didn't she just have the place inspected before counter offering? I still don't understand why so much money was in the hands of the realtor before a purchase contract was signed. As bad as I feel for Ms. Lykens, she was too trusting and naive in her negotiations.
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Post by Demonio Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:43 pm

Like I said, we ain't in Kansas anymore. I've bought more than my share of properties NOB and I've never had a problem. 1st, the agents are licensed professionals who are strictly regulated. 2nd, the contracts are boiler plate of legalese that protects both buyer and seller. You want the deal to be contingent on a satisfactory inspection? Simply check off that section of the contract.

In this case (going only by what the buyer tells us) - she told he broker what she wanted. He should have protected her. Seems he didn't - shame on him. But, if "subject to inspection" is all that was written in, then she's toast. What does that mean anyway? Subject to an inspection being completed? Subject to the buyer being satisfied with the inspection? Etc., etc., etc.

People from NOB tend to drop their guard because they get lulled into thinking things in MX are the same as NOB. Well, there NOT! Research the crap out of things. Understand this country and its laws. Learn Spanish. Get competent legal representation for the big things.
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Post by ctsrle Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:48 pm

I agree, Demonio. Education is expensive.
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Post by hockables Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:51 pm

lands end wrote:I send e-mails to all three offices telling them that none of my friends here or abroad wll ever do buisiness with them.
I RECEIVED REPLIES FROM ALL OF THEM.
************************************************************
I would deal with whatever Realtor was listing a property I was interested in...

Doesn't mean I have to like him or trust him... The purpose of the exercise is to buy the best property at the best price... and watch out for your own ass... not to expect to much from strangers...

I feel for the lady who took such a loss... but, Buyer Beware!!
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Post by Intercasa Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:55 pm

Dealing with the listing agent can be a bad thing as nobody is representing your interests, the guy might want to double end the sale and not care. what if the listing agent is the village idiot? He could be the best or worst but you'll never know and few others will as well until it is too late. You really don't know how competent someone is and what they are made of until a problem arises and you can see how they handle it. Many people go into real estate because the money is good and it doesn't take and special knowledge or skills.
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Post by Rolly Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:17 pm

Spencer dear lad, is your new avatar a picture of me?
How did you get it off my computer?
From TOB(before its gone over there) 374777
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Post by hockables Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:24 pm

Spencer is right...

I wasn't very clear... I chose a wonderful Lady from Texas to represent my interests
( Ajijic Realty )

The point I was making is simply that I wouldn't refuse to deal with someone because I was angry with them, as that might only serve to limit my options in the marketplace...
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Post by Wagner Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:51 pm

I coppied this before it was deleted from TOB, and it was MUY PRONTO!

Just to clarify: GIL, AMPI Chapala and the member agencies and brokers were charged and convicted in a court of law for absolute monopolistic practices

http://www.cfc.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=326%3Acomunicado-05-2009&catid=81%3Acomunicacion-social-contenidos&Itemid=458&lang=en

they appealed the verdict but the verdict was upheld

http://www.cfc.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=325%3Acomunicado-08-2009&catid=81%3Acomunicacion-social-contenidos&Itemid=458&lang=en

Currently they have filed an "amparo" and in case the court decides against this I assume they will appeal to the last court.


JUSTUS HAUSER
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Post by funnygirl Tue Jun 29, 2010 3:08 pm

Rolly wrote:Spencer dear lad, is your new avatar a picture of me?
How did you get it off my computer?
From TOB(before its gone over there) 374777

Spencer's showing off just how smexy he really is. Are that smexy too Rolly?

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Post by Carry Bean Tue Jun 29, 2010 3:17 pm

I was with my realtor from Ajijic Realty today & asked him about this. He said Ajijic RE did not receive any of this deposit & that the seller also didn't get any of this deposit. He thinks the money is still in the account of Casa Mexico.

BTW, Derek Trevethan has gone way beyond what he's needed to do when he sold me the house I bought including taking me to CFE today to get the electric turned on & in my name plus many other things he didn't have to do so I think it's unfair to paint with too broad a brush when talking about some of these realtors but for sure you do have to watch out for yourself. It ain't NOB here & thank God for that.

In the good ole US Virgin Islands there was a realtor who also was an accountant & owned the Remax franchise there. She disappeared with MILLIONS in people's escrow money as well as vacation rental money.

There are crooks everywhere.


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Post by Carry Bean Tue Jun 29, 2010 3:20 pm

Google "Rosemary Sauter" or "Rosemary Sauter-Frett" if you want to read about it.

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