Buying a Condo in Mexico

be careful, if your not here to watch what is going on, you could loose money.  first find what you want, get a notary, that's a lawyer that can handle real estate. not all lawyers can. talk to a couple if you can. try to get referrals from some one.  i've been down here 21 years and seen people lost the a--.  it's best to come down until it's all done. get someone reliable to help with keeping it rented. again watch out. so much down here isn't regulated. starting with realtors. this is a great country, but like else where, be careful until you know what your doing.

Thank you for the advice and the directions on where to start. That is my biggest fear that I will not be there on a regular basis and someone can take an advantage of that

ninel21978 wrote:

Hello,
My name is Ninel, I live in IN, USA
I have been thinking about purchasing a condo in Mexico, in a resort city, so I could rent it out for a few years. After a few years, I would like to retire there myself.
Any tips on where/how to start? Who to contact? How to know that I am in contact with a person/company I can trust?
I have been searching for properties online and made one contact but have not gotten a response.
Any info is greatly appreciated!

Welcome to expat Mexico Ninel,
I would suggest that you slow down. Have you been here ? Exploration of where you would like to go should be your first step. I would also suggest that you get to the point where you know something about the resort cities. Your statement about buying a condo in a resort city is very generalized.

I'm sure you must know something about all of the political and health agendas active in every country in the world now. It would be wise to sit down and think about how those world wide issues might impact you . Years ago it would have been a different story. Now there would be no guarantee that you could buy a condo and rent it out. There would be no guarantee that there would be customers for that condo if you bought it. The travel industry has been severely impacted by the current agenda..
As for not making a contact on line, if you knew Mexico you would know that is a common occurrence, as I said before on the forum Mexicans are face to face people. Do you speak Spanish ?
You can not expect Mexico to function like the U.S. , it doesn't at all.

There are plenty of expat's selling real estate in Mexico.  I found two agents who are retired law enforcement so I went with them.

I appreciate the honesty. All my questions would be no, no, no. I have not been to Mexico and do not speak Spanish. So far, I have been doing online research to have some ideas on where to start, where to go first.
I do agree that visiting the area and see it with your own eyes is absolutely necessary.  I would like to visit a few places to compare. Buying a condo and renting it out seems like a great idea, great but risky. I do think I would like to retire in Mexico but, as you said, I have to visit first. Probably, more than once.
So, to explain my intentions more clearly, I am very new to this, making baby steps. And I thought that asking people who have seen and experienced it first hand would be very helpful.
As for Mexican culture, I do understand the difference between the USA and other countries because I am an immigrant here myself.

That would be great to work with an expat. How did you find them? Thank you

i don't know how long before you retire, but if it's several years away. i would get a condo up there to rent out near where you live and but it for sale a year before your retire.

You may encounter them here or in the area you are exploring.  We are all expats on the website. You may encounter someone to help while you're looking at places to rent. Be careful though because if profit is involved risks go up.

Some of us may be able to help, but in order to do that we would need to know if you will be in our area. The owner of my house is Mexican and she speaks english very well. Many of the people I have contact with are also Mexican and some of them have been very willing to help . Thats the sort of network you have to develop.

tourist resort towns have an increased risk so if I were you I would be checking less daunting areas that have tourist but not at that level. Some place like Merida perhaps.Lots of expats there. Get your feet wet look around then think about resort towns.

i just noticed, indiana, same here.

We were planning to start by visiting Veracruz. My significant other also wants to find a place with a marina not too far from the city. Still doing reading and research. But I understand the importance to see it with your own eyes before making any real plans.
Any suggestions on the Veracruz area?

Ah, how cool! Where from in IN?

hot

thirty miles north of indianapolis