Hello! I’m Karen Bloemhoff, a licensed real estate broker who made the dream of island living a reality and now I help others do the same.
Originally from the Netherlands, I built a career in Corporate Facility Management across Europe before relocating to Cozumel almost 20 years ago.
With over 30 years of international experience in property management, building, and real estate sales, I understand every step of finding and keeping your dream home.
Buying property in a foreign country can feel daunting. That’s why having a licensed, experienced broker who speaks your language and knows the island inside and out makes all the difference.
At Karen Cozumel Real Estate, we offer:
We’re committed to honesty, professionalism, and personalized service, guiding you from the first handshake to handing you the keys.
Selecting Karen and her team to assist us in selling our house was definitely the right decision.
Selling a home is rarely easy but having knowledgeable professionals assisting you through the process is priceless.
They brought people to view our home who were truly in the market to buy. Once an offer was accepted, they continued guiding and assisting both parties. On closing day, there were no last minute surprises and everyone left happy.
We would highly recommend chosing Karen Cozumel Real Estate for your future real estate needs.
"Jamie Aubin"
Our experienced team of brokers, agents, and property managers shares the same passion for Cozumel and the same commitment to our clients.
Teamwork makes the dream work, and we’re ready to help you relocate, invest, rent, or build here in paradise.
Whether you're buying, selling, renting, building, or managing property in Cozumel, we’re ready to make your dream a reality.
We can't express enough praise regarding the quality of service and extreme professionalism Karen Cozumel Real Estate offers! Alejandra was instrumental in helping us find our island dream home and she made the process completely understandable and flawless. Alejandra's personal touch and relationship building skills create great trust, and we have formed a wonderful friendship with her and the entire Karen Cozumel Real Estate team! We would HIGHLY recommend Alejandra, Karen, and the entire team to assist in the finding, purchasing, and closing of an international home purchase.
Originally from the Netherlands, I came to Cozumel more than two decades ago after building an international career in Hospitality Management, corporate facility management and property management in Europe.
Cozumel was supposed to be a new chapter. Instead, it became home.
Over the years, I built my life here, raising a family, making friends, diving Cozumel’s reefs, managing and improving properties, learning how Mexico works and becoming deeply connected to this little island in the Caribbean.
Eventually, all those different parts of my life came together in real estate.
Today, I am the founder and licensed real estate broker of Karen Cozumel Real Estate. But before being a broker, I am a Cozumel resident, homeowner and neighbor who understands why people from all over the world fall in love with this island.
My professional background has always been international.
Before real estate, I worked in hospitality, corporate facility management and property management, with experience involving buildings, operations, people and different cultures.
That background still influences how I look at real estate today.
I don't only see a beautiful kitchen, swimming pool or Caribbean view. I want to understand the property behind it: how it has been maintained, how it functions, what improvements have been made, what the documentation says and what questions we should be asking before moving forward.
After more than 20 years of living in Cozumel and many years working in its real estate market, I understand the island from both sides professionally and personally.
Buying or selling property in Mexico can be very different from doing so in the United States, Canada or Europe.
There are notaries, fideicomisos, Mexican corporations, taxes, closing procedures, legal documents and cultural differences that can initially seem complicated.
Our job is to make those things understandable.
I speak Spanish, English, German and Dutch, and I also understand French. But international real estate is about much more than speaking different languages.
Different cultures communicate differently. They negotiate differently. They ask different questions, have different expectations and sometimes approach the exact same situation from completely different perspectives.
And I absolutely love that part of my work.
Negotiation is one of my favorite parts of real estate and one of my greatest strengths.
Understanding the personalities and cultures on both sides of a transaction, knowing when to push, when to listen, when to explain and when to find another route can make an enormous difference.
A successful negotiation isn't simply about getting somebody to say yes. It is about strongly representing your client's interests while understanding what matters to the other side and finding the point where buyer and seller can confidently move forward.
That combination, understanding how Mexico works while also understanding international buyers and sellers, has become a very important part of how I work.
I founded Karen Cozumel Real Estate because I wanted to create the kind of brokerage I believed Cozumel needed: professional, properly licensed, transparent, knowledgeable and very personal.
Today, we are a close team of licensed real estate professionals specializing exclusively in Cozumel.
We don't simply share an office or a company name. We work as a team.
We meet every week to discuss our listings, buyers, negotiations and seller strategies. We challenge each other's ideas, share information and continuously invest in education and improving the way we work.
We also happily co-broke with reputable licensed real estate professionals when they represent the right buyer for one of our properties.
Because ultimately, real estate should not be about agents competing for attention. It should be about getting the right buyer and seller together and making the transaction work.
Since opening our doors, our team has consistently been among Cozumel's active top-selling real estate teams.
I am proud of that.
But what makes me even prouder is how much of our business comes through referrals, repeat clients and people who recommend us to their friends and family.
For me, real estate has never been simply about selling properties.
A home is personal.
And when someone is buying or selling in another country, trust becomes even more important.
Foreign buyers often arrive excited about Cozumel but understandably unsure about how everything works. Sellers may have completely different concerns pricing, taxes, documentation, timing, negotiations or simply wanting to know that their property and interests are being represented properly.
I believe strongly in explaining things clearly and doing the homework.
Sometimes representing a client means moving quickly.
Sometimes it means slowing things down and asking another question.
And sometimes it means saying, “I don't think this is the right property for you.”
I'd rather lose a sale than have someone make the wrong decision.
Cozumel isn't simply where I sell real estate.
It's where I live, and after all these years, I still love it.
Most importantly, family comes first for me. My husband and my son are the center of my life, and some of my happiest moments are simply the things we do together, traveling, diving, enjoying good food, spending time with friends and enjoying everyday life.
Cozumel is where my husband and I built our life, where we raised our son and where so many of our memories are. This isn't just the place where I built my business. It's where we created our home.
Island life for me is riding my bicycle, running into people I know and like, dinners with friends and family, good food, music, the ocean, and especially Cozumel's sunsets.
Even after more than 20 years here, I still stop and look at them.
I am still a certified dive instructor, although real estate took over professionally many years ago. The ocean and diving will always be part of my connection to Cozumel.
I also love traveling and discovering new places and cultures, reading, cooking and music. But no matter where we travel, I love coming home.
Cozumel feels like home.
And perhaps that is also why I understand so many of our buyers.
People may initially contact us because they're looking for a condo, a house, a beachfront property or an investment.
But very often, what they're really looking for is a life.
Dinners on the terrace. Family and friends coming to stay. Riding your bicycle into town. Getting in the ocean. Watching another incredible sunset. Spending winters in the Caribbean. Or perhaps leaving your old life behind completely and making Cozumel home.
A property is one thing.
What matters is what you do with it and who you share it with.
I understand that feeling because my family and I have lived it ourselves.
One of my favorite things about this business is watching what happens after a sale.
Clients become neighbors. Buyers become sellers years later. Sellers introduce us to friends. People stop by the office just to say hello.
And former clients still call when they need a recommendation, have a question about their property or simply don't know who else on the island to ask.
Those relationships mean a lot to me.
For more than ten years, my husband and I have also quietly supported local families and children in need. It is something we prefer to keep private, but giving something back to the community that welcomed us has always been important to our family.
Cozumel is a small community.
How you treat people matters.
After more than two decades here, I still think Cozumel is incredibly special.
It isn't for everyone and I actually like that about it.
But there is often a moment for people who really fall in love with this island when visiting isn't quite enough anymore.
You start imagining having your own keys.
Your own terrace.
Your favorite places around the corner.
Your bicycle downstairs.
Friends and family coming to visit.
A sunset after work.
Or simply having a little piece of Cozumel that belongs to you.
I know that feeling because many years ago, I had it too.
Cozumel became my home.
And today, together with my team, I have the privilege of helping buyers and sellers from Mexico and around the world navigate Cozumel real estate with local knowledge, international experience and a very personal approach.
Maybe Cozumel will become home for you too.
Contact Karen at: info@karencozumelrealtor.com
Alejandra Pacheco Starke originally came to Cozumel from Costa Rica, but somewhere along the way, the island stopped being a place she lived and became home.
Twenty-four years later, Cozumel is where Alejandra has raised her two children, built her career, developed her own entrepreneurial path and created a life deeply connected to the community around her.
That kind of time changes the way you see a place.
You don't just know the neighborhoods, you know how they feel. You see how the island evolves, how people arrive with one idea of what life here will be and sometimes leave with a completely different plan.
For Alejandra, that long relationship with Cozumel has become one of the foundations of the way she works in real estate.
Alejandra's professional background began in Advertising and Marketing, fields that taught her how to understand people, communicate ideas and look beyond the obvious.
She also developed a strong entrepreneurial spirit along the way, always interested in creating opportunities rather than simply waiting for them to appear.
Real estate turned out to be a natural place for those qualities to come together.
Over the past five years, Alejandra has guided more than 60 buyers and sellers through the Cozumel real estate process.
Sixty transactions represent much more than a number.
Behind every one is a different person, a different reason for buying or selling and, often, a significant life decision.
Some clients are looking for a home. Others are searching for an investment or a vacation property. Some are ready to make Cozumel their permanent home, while others are trying to figure out if the island could become part of their future.
Alejandra understands that there is no single reason people come to Cozumel and no single definition of what “home” means.
One of the things that has shaped Alejandra's reputation is something that sounds simple but isn't always easy in real estate: she listens.
Her approach is centered around understanding what a client actually needs before trying to find the solution.
What are they looking for?
What matters most to them?
What are their concerns?
And sometimes, what are they not saying?
For Alejandra, good service isn't about pushing someone toward a property simply because it is available. It is about asking the right questions, being transparent about the process and helping clients make decisions with as much information as possible.
That client-centered approach has helped her build relationships that extend beyond a transaction.
Because buying or selling property is rarely just a transaction.
It can represent a move, a retirement plan, a family decision, a new investment or the beginning of an entirely different chapter.
Alejandra's experience in real estate eventually led her into another role within Karen Cozumel Real Estate: leadership.
Today, she leads our real estate team, helping shape not only how we work with clients but also how we continue to grow as a company.
It is a role that requires a different kind of skill set.
Being a good real estate agent is about understanding clients and the market.
Being a good leader also means understanding people within your own team, recognizing their strengths, solving problems, making decisions and keeping everyone moving in the same direction.
Alejandra brings her advertising and marketing background, her entrepreneurial mindset and five years of hands-on real estate experience into that role.
The result is a team that continues to evolve while keeping something very important at its center: the client.
For Alejandra, Cozumel is not simply where she works.
It is where her everyday life happens.
It is where she has raised her two children, built friendships, experienced the changes of the island and developed a deep understanding of what makes life here different.
After 24 years, she knows that Cozumel has its own rhythm.
There is the Caribbean lifestyle people fall in love with almost immediately, but there is also the reality of living on an island: the community, the pace, the relationships and all the little details that become important when Cozumel is no longer just your vacation destination.
That perspective is particularly valuable when working with people who are considering making the same transition she made years ago from visitor or newcomer to resident.
She knows that finding a property is only part of the equation.
You are also choosing a neighborhood, a lifestyle and a community.
Alejandra is a licensed real estate agent in the state of Quintana Roo, bringing the professional and legal knowledge necessary to guide clients through the buying and selling process.
But her experience goes beyond a license.
It is the combination of years living in Cozumel, a background in marketing and advertising, an entrepreneurial mindset, more than 60 clients served and the perspective that comes from having built a family and a career on the island.
She knows that every client arrives with a different story.
And she knows that her job isn't to tell them what their Cozumel story should be.
It is to help them figure out what comes next.
There is something fitting about Alejandra's journey.
She came to Cozumel more than two decades ago and built a life here.
Then she built a career.
Then a reputation.
And eventually, a leadership role within one of the island's real estate teams.
It is a story of persistence, but also of evolution.
The real estate market changes. Clients change. The island changes. And successful professionals have to change with it.
Alejandra has continued to learn, adapt and take on new challenges while keeping the same qualities that have defined her work from the beginning: dedication, transparency, empathy and a genuine desire to help people.
After 24 years, Cozumel is still home.
And perhaps that is what makes Alejandra's perspective so valuable.
She isn't simply helping people buy property on an island she happens to know.
She's helping people find their place in a community she has spent more than two decades building a life in.
And for many clients, that makes all the difference.
Contact Alejandra at: ale@karencozumelrealtor.com
Long before real estate and marketing became part of her professional life, languages were what caught her attention. At university, she studied foreign languages driven by a simple idea: that learning another language is also a way of learning how other people see the world.
That curiosity eventually took her beyond simply speaking languages. It became an important part of how she communicates, connects with people and tells stories.
Today, Anette speaks four languages and has built much of her career around communication, creativity and the ability to connect ideas with people from different backgrounds.
And then there is Cozumel.
For Anette, the island isn't simply the beautiful backdrop to her work. It is the place she knows, explores and continues to discover. Over time, she has developed a deep appreciation for the details that make Cozumel special, from its natural surroundings and local community to the small places and stories that are easy to miss if you only see the island as a tourist.
That appreciation is at the heart of what she does.
Anette holds a Master's degree in Digital Marketing, a field that brought together several of the things she naturally enjoys: communication, strategy, storytelling and creativity.
Her work has always been about more than simply promoting something.
She is interested in understanding what makes a place, a business or a property worth paying attention to and then finding the right way to tell that story.
That is exactly where her role at Karen Cozumel Real Estate has evolved.
As the team's Advertising Producer, Anette works behind many of the images, videos, campaigns and stories that introduce Cozumel properties to potential buyers around the world. She combines marketing strategy with audiovisual production, bringing together photography, video, writing and digital communication to showcase properties in a way that feels authentic to the island.
And she doesn't just create the content.
Anette is also a licensed real estate agent.
That combination gives her a slightly different perspective. She understands both sides of the equation: the creative work required to present a property and the real conversations that happen when someone is actually considering buying it.
Anette's approach to marketing is rooted in something surprisingly simple: look closer.
There is always something interesting to discover.
A house might have a beautiful architectural detail that deserves more attention. A neighborhood might have a story that explains why people love living there. A property might not be the biggest or most luxurious on the market, but it could have exactly the right combination of location, character and lifestyle for a particular buyer.
Finding those details and knowing how to communicate them is one of the things Anette enjoys most.
Her creative side plays a big role in that.
Art has always been one of her passions and continues to influence the way she sees the world. She is naturally drawn to visual storytelling and to finding new ways to communicate an idea, whether through a photograph, a video, a written story or a conversation.
She is also someone who likes to keep learning.
New experiences, new people and new projects tend to feed her creativity rather than slow it down.
Working in real estate has also given Anette an opportunity to bring together many of the things she has spent years developing.
Her languages allow her to communicate with an international audience. Her marketing background helps her understand how people make decisions and what makes a story resonate. Her creative experience allows her to present properties in a compelling way. And her experience living in Cozumel gives her a personal connection to the place she is helping others discover.
But perhaps the most important part is empathy.
Buying property especially in another country is a deeply personal decision. People aren't simply looking for square meters and bedrooms. They are often looking for a different lifestyle, a new chapter, an investment in their future or a place that feels like it could become home.
Understanding that is important to Anette.
She believes that good real estate service starts by listening.
What brought you to Cozumel?
What do you love about the island?
What kind of life are you hoping to create here?
And perhaps most importantly: what does the right property actually look like for you?
Anette's work has given her a front-row seat to the many ways people experience the island.
Some arrive for the diving and eventually decide to stay. Others come for vacation after vacation before finally considering a home of their own. Some are looking for an investment, while others are searching for a place to slow down and enjoy a different pace of life.
There is no single version of the Cozumel dream.
And that's part of what makes her work interesting.
Every client has a different story, and every property has one too.
Anette enjoys finding the connection between the two.
Behind the camera creating a property video, developing a marketing campaign, exploring a new corner of the island or sitting down with a client to talk about their plans, she brings the same combination of curiosity, creativity and commitment to the work.
She is also someone who genuinely believes in the importance of showcasing Cozumel responsibly. Her interest in environmental and eco-friendly initiatives reflects her appreciation for the natural surroundings that make the island such a special place to live.
If there is one thing that defines Anette, it may be that she is rarely finished learning.
There is always another idea to explore, another skill to develop, another person to meet or another story worth telling.
That curiosity is what brought her to languages.
It led her to digital marketing.
It eventually brought her into real estate.
And it continues to shape the way she sees Cozumel.
For Anette, property marketing isn't simply about making a house look good.
It is about helping people see the possibility behind it.
Because sometimes the right property isn't the one that immediately catches your eye.
Sometimes it is the one that makes you stop and think:
“I could actually see myself living here.”
And helping people discover that possibility is what Anette loves most about what she does.
Contact Anette at: anette@karencozumelrealtor.com
Crystal Delacerna's story with Mexico started more than 20 years ago, long before real estate became part of her professional life.
Originally from the West Coast of the United States, Crystal has spent more than two decades building a life in Mexico and, since 2012, Cozumel has been home.
For Crystal, becoming part of the island wasn't simply about moving somewhere beautiful. It was about discovering a place where different cultures, languages and ways of life naturally come together. Over the years, she became deeply familiar with the rhythm of everyday life in Cozumel and with the community that makes the island what it is.
Today, she is a naturalized Mexican citizen, fluent in both English and Spanish, and brings that unique perspective to her work with buyers and sellers from Mexico, the United States and beyond.
It is a background that allows her to understand Cozumel from more than one point of view.
Before real estate, Crystal's professional experience took her through hospitality, marketing and customer service fields where understanding people is just as important as understanding the business itself.
Those years shaped the way she works today.
Crystal has a naturally warm personality and is someone who listens carefully before jumping in with an answer. She believes that good communication starts with understanding what someone is actually looking for, rather than simply showing them what is available.
And that can be especially important in real estate.
Buying a property in Mexico can come with plenty of questions. How does the process work? What should you expect? What does living on the island really look like? Is a particular property right for your lifestyle, or does something else make more sense?
Crystal's approach is to make those conversations feel straightforward and comfortable.
No pressure. No unnecessary complications. Just honest communication and a willingness to help clients understand their options.
Crystal's transition into real estate was intentional.
She completed the State of Quintana Roo real estate certification program and then spent more than a year in hands-on training with our team, learning not only the technical side of the business but also what it takes to work with clients through the many steps of buying and selling property in Cozumel.
She is now a licensed real estate professional holding her official SEDETUS Matrícula Estatal.
She has been working alongside us for a while, gaining experience, building relationships and becoming a familiar face to clients and within our real estate community.
And that experience continues to grow with every property, every showing and every conversation.
There is a particular advantage to helping people buy property in a place you have chosen as your own home.
Crystal knows what it means to experience Cozumel as a visitor, but also to live here year after year.
She understands that falling in love with the island is often the easy part.
The more interesting questions come later.
Where do you actually want to live? What kind of neighborhood fits your lifestyle? Do you want to be close to the ocean, restaurants and the center, or would you rather have more space and quiet? Are you looking for a vacation home, an investment, a place to retire, or perhaps a home for a completely new chapter?
These are the conversations Crystal enjoys having with her clients.
Because finding the right property isn't only about the house itself. It is about figuring out how that property fits into the life you imagine having in Cozumel.
Being bilingual is certainly practical in real estate, but for Crystal, speaking English and Spanish is about more than translation.
It allows her to move naturally between cultures and understand the different expectations that buyers and sellers may bring to a transaction.
Having spent more than 20 years in Mexico, she understands many of the questions international clients have when they begin considering property here. At the same time, her background allows her to relate easily to English-speaking clients who may be experiencing Mexico and the purchasing process for the first time.
That ability to connect with people is one of her greatest strengths.
Ask Crystal about Cozumel and it quickly becomes clear that her connection to the island is personal.
She has been here since 2012. She has watched the island change, built a life here and become part of the community.
For her, Cozumel isn't simply a beautiful Caribbean destination appearing on a property listing.
It is home.
And perhaps that is what she brings to real estate more than anything else: a genuine understanding that choosing a property here can be about choosing a different way of life.
Maybe you are looking for a place to escape to for a few weeks each year.
Maybe you are thinking about retirement.
Maybe you want an investment.
Or maybe you have visited Cozumel enough times that the question has quietly changed from “What if we lived here?” to “How do we make it happen?”
Crystal understands that journey.
Real estate is often described in terms of properties, prices and transactions.
But the best part of the job is usually what happens underneath all of that: helping people figure out what they want their next chapter to look like.
For Crystal, that means taking the time to listen, answer questions honestly and help clients navigate the process with confidence.
She brings her experience in hospitality and customer service, her knowledge of life in Mexico, her bilingual perspective and, most importantly, her genuine connection to Cozumel to every client she works with.
After more than a decade of calling the island home, Crystal knows that finding the right place in Cozumel is about more than finding the right house.
It is about finding your place on the island.
And she is here to help you find it.
Contact Crystal at: crystal@karencozumelrealtor.com
Ricardo García Gonzalez has called Cozumel home for most of his life, but his outlook has always been international. He has lived in the Netherlands and Asia, traveled extensively around the world and experienced different cultures and ways of life always finding his way back to Cozumel and the Caribbean lifestyle he loves.
Ricardo studied Biology at UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) in Mexico City, a background that fits naturally with his lifelong connection to nature and the ocean.
And the ocean is a very big part of Ricardo’s story.
As a highly experienced dive instructor, Ricardo has logged more than 10,000 dives around the world. Over the decades, he has taught hundreds of divers and introduced an entire generation of people to Cozumel’s incredible underwater world. Many still return to the island today, and some of those relationships have grown into lifelong friendships.
Over the years, something special started happening: many of those same people became homeowners in Cozumel. Some became buyers with our real estate team, others eventually became sellers, and many simply remained friends. It is one of the things Ricardo loves about this island people often first come to Cozumel for the diving, fall in love with the lifestyle and, years later, decide to make the island a bigger part of their lives.
Ricardo and Karen first met in 1996 and have been together since 1999. Over nearly three decades, they have built a life that has taken them across countries and cultures living abroad, traveling together, raising their son and building their businesses side by side in Cozumel.
Through all of it, Ricardo has been Karen’s rock. Calm, practical, incredibly hardworking and grounded, he is the person who always seems to find a solution when something needs to get done.
Ricardo is not only an experienced property manager he is also a licensed real estate agent in Quintana Roo and an important part of the Karen Cozumel Real Estate team.
That combination gives him a perspective that goes far beyond simply showing or selling a property. After decades of taking care of homes in Cozumel, Ricardo knows what happens after someone receives the keys. He understands how properties live, age and need to be maintained in a Caribbean climate, and he can often recognize the practical details that matter to a buyer or seller because he has dealt with them firsthand.
Preventive maintenance, hurricanes, humidity, contractors, utilities, repairs and all those little details that homeowners living thousands of miles away shouldn't have to worry about Ricardo has seen it all.
His background in biology, decades spent in and around the ocean and years of hands-on experience on the island give him a very practical understanding of Cozumel’s environment. Maintaining a Caribbean property isn't simply about fixing something when it breaks. It is about understanding the climate, anticipating problems and knowing how to protect a home over the long term.
Endurance sports have been a major part of Ricardo’s life for years. He has completed more than 10 full and half Ironman triathlons combined, many of them right here on the island he calls home. Lately, he has taken on another challenge and is putting in the miles training for a marathon.
Swimming, cycling, running and hours of training require discipline, patience and a certain amount of stubborn determination qualities that pretty much describe Ricardo. He doesn't do things halfway. Whether it is a race, taking care of a property or helping a client through a real estate transaction, when Ricardo commits to something, he sees it through.
For Karen, Ricardo and their son, being a family also means doing things together. Traveling, enjoying Cozumel, good food and the ocean are part of that, but so is staying active. You will often find all three of them working out together at the gym. It is their time together and a small example of something very important to them: family isn't only about being there for the big moments; it is about sharing everyday life.
After nearly three decades of sharing life, work, travel, sports and family, Ricardo and Karen complement each other naturally Karen moving a hundred miles an hour, and Ricardo often being the steady force that keeps everything grounded.
Ricardo is not the loudest person in the room he doesn’t need to be. He is strong, experienced, dependable and deeply connected to Cozumel. He knows the island, he knows its people, and he understands what it means to take care of something that matters to someone else.
Whether he is helping someone buy or sell a Cozumel property, taking care of a home while its owners are away, diving the reefs or putting in another few kilometers of training, Ricardo brings the same thing to everything he does: experience, discipline and commitment.
And for Karen personally, he is something even simpler and much more important her rock.
Contact Ricardo at: info@karencozumelrealtor.com
