Buying property in Mexico good resource

[merganser1]

We recently took title on our Condo in Cozumel at El Cantil. I noted the thread "July trip report - Cozumel" that there was a good paper on the do's and don'ts for buying property in Mexico. I noted that you could contact me for the information. To cut out that extra step I am posting the link here for "Beaches of Gold". It has some excellent information and to my knowledge it is still current........ http://penasco.com/goldenbeacheslocked2.pdf

Morris
Houston, Texas

 

[Jim Baldwin]

Morris,

Congrats on your purchase. Purchasing property in any foreign country is definitely something to not take lightly. Using a good local attorney, not getting in hurry, reading and taking care of the details prior to turning a loose of the money is extremely important.

In the US we are use to having so much of this handled by the agent/seller/attorney that it is easy to believe that it will all be done properly.

Buying our house was faster than than any other closing we had ever done on properties we purchased in the US.

Be a stickler for the details and you can be enjoying yourself in paradise. Remember that if anything seems amiss stop, get a second opinion or simply back out of the deal.

Don't hesitate to ask questions of those of us who owns homes in Cozumel before you let go of that first dollar. We're certainly not experts by any means but have been in your shoes.

If you're building you need to be very specific about wiring size and seperate breakers for the AC units, water pumps, poo, etc. Things we simply take for granted here in the states. Are the windows and doors included in the price not just the openings?

Is the title clear? Are you dealing with the sole owner? Are there any brothers or sisters in the wind? When will the fideo by finished and filed by the notary. Be sure and get a copy so you can have the electricty and other things changed into your name.

And remember that everything is done in Spanish. Can you get an English translation for your records?

Just some things to keep in mind.

 

[merganser1]

Jim good points for buying property.

However, we actually took possession of our condo at El Cantil Sur several years ago. From then until now we went through a number of steps that taught us a lot...... when the South Tower at El Cantil was completed a number of owners thought establishing a Mexican Corporation was a better choice than a Bank Trust for owning property. We had an attorney in Cozumel work with our Houston attorney to pursue a corporation. Then the attorney in Cozumel died and it turned out he had not taken any steps to setup a Mexican corportation. We had another attorney look into what he had done and he confirmed we would have to start over again.

We decided to use another attorney over in Playa based on a recommendation of a builder in Cozumel. She was an excellent attorney and we would recommend her highly. She met with us several times and it was determined that it made a lot more sense to setup a Bank Trust verus a Mexican Corporation both from an cost standpoint and a complexity standpoint.

Subsequently, we delayed completing the Bank Trust for several reasons such as: avoiding some double taxation on the common areas and buying some additional property to add to the overall condo property. Also we had to deal with hurricane Wilma damages and get everything back in order. We finally got past all the problems earlier this year and got the Bank Trust completed along with all the various legal documents and completed a Texas LLC to be the beneficiary of the Trust. All documents are in both English and Spanish.

So I guess the saying still goes........ All is well that ends well!!!

 

[promocop]

I cannot imagine for the life of me why anyone would buy ANY property in Mexico given the legions of horror stories of people getting screwed out of their property not to mention the rampant, awful lawlessness that Mexico is going thru. Have a good time.

 

[MMM]

I cannot imagine for the life of me why anyone would buy ANY property in Mexico given the legions of horror stories of people getting screwed out of their property not to mention the rampant, awful lawlessness that Mexico is going thru. Have a good time.

I guess I'm a glass half full kind of person instead of your glass half empty approach. I really don't agree with your assertion of people getting screwed out of property or rampant lawlessness. Did you read the linked article?

 

[RubberDucky]

I'm a long time troll on ScubaBoard. Please ignore me. I need an IRL hug.

yawn.

 

[CZMDM]

I cannot imagine for the life of me why anyone would buy ANY property in Mexico given the legions of horror stories of people getting screwed out of their property not to mention the rampant, awful lawlessness that Mexico is going thru. Have a good time.

That's about as ignorant as you can get. Rampant lawleesness? Have you ever been to Cozumel? It is one of the most peaceful places in the world.

Of course there are always exceptions, but 99% of the time the people getting screwed did stuff that was so stupid that in a way they deserved to be screwed. I have seen people put titles in the names of locals that they have known for less than a month.

Please stop your uniformed slamming of a place that you are clueless about. As far as the drug wars in the North, its getting a little old hearing about how terrible Mexico is. The cartels are only there to supply Americas insatiable need to do drugs and they all get their weapons from the USA. I wouldn't want to be either, but if it came to a choice between selling drugs or being the junkies that buy them there is no doubt which route I would prefer.

Have a good time in paranoiaville.

 

[CZMDM]

BTW: Merganser congrats on your purchase. El Cantil is a great spot with great views. Decent restaurant on property. Can walk to town. Full time on-site management company.

Another thing: Technically if your house is in a trust it cannot be rented. If it's a corporation it cannot be used as a residence.

 

[merganser1]

BTW: Merganser congrats on your purchase. El Cantil is a great spot with great views. Decent restaurant on property. Can walk to town. Full time on-site management company.

Another thing: Technically if your house is in a trust it cannot be rented. If it's a corporation it cannot be used as a residence.


Really.....didn't know that. Well maybe, sorta, could of heard a rumour about that......

 

[CZMDM]

BTW: Merganser congrats on your purchase. El Cantil is a great spot with great views. Decent restaurant on property. Can walk to town. Full time on-site management company.

Another thing: Technically if your house is in a trust it cannot be rented. If it's a corporation it cannot be used as a residence.


Really.....didn't know that. Well maybe, sorta, could of heard a rumour about that......

There was a major story recently in Por Esto about gringos renting houses here without corportions and not paying taxes. The article had a picture of the Cozumel property rental page from a popular travel site and was talking about how the hammer is getting ready to fall soon. Some people say that there is no instrument available for paying taxes on rentals. This is because the tax is paid through your local corporation (S.A. de C.V.). Any foreign endeavor that is for profit must be incorporated, then you recieve your tax identification number. You are also required to use a local Mexican accountant. I personally know 2 people who have lost homes over this. One of them lost two homes and was deported.

Just a little more FYI: Hacienda (Mex IRS) understands that a lot of people were/are unaware of the rules and they are offering partial amnesty to foreigners that have document problems whereby if you turn yourself in they will cut you a ton of slack on any back taxes and getting your docs in order. If you don't turn yourself in by a certain date (unknown to me-sorry) then they say the penalties could be severe. I had a minor document problem, turned myself in and they were very cool to me about it. I had a $5k (USD) penalty and they reduced it to $1k. You might rent and never get caught, but you might consider the consequences otherwise.