San Miguel de Allende, a not-so-sleepy colonial town in central Mexico, has become a world-renowned tourist destination, artist colony, and real estate hot spot. Visitors flock to the town for its beautiful colonial architecture, friendly people, lively fiestas, and mild climate.
Many have caught the “San Miguel Bug” and stayed on, joining our large community of foreign residents, mostly Americans and Canadians. A relatively small city with a booming housing market, San Miguel still retains its relaxed, small town pace, successfully combining old world charm with modern-day cosmopolitan lifestyle.
It's no secret that more and more North Americans are considering Mexico as the place to retire or buy a second home. According to FONATUR, Mexico's tourism investment agency, the second-home buyer market consists of up to 2 million Americans and 1 million Canadians.
This same agency estimates that 30 percent are retirees. The whole market currently represents US$1.5 billion annually and is growing fast.
With Mexico’s real estate market growing at a rapid rate, there’s always the danger of dubious firms taking advantage of foreign buyers especially who don’t speak Spanish.
There are two important legal arrangements to cover you in case of getting swindled. One is title insurance which ensures that your new property belongs to you, and that you are protected against future claims on the property related to past matters.
The second is third party escrow. This service acts as a neutral disbursing agent between buyers and sellers on a particular real property transaction and disburses following instructions from both parties.
Many have caught the “San Miguel Bug” and stayed on, joining our large community of foreign residents, mostly Americans and Canadians. A relatively small city with a booming housing market, San Miguel still retains its relaxed, small town pace, successfully combining old world charm with modern-day cosmopolitan lifestyle.
It's no secret that more and more North Americans are considering Mexico as the place to retire or buy a second home. According to FONATUR, Mexico's tourism investment agency, the second-home buyer market consists of up to 2 million Americans and 1 million Canadians.
This same agency estimates that 30 percent are retirees. The whole market currently represents US$1.5 billion annually and is growing fast.
With Mexico’s real estate market growing at a rapid rate, there’s always the danger of dubious firms taking advantage of foreign buyers especially who don’t speak Spanish.
There are two important legal arrangements to cover you in case of getting swindled. One is title insurance which ensures that your new property belongs to you, and that you are protected against future claims on the property related to past matters.
The second is third party escrow. This service acts as a neutral disbursing agent between buyers and sellers on a particular real property transaction and disburses following instructions from both parties.
