Owning a Home in Cozumel
5 Easy Steps to Purchasing Your Dream Home in Cozumel
by Nancy Edwards of Cozumel Living Real Estate
Making your dream of moving or retiring to Cozumel isn’t nearly as hard as you might think. As the founder of Cozumel Living Real Estate, I’ve been matching people with properties for 20 years. It’s an easy goal, just follow these simple steps:
Find an AMPI Real Estate Agent You Trust.
AMPI is our official Board of Professional Mexican Real Estate companies and is affiliated with NAR, the National Association of Realtors organization. These realtors are professionals that you can trust. www.ampicozumel.com is the official multi-listing web page for Cozumel. Find an agent that is a good fit for you. Of course, we at Cozumel Living will be happy to help you. Our qualified agents put our clients first.
Establish a Budget.
The Cozumel Living webpage www.cozumelliving.com has made it simple because we are broken down by price range. Remember when purchasing in Mexico, purchases are nearly aways cash paid in full at closing. Closing costs run on an average of around 6% of the declared purchase price. Closing costs can only be estimated after the notario has all of the papers and has had a chance to completely review the file but by using this 6% or go to 8% as an average, you can estimate the total amount you will need to purchase the property. With the rough economy we have had over the past few years, in order to sell, some foreign owners will offer owner financing. Usually expect to pay 50% down and have the balance financed at around 6 to 7% over 5 to 10 years. Of course,
Tour Cozumel Neighborhoods and Properties with Your Real Estate Agent.
Try to be as clear as possible with your agent explaining your budget and what you are looking for. Cozumel has a lot of great areas because the island is safe. Be sure to ask about property values, high water, weird neighbors, rental possibilities, and any other peculiarities that your agent may know about.
Make An Offer on What Works for you.
When you find the perfect house make an offer with an agent. This process is similar to how it is handled in the USA. Usually $1000 cash or check for earnest money is put with the broker to present an offer. Once a property has an offer, it is taken off the market and your offer is submitted. Negotiations go back and forth until the seller and the buyer reach a good sales price. If no agreement is made, the property immediately goes back on the market. If an agreement on price is made, you immediately enter into a Promise Sale Contract with the seller who is promising to sell and the buyer who is promising to purchase. At this point usually 20% down is wired by the buyer to be held by the broker until the property closes then all proceeds are disbursed and around 50% of the closing costs are paid to the notario. The buyers agents will request a copy of the buyers passport and have them fill out a personal information form that goes in a complete package to the notario. The sellers agent should have all of the paperwork when they list the property. Some minor updating may be necessary, but a complete package of paperwork should be ready to go to the notario within a day or two starting the closing process.
More on the actual closing process in our next article.
Buying your dream house in Cozumel can be an easy pleasant experience. Cozumel Living and all of our other experienced AMPI agents will ensure that happens.
Nancy Edwards has been a Cozumel resident for 20 years. She is the owner of Cozumel Living Real Estate, and an active AMPI member. Here’s her “How I Came to Call Cozumel Home Story.”
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This story originally appeared in the weekly Cozumel 4 You NEWS – the island’s number one source of positive information about our island! Be sure and subscribe to the weekly NEWS to find out all the island events!
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