« Buying Real Estate In Mexico | Main | Another real estate investment in Bulgaria for 2008 » |
See more properties in: Central America Real Estate
Buying real estate in Baja California Mexico
By property | January 16, 2008
As we all know, buying real estate in Mexico is not quite easy and sometimes can get messy if not getting legal advice before closing the deal. The rules and regulation regarding the acquisition of real estate are confusing and tricky, so from what I learned, never go on property hunting without asking the advice of a capable lawyer. There are a lot of stories about people losing their life time savings with just one wrong investment.
I found this particular law firm via an article written by one of its partners. For those interested in buying real estate in Baja California, Tijuana, Los Cabos, I guess this should be of interest.
Bufete Troncoso is comprised of attorneys with extensive experience in domestic and international business transactions and has its main offices in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, as well as Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.
The firm has earned a distinguish position within northern Mexico in terms of reputation, result oriented performance, and practical experience.
Their clients consist of real estate developers, investors, lenders and other individuals or entities interested in doing business in Mexico as well as individuals or entities purchasing high-end residential real estate in the Baja California peninsula including representing high-end homeowners associations.
Here is an article written by Javier Troncoso, partner in the Bufete Troncoso law firm in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico:
For the last fifteen years buying real estate within Baja California, Mexico, for residential or business purposes, has been an attractive activity to foreigners.
Foreign individuals and entities are allowed to acquire land within the Baja California area (including Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo, Todos Santos and La Paz among other areas in the Baja peninsula) through a trust agreement or “fideicomiso” with a trustee, which must be a Mexican bank. A number of Mexican banks, such as Republic of New York (Mexico), Bancomer, Banamex, Bital are in the business of acting as trustees under “fideicomiso” arrangements. Charges vary but generally consist of a one-time set up fee typically $350 annually and per transaction charges a fee of around $350.
Prior to closing an acquisition the “fideicomiso” trustee must request a permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs authorizing the acquisition. Such permits are routinely issued upon the payment of a $950 fee within two to three weeks of the submittal of the request.
While processing a “fideicomiso” trust agreement a title search should be performed and a certificate of no liens should be obtained from the public registry of property as evidence of the property’s legal status. Also, a certificate from the local tax authorities should be obtained to verify that the outstanding property taxes have been paid up to the date of the transfer. In addition, title insurance is now available on certain properties from selected United States and Mexican title insurance companies.
The transfer of a property must take place before a Mexican notary public and is evidenced in a public instrument “escritura pĂşblica” which contains the “fideicomiso” trust agreement. Thereafter, such public instrument must be registered before the public registry of the property.
Once a property is transferred through a “fideicomiso” trust agreement and is duly registered in the public registry of the property the transaction is secured and the level of risk diminishes substantially. Usually, the buyer bears the notary fee and other costs relating to the transfer such as the trustee’s fees, appraiser’s fee, recording fee, acquisition tax (approximately 2% of the real estate price) and notary public fee which vary depending on the price of the real estate.
The “fideicomiso” trust agreement procedure has become the standard procedure for the acquisition of real estate within the Baja California area by foreign individuals or entities.
You can contact Mr. Javier Troncoso
Attorney at Law, Bufete Troncoso, at the following phone number:
Tel/Fax 011 (52) (114) 4-0499
See more properties in: Central America Real Estate | No Comments »
Tags: attorney, attorneys, Baja California, law firm, Los Cabos, mexico real estate, real estate, Tijuana