프라임론

Buying abroad: Mexico becomes a bit easier   By Kevin Brass
Thursday, March 15, 2007   Sarah Booth acknowledges that she was scared the first time she bought property in Mexico. Sarah Booth는 멕시코에서 처음 부동산을 취득했을 때 매우 두려웠다.  

She had heard the stories of frauds and shady transactions, and her Spanish was limited to asking for restaurant checks. But two years ago she fell in love with a 45-square-meter, or 500- square-foot, condominium a block from the beach in Puerto Vallarta, which she bought for $115,000.

그녀는 멕시코 부동산 사기와 암거래에 관한 소식을 들었고, 식당에서 음식값을 지불하는 정도의 스페인어 밖에 구사할 수 없없다. 그러나 그녀는 2년전에 Puerto Vallarta의 해변에서 한 블록 떨어진 500평방미터의 콘도미니엄을 115,000달러에 사들였다.

Now she owns three properties in Mexico.

지금은 멕시코에서 3곳의 부동산을 보유하고 있다.

"I just decided I'm going to risk it and jump in," said Booth, 38, a former property manager from Whistler, Canada. "You have to have a sense of adventure."

리스크를 감수하고 부동산을 취득하기로 결정했다고 말하자, 캐나다의 부동산 업자는 모험을 행하는 것이라 했다.

While it still can be an adventure, experts say that the process of buying property in Mexico has changed dramatically in recent years. Title insurance and the wide availability of mortgages have added a new level of security to transactions and encouraged an increase in the number of foreign buyers.

전문가들은 지금도 그러한 선택은 위험하지만 멕시코의 자산취득절차가 최근에 급속하게 변해왔다고 말한다. 물권보험 및 다양한 모기지론이 거래 안전성을 향상시키고 해외 투자자 수를 늘리고 있다.

Stewart Title, which began offering title insurance in Mexico in 1993, has seen its Mexico business triple in the past three years, said Mitch Creekmore, senior vice president for business development at Stewart International and co- author with Tom Kelly of "Cashing In on a Second Home in Mexico."

1993년 부터 멕시코에서 물권보험서비스를 제공하는 Stewart Title은 지난 3년간 규모가 세 배로 확장되었다고 (이력 부분 생략)Mitch Creekmore는 말했다.

But buying in Mexico still can be a complicated, frustrating process for the uninitiated, experts warn. Until recently, escrow accounts were rare, and agents still are not licensed, adding a level of uncertainty for first-time buyers.

그러나 전문가들은 멕시코 부동산 취득은 여전히 복잡한 절차를 밟아야 한다고 경고한다. 최근까지 신용중개는 드물고, 에이전트는 적법한 자격이 없기에, 처음으로 부동산을 취득하려는 사람들의 불안을 가중시킨다.

"You have to do your own due diligence," Creekmore said.

Creekmore는 투자자 개인이 상당한 주의를 기울여야 한다고 말했다.

Booth discovered one of the complications when she tried to resell a 35- square-meter condo in Puerto Vallarta. The transaction was delayed for 10 months while she waited for local government officials to produce a copy of her deed.

Booth는 Puerto Vallarta의 콘도를 되팔 때 멕시코 부동산 매매 절차의 번거로움을 알게 되었다. 단지 멕시코 정로부터 그녀의 부동산 증서 사본을 받기 위해 10달 동안 거래가 지연되었다.

"It can be frustrating," Booth said. "You have to have patience."

Booth는 부동산 투자자에게 무척 실망스럽겠지만 기다려야 한다고 충고한다.

And beyond patience, it is important to recognize the potential obstacles in Mexico property deals, longtime participants in the real estate business say.

경험이 풍부한 투자자들은 멕시코 부동산 거래에 있어서 인내심을 가지는 것뿐만 아니라 잠재적인 위험도 파악해야 한다고 말한다.

Some examples:

There are restrictions on foreign ownership of land within 50 kilometers, or 31 miles, of the coast and 100 kilometers of all borders, including all of Baja California. In most cases, any residential buyer who is not a Mexican citizen must place the property in a Mexican bank trust, or fideicomiso, which is controlled by the buyer and easily renewed after 50 years.

Baja California지역을 포함해서 모든 국경에서 100킬로 미터 이내, 해안에서 31마일 이내 지역은 해외 투자자의 부동산 취득이 제한된다.  대부분의 경우에  멕시코인이 아닌 거주목적의 구매자는 멕시코의 신탁회사에 맡겨야 한다.

The national real estate association, Asociación Mexicana de Profesionales Inmobiliarios, recently signed an agreement with the National Association of Realtors in the United States that allows its members to use the Realtor designation. But there still is little oversight of operating practices.

"You have to have a reputable broker, period," said J.P. Money, who runs www.mls4rivieramaya.com,

a property listing service for the Riviera Maya. "Ask for references and ask people who have bought from them before."

Capital gains tax can take a large bite out of rosy profit estimates. This year the tax rate is 28 percent, although there are ways to structure a transaction to avoid paying, especially if the house is a primary residence.

Although the practice is technically illegal, it is not unusual for a seller to record a much lower purchase price to avoid taxes — and then an unsuspecting buyer, trying to resell the property, is called upon to pay tax on the recorded increase in value.

"That is very, very common in most of Mexico," said Linda Neil, founder of Settlement, a transaction consultancy based in La Paz, Mexico. "Buyers need to be sure the full price is recorded on the deed."

Some buyers are shocked to find that closing costs can be as much as 10 percent of a property's value, especially along the coast. Undisclosed fees for condominium associations and maintenance also may add to a transaction's overall expense.

Tracking a property's title can be difficult. Large tracts often are controlled by ejidos — collectives of landowners — and in some cases sellers do not have full title to the land.

"Probably the biggest land mine is distinguishing the difference between private property and ejido land," Neil said. "If title insurance won't cover the title, that's a big red flag."