When we first came to Mexico on our new adventure of buying up properties, we came in a little too green. Unfamiliar with how things generally work in the States, we’ve never purchased property there either, we were even more unfamiliar with purchasing a property in Mexico.

Nonetheless, we started our hunt by simply looking. And browsing. And looking some more. Then we were connected with a family friend’s son who is a real estate agent. With him, we continued to look some more. Coincidentally, the house we ended up purchasing was listed under his company with another real estate agent and so the whole transaction seemed like it would continue smoothly.

Well, it didn’t… continue smoothly, that is. After we gave the standard 5% deposit to the real estate company, we realized that we needed to work intimately with a notario on all things related to purchasing the property. A notario in Mexico should not be confused with a notary public that is common in the States. Instead, the notario in Mexico within the world of real estate is an attorney who specializes in property law.

Becoming a notario in a given state is already a challenge as there are limited licenses given out per state. The demanding rituals of attending and passing the courses to become a notario is not for the faint of heart. The notarios are the only individuals who can legally transfer real estate from one party to another. Property, capital gains and transfer fee taxes are all facilitated by the notario at or prior to closing.

In addition, the notario helps to ensure a clean title in that they check to see that there are no debts or liens against the property and that all taxes are paid up to date. The metes and bounds must be correct and reflected as such in the deeds, known as the escrituras, and that the name of the seller is listed in your contract.

Once all this has been covered, part of their fulfillment as a notario is to also record the transaction in their books and with the Office of Property Titles, otherwise known as the Catastro, and failure to do so would cause them to lose their license. Basically a lot is riding on the line of buying and selling the property with the help of the notario. Where was the real estate agent in all this? Nowhere.

While we’re not trying to convince you to go out of your way to not use a real estate agent in Mexico, just remember that they are more of a conduit in providing listings all in one place. However, if you find your perfect place that is Trato Directo, which is For Sale by Owner, why go out of your way to get a real estate agent involved? Hunker down with your notario and begin the process with your first offer and take it from there.

Thinking of buying a house in Mazatlán or just in Mexico? This post was only intended for those of you who are like us, an individual with dual citizenship (America and Mexican) or you just have Mexican citizenship. If you do not fall into either of these buckets, then you are a non-Mexican citizen looking to buy property in Mexico and you require a fideicomiso. It’s a little more work, but not enough to scare you away from buying property. Check out our post here to read up on what a fideicomiso is all about.