Can a foreigner buy in Mexico?
Yes. A foreigner can own a property in Mexico with the same rights as a Mexican: to use it, rent it, remodel it, sell it and pass it on. The idea that "foreigners cannot buy on the beach" is a half-truth, and here we explain the part that is true and how it is resolved, which is very simple.
The Constitution (its Article 27) reserves a strip of the country it calls the restricted zone: the 100 kilometers along the borders and the 50 kilometers along the coasts. Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerías and almost all of Bahía de Banderas lie within that coastal strip. There, a foreigner cannot hold the property directly in their own name, but can hold every right over it through two perfectly legal paths used every day: the fideicomiso (a bank trust) or a Mexican company.
Outside that strip (inland, for example, in Guadalajara, Chapala or Ajijic) a foreigner does buy directly in their own name, without a fideicomiso, by signing the so-called Calvo Clause, which simply states that for that property they agree to be bound by Mexican law.
- Buying on the coast of Vallarta or the bay: through a bank fideicomiso (the most common option for a house or apartment) or a Mexican company (more often used for several properties or for business).
- Buying inland: directly in the foreigner's name, with the Calvo Clause.
- In both cases you are in charge of the property: you live in it, rent it, sell it and pass it on.
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