Offer and promise to purchase (contrato de promesa de compraventa)
The written agreement that sets the price, deposit, closing date, conditions (title, permits, zoning) and who pays which costs.
Why it matters
It locks in the deal, and your money, until the notario closes.
Who helps
Your attorney drafts or reviews it, and both parties sign.
What to do: Sign a written offer that sets the price, deposit, closing date and conditions.
Documents
- Passports, the title search, the survey, and the escrow instructions.
What a typical BCS MLS offer contains (checklist)
- Parties and agents, and the commission (paid by the seller).
- Price in US dollars, recorded in the deed in pesos at the official SAT/DOF exchange rate on the closing date. All taxes and fees are calculated on that peso figure.
- Record the full real price. It sets your cost basis for Mexican capital-gains tax when you sell (step 5.9).
- Initial (earnest) deposit into escrow within about 5 business days of acceptance, plus the escrow fee. It's refundable until you remove the contingencies.
- Your paperwork within 5 business days: a signed KYC form, the privacy notice, the signed escrow agreement, and two forms of ID (passport plus driver's license). Beneficiary details are due by the deposit deadline.
- Contingencies (special terms): for example a title search within 14 calendar days and a boundary survey within 10 calendar days, each with 3 extra days to agree on a fix, or the deal is void and the deposit returned.
- Final deposit within 5 business days of the notario's written notice that the deed is ready.
- Closing date "on or before" a date, automatically extended for delays caused by the SRE, notario, bank or government offices.
- Default terms: if you default after removing contingencies, you lose the deposit. If the seller defaults, you get your money back plus a penalty equal to the deposit.
- Who pays what: the buyer pays trust set-up, ISAI, notario and attorney fees. The seller pays capital-gains tax, trust cancellation and commissions.
- Prorations of predial, HOA fees and insurance to the closing date.
- A final walk-through before closing.
- Utilities: the seller keeps the CFE contract in their name until you can meet CFE's RFC requirements to transfer it. You pay the bills from closing.
- Language and signatures: electronic signatures are binding, and the Spanish version prevails in a dispute.
- An expiry time for the offer, and for each counteroffer.
Counteroffers
each round is a separate signed document. You usually initial the seller's counteroffer to acknowledge receipt, then sign your own counter. Keep a full set of every version.
- If the seller is a Mexican company, the title search and the deed must confirm that the person signing has a current power to sell for it.
Costs Estimate
- Included in attorney fees.
Estimates only. Get written quotes.
Common mistakes
- No exit clause if the title search or zoning fails.
- Not stating that the seller pays its own capital-gains tax and clears predial.
- Not making the notario's written cost estimate at the current ISAI rate a condition.
Say it in Spanish
- Quisiera una condición para que el depósito sea reembolsable si se encuentran problemas de título.
I'd like a condition that the deposit is refundable if title issues are found. - ¿Me podría enviar ventas comparables de los últimos 12 meses?
Could you send me comparable sales from the last 12 months?
Terms
Confirm the details for your case with your notario or attorney.
Common questions
How long does closing take?
Often about 1–3 months after the promise to purchase, depending on the trust permit, certificates and the notario's schedule (estimate).