"Raising the Roof" a story by Staffwriter Kevin Brass can be found at http://blogs.iht.com/tribtalk/properties/roof/

 Here is Kevin's article about AMPI and the Riviera Maya.

MEXICO RULES

In Mexico, there are no licensing or registration requirements for real estate agents, which means your bartender in the nightclub might show up as your agent the next day. Anyone can represent themselves as an agent. While rare, stories abound of unscrupulous or simply under-prepared agents fouling up deals.

“There are a lot of people who just decide to move here and open an office,” said Laura Zapata, president of the Riviera Maya chapter of La Asociación Mexicana de Profesionales Inmobiliarias (AMPI), the Mexican association of real estate professionals.

Zapata’s group hopes to upgrade the system, at least in the Riviera Maya, the popular strip of Caribbean coast stretching south from Cancun. She is pushing a program called PRO Bienes Raices, one of the first of its kind in the country. It would require agents to register and complete basic training. The plan has stalled thus far at the local government level, but Zapata hopes to get approval by the end of the year.

“We’re just trying to get some controls into who is selling,” Zapata said.

The Riviera Maya’s plan represents part of a national movement to bring standards to the profession. Last year the national AMPI office linked a deal with the U.S.-based National Association of Realtors, allowing AMPI members to use the Realtor brand.

“It’s important that the consumer feel protected,” said Zapata, owner of Seaview Properties in Playa del Carmen.

For more on AMPI and the Riviera Maya, Zapata is featured in a podcast available on Riviera Maya Real Estate News, a local news and information site (click “podcasts” and then “listen now”).

Riviera Maya continues to rank among the fastest growing regions of the country, both in terms of construction and prices. MLS 4 Riviera Maya’s new listings include a modern 128-square-meter (1,378 square foot) condo, one block from the beach in downtown Playa del Carmen, priced at $375,000 (€275,178).