# Buying Property Questions



## ElPaso2012 (Dec 16, 2012)

I know you can buy property in Mexico, but can you get a mortgage or do you have to purchase in cash? Will my good credit help me in Mexico if financing is available or does a person begin the process of establishing credit all over again?


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

ElPaso2012 said:


> I know you can buy property in Mexico, but can you get a mortgage or do you have to purchase in cash? Will my good credit help me in Mexico if financing is available or does a person begin the process of establishing credit all over again?


I feel no to all your questions. The federal easy to get low interest loans for workers are for Mexican Nationals only. The banks that give out mortgages don´t care about your US credit standing. They usually loan money and take a paid off house as collateral at 9% or more interest. 

A Mexican National will need 20% down to get a loan from the low interest federal govt loan agency and the house or apartment must be within the appraisal price, which is unlikely many times if it is not a gov´t. sanctioned low income federal housing project like URBIVILLA. Then they only need about $10,000 pesos down, a job history in that area for at least 6 months and pay about $1500.00 pesos a month for 15 to 20 years on a small town house or apartment worth about $25,000 US on tiny sq. meters lot or in a building. This is for a new place. If buy used there it is a different story if it is paid off, if not you need cash to pay it off and cannot transfer ownership within the guidelines not being a Mexican National and keep the gov´t. mortgage.

In other words Mexican Nationals with a good paying job, good credit history and long work history getting a used house outside of an URBIVILLA project have the collateral first and a down payment to match the difference and pay 9% interest of more for 15, 20 or 25 years if lucky to get approved here, I have been told.

You would not qualify except in a condo beach complex owned by US or Canadian investors with special deals set up with a decent down payment and steady income, I feel, and quite possibly loans of origination from NOB.

It might be possible for an immigrant with a paid off house to get a mortgage under the right circumstances here from a bank for another property with collateral.


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## ElPaso2012 (Dec 16, 2012)

Well, that's all very interesting, Alan. I've seen NOB here several times. Does that mean _nation of birth_?


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

ElPaso2012 said:


> Well, that's all very interesting, Alan. I've seen NOB here several times. Does that mean _nation of birth_?


NOB = North of the Border


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## ElPaso2012 (Dec 16, 2012)

Isla Verde said:


> NOB = North of the Border


Thanks so much.


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## gwizzzzz (Apr 21, 2013)

Bank of Nova Scotia and HSBC both offer mortgages in mexico for foreign nationals i think they usually require 30% down


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## ElPaso2012 (Dec 16, 2012)

gwizzzzz said:


> Bank of Nova Scotia and HSBC both offer mortgages in mexico for foreign nationals i think they usually require 30% down


Interesting you mention HSBC, because it was on their website FAQ pages about international checking accounts that I saw something that led me to believe they did. I called, and customer service rep did not know, so she transferred me to a Mexican banking specialist who unfortunately had limited English. I could never make my question clear to her. 30% down is pretty steep, though. I did learn that HSBC has five branches in Mazatlan and five branches in Ciudad Durgango.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

I've heard of a few banks with NOB connections that would offer mortgages but at a very inflated rate & downpayment. Also a pretty short payoff. Really think answer is rent till you can buy for cash.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

The short answer is: If you wish to buy a home in Mexico, your foreign credit history is useless. You should be prepared to pay cash, or to rent. In the restricted coastal and border zones, one must buy through a trust, rather than fee simple, and there are significant fees and annual trust expenses that add to the cost of such ownership.


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## ElPaso2012 (Dec 16, 2012)

Well, thanks to all.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Mortgage loans here for foreigners whether NOB, SOB WOB or EOB are difficult to impossible to get and extremely expensive if you do get one - a major ripoff in a country where foreclosures are problematic thus making mortgage lending risky and expensive. *Pay cash or don´t buy*. At best, you may find a seller who is willing to carry back a short tem loan for a fraction of the purchase price because he/she is desperate to sell. 

Pay cash or rent. Those are the only reasonable options. The nice thing about renting is that you can get the hell out of there when you discover you are just up the street from an evento or brick factory or carpentry or iron worker shop with those screeching saws and hammers disturbing the peace every day or a teenager who likes to play his stereo in the yard of the home next door all day long evey day and into the night and bear in mind that, even if these nuisances don´t exist when you first occupy the property, they can appear any day as if by magic and drive you insane. Also, wait until you discover serious structural issues with the new home you just bought in the land of non-disclosure where nobody is responsible for anything. If you rent a home with rotten support beams or a compromised foundation - all invisible to the naked eye, you can walk away. If you bought the white elephant you can only stay there and feed it and feed it and feed it until you or it dies.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Or rent while building your own .... as money is available. That's the way Mexicans do it. I did it that way


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Hound Dog said:


> Mortgage loans here for foreigners whether NOB, SOB WOB or EOB are difficult to impossible to get and extremely expensive if you do get one - a major ripoff in a country where foreclosures are problematic thus making mortgage lending risky and expensive. *Pay cash or don´t buy*. At best, you may find a seller who is willing to carry back a short tem loan for a fraction of the purchase price because he/she is desperate to sell.
> 
> Pay cash or rent. Those are the only reasonable options. The nice thing about renting is that you can get the hell out of there when you discover you are just up the street from an evento or brick factory or carpentry or iron worker shop with those screeching saws and hammers disturbing the peace every day or a teenager who likes to play his stereo in the yard of the home next door all day long evey day and into the night and bear in mind that, even if these nuisances don´t exist when you first occupy the property, they can appear any day as if by magic and drive you insane. Also, wait until you discover serious structural issues with the new home you just bought in the land of non-disclosure where nobody is responsible for anything. If you rent a home with rotten support beams or a compromised foundation - all invisible to the naked eye, you can walk away. If you bought the white elephant you can only stay there and feed it and feed it and feed it until you or it dies.


Hound Dog, are these warnings based on your personal experiences with the neighbors from hell?


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

_


sparks said:



Or rent while building your own .... as money is available. That's the way Mexicans do it. I did it that way

Click to expand...

_So true, sparks. THis is a common phenomenon in pueblos we visit in Southern Mexico where one will find plenty of partially built homes where work on the structure is done incrementally while the owner works to save enough money for the next phase of construction. When we stay in our favorite Zapoteco pueblo near Oaxaca City, we sometimes stay in a partially completed home being built over time by a local guy who is an undocumented worker in the U.S. and, every time he returns to the village, he does some more work on the structure so, as we usually stay there no more than once a year or even less often, every time we travel there there is another bedroom here or bathroom there or a more complete kitchen - you name it. It will take him years to finish construction as he returns to the village periodically from the U.S.. He puts away money for continued construction religiously while working as he has zero access to credit and would not like to be in debt anyway even if a construction loan were available which no way in hell will it ever be except maybe from Mama. 

The foreign homebuyer, even if retired and with a limited cash flow, may be able to find a modest lot he or she can afford and salt away a little money faithfully as possible to start building a home on the property starting, perhaps, with a property defining wall meant to encompass the coming construction and protect the homeowner´s property rights over the years while construction continues apace as capital becomes available. Meanwhile, the foreign buyer rents modest digs down the road until his/her own home is completed enough to permit habitation, granted, with some inconveniences, such as the lack of bathroom plumbing, until more money is accumulated.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

[_QUOTE=Isla Verde;1313017]Hound Dog, are these warnings (about buying versus renting) based on your personal experiences with the neighbors from hell?[/QUOTE]_

Well, damn, Isla, very discerning of you to see through my dire warning about the dangers of buying a home in an unfamiliar environment when, had the reader rented, he/she could have simply walked away after fulfilling short term obligations to the landlord. I am pleased to say that we have been very lucky having purchased homes in both Ajijic at Lake Chapala and in the historic district of San Cristóbal without renting in advance for a while and, in both cases, we are blessed with quiet neighbors (with only rare disturbances from parties or firecrackers) and live in very peaceful home environments in both places as has always been true in the 12 plus years we have been homeowners in Mexico. That good fortune is not because we were astute homebuyers so much as damn lucky since we had no idea what we were doing when we picked the two properties. We did, however, take certain precautions:
* We avoided houses adjacent to large empty lots where the lack of zoning meant anyone doing anything could move next door and made sure we bought where adjacent propertis were already there, mature and being used as residences rather than workshops engaged in various noisy or polluting activities such as carpentry or car repair shops among other enterprises disturbing our peace. So far, so good but tomorrow is another day.
* We cruised the neighborhoods looking for nearby eventos or nightclubs and other places that might engage in late night noisy frollics.

Still, despite these precautions, one can never be sure about neighbors and others but, no, we have been lucky to be in very quite neighborhoods over the years so I guess my post that you were referring to was a bit melodramatic. Had we inadvertently bought in the wrong neighborhoods, we would probably need those "white noise" earphones someine was bragging about earlier that, supposedly, delivr peace and quiet in the presence of overwhelming noise.

As for renting versus buying, do as I say, not as I do if you get my drift. In our defense, we were immature wet-behind-the-ears retirees in our 50s when we bought that Lake Chapala house and had no idea what we were doing. We are more mature at present and are too old to buy anything. Well, maybe a new car.


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## GARYJ65 (Feb 9, 2013)

Hound Dog said:


> So true, sparks. THis is a common phenomenon in pueblos we visit in Southern Mexico where one will find plenty of partially built homes where work on the structure is done incrementally while the owner works to save enough money for the next phase of construction. When we stay in our favorite Zapoteco pueblo near Oaxaca City, we sometimes stay in a partially completed home being built over time by a local guy who is an undocumented worker in the U.S. and, every time he returns to the village, he does some more work on the structure so, as we usually stay there no more than once a year or even less often, every time we travel there there is another bedroom here or bathroom there or a more complete kitchen - you name it. It will take him years to finish construction as he returns to the village periodically from the U.S.. He puts away money for continued construction religiously while working as he has zero access to credit and would not like to be in debt anyway even if a construction loan were available which no way in hell will it ever be except maybe from Mama.
> 
> The foreign homebuyer, even if retired and with a limited cash flow, may be able to find a modest lot he or she can afford and salt away a little money faithfully as possible to start building a home on the property starting, perhaps, with a property re wall meant to encompass the coming construction and protect the homeowner´s property rights over the years while construction continues apace as capital becomes available. Meanwhile, the foreign buyer rents modest digs down the road until his/her own home is completed enough to permit habitation, granted, with some inconveniences, such as the lack of bathroom plumbing, until more money is accumulated.


I agree on that is what SOME Mexicans do, not MOST Mexicans

On the other hand, just one thought about following that system for RETIRED foreigners; they may not see the end of the construction if they go that slow, taking into consideration retiring age


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

_


GARYJ65 said:



I agree on that is what SOME Mexicans do, not MOST Mexicans

On the other hand, just one thought about following that system for RETIRED foreigners; they may not see the end of the construction if they go that slow, taking into consideration retiring age

Click to expand...

_Perhaps it is important that the totally flat lot chosen front a bus stop with wheelchair access and construction start with disabled access ramps. No stairs, thank you. Also separate quarters for a full-time live-in nurse who can cook and hide the key to the liquor cabinet.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

GARYJ65 said:


> I agree on that is what SOME Mexicans do, not MOST Mexicans
> 
> On the other hand, just one thought about following that system for RETIRED foreigners; they may not see the end of the construction if they go that slow, taking into consideration retiring age


Might depend on where you are for the percentage of slowly built homes to be high. The percentage is very high here because work is sporadic for many. Buy a couple hundred bricks and leave them till you can afford the cement or mortar. Heck, the re-bar sticking out of the roof says my house is not finished so I don't pay taxes.

A ****** should have enough money to secure the property and build a few comfortable rooms or if not, probably is not ready to move here. You could do that with 15-20k minus the property.

You'd better have your health because it's a good idea to keep an eye on the whole project. Probably need a real contractor to get you started. I'm pushing 70 and was here every day but very glad it's finished. I do have re-bar sticking out of my roof tho


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Hound Dog said:


> Perhaps it is important that the totally flat lot chosen front a bus stop with wheelchair access


Bus ... we don't need no stinking bus. I'm the bus driver here. Take kids to school, neighbors shopping, take a family that plays music on the beach - to the beach (base is large and heavy) and to Centro de Salud for alacran stings


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## GARYJ65 (Feb 9, 2013)

Hound Dog said:


> Perhaps it is important that the totally flat lot chosen front a bus stop with wheelchair access and construction start with disabled access ramps. No stairs, thank you. Also separate quarters for a full-time live-in nurse who can cook and hide the key to the liquor cabinet.


I take that as an exaggerated remark, anyhow we have a saying here: lo dirás de chia, pero es de horchata


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

GARYJ65 said:


> I take that as an exaggerated remark, anyhow we have a saying here: lo dirás de chia, pero es de horchata


An exaggeration, or an example of Hound Dog's brand of humor! For the Spanish-impaired among us, please provide a translation and explanation of the saying you've posted. Thanks.


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## GARYJ65 (Feb 9, 2013)

Isla Verde said:


> An exaggeration, or an example of Hound Dog's brand of humor! For the Spanish-impaired among us, please provide a translation and explanation of the saying you've posted. Thanks.


No way! That was the purpose, for you guys to find out

(Spanish-impaired  )


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

GARYJ65 said:


> No way! That was the purpose, for you guys to find out
> 
> (Spanish-impaired  )


My Spanish is in good shape, but that doesn't mean I understand the meaning of many Mexican sayings, which have a cultural as well as a linguistic meaning. Please explain!


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## GARYJ65 (Feb 9, 2013)

Isla Verde said:


> My Spanish is in good shape, but that doesn't mean I understand the meaning of many Mexican sayings, which have a cultural as well as a linguistic meaning. Please explain!


That means that something may be said as a joke but it may be true


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

GARYJ65 said:


> That means that something may be said as a joke but it may be true


Thanks!


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Isla Verde said:


> An exaggeration, or an example of Hound Dog's brand of humor! For the Spanish-impaired among us, please provide a translation and explanation of the saying you've posted. Thanks.


What was that rule you brought up last week about writing foreign languages on this board?


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## Marishka (Feb 1, 2009)

GARYJ65 said:


> I take that as an exaggerated remark, anyhow we have a saying here: lo dirás de chia, pero es de horchata


Thanks for posting this. It's a new one for me. I tried looking it up in my _Ultimate Spanish Phrase Finder _book, but it wasn't there. So I went online and found an explanation in this article:

Expresiones con palabras olvidadas


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Marishka said:


> Thanks for posting this. It's a new one for me. I tried looking it up in my _Ultimate Spanish Phrase Finder _book, but it wasn't there. So I went online and found an explanation in this article:
> 
> Expresiones con palabras olvidadas


Thanks for posting the link to this article. It appears in Algarabía, a very interesting magazine published in Mexico, that often deals with slightly off-the-beat topics.


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## GARYJ65 (Feb 9, 2013)

Marishka said:


> Thanks for posting this. It's a new one for me. I tried looking it up in my Ultimate Spanish Phrase Finder book, but it wasn't there. So I went online and found an explanation in this article:
> 
> Expresiones con palabras olvidadas


I just read your link, all the words there are still in use, very seldom, but just about any Mexican understand and may use them


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## GARYJ65 (Feb 9, 2013)

chicois8 said:


> What was that rule you brought up last week about writing foreign languages on this board?


Foreign languages?
Foreign for whom?

The rule is to write in English, which may be a native tongue for some


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## Nils (Aug 13, 2013)

In general foreigners cannot get financing in Mexico. I am realtor here in Playa del Carmen. Feel free to ask me questions or send me a message.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Nils said:


> In general foreigners cannot get financing in Mexico. I am realtor here in Playa del Carmen. Feel free to ask me questions or send me a message.


Nils, it's very generous of you to offer your professional advice to members of this Forum, but remember no advertising of your services unless you pay for a Premium Membership. Thanks for your cooperation.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

chicois8 said:


> What was that rule you brought up last week about writing foreign languages on this board?


She asked for a translation .... and Spanish with translations sounds reasonable and educational


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