The next step of the process of buying your house in Mexico is physical and legal delivery. Physical delivery of the property is another way to say that you get the keys. You and the seller sign some documents acknowledging that the physical possession of the property now lies with the new owner.
Regarding the purchasing process, there are two scenarios.
Physical and Legal Delivery of Finished House or Condo
First, you have a finished house or a finished condo. What usually occurs is that buyer and seller go to the property first. They do one physical review to make sure everything is in good condition. This is to ensure that, as stated on the promissory contract, the water is functioning, nothing is missing, and everything is already working well, the pool, the gym, etc.
We call the legal delivery when the title has been registered with a notary public. The notary public’s function is to witness, verify, and make official that the buyer has transferred the money to the seller. There are no taxes, payments, or liens on the property, and physical delivery is taking place.
Once you have confirmed that, the buyer and seller sign a document that everything is in good shape. Then they go to the notary public to sign for the legal transfer, and at that time, the keys are handed to the new owner, and the process is complete.
Pre-construction in Mexico Physical and Legal Delivery
Now there’s another scenario. It is more that it is a second wait that does occur on the physical delivery.
There are times in pre-construction when a buyer finds a house or a condo. The property is not complete yet, but because of the unique conditions or special discounts that the developer is offering, a buyer is motivated to make the purchase and allow the developer to continue working until it’s finished.
This is where the definitions of physical and legal delivery become essential. In this case, the developer can finish eight months in the future. Hence, the promissory contract will state that the buyer can take physical possession when the property is complete as outlined therein.
It is always advisable that you take physical possession of it and make another payment. In our process, we always outline that if the developer still needs to complete things, the buyer can hold back 10 or 20% of the payment until the last step. When the property is in the conditions stated at the promissory contract and the documentation is complete, it is time to go to the notary public and get the legal possession.
Important Things That you Should Review on a Physical Delivery
- One of the first things you need to verify when walking through is the water. Ensure that the water pressure is good and that all the bathroom’s toilets and showers are working well. Check for leaks check for any kind of backups in the water system. Verify that the hot water and the cold water are working well.
- Another thing you need to verify is the electricity. Make sure that the outlets are working. All the light bulbs are working well. Take time and leave everything on, long enough, to see that there are no failures.
- Check the air conditioning. Also, leave it on long enough so that you can catch or identify if there’s any kind of backup leakage out of the air conditioning.
- Verify if the sliding glass doors are rolling well, windows, doors, locks. These are some common areas that might have some issues.
- Lookup for stains on the countertop, stains on the floor, paint stains along the wall, or a few sloppy finishes. These are just some items to view.
At Top Mexico Real Estate, we have a checklist to help the buyer, and we also have an expert to assist the buyer in reviewing these things.
Sometimes, we do the physical delivery and the legal delivery on the same day. Hence, the first step is doing a walkthrough before we go to the notary public. Buyers might feel uncomfortable signing a document receiving the unit if there’s still a stain or something not finished.
Walkthrough Process
The typical standard process is that the developer is doing the walkthrough with you to identify these issues.
The standard developer has a clause that says upon detection of a walkthrough that the developer has 30 days to repair it. Therefore, there are no delays when going to the notary public and signing the physical and legal delivery. The developer signs a document stating that he is fully responsible for fixing items that need repair. However, the physical delivery can be executed and signed with the Public registry.
- One of the first things you need to verify when you’re walking through is the water. Make sure that the water pressure is good and all the bathroom toilets are working well. Check for leaks, check for any kind of backups in the water system. Verify that the hot water and the cold water are working well.
- Another thing you need to verify is the electricity. Make sure that the outlets are working. All the light bulbs are working well, take time and leave everything on long enough to see if there are any failures.
- Check the air conditioning. Also, leave it on long enough so that you can catch or identify if there’s any kind of backup leakage out of the air conditioning.
- Verify if the sliding glass doors are rolling well, windows, doors, locks. These are some common areas that might have some issues.
- Lookup for stains on the countertop, stains on the floor, paint stains along the wall, or a few sloppy finishes. These are just some items to view.
Checklist
At Top Mexico Real Estate, we have a checklist to help the buyer and we also have an expert to assist the buyer to review these things.
Sometimes, when we do the physical delivery and the legal delivery on the same day. Hence, the first step is doing a walkthrough before we go to the notary public. Buyers might feel uncomfortable signing a document receiving the unit if there’s still a stain or something not finished.
The normal standard process is that the developer is doing the walkthrough with you and when they identify these things.
The standard developer has a clause: that says upon detection of a problem during the walkthrough the developer has 30 days to repair it. That way there are no delays when going to the notary public and signing the physical and legal delivery. The developer signs a document stating that he has full responsibility for fixing items identified as needing repair but still the physical delivery can be executed and signed with the Public registry.
Taking Possession
It’s an important milestone because once you do have the physical possession, you can start living in the house or condo in México. And, in case you invested in an Airbnb condo, you can begin renting it and creating rental revenue immediately.
Get in touch with one of our Top Mexico Real Estate representatives to find out more about buying your dream home in Mexico.