How to Buy Property in Mexico: Practical Steps and Key Safeguards (Updated)

This updated guide explains the essential steps for buying property in Mexico: hire an AMPI agent and bilingual attorney, verify ownership and ejido status, understand restricted-zone rules and the fideicomiso bank trust for foreigners, obtain surveys and certificates, and consider title insurance and escrow to protect your investment. Confirm current trust renewal and permit rules with your attorney.

Buying property in Mexico can be straightforward if you follow local rules and use the right professionals. This updated guide preserves the core points buyers need to know: check ownership, understand restricted zones, use a trust or corporation if you are a foreigner, and protect your purchase with due diligence and title insurance.

Start with trusted professionals

Work with a licensed real estate agent who is a member of AMPI (Asociación Mexicana de Profesionales Inmobiliarios) and who specializes in the market where you want to buy. Ask for references and confirm the agent represents only you before signing any agreement.

Hire a bilingual attorney experienced in Mexican real estate law and a Notario Público (the official who prepares the public deed). If you don't speak Spanish, pay for a translator - it is worth the cost.

Verify legal ownership and land status

Always confirm the seller is the legal owner or holds a valid power of attorney. Obtain and review the seller's escritura pública (public deed) and request a current extract from the Registro Público de la Propiedad to check liens, mortgages, or easements.

Watch out for ejido land (communal land). Ejido parcels cannot be sold as private property unless they have been legally converted to private title.

Understand restricted zones and foreign ownership options

Mexico's Constitution restricts direct foreign ownership of land within 50 kilometers of the coast and 100 kilometers of an international border (the "Restricted Zone"). Foreigners commonly acquire coastal or border property through a fideicomiso (bank trust) or by holding property through a Mexican corporation for non-residential use.

A fideicomiso places title in a Mexican bank as trustee while you retain beneficial rights to use, sell, and inherit the property. Typical fideicomiso terms are for 50 years and are renewable; verify renewal rules in your trust contract and with your attorney.

Some sources historically mention a foreign ownership permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; current practice generally uses the fideicomiso mechanism and not a separate permit, but requirements can change. Confirm the current federal requirements with your attorney or the relevant authority. ¹

Due diligence and closing protections

Order a current property survey, a certificate of no liens (certificado de libertad de gravamen), and confirm property tax (predial) payments. Use an experienced neutral third party or escrow agent to supervise funds and transfer documents.

Title insurance is available in Mexico and can protect you against unknown title defects. Consider a policy for the full purchase amount to shift risk to the insurer.

Final tips

• Insist on the seller's deed as a condition of the offer.

• Use local professionals (AMPI agent, Notario Público, Mexican attorney) and one independent advisor you trust.

• Convert or avoid ejido land unless a clear path to private title exists.

1. Confirm whether a separate permit from the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (or other federal authority) is currently required for foreign acquisition via fideicomiso, and document the current process.
2. Confirm exact renewal rules for fideicomiso terms (e.g., whether 50-year trusts are automatically renewable and under what conditions).