or two Notarios with whom they usually deal. Unlike the U.S., closing is not
handled through a Title Company.
Check the Land Registry Office to ensure the property is free and clear.
Put together all the documents for both the buyer and seller. The entire
my wife and I met in the office of a Notario. The five of us sat around a rec-
tangular table. Neither the sellers, a nice Mexican couple, nor the real estate
agent could speak English. My wife and I are not bilingual. The only one that
was bilingual was the Notario and he was only in the room for about two min-
utes. The initial contract had not been completed ahead of time and the office
employed the world's slowest word processor. After four and one-half agoniz-
ing hours in which we all sat across the table and smiled at each other, we final-
ly paid 10% of the agreed price, signed some contracts, (that were in Spanish)
and were on the road looking for a place to get a cold drink.
told that I could use a power of attorney in place of my wife. This time I found
an interpreter to go with me to be sure what I signed was what I originally
agreed to. The sellers were not present at this meeting in the Notario's office. I
brought the balance of the agreed upon purchase price to the office. I paid the
closing costs, which included:
-A registration fee of .05% of the assessed value of the home.
-Fees for the tax certificate, title search fees and property appraisal, as well
not walk out of the office with a signed deed, I paid him half, with the prom-
ise that the other half would be paid upon receipt of the deed. He reluctantly
agreed, and it was a good thing because later I found out that a telephone bill
of about $300 U.S. was overdue and Telmex would not connect my phone until
the bill was cleared.