Real Estate Agents

Buying land in Mexico

Here are a few things you should know before you buy a home or property in Mexico:
As foreigners, generally an individual cannot own property within roughly 30 miles of the coast or 60 miles of the border. All other land, such as property in San Miguel de Allende, is legal for a foreigner to own.  There are exceptions: you can legally own Mexican real estate in a restricted coastline area if it is set up through a bank trust or fideicomiso. This is a situation where the bank owns the property but you as trustee have total control of the real estate.  Bank trusts continue for 50 years and are renewable and transferable. Find a real estate agent you are comfortable with and discuss the process involved in buying land in Mexico. Most of the real estate agencies in San Miguel de Allende are bilingual or have an agent who is. 

You should probably hire a lawyer.  Ask your agent about this.  Make sure the attorney is licensed to practice law in Mexico. Ask to see their cedula professional, an official license provided by the Ministry of Education. A Notario will check the chain of title to ensure that the seller holds a valid title and is legally able to sell the property. The seller will need to provide a copy of the public deed showing legal title of the property. The notario will review all conditions, identify any problems, give advice and formalize the transaction.

If you find a home or land you like and want to make an offer to buy, you should do this in writing.  Have the document written in both Spanish and English. If a purchase price is agreed upon, a contract, known as a Promise to Buy (Oferta) will be drawn up.  You, as the buy, will need to deposit generally 10% of the purchase price and half the closing costs. For security, do not make this deposit directly with the seller.  Rather it should be made via the public notary or closing agent. In 30-45 days you will need to come up with the balance of the purchase to close the transaction. In Mexico you generally make all real estate purchases in cash.  Mortgage companies are just now starting to become active in Mexico, but in