Windermere Los Cabos is honored to now represent CostaBaja Resort through our network of 300 Windermere offices in the U.S.  "Click" on the photo above and contact Jay West for more information about this fantastic offer!  Go to: www.WindermereCabo.com for details.

"Click Here" to enjoy this great video about our wonder-filled State of Baja California Sur!!

Mark Nieman of Windermere Los Cabos welcomes guests to our Windermere Cabo San Lucas Grand Opening Celebration on December 8, 2012.  Guests pictured (L to R): Sergio Sanchez, Gaby Camus, Jim  and Maya Anderson; Jay West, Windermere Los Cabos; Geoff Wood, Windermere CEO; Jill Wood, Windermere President; Lee Farthing; John Vering; Martin Posch, Windermere Los Cabos.
"CLICK" on the VIDEO above to see how the evening went for all of us including remarks by Windermere CEO Geoff Wood, about Windermere's first office opening in Mexico!

Windermere Los Cabos - now open for business in Cabo San Lucas - Offering Premier Properties like this elegant All-Custom Beach-Front Villa La Estancia luxury villa and so much more!

This is the first time a major U.S. real estate brand has made a commitment to the Los Cabos market since the financial crisis hit in 2008. The Pacific Northwest is the second most important market after California for Los Cabos. We are excited to be part of the Windermere family.  With over 300 offices and more than 6,000 Brokers and specialized Agents throughout 10 Western States, we know that Windermere Clients are currently buying and selling real estate in the Baja.  Many of the clients that are doing business with Windermere have been coming to Los Cabos as owners or vacationers for many years.  And many plan to retire here on a full or part time basis.  People will also want to do business with Windermere in Los Cabos because we are the largest regional real estate company in the western U.S. and our brand is known for serving a very upscale client base.

Our office is open for business now and we have become quite familiar with the professional way Windermere does business.  We encourage conversations with seasoned real estate brokers and agents and can offer them an opportunity unlike any other in the market.  For example, one of our partners, Jay West, is currently marketing our Los Cabos Real Estate in the US among our 300 Windermere offices as well as large networks of international, resort, retirement and second-home professionals.  Windermere will grow in Baja and other parts of Mexico in an organic and successful manner.

As we mentioned, Windermere Real Estate is a very familiar and respected name for people in the US and beyond.  Our Company is known for Integrity, our commitment to local communities through the Windermere Foundation, and our cutting edge state-of-art technology.  We believe we will be able to offer the most effective options for Sellers to promote their properties throughout the Windermere network and elsewhere.  The Windermere website (www.windermere.com) has more than one million visitors each month.  This is huge, and Buyers that are already doing business with Windermere back home can now be assured to receive the best service possible from our trained Windermere professionals in Los Cabos.

Posted by Jay West & Martin Posch

Sir Richard Branson on Why Volunteer Work Is Important for Business Leaders
(Photos from Public Domain (Virgin) and by TIME Magazine ... from an article series published in ENTREPRENEUR sponsored by Hewlett-Packard - www.HP.com )

Note:  Special thanks to Mark Nieman who sent me this article.  Mark has established his own foundation in Los Cabos and will also manage the Windermere Foundation here in Los Cabos. Since its formation, The Windermere Foundation has donated more than $22million to communities served by local Windermere offices throughout nine western States in the U.S.A.    Please see:  (http://www.windermere.com/blogs/windermere-foundation/posts) 

BY RICHARD BRANSON | October 8, 2012


Q: You are spending a lot of time on your philanthropic ventures and volunteer work. Does this take time away from your job of steering the Virgin Group? Or does it help you to come up with new approaches to business problems?

A: When people ask me if a business can balance making a difference in people's lives with making a profit for the company, the point that I always try to make is that the two are not exclusive.

Business leaders should not focus solely on earning money. They must remember that a healthy profit means that a community supports and appreciates the products and services a business offers, and also how that business is managed.

My work on initiatives fostered by our nonprofit foundation, Virgin Unite, such as The Elders and The Branson Centres of Entrepreneurship, have given me a different outlook. I have a broader perspective than I did in the 1970s, when my focus was mostly on our local community and our customers, but as Virgin grew and our efforts expanded, I began working on philanthropy projects alongside inspirational figures such as Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. And then the types of projects expanded, taking on everything from urging world leaders to end the drug wars, to providing mentoring opportunities to young entrepreneurs, so that now I also tend to think in terms of the global community.

Our work with Virgin Unite has given our companies a fantastic boost. Customers want to know that the company they're dealing with has a moral compass and takes a socially responsible approach to doing business. An example of one of our initiatives that has gained people's attention is our decision to invest profits from the Virgin transport businesses in researching clean fuels. Using fuel derived from a renewable energy source to fly our planes would benefit everyone, and we can be sure that the technological breakthrough needed to make this happen will take place eventually, so we are striving to be the first to reach that goal.

My philanthropic ventures have also been good for our team: People want to work for a company they are proud of, one whose values they believe in. I like to think that our staff is as proud as I am about the good that our companies do. And a happy and motivated workforce is a productive one.

Many people assume that the only way a business can contribute to its local community is by donating to charity, but they're mistaken.

A company that has a strong set of principles woven into its DNA will find many opportunities for making a difference. In South Africa, where unemployment and poverty are pressing issues, Virgin Active, our health-club business, saw that there was a need to support other local businesses. So our branch in Soweto brought in partners: a hairdresser, DJs for the exercise classes, a car-washing business for the car park. Our successful venture thus provided the support and spark to help other businesses ramp up their operations.

If you are looking to change how you do business, the first step is to integrate great values into your business plan. Any company can do this, no matter what its size, location, or how long it has been in business. Small businesses can make a difference locally, bigger companies can make a difference nationally, and even bigger companies can make a difference internationally. And look at every stage of your business, from manufacturing to disposal, and consider the impact on your community. Are you really making people's lives better?

If you're thinking about launching a business, consider the new opportunities offered by some of the environmental challenges that your community faces -- what would happen if you were to find a solution? If your company offered a scalable solution to a problem like a local water shortage or waste disposal issues, you might help your community and others.

If you lead an established and successful company, why not address the bigger picture? One of the projects that Virgin Unite supports, The Carbon War Room, works with companies and industry organizations in many different sectors to decrease that sector's carbon footprint. We don't condemn or single out businesses for their carbon outputs; our focus is on finding ways to eliminate market barriers to large-scale adoption of low-carbon solutions, like renewable fuels, so that sectors such as shipping and aviation can make more money while producing less pollution.

Philanthropic work undertaken not just by the CEO, but by any employee, is an asset to the group as a whole, bringing in new perspectives and relationships that the group wouldn't otherwise have. So encourage your employees to contribute, off the job and on, and in time people in your community will learn that business can bring positive change.In the meantime I will also be urging my team at Virgin to "Screw business as usual." It's what we do best.

CABO!  A $$$ Million Dollar World Record?  

Angler Guy Yokom and his crew from El Suertudo show off their prized catch, a 427-pound yellowfin tuna that could be the all-tackle, world record for the species. 
Pisces Sportfishing Photo - Article from San Diego Union Tribune
Click Here for San Diego Union Tribune Article.

Steve Tagami didn’t sound like a guy whose company was about to lose $1 million to an angler who caught a potential world-record fish.

Tagami, head of sales for Mustad, the world’s oldest hook company, actually sounded downright giddy about the prospect of his company giving away the big loot for the big fish. Guy Yokom of Dana Point used a Mustad hook to land a 427.5- or 421-pound yellowfin, depending on which scale is verified, Tuesday morning 180 miles south of Cabo San Lucas. If the catch is approved by the International Game Fish Association as an all-tackle, world-record yellowfin tuna, Yokom gets $1 million because he beat the Sept. 30 catch deadline of Mustad’s “Hook A Million” contest.

“I’m telling you, everyone at Mustad is excited about this,” Tagami said. “This is good for Mustad, good for the angler and good for the sport. For him to do this at the 11th hour is just amazing. It’s all good stuff.”

Yokom and his crew of seven, which included captain Greg DiStefano of San Clemente, on the aptly named El Suertudo, which means “the lucky one,” have been working for Mustad’s $1 million prize.

But they’re not the only ones who will benefit from catching this magnificent fish. Many will benefit, not the least of which will be the economically depressed Cabo San Lucas area.

The world’s economic crisis has taken a deep toll on fishing and hunting destinations. Sportsmen and women have been worried more about keeping their homes and jobs than taking fishing trips to resorts towns like Cabo San Lucas or East Cape.

A world-record catch like this has tremendous value. Just ask captain Mike Lackey of the Vagabond. His angler, Mike Livingston, landed the current yellowfin standard, that 405.2-pounder, in December of 2010. The Vagabond isn’t the biggest long-range boat in the fleet, but it received big-boat publicity for that catch.

And now it’s Cabo San Lucas’ turn. I asked Tracy Ehrenberg of the Pisces Group Cabo, a sportfishing fleet based at the tip of Baja, what the catch means to the once sleepy fishing village that grew up to be big-game fishing and big-time partying central. Ehrenberg responded in an email.

“To have a fish like this weighed in Cabo is worth a fortune in marketing as it focuses attention on our city from a worldwide audience,” Ehrenberg wrote. “It proves that once again Cabo is one of, if not the best fishing spot on the planet and that marlin is not the only thing we do. Cabo and Baja California Sur produce record tuna, dorado, wahoo and roosterfish as well as marlin and compared side by side with other fishing destinations it is still the best value out there.

“This also shows the importance of keeping our oceans well managed, that with healthy seas we can attract revenue from sports fishermen who use the resource carefully and do not have the impact of commercial fishing that often uses destructive techniques.

“With the economy the way it is, a lot of anglers are no longer making their yearly trip to Cabo, but with great fishing news, it will get their attention focused on our town and its incredible fishing again and encourage them to come back.”

(Photo L-R, Windermere Gen. Counsel, Paul Drayna; S.V.P. Michael Fanning; CEO Geoff Wood; & the guy from Mexico)


For Immediate Release

Windermere Real Estate Expands To 
Los Cabos, Mexico

August 28, 2012 – Seattle – Geoff Wood, CEO of Windermere Real Estate, announced today that the company is expanding internationally with the opening of its first franchise office in Mexico. Located in Cabo San Lucas, the Windermere Los Cabos office represents the merger of CaboRealty Partners and Nieman + Posch Boutique Realtors, two well-respected real estate brands that have operated independently in the Cabo area.

Martin Posch and Jay West, the principal owners of Windermere Los Cabos, have a broad range of international experience in the sale and marketing of all types of vacation resorts, second-home residential properties, and new developments. They also consult with investors in the sourcing, acquisition, and marketing of development properties.

Originally from Switzerland, Posch moved to Mexico in 1998 and was a top-producer and sales manager with Prudential California Realty in Cabo San Lucas. In 2011, he opened his own real estate company and earlier this year, formed a partnership with West in order to open the Windermere Los Cabos office. West has lived in Mexico since 1994 and is a Bi-National REALTOR® in the U.S. and Mexico. After more than 40 years in business, West has extensive experience serving international clientele seeking residential and resort real estate opportunities in both countries.

According to Wood, more than 79 million Baby Boomers will reach retirement age over the next 18 years, and studies show that many of them will purchase a second home in resort areas, such as Mexico. “Given that Windermere operates in nine Western U.S. states, we have a steady stream of clients interested in buying homes in Mexico, so we think this is a great time to tap into that market,” said Wood, adding “Los Cabos is the safest and most desirable resort area in Western Mexico making it an ideal location for a Windermere office.”

West says that he and Posch have been in discussions with Windermere for several years about opening a franchise in Los Cabos, but that the right opportunity only recently presented itself, “Windermere has offices in all of the key markets in the Western U.S. where many of our buyers come from,” said West. Also an important part of West and Posch’s decision was “Windermere’s reputation for integrity, leading-edge technology, and their strong commitment to the community,” West added.

Posch emphasized that “Jay and I are excited to have merged our brokerage firms to create a dynamic three way synergy with Windermere as its first international office south of the border.   Los Cabos is the perfect location and our goal is to create a springboard for future expansion into mainland Mexico.”


Windermere’s Los Cabos office is located in Plaza Paseo Los Arcos, Suite B-6, in front of Home Depot on the corridor highway entering Cabo San Lucas.  It will open its doors in September followed by a grand opening celebration in early December.

To speak to Geoff Wood, please email Shelley Rossi: shelley.rossi@windermere.com or call 425-269-7132. To speak to Jay West, please email JayWest@Windermere.com or call 503-887-8769.

About Windermere Real Estate
Windermere Real Estate is ranked the largest regional real estate company in the Western U.S. with over 300 offices and 7,000 agents serving communities in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Mexico. The Windermere family has a proud heritage of serving our neighbors via the Windermere Foundation which funds services for low-income and homeless families. Since 1989, the Windermere Foundation has contributed more than 23 million dollars towards improving lives in the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit www.windermere.com.