We need to be MORE like Mexico…no really.
Those pesky laws in… in Mexico.
For extended visas [ we don’t need no stinking visas!]
called FM 3, you may pay a monthly fee of $1,000
dollars to $1,800 and it is constantly going up.
…and you must have documents to present as well
as proof of financial stability. We can’t just
hop the border without a birth certificate and ID
and expect to work in Mexico, buy property in
Mexico and drive a car. Mexico has immigration laws and they abide by them.
The country of Belize has even stricter
laws. You must prove financial solvency before
you can apply for Belize citizenship.
None of these Central and South American
countries will take the first Gringo who hops the borders.
Owning Property
A Fideicomiso (trust) is required to own property
near the beach. Foreigners cannot hold property
near the Mexican coast in their name. To handle
this problem, the major banks provide a trust
service for which the buyer pays an initial fee
of about US $2,000 to $4,000 and annual fees of
$150 to $500, depending on the price of the
property and upon the bank. These are very rough
estimates; the fees change all the time. The bank
then holds the deed in trust for a specified
time. This can be renewed or terminated for a fee.
The banks examine the legal paperwork very
carefully, hence the usual Acta de Posesión that
most of the natives have (the unregistered
document issued by a local elected commission) is
not acceptable to the bank. Nor is the somewhat
more formal Escritura Privada where the property
has at least been registered with a county judge.
Only the Escritura Publica, a grand document
researched and written by a Notaria Publica, is
acceptable. Only with the Escritura Publica are
you sure that you have a free and clear title.
Since there are many stories of land being sold
multiple times, in my opinion the Escritura
Publica, held by the bank in a Fideicomiso, is well worth the money.
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