7. Should You Get Title Insurance in Mexico?

[Ciro Antonio Martínez Morales]

Here’s the Hard Truth Most Foreign Buyers Miss

Let me ask you this:

Would you buy property in the U.S. without a title search or without title insurance?
Most investors would say “Absolutely not.”

But every year, dozens of foreign buyers close on Mexican properties without that basic layer of protection.

Why?
Because title insurance isn’t required in Mexico — but that doesn’t mean it’s not necessary.

🔎 Mexico’s public property records (Registro Público) vary drastically in quality. Some states have reliable digital systems. Others… still rely on handwritten ledgers.

That opens the door to:

• Outdated registrations

• Duplicate property titles

• Improper transfers

• Fake sellers posing as owners

• Hidden heirs showing up years later

Real story: One buyer I worked with found a beachfront deal in Mahahual — the seller had a signed escritura, everything looked perfect. But during the title review (by a U.S. title company operating in Mexico), we found a second, older escritura recorded in a different name… with an open lien from the 1990s.

Without that insurance-backed title search, the deal would have been a financial disaster.

💡 Title insurance in Mexico typically costs 0.5% to 1% of the purchase price. And it protects your entire investment, often with U.S.-based legal backing if something goes wrong.

Next post: You’ll learn how to build your own legal due diligence checklist — the same one we use when advising high-net-worth clients investing in the Riviera Maya.