No matter if you are purchasing property in your home country or purchasing global real estate, risks are everywhere.
Today, SIMCA Real Estate will discuss the 5 top things you need to be aware of when it comes to buying property in the Riviera Maya.
- Ejido Land is not private land for foreigners to buy. You must be of Mexican nationality to own this land. Even natural Mexican citizens must get an agreement from the entire community that owns the land. This type of land can be taken away from a foreigner and given back to the owner and is against the law to own.
- Escrow is relatively new in Mexico. It’s not required but a very smart move to hold your down payment funds in a third-party account. It is not the real estate agent’s job to watch over the funds while title companies are researching any title issues. The Mexico documents within Escrow companies are known to be more involved because of strict anti-money laundering laws in Mexico.
- You need title insurance that goes back through all owners of a property. When you go through a reputable company they can take care of providing title, escrow, and closing services to clients. A title insurance policy can protect you against title fraud, identity theft, liens, and financial burdens charged to previous owners.
- Use the right assessed value of your home. The assessed value can change based on location and infrastructures around your property. If you assess it less than the commercial value then you may end up paying more in capital gains. There is no reason to cause any issues with taxes just because you assessed the wrong value to your home. It is illegal to assess the wrong values knowingly.
- A notary public in Mexico is an experienced lawyer who is legally responsible for authenticating documents, calculating capital gains, and making sure all transactions are good to go. Even if you have a Notary Public you still need a lawyer to finalize your purchase. Once all this is done, the only way for your real estate transaction to be legal is when the Notario records it in the Public Registry.
Here at SIMCA Real Estate, we have all the connections with resources to streamline and make your purchase go smoothly. We know that if you are a foreigner buying out of your own country it can be overwhelming.
Reach out to us for your discovery call to see how you can invest in Mexican properties or start a new life here in the Riviera Maya
