Owning Property in Mexico

Any foreigner may invest in property using a bank trust or fideicomiso, the equivalent of an American or Canadian Trust. To do this the buyer requests a Mexican bank of their choice to act as the trustee on their behalf, then obtains a permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to aquire the properrty in trust.

This trust is for 50 years and is automatically renewable for additional 50 year periods. During this time the owner has all the rights of ownership including selling, leasing and developing the property within the local guidelines. In addition it becomes part of the owner's estate and will be passed on to their heirs without inheritance tax.

The trustee [bank] is responsible to the beneficiary [buyer] to ensure precise fullfillment of the trust according to Mexican law, assuming full technical and administrative supervision in order to protect the interests of the beneficiary.