First of all, I would like to thank the readers ahead of time for considering and responding to questions I'm sure have been discussed, but that I can't find clear answers to searching through here. I would like your advice about this situation: I am Canadian and married a Mexican citizen (not from Q.R.) less than a year ago, and we are considering buying a small property in Q.R. as a vacation home and investment. We are considering spending some time in Mexico (a year or two) in a medium-term future, and would prefer buying a small piece of land and (slowly, gradually) building a house. We have been looking at an area near Chetumal, where a friend is selling land. I've lived in Mexico and know Spanish, but I've only been on a quick beach vacation to Quintana Roo. I love it, more than my husband's state, but we don't know many people there. We don't have a ton of money to play around with and can't afford to screw this up. From what I understand, the title would have to be in his name only, because all the areas we are considering are in the restricted zone. I'm not sure if I can even be an heir or beneficiary considering that, as a non-Mexican citizen, I wouldn't be able to legally own the property. Is there any kind of protection I could put into place in case something happened to him or if we separated one day? Should I just assume that everything will work out and eventually I will move there for a long time and get citizenship? Just on a psychological level I would feel better paying for (more than half of) it knowing I have some claim to the final product. Maybe the bank trust route would be better? Titles and ownership seem to be murky, because of Mexico's complex agriarian reforms, property changes, etc., and there seem to be many cases where the notario does not do their work properly. I googled some of the notarios from the area and scary things come up -- it sounds like if I find a great notario he/she will be from somewhere else, probably the Cancun area. Do you think a Cancun notario can/would handle a transaction near Chetumal, or is that not done? Would you hire a company to do a title investigation, in case the notario misses something important? Some expats swear it is important. Finally, how can you verify that the land can get electricity / building permits / etc. before you buy it? We wouldn't have months to spend there, getting to know arquitectos, at least not until it's too late if there is a problem. I'm trying to get questions like this sorted out as possible BEFORE we find a property, and establish a relationship with the relevant people so that we can be ready to go there and see it and possibly make an offer. So hard from a distance... If you have any pages or documents you'd recommend please don't hesitate (Spanish is not a problem). THANK YOU so much for your advice.
My suggestion is to contact Carmen Bianca who is a great real estate agent in Cancun. She can answer all of our questions and guide you through the entire process if necessary. My understandung us that in the restricted zone a Mexican should hold the title and deed to avoid opening a bank trust. However can you as a non Mexican inherit it? That is something Carmen can explain to you. She is on this site and you should be able to find her, if not contact me and I can give you her e mail and phone number through a PM.
More than a broker, and Carmen is a good one, you need an attorney. The Notario, who is basically a closing agent, but is a lawyer, is not your lawyer and has no fiduciary duty to you. With all due respect to my friend Carmen, who has a sterling reputation, so I am not referring to her specifically, brokers and notarios earn their fee when the deal closes. So their income occurs when and if there is a closing. Your attorney double checks the contract that the broker can prepare, the notario who prepares the closing docs, but more importantly, make sure that YOU are protected from anyone who screws up along the way. I have heard of Trust documents, signed by the buyer, had their name misspelled and no one caught it. There are other, more horrific stories, that cost smart people a lot of time and money to fix. I would bet that MY attorney would not let me put up MY money and put a property in any name but mine, in the absence of multiple binding and enforceable agreements to protect me in the event of my death, the death of my spouse, divorce or any of a number of scenarios that could go wrong, most of which could potentially wipe out my investment. There are other options to putting it in the name of your Mexican spouse, particulary if you are investing any part of your own money for the purchase price, and associated costs.
Bebezinho, your instincts seem to be telling you to "beware", and you've articulated plenty of real pitfalls. Why not listen to them, and find something more secure to do with your money than this roll of the dice?
