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.” 

For more great Cozumel Information

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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Laura Wilkinson

Author at Cozumel 4 You

An ex-Connecticut Yankee who has called Cozumel home for over 18 years, Laura ran away to the Caribbean years ago, bumped around the islands teaching SCUBA diving, lost some time in Jamaica, and finally stopped in Cozumel for a 2 week vacation that hasn’t ended yet. With a degree in Journalism from a fancy private college she convinced her parents to pay for, Laura writes, edits, and creates the weeklyCozumel 4 You news,social media, and promotional articles about the island, as well as moderates the Cozumel 4 You Facebook group, which currently has over 25,000 members. Her long suffering husband, Fabian, has long since resigned himself to having zero private life, as he’s been involved in her various schemes and plots since his arrival. Proud parents to a variety of rescue dogs and cats, Laura continues to be the bane of her traditional Mexican mother-in-law’s existence, as she muses her way through life in the Mexican Caribbean.
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Una ex yanqui de Connecticut quien llama hogar a Cozumel desde hace más de 15 años. Laura escapó al Caribe hace años, desplazándose de una isla a otra dando clases de BUCEO. Se dedicó a perder el tiempo en Jamaica y finalmente se detuvo en Cozumel para pasar unas vacaciones de 2 semanas que aún no terminan. Convenciendo a sus padres que pagaran una elegante universidad privada, obtuvo su título en Periodismo y Laura crea semanalmente Cozumel 4You, medios sociales y artículos promocionales sobre la Isla y también es moderadora en el grupo Cozumel 4 You en Facebook que actualmente cuenta con 25,000 miembros. Fabián, s umuy tolerante marido, desde hace mucho tiempo se resignó a no tener vida privada, pues se ha visto implicado en los diversos proyectos y planes que urde Laura. Son orgullosos padres de diversos perros y gatos rescatados. Mientras contempla su paso a través de la vida en el Caribe mexicano,Laura continúa siendo la pesadilla en la existencia de su muy tradicional suegra mexicana.

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