Title Insurance in Mexico

Learn more about title insurance in Mexico in IL Postcards.

By purchasing title insurance, you make sure you hold clear title to your property and that, should anybody dispute that title, you'll have an advocate who will defend your claim in the local courts. We highly recommend you buy title insurance-particularly for undeveloped land. And if the title insurer you've hired says he will not insure the property…don't buy it.

What could go wrong? An all-too-common and potentially costly problem involves developers who do not get the proper zoning and subdivision permission to develop their land for resale. They might be marketing a project that appears to be above board.  You might see survey stakes marking the lot lines and have in hand a glossy brochure with drawings of what the plans entail. But unless you can be absolutely sure you'll get your own independent title to your lot, don't buy. And the only way to be sure is to have a title-insurance company investigate the project for you.

Rates range from about $5 to $7 per $1,000 of coverage, depending on the value of your property and the firm you hire. Two firms offering title insurance in Mexico are:

First American Title Insurance (Turalu Brady Murdock, Vice President/Counsel,
Caribbean/Latin America Division); Sunrise, FL, office tel. (954)839-2900, ext. 188; toll-free tel. (877)641-6767; fax (954)838-9228; e-mail: tmurdock@firstam.com; website: www.firstam.com; (and David Wiesley, Vice President-Mexico Operations); Dallas, TX, office tel. (214)979-0003; fax (214)303-0935; e-mail: dwiesley@firstam.com; website: www.firstam.com.

Stewart Title and Guarantee Company (Mitch Creekmore, Vice President & Director of Mexico Business Development); Houston, TX, office tel. (713) 625-8753; toll-free tel. (800)729-1900; fax (713)629-2321; e-mail: mcreekmo@stewart.com; website: www.stewart.com.

These title insurance companies offer escrow services to buyers of property in Mexico.  As we explained earlier, a real estate agency will often keep your initial payment in an account for you and hold onto it until the closing, essentially acting as escrow agent.  While this is likely to be safer than giving the payment to a property owner directly, there is no guarantee you'll get that money back should something go wrong. We trust the realtors we recommend, but we want to remind you that not all realtors or property owners you'll meet in Mexico (or anywhere for that matter) are to be trusted. If you're at all uncomfortable, buy title insurance and use an escrow service. It's a small price to pay for peace of mind-and a guarantee that your investment is safe.

Learn more about title insurance in Mexico in IL Postcards.