# Build a house/airbnb



## JDC1965 (Jan 21, 2020)

Hi, 
I am going to build a house to live in Valladolid, Mexico. I'm also going to build guest houses and will rent them out via Airbnb or the like. 
I need to set everything up. How should I hold the land? In an individual name, corporation, or trust? I want to avoid as much red tape with obtaining permits, hiring, taxes, etc. as possible but still be in compliance legally. 
Can anyone help me?
Thanks!
Jim


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## amphius (Jan 22, 2020)

I'm also beginning to toy with the idea of buying some land building in Mexico. I'm interested in the replies to your questions.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

To do anything "lucrative" in Mexico will require everything that you seem to want to avoid, plus the fact that you must have a temporary residence visa with permission to work, or a permanent residence visa which allows working. You may apply for approval at a Mexican Consulate in your home country.


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## davcor (Oct 6, 2016)

Easiest way is to become a citizen of Mexico. Then you can do it all easier. You can even own land in the restricted coastal areas. But, it takes some time to get Naturalization papers. If you want to build soon you will need a trust, not cheap and you do not have title to the property. There are other ways that are really not safe. Up to you.


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## DiverSailor123 (Sep 17, 2016)

Unless the Federal law is different state to state and that would make no sense .. You legally cannot rent property held in a Fidieocomiso https://www.mdtlaw.com/images/uploads/The_Mexican_Trust_Fideicomiso1.pdf That said this "Law" is in annual flux state of change..


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

DiverSailor123 said:


> Unless the Federal law is different state to state and that would make no sense .. You legally cannot rent property held in a Fidieocomiso https://www.mdtlaw.com/images/uploads/The_Mexican_Trust_Fideicomiso1.pdf That said this "Law" is in annual flux state of change..


The use of a corporation as the actual owner may solve that problem, but create others.


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## SooozyQ (Jan 19, 2016)

DiverSailor123 said:


> Unless the Federal law is different state to state and that would make no sense .. You legally cannot rent property held in a Fidieocomiso https://www.mdtlaw.com/images/uploads/The_Mexican_Trust_Fideicomiso1.pdf That said this "Law" is in annual flux state of change..


Valladolid is not within the distance that requires a Fidieocomiso.


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

Just an FYI, I had zero, ZERO response with Air BnB. I had a fully furnished house that I wanted to make available. I spent considerable time putting pictures and writing a nice story. After about month, in which absolutely nothing happened, I got an email notice from Air BnB informing me that they were shutting down my account, it could not be reopened, and there was no appealing their decision.

If you wish to rent out a house that you own, you will be much, much better off, in my opinion, working with local real estate professionals. Most of them, or at least the one's my wife and I have agreed to do business with, will check references of potential renters, draw up the contracts, handle communication with the renters, etc. They generally take a commission of one months rent on a 12 month lease (half a month for a 6 month lease, etc.). But, the work they do has been well worth the cost as far as I am concerned.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

dwwhiteside said:


> Just an FYI, I had zero, ZERO response with Air BnB. I had a fully furnished house that I wanted to make available. I spent considerable time putting pictures and writing a nice story. After about month, in which absolutely nothing happened, I got an email notice from Air BnB informing me that they were shutting down my account, it could not be reopened, and there was no appealing their decision.


That's really strange. Did you do any market research to see what other Airbnbs were available in your area, what sort of house or room set-up they offered and how much they charged? 
Getting bookings on Airbnb can be strongly affected by the local competition, as well as it can be quite seasonal. And there's a ton of ins and outs to Airbnb -it's a big learning curve.
Airbnb boots hosts off the platform for all kinds of reasons, but I've never heard of anyone having their account closed down simply because they didn't generate any bookings the first month after they listed. I know it took about 6 weeks after I listed to get my first booking.
I host just a private room in my home. My viable booking season is only 5-6 months- tourists don't come here much in the hot humid summer and the few I have had at that time of year tend to be Mexican nationals. The foreigners who come that time of year can't handle the heat without AC and want a pool, neither of which I have.


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

surabi said:


> That's really strange. Did you do any market research to see what other Airbnbs were available in your area, what sort of house or room set-up they offered and how much they charged?
> Getting bookings on Airbnb can be strongly affected by the local competition, as well as it can be quite seasonal. And there's a ton of ins and outs to Airbnb -it's a big learning curve.
> Airbnb boots hosts off the platform for all kinds of reasons, but I've never heard of anyone having their account closed down simply because they didn't generate any bookings the first month after they listed. I know it took about 6 weeks after I listed to get my first booking.
> I host just a private room in my home. My viable booking season is only 5-6 months- tourists don't come here much in the hot humid summer and the few I have had at that time of year tend to be Mexican nationals. The foreigners who come that time of year can't handle the heat without AC and want a pool, neither of which I have.


I looked at what was available on AirBnB here in Colima, which was nothing. After they shut down my account I did a little more AirBnB research online. This is not a company I would ever again want to do any business with, either as a host or a guest. And I am not the only one: https://www.airbnbhell.com/.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

dwwhiteside said:


> I looked at what was available on AirBnB here in Colima, which was nothing. After they shut down my account I did a little more AirBnB research online. This is not a company I would ever again want to do any business with, either as a host or a guest. And I am not the only one: https://www.airbnbhell.com/.


Oh yes, the company itself is awful. Used to be good, but they got too big for their britches and now they are horrid to deal with. Customer service is farmed out to the Phillipines, many of the reps are not that fluent in English, and are instructed to respond like robots. Keep in mind, though, that people tend to post stuff online when they have an issue, not when everything is going fine, so all those Airbnb hell posts, while likely true, are only part of the picture.
I've had lovely guests from Airbnb for over 3 years, met people from all over the world, and have luckily never had to deal to Airbnb regarding anything more than some minor tech issues, which all got resolved. 
But hosting a private room in one's home, which is what I do, is a lot different than listing an entire house for rent. It's not like any of my guests can throw a rager party, sneak extra people in, or trash the place, when they are just staying in my extra bedroom/bathroom and sharing the kitchen with me.


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