Maintaining your Isla Mujeres Home

We sold a property and offered the new owner a maintenance and cleaning contract, which was really a very good deal, the new owner thought it was expensive, and felt he could do better on his own. This is understandable, as many new owners imagine looking after an Isla Mujeres home is similar to maintaining a property in the States, in practice it couldn't be more different.

The first thing they discover is that finding good reliable people on Isla Mujeres is difficult to impossible, we have been on the island for 23 years and have some very good people but getting there has been a costly and painful business and of course with cleaning staff you have to trust them with the keys. There was a property not far from us in Punta Sur, where the owner was away in Canada for long periods. The staff would hold weekend long parties at the property, It is not an uncommon experience.

Isla Mujeres is a popular tourist destination, so most property owners let their property out when they are not occupying it, as there will be guests in the property, often leaving their valuables around, it is essential to have cleaning staff who are 100% honest. Even now we bring some people across from Cancun; in Cancun there tends to be a surplus of people who are available for work, it can be easier and less expensive to have them cross to the island and pay their travel expenses.

Another slight shock for new owners of an Isla Mujeres property is the rate of deterioration. The Island has a very high levels of salt, humidity which often at 90% and of course heat. Things constantly go wrong especially pool equipment and air conditioning units, if the property is to be let it is important to have technicians who are readily available to come out if there is a fault, both evenings and weekends.

After about six weeks the new owner came back to us, asking if we would take the property over, realizing that our offer was not only very good value for money, but hassle free.