{"id":442,"date":"2025-04-26T01:16:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T01:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realstatenelsonjones.com\/?page_id=442"},"modified":"2025-05-01T22:17:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T22:17:42","slug":"elementor-442","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/realstatenelsonjones.com\/es\/elementor-442","title":{"rendered":"Mexico Real Estate Buyer\u2019s Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mexico Real Estate Buyer\u2019s Guide<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A guide to purchasing real estate in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico from beginning to end. Find out all you need to know about buying and selling property in Mexico with this free comprehensive guide that answers all those burning questions about buying real estate in Mexico.<\/p>

Let\u2019s just imagine the scene: you came here on vacation and fell in love with Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and decided that you never want to leave. Sound familiar? Well, you are not alone. With thousands of expats already having successfully made Banderas Bay, Mexico their home, you can be sure your instincts are spot on when it comes to choosing a prime location. Next, you most probably began looking on-line religiously and now believe you have asked all the right questions, have spent some time looking over the geography and have narrowed down your options and know the difference between Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and Punta Mita, Mexico. Are we good so far? Finally, you have checked your budget and think you are ready to go\u2026 yet you still have a lot of questions. Right? That\u2019s precisely where this guide is here to help. Read on and hopefully by the end of this article most of your questions will be answered.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Your Agent<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The first piece of advice is to make sure that the real estate agent you choose to work with is fully competent to offer you the best service. At the very least, your agent should be an AMPI Member.\u00a0<\/p>

The local chapters of AMPI (The Mexican Association of Professional Realtors \u2013 affiliated with NAR) are some of the most pro-active in Mexico in terms of membership and on- going training requirements. That said, there is no governmental regulatory body that oversees the legal and ethical operation of real estate agents in Mexico. So make sure you are comfortable with the agent you are working with because you are going to be depending upon that agent to cover a lot of ground on your behalf through to the closing.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Purchase Agreement<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Although the Purchase Agreements used by most Real Estate agencies in Puerto Vallarta have become fairly standardized over the years, they are still custom documents prepared in double column format \u2013 English and Spanish \u2013 about 10 pages in length. The purchase agreement covers everything that you would normally expect to be in a well written real estate agreement: the parties, the price, deposit and payment terms, due diligence, boilerplate clauses, default provisions, closing date and signature block.<\/p>

The question is often asked: What price should be offered relative to the asking price? The answer is that it varies \u2013 depending upon the current state of the market and the current price of the property. Your agent should be able to guide you with current market data for real estate trends in Mexico so that your offer is treated seriously while not over-bidding. The local AMPI Chapter owns and manages a FLEXMLS system which is capable of generating a series of statistical information your agent has access to and will share with you.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Deposit\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Once the offer has been accepted, it becomes a \u2018bilateral binding agreement\u2019 and there is usually a period of 1 to 4 days within which time the buyer has to make the escrow deposit. Before that can take place, an escrow agreement must be completed and signed by the buyer, seller and escrow agent. The deposit amount generally recommended for the Mexican property market has traditionally been 10% of the final agreed purchase price. Although this percentage is more than what is usually called for in most other North American real estate markets, it lines up with the more traditional notion in Mexico that a large amount of the price should be paid at the contract signing. Usually, the deposit will be refundable until such time as all due diligence items have been satisfied \u2013 usually 10 to 20 days, or longer \u2013 after which time the deposit becomes non-refundable.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Escrow <\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The escrow deposit is managed by an independent third party escrow and\/or title company. The escrow protects all parties in the transaction and avoids the situation where an interested party, agent or other entity is charged with managing the deposit. For what are pretty obvious reasons, this is critical to any properly written real estate agreement in Mexico or anywhere else in the world. These deposits can accrue interest at the option of the parties. In the event of default or disagreement, the wording in the contract will take precedence; failing that or failing the ability of the parties to negotiate the disposition of the deposit between them, the matter will become the subject of a lawsuit \u2013 something that happens only in the most remote cases. There is a cost for the escrow which varies with each escrow company in Mexico. Generally, the escrow cost can range anywhere from $750 to $800 USD depending upon the escrow company.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Due Diligence<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The real estate purchase agreement may often call for some points of due diligence \u2013 everything from boilerplate items such as copy of the deed and copies of the tax and HOA receipts, to a full engineering inspection. <\/p>

Built into the agreement, all due diligence items must be given a clear time frame and either stipulate methods to repair or provisions for cancellation in the case of catastrophic discoveries. <\/p>\n

Once the real estate due diligence items have been signed off, the agreement then becomes unconditionally binding for both parties and the closing process can begin.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Closing Costs<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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At this point, the agent will provide the buyers, who will be responsible for 100% of the closing costs, with a closing cost estimate. It is an estimate because the exchange rate fluctuates in Mexico and it can have an effect not only on the fees and expenses but, more importantly, upon the value of the property which is often \u2018sold\u2019 in terms of US Dollars but always registered in Mexican Pesos.<\/p>

The buyer will be asked to advance about half of the estimated costs to the notary to cover his out-of- pocket expenses, and the balance is usually paid by personal check to the notary at the closing, or can be deposited into an escrow and disbursed directly to the notary\u2019s account at closing.<\/p>

The Closing Costs in Mexico consist of various fees and expenses and generally total between 5 to 7% of the actual purchase price (higher if there is a mortgage involved). These costs are always the responsibility of the buyer. (The seller will bear the cost of the real estate fees and his capital gains taxes, as applicable). These Closing Costs are generally as follows: (these fees \u2013 in USD \u2013 are to be used as a guideline only and are approximate. They will vary according to the size of the transaction and the exchange rate at the time).<\/p>