San José del Cabo, Mexico - 'Viva Mexico,' an investment, resort and second home forum, was recently held in San José del Cabo, Mexico. It was an integral part of the National Association of Realtors, Spotlight Mexico 2013 program. The Forum was hosted by the Los Cabos Section of the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI) with strategic support from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Following the Forum a five day CIPS Institute was presented.

More than 200 Realtors came for the event from several Mexican cities as well as NAR members from states such as Illinois, Arkansas, Texas and Missouri. Offshore attendees came from Costa Rica and Brazil. In attendance were Guillermo Salgado, President of AMPI National, and Past President Sergio Gomez. Included in the NAR delegation were Chris Polychron, First Vice President; Past President, Richard Mendenhall; Vice President, Leslie Rouda Smith; and Jeffrey Hornberger, Director, Commercial and Global Business Alliances.

There were two full days of panels and seminars with three evenings of social events. Linda Neil, CIPS and NAR' Presidential Liaison to Mexico, kicked off the educational part of the Forum with excerpts from the course "Doing Business in Mexico. Restricted Zone in Mexico." Linda spoke on the basics, including fideicomisos, maritime trusts, and Ejidos.

Adrian Arriaga, Commissioner of the Texas Association of Realtors and NAR's Presidential Liaison to China, moderated a property show case. Participants promoted a property they had listed. (Even First V.P Polychon got into the act, presenting a project he is marketing in Hot Springs, AR.)

Claudia Velasquez, Director of Development and New Business at Softec Mexico, made a key presentation, called "Mexican Second Home Markets: Evolution and Investment Options for Retirement and Leisure." The company specializes in determining market trends, highest and best use for land, site evaluations, site searches, financial modeling, and demographics analysis.) Its database is updated quarterly in the 29 largest cities in Mexico. This includes the fourteen cities where foreigners purchase Mexican real estate.

Another well attended panel was "Sustainability in Real Estate Development." Luis Fernando Pinto Barcellor, Vice President of the Brazilian Association of Realtors, participated in this panel. Those attending were able to network and enjoy the hospitality of three of the most prestigious developments in Los Cabos.

First was a property tour and cocktail reception at Querencia Golf Course. This project sits high on a hill overlooking San Jose del Cabo and the East Cape. Multimillion dollar homes are located here. On the second night, attendees went by bus to the Pacific side. Here they enjoyed a convivial evening hosted by the Diamante Club. A new Tiger Woods golf course is being constructed here as well as a ten acre swimming pool (Yes, that is the correct size.) The final social event was hosted by El Encanto de la Laguna. This is a development of casas, villas and condos on the East Cape, just a short drive from San Jose del Cabo.

Commenting on the Resort and Second Home Forum, Guillermo Salgado, President of AMPI National, said, "This was a great day for AMPI Los Cabos. It presented an opportunity for all attending, to network with members of NAR and AMPI members from other Sections in Mexico. In my opinion, the event should be repeated in Los Cabos in 2014."

On the Monday following the successful Forum, a five-day Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) was presented. Most of the 39 attendees were from Los Cabos, but there were also students from Cancun, Mexico City, Patzcuaro, and Los Bariles. The students were fortunate to have two NAR Presidential Liaisons as instructors. These were Adrian Arriaga (P.L. to China) and Linda Neil (P.L. to Mexico).

27 of the attendees have submitted application to obtain the CIPS Designation. This will almost double the number of those in Mexico who have the designation.