Has anyone bought or sold property in Mexico recently? I have a family member who asked for some guidance on them selling their condo in Cancun. I am not familiar with transactions in foreign countries, but I suspect a member or two here might have some knowledge about them. From what I understand there are some quirks to it -- and there are no title companies there to make the process easy. Before someone asks, this is being sold to a Buyer who used to rent the property, so no agent involved.
It is my understanding that you cannot actually own a Mexican property as an American if it is in a restricted zone, which Cancun is being within 50km of the water. It actually has to be brokered into a Real Estate Trust to hold the title for the buyer. Typically these trusts have to be renewed every 30-50 years.
I have a close family member that owns a few hotels on the beach 40 minutes from Cancun. I’ve heard a few crazy stories about payoffs that had to be made to get certain things done. It sounded like a huge headache.