Can You Get a Mortgage in Mexico?

This is one of the first questions we get, usually within the first two or three messages, and for years the honest answer was discouraging. You could borrow against a property back home, or you could pay cash. Financing inside Mexico as a foreigner was either unavailable or priced so badly that nobody used it.

That has changed. There are now real cross-border mortgage products written in U.S. dollars against Mexican property, and buyers here use them. They are still more expensive than what you are used to at home, and they are not the right answer for everybody, so it is worth understanding how they actually work before you assume either way.

What a cross-border mortgage looks like

The product most U.S. buyers end up looking at is a USD-denominated loan secured against the Mexican property, originated and serviced in dollars from the beginning. You are not converting pesos, your payment does not move when the exchange rate does, and the interest is reported in the U.S., which simplifies the tax side for most people.

The published terms on MoXi, from Global Mortgage, currently run like this:

If you are Canadian, this is the part to pay attention to. The published MoXi program is written for U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents, so a Canadian buyer does not fit it as it stands. Cross-border lending to Canadians in Mexico does exist, but the options move around and the lender landscape here has changed materially in the last year. Ask us before you assume you are shut out, and ask us before you take a recommendation from anywhere that has not been updated recently.

Who actually qualifies

Underwriting is done on U.S. credit and documented U.S. income, which is good news if your financial life is still mostly north of the border. It is the same paperwork you would assemble for a mortgage at home.

• Credit. To reach the top of the loan-to-value band, lenders are generally looking for a mid-FICO in the low 700s. Scores around 700 or a little below can still work, but usually with a lower loan-to-value, which means more money down.
• Income. W-2s, pay stubs and tax returns if you are salaried. Standard self-employment documentation if you own the business.
• Down payment. Plan on 30% to 35% for a purchase at the 65% band. Borrowing less against the property reduces what you need up front.
• Reserves. Documented assets, both as proof of funds for the down payment and as reserves after closing.

You do not need Mexican residency to borrow. The closing itself still runs through a Mexican notary and follows the customary local process, residency or not.

What it costs compared to home

This is where people flinch. Cross-border USD mortgages against Mexican property have recently been quoting in the high 8s to low 10s for qualified borrowers, against something closer to 6% for a 30-year fixed in the United States. Peso-denominated mortgages from Mexican banks run higher still once you count everything.

So the spread is real, and it is the reason a lot of buyers compare a Mexico mortgage against a line of credit on their home back home before deciding. Both are legitimate paths. They just have different risks, and the right one depends on things about your situation that no article can know.

Run your own numbers here.

The number the calculator cannot tell you exactly

Closing costs in Puerto Vallarta get published as a range, 4% to 7% of the purchase price, and buyers reasonably ask why a number that important is not just a number.

The answer is that most of the line items are fixed. The notary work, the trust permit, the registry filings and the bank fees cost roughly the same whether the property is $200,000 or $2,000,000. So the fixed portion lands as a much bigger percentage on a lower-priced purchase, which is what creates the range.

Three of our own closings, with the totals reconciled line by line against the notary's statements:

The clearest proof of the fixed-cost argument sits inside those files. The bank charged the same $522 USD fee three times on both Nayarit closings, $1,566 in total, and it did not care that one property cost six times more than the other.

You will see higher ranges quoted elsewhere, sometimes 5% to 10%. We publish 4% to 7% because that is what our own files actually come to.

The transfer tax is not one number either

The acquisition tax, ISAI, is the largest percentage-based item, and it works differently depending on which side of the state line you buy on. In Nayarit it is 2% of the higher of the purchase price or the appraisal. In Jalisco, since January 2023, it is calculated on an index value set by the municipal cadastral office rather than straight off the purchase price. Across our three closings the transfer tax landed at 2.00%, 1.11% and 2.97%, which is a wide spread for what people assume is a flat rate.

Two other things move the final figure. The notary and the attorney take the majority of closing costs and they only accept pesos, and a closing typically takes 45 to 60 days, so the dollar figure quoted when you sign is not the dollar figure you pay at closing. On one of our own files the currency movement alone swung the cost by about $2,000. Some items also cannot be priced until they are performed, the appraisal being the usual one.

How long it takes

Pre-qualification is a preliminary look at credit, income and assets, and it is quick. From there you get a conditional approval with pricing based on your FICO, the loan to value and the loan size. Final pricing is typically locked within a few days of closing rather than months out, so the rate you are quoted early is indicative rather than fixed.

The Mexican side of the closing runs in parallel and sets the real pace. Budget 45 to 60 days from signed contract to escritura on a resale.

Preconstruction works differently

If you are buying preconstruction, most of this changes shape. Developers here generally sell on their own payment plans, and a construction-period plan from the developer is usually cheaper than a mortgage, because you are paying in installments against a building that does not exist yet rather than borrowing against finished collateral.

The part buyers miss is the timing. You have to pay the entire balance before you physically take delivery, but the actual closing, the escritura, can happen three to six months after that. Buy at the start of a project and it can be two and a half years from signing to closing. That matters for anyone planning to finance, because a lender is underwriting a finished property, and the finished property arrives late in the story.

Why most buyers here still pay cash

Even with financing available, the majority of transactions in this market close in cash, and that has a practical consequence you should know before you write an offer. A financed offer takes longer and carries conditions, so on a property with real competition it is at a disadvantage against a cash buyer, and sellers price that in.

That does not mean you should not finance. It means the conversation about how you are paying belongs at the beginning of your search rather than after you have found the place you want. If you are going to borrow, get pre-qualified first so your offer carries the same weight as the one next to it.

Questions we get

Can I finance a small condo under $250,000?

Usually not through these programs. The cross-border lenders are aimed at higher minimums, generally properties from the mid-hundreds of thousands up. Below that you are most likely looking at cash, a developer payment plan, or borrowing against something you already own.

Do I need to be a Mexican resident?

No. These products exist specifically for non-residents buying second homes, rental properties and retirement places.

Can I pay it off early?

Yes, with no prepayment penalty on the MoXi program. Worth confirming on any other product you are quoted, because that is not universal.

Will my payment change if the peso moves?

Not on a USD loan. The loan is written, funded and serviced in dollars. Your closing costs are a different story, because the notary and attorney are paid in pesos.

How to prepare

• Get pre-qualified before you shop. A pre-qualification letter makes your offer competitive, and it tells you which half of the market you are actually in.
• Pull 12 to 24 months of financial documents together early. Tax returns, bank statements, investment statements.
• Budget for the whole number, not the down payment. Down payment, plus closing costs, plus reserves for what the property costs to run once you own it.
• Ask the lender for an amortization table and an itemized estimate of cash to close. Both are reasonable to request and both are more useful than a rate quote on its own.

Where to start

Talk to a lender before you talk yourself out of it, and before you fall in love with something. Pre-qualification is quick, it costs nothing, and it is the single fastest way to turn a vague idea into a real budget.

We are happy to make the introduction and to sit in on the conversation. We are not lenders and we do not take a piece of the loan, so our only interest is that the number you are working with is real before you start making offers on it.

Disclaimer: This article is general information for buyers considering property in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit. It is not financial, tax, legal or mortgage advice, and we are not lenders or mortgage brokers. Loan programs, rates, eligibility and closing costs change constantly and vary by borrower and by property. Confirm every figure with the lender and your notary before relying on it.

Written September 2026. Last reviewed: September 2026.