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How buying property in Mexico works, step by step, plus 196 articles on costs, tax, rentals and life in the Riviera Maya.

The buying process in 4 steps

Buying in Mexico is different from the US and Canada. Read these in order before you make an offer.

1Step 1IntroductionEach country has their own rules for buying Real Estate and when you first buy in Mexico it can seem confusing! If you…Read step 1 →
2Step 2Fideicomiso or CorporationA Fideicomiso gives a foreign buyer all the property rights and privileges of a citizen, with the additional advantage…Read step 2 →
3Step 3Buying ProcessWhen making your initial offer, this should be done using a written Offer to Purchase contract, ensuring no confusion…Read step 3 →
4Step 4Closing and Title TransferAt this point, both parties should be able to execute the purchase/sales agreement (compra-venta), start the closing…Read step 4 →

Articles

All articles

Tax & Residency

A Realistic Timeline: How Long Residency Applications Actually Take in 2026

Most guides quote an optimistic best-case number for how long Mexican residency takes. Here's a more realistic picture, based on how the process actually plays out across its stages in 2026. The Full Process, Stage by Stage Stage Realistic timing Gathering financial/document evidence Days to a few weeks, depending on how organized your records are Consulate appointment wait Varies significantly by consulate — book as early as possible Consulate review and visa issuance Roughly 10 business...

Aug 29 · 3 min read

Tax & Residency

Common Reasons Residency Applications Get Delayed or Rejected

Most residency application problems are avoidable, and they tend to cluster around a handful of predictable mistakes rather than being random bad luck. Here's what actually trips people up. Financial Documentation Problems This is, by a wide margin, the most common source of rejection at the consulate stage: Statements that don't meet the threshold every single month in the required look-back period — one low-income month can sink an otherwise qualifying application Screenshots or...

Aug 29 · 3 min read

Investment & Rental

Is the Riviera Maya Still a Good Real Estate Investment in 2026?

Yes, with a real caveat: which submarket and which building matter more in 2026 than they did five years ago, when almost anything on the coast appreciated regardless of quality. The Headline Numbers Current forecasts put average Riviera Maya price appreciation around 5.4% per year, with cumulative five-year gains landing somewhere between 20% and 40% depending on location and property quality. On the rental side, gross short-term rental yields of 7-11% are realistic for a well-managed...

Aug 29 · 3 min read

Investment & Rental

Short-Term Rental Rules: Airbnb and the RETUR-Q Registry

If you're buying with rental income in mind, the compliance landscape changed meaningfully in 2025, and it's now a genuine part of your due diligence — not an afterthought. What Changed As of August 2025, Quintana Roo significantly tightened its short-term rental rules. Every host operating on platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, or VRBO is now required to register with the state's Tourism Registry, known as RETUR-Q, administered through SEDETUR (the state tourism secretariat). This formally...

Aug 29 · 3 min read

Tax & Residency

Mexico's 2026 Immigration and Tax Rule Changes: What Property Owners Need to Know

Mexican immigration and tax administration shift incrementally most years rather than through sweeping overhauls, and 2026 has been no exception — but a few real changes are worth knowing if you own property here or are applying for residency. The UMA-Based Solvency Calculation The most concrete change affecting property owners pursuing residency: since mid-2025, Mexican consulates calculate the economic solvency thresholds for temporary and permanent residency using the UMA (Unidad de Medida...

Aug 29 · 3 min read

Tax & Residency

Social Security and Medicare: What Actually Happens to Your Benefits If You Relocate

Retirement is the single biggest driver of Riviera Maya property purchases among American buyers, and Social Security is usually central to the budget. The good news is that most Social Security benefits keep flowing without issue in Mexico. The part that catches people off guard is almost always Medicare, which simply does not travel with you the way many assume. Social Security Retirement, Disability, and Survivor Benefits Generally Continue Mexico is among the countries where the Social...

Aug 29 · 5 min read

Tax & Residency

Working Remotely From Mexico for a US or Canadian Employer: What Your Employer Needs to Know

A growing number of Riviera Maya property owners are not retirees at all; they are remote employees who realized their laptop works just as well overlooking Akumal as it does from a home office up north. That shift raises real questions for the employer, not just the employee, and glossing over them can create tax and legal exposure that most HR departments have never had to think about before. Is It Even Legal to Work Remotely From Mexico? Yes, generally, provided your immigration status is...

Aug 29 · 5 min read

Tax & Residency

How Marriage to a Mexican Citizen Changes the Residency and Ownership Picture

Marrying a Mexican citizen genuinely changes your residency options for the better — but it comes with strings attached that are worth understanding before you rely on it as your path to living here long-term. The Family Unity Visa Route Spouses of Mexican citizens qualify for residency under Mexico's "family unity" (vínculo familiar) category, and it's a meaningfully easier path than the standard economic solvency route. You generally don't need to prove income or savings thresholds, and in...

Aug 29 · 3 min read

Tax & Residency

What Happens to Mexican Property in a US or Canadian Divorce Settlement?

A Mexican vacation property doesn't disappear from a US or Canadian divorce just because it sits outside the court's home jurisdiction — but dividing it does involve a few extra moving parts most divorce attorneys back home haven't dealt with before. Your Home Court Still Has Jurisdiction Over the Marital Estate A US or Canadian divorce court generally has authority to divide the marital estate as a whole, including foreign real estate, as part of the overall settlement — even though it can't...

Aug 29 · 3 min read

Tax & Residency

Can You Deduct Mexican Property Expenses Against Income From Other Sources?

Owners who rent out a Riviera Maya condo often assume that if expenses exceed rental income in a given year, the loss simply reduces their other taxable income, the same way it might feel intuitive for any other rental property. The real answer involves two separate rule sets that most people have never heard of: passive activity loss limitations and the vacation-home personal-use rules, both of which can quietly cap or eliminate the deduction you were expecting. The Starting Point: Yes, You...

Aug 29 · 6 min read

Tax & Residency

Currency Reporting Rules: When Does Moving Money to Mexico Require Extra Disclosure?

Buying property in the Riviera Maya usually means moving a meaningful amount of money across an international border at some point, whether that is a down payment wire, closing funds, or simply relocating savings. Most of that movement is completely routine and legal. But there are specific dollar thresholds, on both the US and Mexican sides, where ordinary transfers cross into formal reporting territory, and it pays to know them before you wire six figures and get an unexpected call from...

Aug 29 · 5 min read

Tax & Residency

Understanding Tax Treaty Tie-Breaker Rules for Dual Residents

It is entirely possible to be considered a tax resident of two countries at the same time, fully, under each country's own domestic law, with neither country conceding the point. A retiree who splits the year between a house in Ontario and a condo in Playa del Carmen can trigger both Mexico's residency test and Canada's, simultaneously and honestly. Tax treaties exist precisely to resolve that overlap, using a specific sequence of tie-breaker rules, and understanding how that sequence...

Aug 29 · 5 min read

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The buying process in 4 steps

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