Recovery · Lost deposit
Lost a deposit buying property in Mexico?
You paid to reserve or toward a purchase, and now the money, or the deal, is gone. What decides whether a deposit is recoverable, and how to pursue it.
Losing a deposit is one of the most common ways foreign buyers get hurt in Mexico, and, depending on a few specific facts, one of the more recoverable. Whether you put down earnest money to reserve a property, an enganche toward the price, or a larger payment on a preventa, what you can do now turns on three things.
What decides whether a deposit comes back
- What the contract says. The terms, the refund conditions, and any penalty clause usually decide your rights on paper. The document controls, not what you were told out loud.
- Who holds the money. A deposit paid to an agency (inmobiliaria), a developer, or a private seller each opens different routes.
- How it moved. A bank transfer or a card payment leaves a trail that is far easier to follow than cash.
Common ways a deposit disappears
- A reservation with no real contract. You paid to hold a property on a thin receipt, and the seller walked.
- A deposit on a preventa that stalled. Pre-construction that was delayed, abandoned, or never delivered.
- A seller or agent who simply won’t return it. The deal fell through on terms that, read closely, may actually entitle you to a refund or a penalty in your favor.
Your realistic options
- Read the contract for your refund right. The first question is often whether the contract already entitles you to the money back.
- A formal demand with standing. A demand that real action can follow, not a letter the other side can ignore.
- PROFECO, or CONDUSEF if the purchase was financed. A consumer complaint can bring the parties to conciliation and create an official record.
- A criminal denuncia. Where the deposit was taken by deceit, fraud is a crime, and a denuncia before the Fiscalía can run alongside civil recovery.
- Payment-channel recovery. Depending on how you paid, your bank or card network may have a recovery path worth checking early.
- Civil action to recover the money or enforce the contract.
What to bring to a review
- The contract or receipt, and any messages about what the deposit was for.
- Proof of payment: transfers, card statements, receipts.
- Who you paid (agency, developer, or seller) and their details.
The questions people ask us first
Honest, specific answers, the same ones we'd give you in a consultation.
Can I get an earnest-money deposit back in Mexico?
Sometimes. It usually turns on what your contract says, who holds the money, and how it moved. A well-drafted contract often spells out when a deposit is refundable and may set a penalty (pena convencional) if the other side fails to perform. If the deposit was taken by deceit, recovery becomes a fraud question too. There is no guarantee, but a contract and a payment trail are exactly what a review reads first.
I paid a deposit in cash. Is it gone?
Not necessarily, though cash is harder. Written proof helps most: a receipt, a signed contract, messages confirming what the payment was for. Where the money was taken by deception, a criminal denuncia does not depend on how you paid. The sooner the facts are reviewed, the more options tend to remain.
Is a 'reservation receipt' a binding contract?
Often it is far weaker than buyers assume. A thin receipt to 'hold' a property may create few obligations on the seller. Whether you have a real claim depends on the document's actual terms, not its label, which is why having it read closely is the first step.
What does it cost to find out where I stand?
A confidential first review is a flat-fee consultation (currently $150 USD). If recovery is worth pursuing, you get a fixed scope and price in writing before any work begins, and an honest answer if it is not worth it.
Honest from the start: we never guarantee an outcome or promise “your money back.” Anyone who does is a warning sign. And if a case isn't worth your time and money, we'll tell you that too. How we work
The next step
Tell us what's going on. We'll tell you the truth.
Confidential, and in plain English. No pressure, just a clear sense of where you stand.
Confidential · no pressure to continue