How to buy a house in Mexico?

[Luke Thory]

Hey there. My brother is interested in the best way how to buy a house in Mexico. He and his girlfriend (she is Mexican) want to emigrate to Mexico in a few years (not more than three, he says). Probably he will marry her before then. For this reason, immigration formalities are not important. The real question is how he will buy a house in Mexico with the capital of around 150.000 Dollars saved up. Is it best to do it from here through an estate agent (which might be very expensive…there is apparently only luxury estate agents on the internet) or can you take the money to Mexico legally without big losses/expenses (transfer it to a Mexican account) and then buy the house there? In Mexico houses are rather cheap.... Anyone with any experiences and tips? Thanks in advance for the answers!! :-)

[Mike Lambert]

@Luis Guerrero

In Mexico, you either pay 25% of the declared value of the property or 35% of the net profit. The net profit is the difference between the assessed values at purchase and sale, taking into account any miscellaneous contributions over the course of ownership.

Then, you'll have to pay the US capital gains tax, against which you can credit the tax paid in Mexico. Just make sure that it's still covered by the latest version of the US - Mexico tax treaty for the avoidance of double taxation.

Of course, you might want to get everything confirmed with tax professionals.