Entrance to an apartment building on a tree-lined Mexico City street

Buyer Representation in Mexico

Buy Property in Mexico With Lawyers Who Are Paid by You — Not the Seller.

In a Mexican real estate purchase the agent's commission comes from the seller and rises with the price — and yet the same agent may lawfully act for both you and the seller. Meaning there is no incentive for them to get the price down on your behalf. And the notario — the one regulated party in the room — is required to stay neutral between you and the seller. Not one of them has your interests in mind.

Amanah takes one side of a purchase: yours. We find the property, inspect it, verify the title, negotiate the terms and take you through signature at the notaría — holding no listings and taking no commission from any seller, which is what makes it possible for us to tell you not to buy.

Who represents you

You, and nobody else.
No commission from any seller.

Who does the work

Two Mexican attorneys.
40+ years of combined experience.

What it costs

2% of the budget you set,
agreed in writing before we start.

Tell Us About Your Purchase Or read the fee structure first ↓

Tell us where you are

Six questions. We reply within one business day with what we would do and what it would cost.

Step 1 of 2 — How to reach you

First Name

Last Name

Phone or WhatsApp

Where You Live

Preferred Language

Please complete the fields above.

Step 2 of 2 — What you're planning

Where Are You in the Process?

City or Area

State

Approximate Budget

When Are You Hoping to Buy?

Anything Else We Should Know?

Please complete the fields above.

We use these details only to prepare for the conversation. Nothing is shared with agents, sellers or developers.

Thank you. We have your details.

One of the two attorneys named on this page will read this and reply within one business day, in English or Spanish, with what we would do and what it would cost. Nothing you have sent is shared with an agent, a seller or a developer.

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The Structural Problem

Who Gets Paid by Whom

A buyer arriving from the United States, Canada or Europe expects one role to exist that does not. The reason has to do with who pays whom. Below is every party to a Mexican purchase, where their money comes from, and what that money makes them want.

Who

Paid by

Their interest

The listing agent

The seller, as a percentage of the sale price

The sale completing, at the highest price it can complete at

The agent showing you the property

Often the same commission, sometimes the whole of it

Also the sale completing. Advising you against it pays nothing

The developer's lawyer

The developer

Protecting the developer's position in the contract you are being handed

The notario

Fees fixed by a state schedule

The legal validity of the transaction. Required to be neutral between the parties

Amanah

You, and nobody else

That you buy the right property, on the right terms, at the right price

There is one question worth putting to every party in a Mexican purchase, and most buyers never think to ask it: who here is accountable to me, and how would I prove it?

What We Actually Do

Four Pieces of Work, in the Order They Happen

Finding the property

Mexico has no unified listing system, so each agency shows you only what it holds. We search across agencies rather than within one — and we take no commission from any of them, whichever one the property turns out to belong to. A list of properties that fit what you asked for normally takes three to five days.

Inspecting it

An independent technical inspection of structure, installations and condition, carried out by a specialist firm and delivered as a written report — including a costed estimate of what the findings would take to put right. Standard practice where you come from; uncommon here. The cost is ours, not billed on top.

Verifying it legally

Title chain, encumbrances, the seller's authority to sell, agrarian status, zoning and permits, condominium rules and arrears — completed before you commit money, not after. Three business days once we have the documents.

Negotiating and closing

With everything above in hand, we tell you what the property is worth and what to offer, negotiate on your side of the table, draft the contracts, advise on anti-money-laundering requirements, and manage the process through to signature at the notaría.

What It Costs

A Fee That Doesn't Move With the Price

Most people scroll straight to this, so it is here rather than at the bottom.

How it's calculated

2% of the acquisition budget you set at the outset — not a share of the final sale price. Negotiating you a better price does not reduce what we earn, and it does not increase it either.

When it's paid

Half when the engagement is signed, half at closing. We are not paid in full until you have actually closed on a property.

What's included

The technical inspection, the appraisals we need for our own analysis, translation of documents, and travel for property visits.

What isn't

Notarial fees, acquisition taxes, registry charges, bank trust costs and any third-party professional you engage directly. These are payable to others, not to us, and we set them out before you commit.

No part of what we are paid comes from a seller, an agency or a developer. That is the whole reason we are able to tell you not to buy.

We take engagements on properties valued from 2 million pesos upward — roughly $115,000 at recent exchange rates.

What You Receive

Documents, Not Reassurances

“Due diligence” is a category. This is what actually arrives, and what each piece is for.

A list of properties, with findings. Properties matched to what you asked for, each one carrying what we found rather than only what the listing said.
A technical inspection report covering structure, installations and maintenance — with a costed budget for putting right whatever it identifies.
A legal findings report. Title, ownership path, encumbrances, permits, and anything that needs resolving before you sign.
An estimated price to offer, built from those findings rather than from the asking price.
The contracts themselves, drafted or reviewed on your behalf and negotiated from your side of the table.
Someone with you at the notaría on the day you sign.
A summary of the deed in your own language, with translated copies of the deed and the contracts, so that what you signed is legible to you afterwards.

Who You'll Be Working With

The People Who Do the Work

Pedro García Chan

Lawyer · Managing Partner

Qualified at the Universidad Iberoamericana. Practised for four years inside Notaría Pública 230 in Mexico City, which is where the closing side of a Mexican transaction is actually learned. Partner at Chan García Abogados since 2016.

Elizabeth Chan Núñez

Lawyer · Partner

Qualified at the Escuela Libre de Derecho. Legal Corporate Practice Manager at Deloitte Mexico, and previously in-house at IBM and PepsiCo. Certified by CONOCER to assess against Mexico's national competence standard for real estate professionals — in a market where certification is voluntary and uncommon. Thirty-five years in practice.

Where We Work

Coverage, Stated Plainly

Full representation — search, viewings, negotiation and closing — is available across Mexico. We are based in Mexico City and we handle the whole process, wherever the property is.

Legal due diligence and contract review are available anywhere in the country: title and registry searches, the agrarian registry, municipal zoning and permit records, condominium documents and arrears, and the contracts themselves. None of it requires anybody to be in the room.

Technical inspection needs a person at the property. We send the team to it, nationwide, and we tell you what that adds before you decide.

Questions People Ask

Straight Answers

The agent doesn't charge me anything. Why would I pay you?

Because the agent's fee comes from the seller and grows with the price. That is not a criticism of agents — it is how the commission works, and it means the only person in the transaction with a financial reason to negotiate the price down is you. We are that person, on your side of the table.

Isn't the notario supposed to protect me?

The notario protects the validity of the transaction. It is a serious office carrying personal liability, and the work is done to a high standard — but it is required to be neutral between buyer and seller. A notario will not tell you the price is too high, will not negotiate your terms, and generally does not review the promissory agreement before you sign it.

Can you tell me not to buy?

Yes, and we have. It is the clearest test of whether representation is real. Nothing we are paid depends on a particular property completing.

How long does buyer representation take, start to finish?

A full engagement, from first conversation to signature at the notaría, runs around two months. Individual pieces are faster — a list of properties in three to five days, an inspection report in five, legal due diligence in three business days once we have the documents, contract review in two.

Do I have to take the whole service?

No. The inspection, the legal due diligence and the contract work can each be engaged on their own if you have already found a property or are already in a transaction. Tell us where things stand and we will tell you what is worth doing.

Can you represent me if I'm not in Mexico?

Most of our clients aren't, for most of the process. Document and contract work is done remotely, and a properly drafted power of attorney allows a purchase to be completed without you being present. Most buyers make one trip, for viewings.

Warm, sunlit apartment interior in Mexico City

Get Started

Tell Us Where You've Gotten To

What you are trying to buy, and how far along you are. We will tell you plainly what we would do and what it would cost.

A call in English or Spanish, at a time that suits you
What we would do, in what order, and what it costs
An answer within one business day — and if you don't need us, we'll say so
Nothing shared with agents, sellers or developers

Ready when you are

Use the form at the top of this page, or reach us directly.

Direct contact

+52 55 1343 1220

contacto@amanah.com.mx

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