Everything buyers ask me, from finding the right home to closing day in San Miguel de Allende.
Buying a home in Mexico is a novel and sometimes scary experience. I know; I've bought several homes here in San Miguel de Allende myself, starting in 2006! In fact, as an American expat myself, I've been through every experience you're about to consider. I've "been there, done that," as they say, so I know exactly what questions you have, what answers you're looking for, and the kind of knowledge you seek to be comfortable making this life-changing decision. It's an experience few Realtors in San Miguel can offer you, combined with my experience of selling over 350 homes to date since I started as a Realtor in 2011, a track record no one in San Miguel can match. Read through the questions below, all compiled directly from my thousands of clients, and then let's connect and chat or Zoom; it's always clearer when it comes straight from a conversation! And if you like paper, like me (hey, I'm 68, I grew up reading paper, not a screen!) then just grab my Q&A Handbook instantly, in a ready-to-print format!
2025 has proven a challenging year in local real estate! The international press covering the February cartel activity in Puerto Vallarta, much of which was over-hyped with fake AI imagery, has slowed real estate traffic in much of Mexico, ironic because San Miguel de Allende has proven year over year to be the safest destination in the entire country of Mexico. Our residential/home resales numbers year-to-date are down from last year and our overall market inventory has risen to 20 months of sales inventory, with that number climbing to three years of inventory in the $600K to $800K and the $1.5MM to $2MM USD price range. Although three to six months of sales inventory is considered balanced in the U.S., our market always hosts an abnormal amount of inventory because homes are held all-cash (no high monthly mortgage payments) and carrying costs are astoundingly low, so Sellers tend to stick with outdated market pricing and reluctance to adjust prices to meet demand. Instead, we find that the current negotiation range tends to run higher than it has during more active years, making it a bit more of a Buyer’s market in late 2026. The luxury end of the market continues to do well with six home sales priced over $1MM USD recorded in July alone, and appreciation remains strong for good Spanish Colonial design in well located areas, with some areas boasting 30% annual appreciation post-Covid. Book a chat with me and I’ll walk you through more specific details!
Please reach out to me soon! I’ll watch for your inquiry and immediately reply back with an email that includes my Q&A Booklet, it combines all these questions into one document, and will let you skim it before setting a time to connect. I’ll then schedule a time for us to chat at length about your search for a home in San Miguel, I’ll ask you about your lifestyle preferences (i.e., if you prefer walking everywhere, or would always be taking a taxi), your architectural style preference, about any mobility issues (i.e., is a ground-floor bedroom critical), about pets or children (i.e., do you need more garden or lawn space on the ground floor), your view preferences from the roof terrace, any special floor-plan demands (do you love a grand kitchen, do you entertain a lot, do you want a plunge pool, etc…). I’ll seek a detailed insight into your home search parameters.
From there I’ll then compile a current list of available highly-targeted homes for sale in San Miguel de Allende from every agency in town into a single, well-organized spreadsheet that will allow you to click the hyperlinks for each listing and preview them online, including exactly where they are located in town. If helpful, we can review the list together by phone or Zoom when we’re all in front of a computer screen to answer any questions you might have. You can then share with me the option numbers of your favorites that you’d like to tour with me when you arrive in town. Preplanning like this helps me be the most effective in finding you exactly the best Dream Home that fits your needs as perfectly as possible!
Realtors in San Miguel de Allende work just like in the U.S., any Realtor can show any other Realtor’s listing, and the commission is split between the Realtor who has the listing and the Realtor who has the Buyer.
Buyers are a large percentage of my overall business and I will always show you the listings that best match your needs, not just my own listings, because I earn a commission on any sale. Therefore, by all means please allow me to show you whatever listings interest you or that you may have found yourself on the internet. It is beneficial for you (i.e., cost-saving) to have a highly experienced Realtor like me represent your interests when negotiating a transaction, versus trying to work directly with a listing agent whose primary legal obligation is to the Seller, not you! I personally represent dozens of clients annually; see their testimonials on my website to learn how I helped them. I’ll do the same for you!
Only if you’re not getting the service you expect! See, unlike in some U.S. markets, San Miguel de Allende Realtors do not yet regularly use Buyers Representation contracts that legally obligate you to work with one Realtor. As a top San Miguel Realtor, I earn my commissions through hard work and, repeatedly over the years, best representing my clients’ interests, which is reflected in the number of sales I successfully close each year as one of the Top Producers in this town.
So initially I will verbally ask for your exclusivity and, in return, I will work extra hard to match you with your needs. Only if you find that an agent is unresponsive and doesn’t show you enough qualified options at your budget to satisfy your search requirement would you then be better to work with another or multiple agents.
While AI systems like Claude and ChatGPT are becoming increasingly popular in the U.S. for assisting with real estate searches, Mexico is an entirely different story. Mexico is a very privacy-based society, unlike the U.S. where the County Clerk & Recorder’s office allows public access to every bit of data about any home and its history. In San Miguel, we also have no real IDX-based American-style MLS system that feeds ancillary apps like Zillow, Trulia or Redfin, so accurate, public data about the real estate industry in San Miguel is very scarce. For example, I’ve had clients point to a Claude AI response about a sale that Claude says occurred last year when I can prove it sold eight years ago and prices have appreciated dramatically since then. Because of the lack of public data in San Miguel de Allende, it’s critical to work with a highly-experienced and licensed Realtor with access to the private AMPI real estate statistics who can vet out the incorrect information often provided by poorly-fed AI systems. When computers first needed coded cards to function in the 70’s, there was a saying “Garbage in, Garbage out,” and that saying is once again entirely applicable to the poorly fed AI systems who cannot access accurate data on real estate in San Miguel. And besides, an AI system will never be able to tell you which street has more noisy roof dogs, which street has more petty crime, which Seller is actually sick and is extremely motivated, what the secret history of this house is that has sold four times in my 15 years of experience here, which home had a foundation settlement issue that the current seller has just covered up, AI will never have access to such information, a boots-on-the-ground Realtor with my experience having already sold over 350 homes locally and seen thousands of homes personally here will be able to provide far more invaluable information than poorly fed AI systems.
Yes, there are roughly 275 licensed Realtors in San Miguel de Allende, but only a single-digit percentage of them dominate the market among Americans and Canadians. I alone generally represent a double-digit percentage of the home sales in San Miguel de Allende, reaching that status by providing excellent customer service to clients just like you, selling over $15MM in homes annually.
And I hold the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation, an extra level of special training from NAR that very few local Realtors have. When buying a home in Mexico, a foreign country whose real estate practices you’re probably unfamiliar with, you want that International certification working for you and protecting your investment, yes? I’ll ensure that you find the home that best meets your needs at the very best value using the safest U.S.-style methods and most reliable legal team available, as my client testimonials can attest. Let me put that experience to work for you!
It was true through the end of 2019. And even though 2020 initiated the licensing requirement for a Realtor in San Miguel de Allende to remain a member of the AMPI real estate association (sister company to the National Association of Realtors, NAR), I personally have an email database of 485 real estate “agents,” only 275 of whom now hold a real estate license. Be cautious; only work with a licensed Realtor, and ask about their credentials!
Yes, our local real estate association (called AMPI) created a rudimentary MLS; unfortunately, it’s nothing like the comprehensive MLS systems found in the U.S. That’s why we have no Zillow, Trulia, or Redfin here. You can find the MLS posted on my website here: Click this link. The entire city’s home inventory is available on that page.
No, that is not true, Buyers buying homes anywhere in Mexico that is not within 32 miles of the coast or 64 miles from the border, in other words, a place like San Miguel, can own fee-simple title, just like in the U.S. Only in coastal areas or borders, like Cabo San Lucas or Puerto Vallarta, are foreigners required to own through a Fideicomiso, known as a bank trust or “nominee arrangement” (an IRS term). My Buyers tell me they feel more assured that their home investment in San Miguel de Allende is secure knowing they actually own their home here.
Yes, starting in 2021, we now have new financing options that are far superior to the old Mexican-bank financing options, which were astoundingly onerous, expensive and took many months to obtain. Remember, a U.S. banking institution cannot lend on property in Mexico, so I send clients exclusively to either Moxi Global Mortgage, a mortgage broker offering Mexico loan options customized to your needs, or Intercam Mortgages, a Mexican lender with a U.S. equity pool lending only to Americans and Canadians.
Loans in Mexico generally start at roughly 3% above American rates and will require roughly a 40% equity payment from the borrower, but these options are the best among the other less-reputable companies in Mexico. For buyers who have substantial equity in a U.S. home or an investment portfolio, many find that a 2^nd^ mortgage (HELOC) on their equity-rich home or a margin loan on their investment fund is a cheaper source of funds for buying a home here. However, if those options don’t apply to you, this new lending instrument is an excellent resource!
Values and pricing in San Miguel vary greatly, depending on location and a Buyer’s comfort level with factors unique to a market like San Miguel de Allende, like living in an area with primarily unfinished construction (i.e., raw brick walls, rebar sticking out of roofs, etc…), graffiti and trash in the streets, tolerance for length of walking distance to the town square, neighborhood safety factors, and the like.
If a Buyer had a very high tolerance for the look of a peripheral traditional indigenous Mexican neighborhood of mostly unfinished construction, single-family homes can be found from as low as about $350,000 USD. Our town Centro, the heart of the city, remains the most popular destination for buyers and renters alike, and therefore demand has set the minimum price of most Centro homes above $600,000 USD at minimum, with limited exceptions. Newly-gentrifying neighborhoods that remain a short, relatively flat walk to the Jardin, like San Antonio, Guadalupe, Obraje, and now Azteca, generally run slightly more affordable. And while Centro’s same threshold price basically applies to our eastern hillside communities, the value equation can be greater in those communities (i.e., more square footage, larger lots, etc…).
Buyers with a budget around about $300,000 USD but who prefer a safe environment in a gentrified, finished-construction neighborhood will need to consider the multiple condominium complexes usually on the edge of town, typically not walking distance to the town square but still only a five-minute drive.
I always schedule a call with you, preferably prior to your arrival here, to educate you about the various neighborhoods within San Miguel so I can steer you to the ones that best fit your needs and lifestyle expectations. And you should review my Neighborhoods page, which provides editorial and video reviews of the most popular neighborhoods in town.
No, almost all my clients buy their home with the 180-day “tourist visa” that is granted upon arrival into the country (it’s now just a stamp in your passport). You can then apply for a residency visa at your leisure and, in fact, you only eventually need a residency visa to move your household goods into the country duty-free with a Menaje de Casa and to take advantage of the Capital Gains Tax exclusion when you finally prepare to sell your property in the future.
Many of my clients say they could afford a home here if it would just pay for its operating expenses, but with our lucrative short-term rental market, I sometimes have listings that can offer as high as a 14% ROI (Return on Investment) even after covering expenses. If you wonder how that’s possible, it’s because labor and operating expenses are so low.
Property taxes in San Miguel de Allende on a $500K home will run about $1,250 USD per year (at 2025’s exchange rate), for example. Electricity is about $1/day, fiber optic internet just a bit more, water about $20/month, a maid about $6.00/hour…all your operating expenses will be a small percentage of U.S. cost expectations. And our property managers will manage your rental business for only 20% of the income stream. That’s why we can afford such a great lifestyle here in San Miguel!
In a nutshell, homes prices in San Miguel are based upon a home’s sightline and walking distance to the Parroquia church, our tall iconic “Eiffel Tower” landmark that marks the very heart of the city where the activity is located, it’s called the Jardin, what we would call in the U.S. the town square. In other words, the shorter the walking distance to the Parroquia, the more in demand the home and therefore the more expensive.
Homes for sale in Centro (around the Parroquia) or even adjacent neighborhoods like San Antonio and Guadalupe tend to be on smaller lots with less outdoor land/garden space (although with excellent roof terraces), while homes further up in the eastern hillside (Atascadero, Balcones, Ojo de Agua) can offer more value (larger lots, larger homes) because they are not a flat walk into Centro and are a longer walking time. The value equation for you will depend upon your lifestyle preferences: if a short flat walk to the Jardin is critical to you, your home options will be slightly fewer and more expensive, generally speaking.
The process of seeing homes in San Miguel de Allende is very different than in the U.S. where Realtors use a cell phone app to digitally access a vacant home and can set up a typical showing with five minutes’ lead time. Here, we have no lock boxes and the homes are almost always occupied, so we must schedule showing requests taking into account not only my schedule, but also the other Realtor’s schedule and the occupant’s schedule.
Typically, it takes about 24-72 hours to set up a day of showings. It’s also helpful to remember that many people are involved in the process, so if you are unable to meet the schedule we had previously agreed upon for a day of showings, please let us know as soon as possible so we can also let all the other showing Realtors know of your delay or cancellation.
San Miguel is primarily a 2nd or 3rd home market, so many of my clients are not sure when they will be ready to purchase a home. However, if you want to learn more about the market here (best neighborhoods, pricing, values, etc…), I feel it is always worthwhile to meet in person while you are here, and possibly see a home or two to get a feel for what the real estate market in San Miguel de Allende offers. A personal tour of homes for sale is far better than an online-only tour from afar.
Not at all, we can do everything long distance with DocuSign or scanned documents sent by email. The only act for which you are physically required to be present is the SRE permit application and the actual closing, but even then our real estate attorney can serve as a Power of Attorney (POA) and close for you if returning for the closing proves problematic for you, it simply requires a POA document which will require an Apostille from your Secretary of State, a process that can be managed by online companies.
One important tip: it’s always better, cheaper, and easier (no Apostille is required) to create the POA while you are physically present in San Miguel; it’s like a $400 USD insurance policy, cheaper than return airfare! And in April 2025, the government changed this process, making it an even lengthier process, so it is now IMPERATIVE you do a POA while you are still physically in San Miguel if you have a normal 30-day closing process in your offer contract.
An Apostille is a government-issued document of authentication authorized by international treaty that authenticates a legal document signed in one country for use in another For example, a document that is signed in the U.S., or even one that had been previously issued in the U.S., like a marriage certificate, but that must be presented in Mexico as a valid document must have an official Apostille attached to the original document. A scan is not sufficient, the Notario in San Miguel will require the original document, so if you are obtaining it, you will need to ship it to your Realtor’s team by DHL delivery.
In the US, it is easily obtained from the Secretary of State in each state, but there are now online services that can provide a public notary signature and the actual Apostille through an online service. My legal team can assist you with such a contact; please let me know. Canada does not issue an Apostille but has a similar form of authentication; your local consulate can inform you of the specifics in Canada.
Not to worry, the best and most efficient way to name a Power of Attorney (POA) is to name the real estate attorney that works with the Notario and us; my legal team is my Closing Transaction Coordinator. They will be representing you in the closing anyway and are legally obligated to be your representative in that role, so it is ideal for them to also serve in the role of POA. You do not need to impose on anyone else to ask them to be physically present for the closing.
In fact, there is. Although the POA can cost about $400 USD if done in person here, it is like an insurance policy that will allow you to meet your contractual deadline obligation for closing, in the event you could not travel back for the actual closing date should work interfere, or an illness or family emergency arise. Your named POA can also then sign your SRE permit (see later questions for more info on the SRE), which otherwise must be done while you are physically still present in Mexico.
Yes you can, although the process is lengthier, more expensive, and considerably more trouble than creating one while you are in San Miguel. I encourage clients to invest the $400 USD for a POA while they are still physically present in San Miguel. If you choose to create a POA once you’ve returned home, you must also obtain an Apostille from your Secretary of State, both expensive and time-consuming, and then ship the original Apostilled document via DHL back to the Notario here in San Miguel.
At the height of the pandemic, mid-to-late 2020, there were a few desperate sellers who did indeed sell at about a 20% discount, but that timing has long passed, with discounts now ranging in the single-digit range for in-town properties. Obviously, post-pandemic, this whole issue has changed: let me give you some history.
In 2018, when our market proved as hot as pre-Recession 2007, that negotiation range dropped to under 3.6% for the entire market. In the depressed market of 2019, that negotiation rate grew larger but still to only 11% for the entire region, with Centro-close homes only negotiating 3% to 4%. If you find a home you wish to pursue with an offer, I’ll know the home’s market history; it’s a small town, I sometimes know the Seller’s history, too, and can advise you on what I anticipate the negotiation range to be on a home-specific basis. That’s why you want to work with a seasoned Realtor in San Miguel de Allende; I’ve been a Realtor here since 2011 and can offer invaluable market insight to guide you in your offer pricing.
Again, that’s where my property-specific guidance is helpful. If I know that a listing has already reduced its price by, say, 10% from the market peak, then the problem with submitting an overly onerous offer is that sensitive Sellers will then retaliate by counter-offering at very little discount; they do not take your offer seriously, thinking you have not yet been educated about our current market conditions by a professional Realtor. Approaching an offer relative to the home’s specific pricing history, remembering that location is paramount to this discount amount, buys you, as the Buyer, a much more serious negotiating response from the Seller, and ultimately a better price.
Closing costs include a one-time Acquisition Tax fee of 4% of the purchase price, paid directly to the Mexican governmental tax authority, and roughly 1.1% of the purchase price to pay for the Notario’s title search fees, deed preparation, and miscellaneous city fees (like the city appraisal, recording fees, etc…). Therefore, you can assume up-front that your closing costs will be approximately 5.1% of the actual purchase price, and these costs are typically paid into the same escrow account holding the purchase price funds so they can then be distributed to the various recipients through an accountable system.
The only other costs outside of the above-noted closing costs are…:
The 4% acquisition tax might be reduced if you purchase a home that has been re-sold within the last three years, my staff and I will ensure you receive that savings if it is applicable. The remaining closing fees are fixed, but our agency has chosen to work with the most reputable Notario and legal firm in San Miguel and send all our business to him and he, in return, gives our clients preferential pricing.
As has been the case in the U.S. prior to the recent 2024 NAR court ruling, the Seller has always paid all sales commissions here. Because San Miguel de Allende lacks all the online services like Zillow and Truilia that make it easy for a Buyer to find a home by themselves online, unlike in the U.S., which was cause for the recent litigation, we feel that commission structure here in Mexico will remain as it has been.
As in all of Mexico, this figure is not a set figure, but in San Miguel commissions generally average six percent, and all real estate agencies submitting a Mexican Factura (invoice) are required by Mexican law to collect a 16% IVA tax on top of the commission amount, which is paid directly to the Mexican tax authority.
You can think of a Notario as a combination of the title company and the closing company, all rolled into one entity. A Notario is a real estate attorney who has been granted a federal license for life, much like a judge, to conduct real estate transactions in Mexico. Only a Notario can officiate the transfer of real estate from one entity to another, and they are legally responsible for doing the title search, just like a title company in the U.S., and ensuring that you are receiving a fee-simple real estate title free and clear of any liens or encumbrances.
The Notario works in conjunction with a full legal staff to manage not only the title search, but potentially all issues related to the purchase of a property, like the SRE Permit, a Power of Attorney, or a will dictating what heirs will receive what division of your property.
Good question! Your Realtor will advise you which Notario they have a relationship with, and will serve as your intermediary in that working relationship That’s why it’s critical to work with a well established and well-known real estate agency, especially a known franchise name who must adhere to the standards and ethics of that franchise brand. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is actually a U.S. franchise, not a disassociated Mexican franchise, like all the other brand-name agencies in San Miguel, and adheres to the same ethics and standards implemented by Warren Buffett. My team and I will ensure your home purchase is managed by the best local Notario with an above-board, long-standing reputation, just like your Realtor in the U.S. directs you to their favored and most respected title and closing companies.
Here in Mexico, the Notario can build in a simple “Right of Survivorship” clause directly into the deed that allows the surviving spouse to automatically retain 100% ownership of the home once a spouse passes onbut only if all Buyers are physically present at the closing. They can also include a similar clause for surviving children.
Remember that a U.S. will, even if it mentions your new Mexican home, is not valid in Mexico and therefore you always need some form of will in Mexico. If the inheritance status of your home may be subject to change, it is best to create a separate Mexican will that dictates inheritance rights; the will can affordably be changed as often as required; the deed cannot be changed without expending substantial expense.
Although it is available, I have never had a client invest the additional money to purchase title insurance, but yes, title insurance can still be purchased as an option if you wish. The cost is $800 USD for the additional (i.e., redundant) title search and generally about $4 USD per $1,000 USD of value of the purchase price.
Know that such policies will except any oddities to the chain of title, however, so an improperly documented sale from 80 years ago, as example, will be excepted by the title company. When a property has changed hands (i.e., sold) to multiple new Buyers since that break in the chain of title, it is highly unlikely such an exception would prove problematic, but the title company will still except it from their policy. And remember, the Notario is already legally obligated by Federal law to ensure you receive a property clear of any title issues, so the title insurance is then redundant.
The normal Earnest Money Deposit is ten percent (10%) of the total purchase price but on occasion it can be somewhat negotiable. A Seller granting a Buyer an extended closing, i.e., longer than the “normal” closing length of 30 days, might require a higher Earnest Money Deposit.
Mexican law dictates that a Mexican banking entity must control the transfer of funds so that the Mexican banking entity can be held accountable for the source and disposition of those funds. In San Miguel, all reputable real estate agencies use an Escrow Company, which acts exactly like an Escrow Company in the U.S., they are an independent third-party agency that simply holds the funds in a neutral account, not releasing funds to the Seller until the Deed has been signed over to the new Buyer. All parties remain protected this way. Money held in an Escrow Account does not earn interest for the depositor.
My agency and I use only TLA Escrow for all my clients to best protect their funds, TLA is the only insured and bonded escrow company in San Miguel, your escrow funds are held in an FDIC insured bank in Dallas and therefore your wire transfers are a domestic transfer. Additionally, TLA is the only escrow service that uses fully-encrypted communications; even the phone line to them is secure, to ensure your personal details, like bank accounts or Social Security numbers, are fully protected. We use the same precautions you would expect with a home purchase in the U.S.
No, although the escrow company entity is headquartered in Mexico, when U.S. dollars are requested by the Seller, as is almost always the case with my clients, funds are transferred to a Dallas bank escrow account as a domestic wire transfer.
You don’t transfer money out of the U.S. unless the Seller was Mexican and wanted payment in Mexican pesos in a Mexican bank, but even then, there is no problem with that because it is a wire transfer managed through our international Escrow Company. In other words, your funds still go to an American bank but can then be sent to the Seller in pesos.
Mexico’s strict money-laundering laws dictate that, currently, only 800,000 pesos of a purchase price is allowed to be paid in cash, the rest must be transferred via a trackable wire transfer Notarios are not willing to lose their lifetime-issued Notario license by trying to “launder” more cash than the government allows, therefore it is virtually impossible to pay more than the legal limit in cash and still receive verifiable title to the new home. However, in addition to that above-noted limit on the purchase price, you may pay your closing costs to the Notario in cash if you prefer.
Potentially. Your Earnest Money deposit must be received within ten business days of a dual-signed and accepted purchase offer. Most banking institutions in the U.S.will not allow a long-distance request for a wire transfer unless you have set up paperwork in advance allowing wire transfers. One alternative is to speak with your investment portfolio manager prior to arriving in Mexico and confirming if you can wire about 10% of your budgeted purchase amount just through an email or phone request. Another option is to ensure you bring your RSA wireless token that will allow you to send a wire transfer from your online banking portal while sitting at your laptop here in San Miguel.
It is always better to use only personal funds because the escrow company’s paperwork requirement for personal funds is infinitely simpler than if business funds are used. But the answer is “yes,” with this caveat: if any of the purchase price funds come from a business entity, then you will be required to scan all the Articles of Incorporation demonstrating your power to use such funds, and those documents must be translated into Spanish and you must then obtain an Apostille from your Secretary of State for those translated documents.
I have, however, had clients who used corporate funds for their ten percent Earnest Money Deposit because they had no choice at the time, but then before closing they funded 100% of the purchase price into Escrow with personal funds, and the original business-money deposit was just refunded back to their corporate entity so that there would be no paperwork and translation requirement.
Yes, but let’s provide some insight into that process. First of all, there is no public County Clerk & Recorder’s office in Mexico where a law firm can go down and see who holds title to a home in San Miguel de Allende. Those records are accessible only to a Notario, so it’s virtually impossible for a U.S. attorney to even learn you own property here, much less to seize your home through legal action.
Furthermore, holding title in such a manner prevents you as the owner from being entitled to what we call a Homestead Exemption in the U.S. In other words, you will pay full Capital Gains tax of at least 35% upon the sale of a property held in such a manner. Additionally, to hold a residence in such an entity requires that you have all the Trust or LLC documents fully translated to Spanish, notarized and then Apostilled by your Secretary of State prior to your closing date.
From time of a dual-signed Promise to Purchase contract to the date of closing is typically 30 days. Extended closing times can be negotiated, although sometimes as a trade-off (i.e., offering a higher price, putting more deposit down, etc…).
First of all, please know that my personal Closing Transaction Coordinator, who will manage all your paperwork and closing details when you purchase with me, is a licensed real estate attorney already, and she is working exclusively for you because your closing costs pay her fees.
Because about 70% of our buying market are foreigners, all contracts are printed as two-column side-by-side bilingual contracts, since Spanish is the ruling language in a Mexican court of law but our U.S. Buyers need to understand the contract in English. The initial Promise to Purchase contract and the soon-to-follow, more formal “Promesa de Compraventa” contract are both bilingual and simple-language documents easy to understand since they are generated from U.S.-style boilerplate contracts approved by our U.S. company, so a third-party attorney from you is unnecessary, your Mexican attorney, my Closing Transaction Coordinator I mentioned above, will have prepared and reviewed all closing documents for you anyway.
The Notario conducting your closing is, in fact, a real estate attorney already and is obligated to represent you since you pay his fees. And although the final court-recorded deed, called an “escritura”, must by Mexican law be only in Spanish, the Notario is legally obligated to have a court-certified legal translator present at closing to read the Spanish-language deed in English and explain every detail of the deed to you before you sign any documentation.
Promise to Purchase contracts can vary slightly from agency to agency, but the standard contract my agency uses allows for up to 10 business days, i.e. two weeks, before the ten percent Earnest Money deposit is required to be confirmed in the Escrow Account. This allows you time to perform an inspection and remove the inspection contingency before your money is tied up in the Escrow Account. In other words, no money is tied up until you are comfortable that you are buying a safe and habitable home.
The final 90% balance of the purchase price, along with the closing costs totaling approximately 5.1% of the purchase price, need to be deposited into the Escrow Account 72 hours prior to the closing date.
During the first few days of the roughly 30-day process of purchasing a home, my Closing Transaction team works with the Notario to request a line-item breakdown of all the closing costs. You will know to “earmark” roughly 5.1% of the purchase price as funds that need to be liquid to pay closing costs, but since the Notario and government fees are billed and paid in Mexican pesos, we are unable to send a final confirmation of the “exact” U.S. dollar amount of those closing costs until after business hours the day prior to your closing, when the “governmentally official” peso exchange rate is set for the next business day.
Since your funds need to be wire transferred 72 hours prior to closing, our Closing Transaction Coordinator typically adds roughly $500 USD cushion to the total amount you need to wire transfer, in order to account for any exchange rate fluctuation in those final few days, and then any overage you have paid is simply refunded back to your bank account after closing.
No, per Mexican law all fund transfers must be accounted for electronically via a wire transfer.
Yes, we have professional home inspectors here, although homes in Mexico are typically sold on an as-is basis, the inspection is meant to primarily address issues affecting habitability of the home (i.e., anything affecting the safety of living in the home). For example, a detailed inspection might mention doors that don’t swing smoothly, an uncovered roof drain, a broken tile, etc…but these issues that don’t affect the Buyer’s ability to safely inhabit the home are not typically negotiated against the purchase price once that price has been established in a dual-accepted offer contract. These small issues are best forwarded to your new property manager as minor repairs to address once you move in to the home.
Typically only issues affecting safety and habitability, like perhaps a propane gas tank that was beyond its recommended safe lifespan or a settling foundation, would be grounds for further negotiation on price. However, if you’re not satisfied with the inspection or can’t come to terms with the Seller on any requests you might make, you may simply refuse to remove the inspection contingency and walk away from the purchase, there have been no funds put into escrow at that point. A home inspection typically costs between $300 and $400 USD, depending on complications like pools or spas.
Immediately after getting dual signatures of acceptance on your offer, you will receive an equally extensive document from me called our
Buyer’s Next Steps Handbook. It will literally walk you through all the steps leading up to and beyond closing, although my assistant and I are here to guide you through that entire process on a daily basis. While I continue to remain extensively involved in the post-contract paperwork, my bilingual assistant, who is a licensed real estate attorney, and my legal team representing you through the process are the ones primarily managing the legal paperwork and are available daily to answer questions and hand-hold as needed, they’re excellent at that!
Yes, typically Buyers engage a property manager in San Miguel de Allende before closing so the Property Manager can attend the closing and receive old utility bills, keys, home instructions, staff contact info, etc Your property manager will handle all these details and I can refer my clients to several experienced property managers, although there are two companies that I highly recommend.
They are not only a good resource for your initial move-in, i.e., switching utilities to your name with the Spanish-speaking-only utility authorities, but are also good to have on an ongoing basis to help pay staff, utilities, property taxes, and also serve as a bilingual contact to call in the middle of the night when you have an emergency maintenance problem, or for any maintenance. A property manager will typically charge about $140 USD per month to handle the above-mentioned issues, only the actual cost of any maintenance or staff would be additional. I always encourage hiring your property manager well before the closing date, we can assist you with that process.
Yes, many homes here have staff who have been working in the same house for years, sometimes decades, they know all the many details and idiosyncrasies of the home. At closing (when you purchase your new home), the Seller is obligated to terminate that staff and pay their severance pay that is associated with their tenure at that home for that specific owner. However, if you wish to maintain the same staff you can engage their services the day you close on your new home and everything continues operating as smoothly as before. On occasion, a Seller will take the staff with them to a new home but your property manager will be able to find new, qualified staff to replace them.
Yes, a couple of things. You will want to transfer the existing utilities (they are not shut off when the home transfers from one owner to the next) to your own name within the first few weeks, and typically your property manager will handle that for you, it requires they have a simple copy of your new deed and the old utility bill. And you will want to return to the Notario’s office, or have your property manager do so, about six weeks after the closing to pick up the officially registered copy of your deed, called an escritura, which you should then keep in a safe place. And if any of the Buyers were not physically present at the closing, remember that you should create a will here in Mexico as soon as possible.
Short-term rentals in San Miguel de Allende can be extremely lucrative! A qualified and expert property manager, like the ones I refer my clients to, have software that allows them to post your listings on ALL rental platforms (AirBnB, Booking.com, FlipKey, etc…), which generate better rental traffic because of their international SEO that puts your home in front of more potential renters. In our market, normal full-service property and rental management fees are 20% of the gross rental income.
While it’s possible to not have a Mexican bank account, it is highly recommended to have, at the least, a small “petty cash” account that you can name your property manager as a co-signer, allowing them to set up an automatic payment for utilities, withdraw cash to pay staff (maid & gardener), and gain access for emergency repairs. Any account under $10,000 USD does not need to be reported to the U.S. authorities.
However, all property managers also have the ability to accept wire transfers to their managed account, or PayPal payments to pay for the home expenses and fees, and then the property manager simply maintains a ledger of your deposits and payments, deducting the expenses, and sending you an accounting ledger each month. If you deposit, say, $1,000 USD at a time with them, they will then alert you when the fund balance drops to perhaps $200 and will suggest you deposit more to maintain a manageable balance.
Yes, as of 2020 there are 3 requirements in Mexico: 1) You must register your home as a rental property for an annual fee of 45,000 pesos. 2) You are required to pay a 16% occupancy tax (called IVA) to the Mexican government to renters that request a government Factura, which no foreign renters ever request. 3) You are also now required to collect a 10% rental tax, which your Mexican accountant must pay monthly to the Mexican government. Additionally, you will then need to file a Schedule C on your 1040 form declaring the rental income, which, of course, is offset by the pro rata expense of operating the home.
Yes, when a listing Realtor quotes you the current taxes on a home, be aware that tax amount due annually will increase when you buy the home and although the tax amount is based on a new city-determined fiscal valuation, that number is still exponentially less than the real market value (the same as having a low mil levy). A general rule of thumb for calculating your new annual property tax will be roughly $250 USD per every $100,000 USD of home value (i.e., the price you paid).
Not if you work with a reputable, licensed & bonded moving company, which I will recommend to you. Once you have received your residency visa, you have six months to use a “Menaje de Casa” to move all of your personal household items here free of any taxes or duties. Your mover will explain all the details to you.
Absolutely, and here’s the best part: in Mexico, I am legally able to pay you a referral fee! I pay a ten percent referral fee (i.e., 10% of the Buying side commission) if you introduce me personally to your friends via email, all I need is their full names and email address, and I’ll register them as your referral. As example, if your friends bought a $500,000 USD home from me, I send you a $1,500 USD referral fee!
Didn’t find what you were looking for in our FAQ section? Whether you’re buying, selling, or just exploring San Miguel de Allende, I'm happy to answer your questions personally.
What Greg's Clients Say
"My husband and I had a fantastic experience with Greg and his team. We were feeling overwhelmed and apprehensive about purchasing a home in San Miguel, but the process turned out smooth and easy. Greg has a terrific buyer's guide on his website that helped us understand the process, and he knows the ins and outs of San Miguel like nobody else. I highly recommend this team."
Janie Landman
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