Forecasters announced today that they think there is a 75% chance of a major hurricane hitting the United States coast this year. The water temperatures are warm, and the first named storm hit the Yucatan Peninsula in late June… they named it Alex.

You may have noticed that Alex did a lot of damage to cities in and around Monterrey, Mexico but you probably didn’t notice that there wasn’t any news, bad or otherwise, about Alex and his affect on the Yucatan. Because the homes of Merida and the Yucatan Peninsula rarely have to weather that kind of storm. The rule of thumb in the Yucatan is that a hurricane hits once every fifteen years. That’s far less than most places that ring the Gulf of Mexico, including the resort communities on the Mayan Riviera. And it may be why Merida was built in this location over 500 years ago by the Mayans. It’s inland location affords it protection from the worst effects of a hurricane, which diminishes as it travels over land, and the building practices here provide even more.

Many of the Yucatan’s homes are built either out of block or stone or both. If you see wood in a home, it is being used as beams, as a sunscreen or as decoration. Anything structural is heavily reinforced and able to withstand both wind and rain. Roof and garden drainage should always be considered when building or renovating a home, because tropical rains can drop a lot of water in a short amount of time. But with proper drainage, reinforced stone or block walls and tile or cement floors, the homes here are built to withstand just about anything Mother Nature can dole out in the hurricane department.

In 2002, Hurricane Isidore swept right over Merida and Progreso on the coast. While there was flooding in Progreso, and some wave action that damaged unreinforced homes, the damage was minute compared to Monterrey’s recent tropical storm, and especially compared to the effects of Hurricanes Rita or Katrina in recent years.  I think those who lived through it would agree that the biggest casualty of Hurricane Isidore were the trees; quite a few older trees were blown over during the twenty four hours that Isidore stayed in Merida. But the minute the storm was done, the local Mexican army came out in droves to clear the roads, chopping and clearing trees. And now, nine years later, the trees are back, bigger and better than ever.

Hurricanes are something to keep in mind when you are building or buying in the Yucatan, but they are not something to be afraid of.  Builders and architects here know how to build for hurricane weather, and the ancient Mayans knew where to put their cities. Even at the beach, modern construction has improved and gotten smarter, and longer setbacks and seawalls are required in many communities.  Hurricanes give plenty of warning and can be prepared for (unlike earthquakes and many other natural disasters). If you are lucky enough to buy an old colonial house here in Merida, you can be reassured that it has already withstood a few hurricanes.

We sleep soundly at night here, even in hurricane season.

For more information, here is the article about the recent hurricane forecast.

Municipal authorities have plans for a major program to promote tourism along the western Yucatan coast, to both Sisal and Celestun, including cultural and recreational activities for visitors.  Pointing out that Sisal was historically the first port of entry into Yucatan, Director of Culture Arturo Sosa Ortiz added that these plans are already underway, including a project to restore the colonial monuments and another to restore the old lighthouse of Sisal, where a museum is planned.

Sosa Ortiz mentioned that Sisal and Celestun are not areas well known to local visitors, but a larger proportion of foreign residents and visitors may be more familiar with these pueblos, as many of them live and vacation in the two communities.  Canadians, for example, come for duck hunting to these areas between October 15 and February 28^th.

“ This is an important source of income for the port, for the shopkeepers and for the tourist guides.  In second place is the arrival of Europeans who build winter homes in the area to escape bitter weather at home.”

Sosa Ortiz commented that about 150 extranjeros (foreigners) now reside in the area. In addition, a growing cadre of Canadians who have rented in the past are beginning to buy homes in Sisal.

One of the principal problems that will first be addressed is garbage disposal and to that end, very shortly a new sanitary landfill will be ready.   Incentive programs have been introduced to create a community consciousness of the need for cleanliness. For example, the collection plastic and glass bottles is now being encouraged. Until just recently, there had been nowhere to deposit them.  This problem should be fixed this month in August 2010 when the new sanitary landfill is begun, just off the road between Hunucma and Sisal.

“We have $30 million pesos to spend, but the ejidetarios, the owners of the land, still have not reached agreement.”

Well, this sounds like a step in the right direction. We hope we’ll hear about a recycling program for those plastic and glass bottles, and we look forward to seeing what happens and will keep you updated as we find out more!

Welcome to Tierra Yucatan, the real estate agency offering the best selection of real estate in Yucatan, Mexico and the city of Merida!

There’s nothing new about the wide array of rare and unique properties and the properties of exceptional value… all of which can still be found on our website.  The front page now highlights some of the incredible luxury properties in our collection. Of course, it is still easy to browse our entire inventory by clicking the links on the left. Either click on “All Properties” to see every last one of them, or click on the various categories to see just Beach Homes, for instance. Or just Haciendas & Ranches.

Maybe you are looking for an inexpensive retirement home or winter getaway… try looking at “Newer Neighborhoods” for more modern homes at very reasonable prices.  Or if you want to start or take over a business here in Merida, check out our “Commercial Properties” category, with listings on everything from warehouses to coffee shops to bed & breakfasts.

Are you looking for a Vacation Rental? We have listings of both long-term and short-term rentals, in Merida, in the surrounding Yucatan Peninsula and even a few in the state of Chiapas. Vacation rentals are a great alternative to hotels and a wonderful way to “try before you buy” and buy your own home in Merida.

For a more specific search, go to “Property Search” on the right hand side of the page. Click on “Property Search” and there you’ll have a very detailed way of searching for the home or land that you want to buy. You can specify everything from number of bedrooms to type of water system, allowing you to just look at the listings that really interest you.

Just below that, there’s a link called Contact Us. Each Tierra Yucatan real estate agent is listed here, along with their photo, some background on them, and their contact information. Contact our office on Calle 66 in the Centro (address and phone at the bottom of every page), or just email or phone one of our agents directly.

For information about buying real estate in Mexico or detailed information about Merida and the Yucatan, explore the other links on the right. We give you a brief synopsis of the buying and selling processes here in Mexico, as well as some helpful links to other Yucatan websites and a list of some of our preferred hotels and other accommodations in the area. If that doesn’t answer your questions, perhaps our FAQ page with a list of the frequently asked questions will help.

Further down on the right, there’s a link to our Facebook page. We encourage you to check it out and sign up to “like” it and “follow” it… as we get new noteworthy listings, we’ll be sending some of the information to our Facebook friends. Be sure to become a Facebook friend so you can find out about properties as they come on the market!

Did we mention that on the first page of the website, you can not only check the Merida weather, but you can read rotating testimonials from an ever-growing list of happy customers.

Below that, you can read excerpts from the last three posts on this blog, too, for new and timely information not only on new properties, but also on general real-estate related news and events here in the Yucatan.

Did we mention videos? Tierra Yucatan has our own YouTube channel, and we have some of our YucatanLiving.com Houses of Merida videos there, as well as a growing number of videos made of the houses we represent that are for sale and rent.

There’s more that has been upgraded on the new Tierra Yucatan website! When you click on “More…” to see a property, the property page that you come to has a wealth of information about that particular offering. Not only is there a detailed description, but now there are “Print” and “Share” buttons so you can print out the properties you like (and want to see on your trip to Merida) or click on the “Share” button and send an email to a friend with the property information and link included. The “Share” button also allows you to bookmark the page if you want, or share it on Facebook, Digg, put it on your Amazon Wish List and a million (it seems!) other places. Try it out!

Our photo gallery on each property page now allows for larger photos of various dimensions, so now we can show you photos of just how high that ceiling really is! And each property’s Google Map shows you where in Merida the property is for your reference.

Oh, and don’t forget… you can see the entire website in Spanish too! Just click under the phone number at the top of each page.

Last but not least is this blog… a place for us to notify you of new listings and talk about what’s new and happening now in the real estate world of Merida and the Yucatan. Each blog post allows for comments, and we welcome your participation and interest.

We worked hard to improve our website without losing the benefit of easy navigation and a clean look. We hope you enjoy it and we look forward to hearing from you