Dear Sir,
The Lake Chapala Reporter (no relation to the Guadalajara Reporter) and its owner, Lisa L. Jorgensen, have been doing their best to damage the reputation of lakeside realtors affiliated with the GIL/AMPI. It is obvious that this is a blatant attempt to sell subscriptions to her online magazine (in reality, a personal blog of the owner). She portrays herself an honorable crusader with unblemished integrity looking to save the public from unscrupulous realtors. Actually, this is nothing more than “yellow journalism”.
The government agency COFECO (Comisión Federal de Competencia), now called COFESE, has issued fines to several real estate brokers for practices occurring during a period between 2004 and 2007, 7 to 10 years ago. This is not “new” news. The fines were originally issued in 2009, but after an appeal by the GIL and AMPI, the complaint was sent back to COFECO for reconsideration. Now that the fines have been re-issued, the GIL and AMPI will again appeal. This process may take years.
People in the area need to understand that our local realtors, members of the GIL/AMPI or not, have the best interests of sellers and buyers as their primary concern. They would not be successful in business if this was not the case.
Michael Kavanaugh, president, GIL (Grupo Inmobiliario del Lago)