# Buying property in Mexico vs. the United States > In Mexico, title is created and protected by a Notario Público and the Public Registry of Property, not by title insurance and private escrow. Here are the seven differences that matter to a foreign buyer in the Riviera Maya. - Author: Jorge Sánchez (LL.B. UDLAP · Master in judicial review (USC) · Maestría en Derecho Constitucional y Amparo (IBERO)), Riviera Maya Law - Reviewed: 2026-10-03 - Canonical page: https://rivieramaya.law/guides/buying-property-mexico-vs-united-states Buying a home in Tulum, Playa del Carmen or Cancún can look just like buying one in Texas or Florida: a listing, an agent, an offer, a closing. Underneath, the legal system differs at almost every step. Mexico follows a civil-law tradition. Title is created and protected by a public official called a *Notario Público* and by registration in the Public Registry of Property, not by title insurance and private escrow. Most problems we see start with a reasonable assumption imported from the U.S. that does not hold in Mexico. These are the seven differences, and what each one requires of you. ## At a glance | Topic | United States | Mexico (Riviera Maya) | |---|---|---| | Foreign ownership | Direct fee-simple title | Bank trust (*fideicomiso*) or Mexican corporation inside the Restricted Zone | | Who closes | Title company, escrow officer, closing attorney | *Notario Público* (impartial public official) | | Title protection | Title insurance is standard | Pre-closing due diligence and the Public Registry. Title insurance is rare | | Land risk | Rare | *Ejido* land without *dominio pleno* cannot be validly sold | | Construction inspection | City or county inspections, Certificate of Occupancy, private home inspector | Municipal license and DRO responsibility. No inspection triggered by a sale | | Deposit | Held by neutral escrow, with contingencies | Often wired to seller, developer or agency, with few contingencies | | Financing | Mortgage is the norm | Mostly cash. Limited cross-border lending | | Transfer tax | Varies by state. None in some | Acquisition tax (ISABI) on the highest of price, cadastral value or appraisal | | Agents | State license, MLS, ethics enforcement | SEDETUS registration required but unevenly observed. No unified MLS | | Pre-construction | Less common. State consumer law | Very common. NOM-247-SE-2021 and PROFECO | | Tax at resale | Capital gains. FIRPTA withholding for foreign sellers | ISR on the gain, withheld by the notary. Residence exemption rarely available to foreigners | ## 1. Ownership: you cannot hold title in your own name In the U.S., a foreign national can generally own real estate directly. Along the Mexican coast, no. Article 27 of the Constitution creates a Restricted Zone: 100 km along the borders and 50 km along the coastline. All of the Riviera Maya falls inside it. Foreigners can still buy residential property there, through one of two structures under the Foreign Investment Law: - **Bank trust (*fideicomiso*).** A Mexican bank holds title as trustee and you are the beneficiary, with full rights to use, rent, sell, mortgage and bequeath the property. The trust needs a permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), runs for up to 50 years and is renewable. Expect a set-up fee and an annual trustee fee. - **Mexican corporation.** A company owned by foreigners can hold title directly. It suits commercial or rental-business use, but it carries accounting, tax-filing and compliance obligations every year. It is not a shortcut for a personal vacation home. Either way you accept the Calvo Clause: you agree to be treated as a Mexican national regarding the property and not to seek your own government's protection over it. **What it requires of you:** choose the structure before signing anything, and make sure the purchase contract names it. The bank, its fees and who inherits under the trust are decisions, not paperwork. ## 2. Who closes: a Notario Público, not a title company A U.S. notary public only witnesses signatures. A Mexican *Notario Público* is a different profession: an experienced lawyer appointed by the state who drafts the deed (*escritura pública*), verifies the parties' identity and capacity, checks title and liens, calculates and withholds taxes, and files the deed with the Public Registry. One office does much of what a U.S. title company, escrow officer and closing attorney do together. Two cautions: - **The notary is impartial, not your advocate.** The notary certifies that the transaction is legal. The notary does not negotiate terms, review the developer's promises or protect your commercial interests. That is your own lawyer's job. - **You may have the right to choose the notary.** In developer sales, NOM-247-SE-2021 lets the consumer choose. A developer that imposes "its" notary without offering that choice is a warning sign. **What it requires of you:** retain independent counsel early. Confirm who the notary is, who is paying them and what they will verify before closing. If someone claiming to be a notary or lawyer makes you uneasy, [here is how to check them](https://rivieramaya.law/guides/fake-lawyer-notario-mexico). ## 3. Due diligence: no title insurance safety net In the U.S., a title search plus an owner's title policy is standard, and the insurer pays if a covered defect shows up later. In Mexico your protection is the quality of the review done before you pay. At minimum: 1. **Chain of title** in the Public Registry of Property and Commerce, back to the property's origin. 2. **Lien certificate** (*certificado de libertad de gravámenes*) showing no mortgages, attachments or annotations. 3. **Land origin.** *Ejido* (communal) land cannot be sold to private buyers until it has been converted to full private ownership (*dominio pleno*) and registered. Some of the costliest problems in Tulum trace back to this point. 4. **Property tax and water bills** (*predial*, CAPA) paid up to date. 5. **Condominium regime and HOA status:** registered regime, bylaws, no outstanding fees. 6. **Development permits:** land use, construction license, environmental authorization and, where relevant, federal maritime zone (ZOFEMAT) concessions. 7. **Seller's identity and authority,** including corporate powers if the seller is a company. Registry responses in Quintana Roo can be slow. Build time for these certificates into your closing calendar. **What it requires of you:** make the deposit and the closing conditional on clean due diligence, with a written right to recover the deposit if it is not. If you already paid and the title never came, read [what to do when there is no clear title](https://rivieramaya.law/guides/no-clear-title-mexico). ## 4. Inspections: nobody inspects the property because you are buying it A U.S. buyer hires a home inspector during an inspection contingency, and new construction needs a Certificate of Occupancy. In Mexico, construction compliance rests on the building license and a licensed professional, the *Director Responsable de Obra* (DRO). No municipal inspection is triggered by a sale, and neither the notary nor the Public Registry checks the physical condition of the building. **What it requires of you:** ask for the construction license and the completion notice, and hire an independent inspector before closing. The full walkthrough is in [home inspections in Mexico](https://rivieramaya.law/guides/home-inspection-mexico). ## 5. Closing costs and taxes: the buyer pays up front, the seller pays at exit The buyer typically pays the acquisition tax (ISABI), notary and registration fees, the appraisal and the bank trust costs. At resale, Mexico taxes the seller's gain (ISR) and the notary withholds it at closing. **What it requires of you:** get a written closing-cost estimate before you commit, and plan your exit tax at entry. Details in [closing costs and taxes in Quintana Roo](https://rivieramaya.law/guides/closing-costs-taxes-quintana-roo). ## 6. Financing and deposits: mostly cash, so protect the money Most U.S. purchases are financed, and the lender's appraisal, title review and underwriting add a second layer of scrutiny. Most foreign purchases in the Riviera Maya are paid in cash or with funds raised at home, such as a HELOC on a U.S. property. Cross-border mortgages exist but are limited and expensive. Without a lender, nobody else checks the deal for you. Deposits work differently too. In the U.S., earnest money sits with a neutral escrow agent and the purchase agreement carries inspection, appraisal and financing contingencies. In Mexico, third-party escrow exists but is not customary. Buyers are often asked to wire a deposit straight to the seller, developer or agency on signing a promise-to-purchase agreement (*contrato de promesa de compraventa*), with few or no contingencies. So the protection has to be written into that agreement. Mexico's anti-money-laundering law also restricts paying for real estate in cash above a statutory threshold, and the notary must identify the source of funds. Pay by traceable bank transfer. **What it requires of you:** negotiate inspection and due-diligence conditions into the promise agreement, state in writing when the deposit comes back, and never wire funds to an account that does not belong to the party named in the contract. If a deposit is already gone, see [lost a deposit in Mexico](https://rivieramaya.law/guides/lost-deposit-mexico). ## 7. Agents and pre-construction: lighter oversight, higher stakes **Agents.** U.S. agents hold a state license and answer to a licensing board. Quintana Roo regulates agents under its Real Estate Services Law, which requires registration with SEDETUS, the state urban-development agency. In practice many people selling property in the region are not registered, there is no unified MLS, and the same agent often represents seller and buyer. Ask for the SEDETUS registration number, and remember the commission depends on the sale closing. **Pre-construction.** Buying off-plan is far more common in Tulum and Playa del Carmen than in most U.S. markets. It is where we see the most disputes: delivery delays, units that differ from the brochure, construction defects and unkept rental-income promises. The main consumer safeguard is NOM-247-SE-2021, which requires developers to: - register their adhesion contract with PROFECO; - give buyers a Bill of Rights (*Carta de Derechos*) and the project's information and documents; - follow rules on advance payments and offer warranties on the work; - respect the buyer's right to choose the notary. When a developer fails these obligations, the buyer can go to PROFECO conciliation. Disputes between buyers and developers are heard as commercial matters under the Commercial Code. **What it requires of you:** confirm the contract is registered with PROFECO, keep every document and payment record, and have the contract reviewed before the first payment, not after a problem appears. If the developer has already failed to deliver, [start here](https://rivieramaya.law/guides/developer-never-delivered). ## Before you sign: a buyer's checklist - Decide on a bank trust or a corporation, and name it in the contract. - Retain independent counsel before paying any deposit. - Confirm the notary, who pays them and whether you chose them. - Obtain the lien certificate and the Public Registry title history. - Confirm the land is not *ejido*, or that *dominio pleno* is registered. - Check property tax, water and HOA accounts are current. - Get the construction license and completion notice, and hire an independent inspector. - For pre-construction: verify permits and PROFECO contract registration. - Make the deposit refundable in writing if due diligence fails, and pay only the party named in the contract. - Get a written estimate of closing costs and trust fees. - Ask for the agent's SEDETUS registration. ## How we help Riviera Maya Law represents English-speaking buyers in Quintana Roo, on your side of the table only. We review the contract before you pay, run due diligence on developer pre-sales, completed units and private resales, and coordinate the trust and the notary. If a developer fails to deliver, we take the matter to PROFECO conciliation or the courts. Fees for preventive work are flat and confirmed in writing before we start. *This guide is general information, not legal advice for any specific transaction. U.S. rules vary by state. Consult a U.S. tax adviser on your U.S. reporting obligations.* ## Sources - Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, Article 27, and the Ley de Inversión Extranjera - [NOM-247-SE-2021](https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/767571/NOM_247__Requisitos_de_la_informaci_n_comercial_y_la_publicidad_de_bienes_inmuebles_destinados_a_casa_habitaci_n_y_elementos_m_nimos_que_deben_contener_los_contratos.pdf) (commercial practices in the sale of residential real estate) - [Ley del Impuesto sobre Adquisición de Bienes Inmuebles de los Municipios del Estado de Quintana Roo](https://transparencia.cancun.gob.mx/uploads/24/28/Ley%20Del%20Impuesto%20Sobre%20Adquisicion%20De%20Bienes%20Inmuebles%20De%20Los%20Municipios%20Del%20Estado%20De%20Quintana%20Roo.pdf) - [Ley de Prestación de Servicios Inmobiliarios del Estado de Quintana Roo](https://transparencia.cancun.gob.mx/uploads/24/28/Ley%20De%20Prestacion%20De%20Servicios%20Inmobiliarios%20Del%20Estado%20De%20Quintana%20Roo.pdf) - [Quintana Roo government: SEDETUS real estate agent registration](https://cgc.qroo.gob.mx/emite-sedetus-230-matriculas-y-acreditaciones-para-asesor-inmobiliario/) - [Reglamento de Construcción para el Municipio de Tulum, Quintana Roo](https://tulum.gob.mx/Transparenciaftp/2022/Secretaria%20Gral/I/1er%20TRIM/VIII.%20REGLAMENTO%20DE%20CONSTRUCCI%C3%93N%20PARA%20EL%20MUNICIPIO%20DE%20TULUM,%20QUINTANA%20ROO.pdf) ## Frequently asked questions ### Can a foreigner own property in Tulum, Playa del Carmen or Cancún? Yes, but not by holding title directly. The whole Riviera Maya sits inside the Restricted Zone created by Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution (50 km from the coast). Under the Foreign Investment Law, a foreigner buys residential property there through a bank trust (*fideicomiso*) or, for commercial or rental-business use, a Mexican corporation. ### Is a Mexican Notario Público the same as a U.S. notary public? No. A U.S. notary witnesses signatures. A Mexican *Notario Público* is an experienced lawyer appointed by the state who drafts the deed, checks title and liens, calculates and withholds taxes, and files the deed with the Public Registry of Property. The notary is impartial. The notary does not negotiate for you or review what the developer promised. ### Is title insurance used in Mexico? It exists, but it is uncommon and not part of a typical closing. Your protection comes from the review done before you pay: chain of title in the Public Registry, a lien certificate, the origin of the land, and the seller's authority to sell. ### Is my deposit held in escrow in Mexico? Usually not. Third-party escrow exists but is not customary here. Buyers are often asked to wire the deposit straight to the seller, developer or agency when they sign a promise-to-purchase agreement. That makes the contract the real protection: written conditions for getting the deposit back, and payment only to an account that belongs to the party named in the contract. ### Who regulates real estate agents in Quintana Roo? The state's Real Estate Services Law requires agents to register with SEDETUS, the state urban-development agency. In practice many people selling property in the region are not registered, and there is no unified MLS. Ask for the agent's SEDETUS registration number.