How do you actually pay for property in Mexico?

Almost every purchase is paid by international wire transfer into the notaría's account or the seller's corporate account — never a personal one — released against signed and notarized documents rather than promises. Mexico has no automatic US-style escrow, so the notario is your control point. Prices are often quoted in dollars; taxes are always calculated in pesos.

I run the commercial side of Selvadentro, and I have watched the same thing happen in dozens of conversations: buyers stop worrying about Mexico the moment they see which account the money goes to and which document releases it. That order — document first, money second — is the entire discipline. Here is how a clean purchase moves, and what it looks like when someone is trying to skip a step.

Who should the money actually go to?

There are only three legitimate destinations. The notaría's account, for closing costs, taxes and often the balance of the price. The seller's or developer's corporate account, exactly as named in your contract, with a receipt or factura issued for every payment. Or a trust or escrow account opened for the transaction, when one has been agreed in writing.

That is the list. A personal account belonging to a salesperson, a "partner", a relative of the owner, or a company whose name appears nowhere in your contract is not a payment — it is a donation with a story attached. Ask for the beneficiary details in writing, confirm the account holder is the same legal entity that signed your contract, and keep every wire confirmation and receipt. Those documents prove you paid, and they also form part of your cost basis years later, when tax on the sale is calculated.

One more rule, unglamorous and reliable: a broker who asks you to send the deposit to them personally has told you everything you need to know. Commissions are the seller's obligation, not a line in your wire.

What does a normal payment schedule look like?

1. Reservation. A modest deposit against a written reservation agreement naming the specific lot, the price, how long the price is held, and what happens to the money if you walk away. If the refund conditions are not in writing, assume the deposit is not refundable — whatever you were told out loud.
2. Contract. A contrato de promesa de compraventa, or the purchase contract itself: the parties, the lot's registry identification, price, currency, the full payment schedule, penalties on both sides, delivery dates, and the seller's obligation to deliver clean, registrable title.
3. Scheduled payments. On a developer plan, monthly instalments. On a cash purchase, usually one balance at closing. Ours at Selvadentro runs 48 months with no interest, direct with the developer — stated here because payment structure belongs in public, not in a closing room.
4. Closing at the notaría. The balance plus the acquisition tax (ISABI/ISAI), notary fees and registry costs, which in the Riviera Maya typically total 6–8% of the price on top of the land, plus fideicomiso setup if you are a foreign buyer in the coastal zone.
5. Registration. The notario registers the escritura at the Registro Público de la Propiedad. The purchase is finished when the registry says so — not when the wire clears.

Notice that every payment after the reservation is tied to an instrument someone with legal authority has drafted. That is the pattern to protect. Money that moves ahead of documents is the single most common way buyers get hurt here.

Does escrow exist in Mexico?

Not as a default. In the United States, escrow is a reflex: a neutral third party holds funds and releases them when conditions are met. In Mexico, most of that function sits with the notario — a state-appointed public official, not a vendor you shop for — and with the closing act itself, where money and escritura change hands together. That structure is strong, but it is different, and it kicks in at closing rather than at your first deposit.

Escrow is nevertheless available if you ask. Cross-border title and escrow companies do serve Riviera Maya transactions, and title insurance exists in Mexico as a US-style policy, usually for a few hundred dollars. Neither appears on its own. Ask for escrow, a title policy, or both while you still have leverage — before signing, not after the deposit is gone. If you want to understand who is actually working for you in all of this, read do you need a lawyer if a notario is involved.

What about the exchange rate if the price is in dollars?

Land here is frequently priced in dollars — ours is quoted per square metre in USD — while the Mexican side of the transaction runs in pesos: acquisition tax, notary fees, registry, predial, HOA. Most buyers therefore live with two currencies at once. Three rules keep that from costing you money.

• Fix the currency in the contract. Name the currency of the price and the exchange reference used for any peso conversion. "We'll use the rate on the day" is a contract term, not a detail — know who benefits from it.
• Convert through banks, not counters. Wire dollars and let the receiving institution or the notaría convert at an institutional rate. Airport and hotel exchange desks are a tax on convenience.
• Remember your recurring costs are pesos. Our HOA fee is set at about 5 MXN per m² per month, so a 600 m² lot runs roughly 3,000 MXN monthly. In dollar terms that figure moves with the exchange rate, in both directions. The full annual picture is in what it costs every year to own.

What are the red flags, and what does normal look like?

None of these is subtle once it is written down. The pressure tactics are the most effective, because urgency is cheap to manufacture and expensive to resist — which is exactly why a good seller will let you take the contract home.

Pay against paper, in that order, and buying in Mexico stops feeling exotic. If you are comparing land while you read this, what is available in Suspiro is public, with the price, the lot sizes and the payment terms in writing before anyone asks you for anything.