Article
From Offer to Deed: How a Baja Closing Actually Moves
The closing process step by step — who does what, what gets signed, and where the deposit lives along the way.
A Baja closing has more moving parts than most foreign buyers expect, but the structure is consistent.
The core stages
1. **Accepted offer** in writing, with timelines for each contingency.
2. **Promesa de compraventa** signed; earnest money funded into a licensed escrow (not into a private account, not into the agent's account).
3. **Document gathering**: seller's prior deed, property tax (predial) receipts, water (CFE/OOMSAPAS) statements, HOA standing, certificates of no lien and no debt.
4. **Trust application** to the chosen Mexican bank; the bank requests KYC documents from the buyer.
5. **SRE permit** filed with the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores authorizing the trust.
6. **Notario drafts the escritura** based on the promesa and the bank's trust terms.
7. **Closing day**: signatures, payment of acquisition tax (ISAI), and instruction to record at the public registry.
8. **Post-closing**: registered deed returned, typically weeks later.
What to watch
- Escrow must be a regulated, third-party escrow with written instructions.
- The notario's written cost estimate (presupuesto) should be reviewed before signing.
- Funds should never move outside the agreed escrow path.
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