The Forbes-Douglas 2003

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The Forbes-Douglas 2003

Mexico Real Estate eGuide

Introduction and Welcome

Welcome to the electronic book The Forbes-Douglas 2003 Mexico Real Estate eGuide

- a powerful tool for informing yourself as a foreigner dealing with real estate in Mexico.

Retirement in Mexico has become a good option for many Americans looking to retire early or wanting to experience a higher standard of living on their limited retirement income.

If you are researching retirement in Mexico, you know it offers you a comfortable cost of living and quality of life, while only a 2 or 3 hour flight to many major cities in the southern U.S. Being further south, means that the weather on Mexico’s Pacific Coast is balmier than in Florida or Southern California.

This section explains the E-Book, what is in the package, and how to use it.

You can navigate through this guide by:

Clicking on the blue underlined links that look like this. Most of these links are internal to the guide and will take you to another page within the guide, but you will also find many links that lead to related or interesting web sites (if you are online).

Pertinent Spanish language websites have been included. We encourage you to investigate these by use of your school Spanish or the many translation services available.

The guide is divided into fourteen numbered sections, most of which have numbered sub-sections. Each section relates to a different topic, and contains a number of pages. You can flip between the sections using the tab buttons near the top of the page (the current section is shown on a white tab - for example you are currently looking at the Introduction section). On the left of each section is a menu to navigate around that particular section.

Here is a list of what each of the sections is about:

§ Living Better for Less in Mexico A general introduction for the foreigner to how title to property is exchanged in Mexico.

§ Rent? The advantages of renting while exploring.

§ Buy a resale home? The supply is greater and remodeling/refurbishing is inexpensive.

§ Build your dream home? And it can be a great investment.

§ Real Estate Professionals What you need to know about the various professionals who can help you in the real estate acquisition process: Real Estate Agents, Notarios Publicos, other attorneys, bank trust departments.

§ Finding Your Home Base in Mexico Learn about RESALE HOMES, RESIDENTIAL LOTS, SUBDIVISIONS, CONDOMINIUMS, TIMESHARE

§ How much will you pay? A guide to the newcomers to Mexico should understand the basics of property evaluation in the Mexican context so they can determine a realistic value of existing homes and lots

§ Negotiating for Real Estate in Mexico A basic guide to negotiating for real estate or any other arrangement in Mexico where you will find the Latin side, using more formal courtesy and manners, can be so charming as to disarm your side in the negotiation.

§ Holding Title to Real Property on Mexico This section provides a through treatment of how you as a foreigner can own property in Mexico - even in the "restricted zone."

§ Financing the Purchase of Property in Mexico A discussion of an areas in which the Mexican context is very different from the U. S. or Canada.

§ Closing Your Purchase The full discussion on the most critical aspect of your purchase: NOTARIO PUBLICO, OTHER ATTORNEYS, CONTRACTS, COSTS, ESCROW, TITLE INSURANCE, RECORDATION.

§ Title Insurance The new factor in the equation.

§ Recourse Your options for recourse if, after all your due diligence, something goes wrong.

§ Summary: Insuring a Successful Transaction A reminder of the principal steps to a rewarding Mexico real estate experience.

§ Appendices: Internet Resources

§ The Foreign Investment Law in English

COMPLETE TABLE OF CONTENTS

1:00 MAGIC MEXICO: LIVING BETTER FOR LESS

1:01 BACKGROUND

1:02 FIRST CONSIDERATIONS

1:10 WHY BUY IN MEXICO NOW

1:20 WHO MAY BUY WHERE

1:22 WHAT THE 1917 MEXICAN CONSTITUTION SAYS

1:23 BANK TRUST FIDEICOMISO

1:24 ZONING

1:30 HISTORY OF LAND OWNERSHIP

RENT-BUY-BUILD?

2:00 RENTING

2:10 ADVANTAGES OF RENTING

2:20 DISADVANTAGES OF RENTING

2:30 LEASING LAWS

3:00 BUYING A RESALE HOME

3:10 ADVANTAGES OF BUYING

3:20 DISADVANTAGES OF BUYING

4:00 BUILDING YOUR DREAM HOME

4:01 ADVANTAGES OF BUILDING

4:02 DISADVANTAGES OF BUILDING

4:10 THE BUILDING PROCESS

4:20 PLANS, PERMITS

4:30 MEXICAN CONSTRUCTION

4:40 THE FEDERAL ZONE

4:50 PROPERTY TAXES

4:60 TAXES ON RENTAL INCOME

4:70 OWNERSHIP CONCLUSION

5:00 BUYING REAL ESTATE IN MEXICO

5:10 THE REAL ESTATE BUYING PROCESS

5:20 OWNERSHIP IN THE RESTRICTED ZONE

5:30 DIFFERENT PRACTICES

5:40 THE PROCESS

5:50 SOME REAL ESTATE DEFINITIONS FOR MEXICO

5:51 PROPERTY OWNERSHIP IN MEXICO

5:52 INSTRUMENTS FOR PURCHASING PROPERTY

5:53 SAFEGUARDS FOR PURCHASING PROPERTY

5:54 TYPES OF PROPERTY

5:55 CLOSING COSTS

5:56 FINANCING OPTIONS IN MEXICO

5:60 SOME POINTS TO REMEMBER

6:00 REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS

6:11 THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY IN MEXICO

6:12 DUTIES

6:13 FINDING A RELIABLE AGENT

6:20 NOTARIO PUBLICOS

6:21 MORE THAN A “NOTARY PUBLIC”

6:22 A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE STATE, BUT…

6:23 UNDERSTANDING THE NOTARIO’S POSITION

6:30 OTHER ATTORNEYS

7:00 FINDING YOUR SPOT IN MEXICO

7:20 RESIDENTIAL LOTS

7:30 CONDOMINIUMS

7:31 KNOW YOUR CONDO R&RS

7:32 THE ASAMBLEA ANNUAL

7:33 BUYING A UNIT UNDER CONSTRUCTION OR IN A NEW DEVELOPMENT

7:34 BOARD OF DIRECTORS/COMITE DE VIGILANCIA

7:40 TIMESHARES

8:00 HOW MUCH WILL YOU PAY?

8:10 TAX VALUE APPRAISAL

8:20 INVESTMENT VALUE

8:30 REPLACEMENT VALUE APPRAISAL

8:40 RESALE HOME APPRAISAL

9:00 NEGOTIATING FOR REAL ESTATE IN MEXICO

10:00 HOLDING TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY IN MEXICO

10:10 FEE SIMPLE

10:20 BANK TRUST FIDEICOMISO

10:21 FIDEICOMISO BANK TRUST

10:22 TRUSTEE FEES

10:23 MECHANISMS OF THE TRUST

10:24 BANK LETTER

10:30 OWNERSHIP THROUGH A CORPORATION

11:00 FINANCING

12:00 CLOSING YOUR PURCHASE

12:10 THE TIME FRAME

12:20 GOING TO THE NOTARIO PUBLICO

12:30 CONTRACTS YOU MAY USE

12:31 PROMISE OF SALE/PURCHASE OR

CESION DE DERECHOS FIDEICOMISARIOS

12:32 CONTRACTO DE COMPRAVENTA

12:33 DEPOSITS

12:34 THE ESCRITURA PUBLICA DEED

12:40 CHECKLISTS FOR BUYER AND SELLER

12:50 PAYING THE CLOSING COSTS

12:51 TRANSFER TAX

12:52 COST OF THE FIDEICOMISO

12:53 CAPITAL GAINS TAX

12:60 ESCROW AND EARNEST MONEY

12:70 RECORDING YOUR ESCRITURA PUBLICA DEED

13:00 DO YOU NEED (CAN YOU GET) TITLE INSURANCE?

13:11 NAFTA AND THE FIL

13:12 A SIMILAR SYSTEM

13:13 THE FUTURE

13:14 TITLE SEARCH AND INSURANCE IN MEXICO

13:15 POLICY GUARANTEES

13:16 HOW TITLE INSURANCE WORKS IN MEXICO

13:17 BASIC PROTECTION

13:18 TITLE INSURANCE OPTIONS AVAILABLE

13:19 COVERAGE

13:20 TITLE REVIEW

13:21 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

13:22 TITLE POLICY ISSUE

13:23 THE NEED

13:24 INSURING FOREIGN INVESTMENTS

14:00 RECOURSE

15:00 SUMMARY: FOR AN EXCELLENT EXPERIENCES
APPENDICES: a. Internet Resources

b. The Foreign Investment Law

1:00 MAGIC MEXICO: LIVING BETTER FOR LESS

Enjoying the Mexican beachfront or colonial hillside town, you've decided to put down roots in Mexico and "save money" by buying in. Invest a significant amount of time before investing in Mexican real estate. Get to know the terrain, its problems and advantages. Work hard to understand the area, the people and the real estate values. Get the assistance of someone that speaks and reads Spanish fluently so that you don't miss legal nuances and idioms. Even though you may have bought and sold real estate in the United States, the Mexican experience is a totally new.

You hear the story again and again in Mexico: We went for a visit and ended up buying. There are 100,000-400,000 Americans who have been lured by the beauty, the serenity and, not least, the prices, to become homeowners in Mexico.

Destinations include:

The perennially spring-like Lake Chapala near Guadalajara in Jalisco

http://www.chapala.com,

http://www.chapalaguide.com/

http://www.ajijic-chapala.com/ ,

The Nayarit coast and Bay of Banderas north of Puerto Vallarta

http://www.cbpuntamita.com/ ,

http://www.banderasbayregatta.com/about.html

http://www.dcarealty.com/banderasbay.htm

http://maranacove.com),

Historic, cobblestoned San Miguel de Allende about 130 miles north of Mexico City;

http://www.internetsanmiguel.com,