Lifestyle

Why Karina Debora Sayed Believes Great Real Estate Starts With the Right Energy

Published

2 months ago

December 24, 2025

Mexico’s real estate market moves fast, with shifting trends and clients whose needs could not be more different. One day, you might be working with a first‑time buyer, careful and nervous about every choice. Next, you are helping an experienced investor map out a plan for the next decade. Success in this field takes more than listings and contracts. It takes a real understanding of people and what matters to them.

Karina Debora Sayed has built her career on that understanding. As the founder and president of Playa Realtors, she leads an agency where energy, alignment, and teamwork matter just as much as market expertise. With 25 years of living and working in the region, she knows how far honesty and the right fit can take a client’s journey.

A Team Built for Different Needs

Karina often says with a smile that she is not a milanesa with fries, not everyone’s favorite dish. And that is perfectly fine. Every client brings something different to the table, and she enjoys that variety. Some clients need a steady hand and deep patience. Others want someone who can dive straight into complex investment analysis. Karina knows when to step in herself and when to let her team lead.

This is what makes Playa Realtors stand out. They are not a one‑size‑fits‑all agency. Each person on the team brings unique strengths. A few agents are exceptional at guiding emotional buyers through big life decisions. Others thrive on research, data, and planning for investors who need hard numbers. When a conversation calls for insight on growth potential or a wider vision, Karina takes that seat at the table. Her decades of experience in the region help clients see beyond the present moment and into what is possible over time.

Seeing the Bigger Picture

Karina rarely does the property tours herself. That is where her team excels, creating a relaxed, informative experience on the ground. Her focus is on helping clients understand the “why” behind an investment. She talks through lifestyle goals, long‑term value, and how a purchase aligns with the future they want. It is a part of the process she loves, the moments when a client realizes they are not just buying property, they are building a life.

This kind of guidance does not come from scripts or quick sales tactics. It comes from years of watching how the region has evolved, how neighborhoods change, and how people’s needs shift. Karina’s role is to connect those patterns with the dreams in front of her, so buyers feel confident in their decisions.

Lessons From a Demanding Market

Working in this industry has taught Karina that forcing a match never ends well. Early in her career, she saw agencies push through deals that looked good on paper but did not serve the client’s long‑term interest. Those experiences shaped her approach. She chose to build a company that values clarity over speed and relationships over transactions.

Inside Playa Realtors, team members are encouraged to be honest about what they do best. That transparency builds trust not only among themselves but with clients. Buyers know they are getting the right person for their specific needs, not whoever happens to be available. This focus on fit is why so many clients return or send referrals. They feel understood, not processed.

A Legacy Built on Alignment

Karina’s leadership is calm, direct, and grounded. She has no interest in being everything to everyone. Instead, she creates space for her team to shine and for clients to feel supported in ways that go beyond a single purchase. It is common for a transaction to turn into a second purchase or even a friendship because the relationship does not end when the papers are signed.

For Karina, great real estate work starts with energy, the kind that comes from listening, matching people with the right guidance, and building trust step by step. In a busy, competitive market, that approach is rare. But it is exactly what has made Playa Realtors a name people trust, and why Karina’s way of leading feels less like selling and more like building something that lasts.

Lifestyle

When Seasons Shift: Dr. Leeshe Grimes on Grief, Loneliness, and Finding Light Again

Published

2 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Michelle Langton

Some emotional storms arrive without warning. A sudden change in weather, a holiday approaching, or even a bright sunny day can stir feelings that don’t match the world outside. For many people, the hardest seasons are not defined by temperature; they are defined by what’s happening inside, where grief and loneliness often move quietly.

This is the emotional terrain where Dr. Leeshe Grimes has spent her career doing some of her most meaningful work. As a psychotherapist, registered play therapist, retired U.S. Army combat veteran, and founder of Elevated Minds in the DMV area, she understands how deeply seasonal shifts and unresolved grief can affect people. Her upcoming books explore this very space, guiding readers through the emotional weight that can appear during different times of the year.

What sets Dr. Grimes apart is her ability to see clearly what many people overlook. Seasonal depression, for example, is usually tied to winter months. But she often sees it appear during warm, bright seasons, the times when the world seems happiest. For someone already grieving or feeling disconnected, watching others travel, celebrate, or gather can create its own kind of heaviness. Sunshine doesn’t always lift the mood; sometimes it highlights what feels missing.

The same misunderstanding surrounds grief. Society often treats it as a short-term experience with predictable phases and a clean ending. But in her practice, Dr. Grimes sees how grief keeps evolving. It doesn’t disappear on a timeline. It weaves itself into routines, memories, and milestones. People learn to carry it differently, but they rarely leave it behind completely. And that’s not failure, it’s human.

Her approach to mental health centers on truth rather than pressure. She encourages clients to acknowledge the emotions they try to hide: sadness that lingers longer than expected, moments of joy that feel out of place, and the waves of loneliness that return even when life seems stable. Instead of pushing for quick recovery, she focuses on helping people understand how emotions shift and how to care for themselves through those changes.

Much of her insight comes from her military years, where she witnessed the emotional toll of loss, transition, and constant survival. She saw how people continued functioning while carrying pain that had nowhere to go. That experience shaped her belief that healing requires space, space to feel, to speak, and to move through emotions without judgment.

In her clinical work today at Elevated Minds, she encourages people to build small, steady habits that anchor them during difficult seasons. Journaling helps them recognize patterns and name what feels heavy. Community support breaks the cycle of isolation. Therapy creates a place where emotions don’t have to be minimized or explained away. And intentional routines, daily sunlight, mindful breaks, and calm evenings help rebuild emotional balance.

Her upcoming books expand on these ideas, offering practical guidance for navigating both grief and seasonal depression. She focuses on helping readers understand that healing is not about escaping pain. It’s about learning how to live with it in a healthier way, honoring memories, acknowledging loneliness, and still allowing room for moments of light.

What makes Dr. Leeshe Grimes a compelling voice in mental health is her ability to bring language to experiences that many struggle to explain. She reminds people that emotional seasons don’t always match the weather and that there is no single path through grief. But within those shifts, she believes there is always a way forward.

The seasons will continue to change. And with the right tools, compassion, and support, people can change with them, finding steadiness, softness, and light again, one step at a time.