Selling a property in Puerto Vallarta or anywhere in Banderas Bay brings up very different questions than buying does. As a seller, it is completely normal to wonder things like. How secure is my personal information in this process. How long will it take to sell. And how much will this affect me in taxes.
Let us walk through all three, and along the way leave you with the complete list of documents you will need.
Is My Information Protected When Selling? The Same Law That Protects Buyers Protects You
Just as buyers are asked to provide personal documentation, you will also be sharing sensitive information as a seller, and I want you to know that the exact same legal protection we covered in our article for buyers applies here too. The Federal Law on Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties (LFPDPPP) requires your agent, the notary, and any company handling your data to protect it, inform you how it is used, and face serious penalties if they fail to do so.
There is also an additional layer of protection specific to you as a seller. The listing agreement, which is the document you sign with your real estate agency to put your property up for sale, must be registered and validated with PROFECO under the corresponding Mexican official standard. One of the requirements for that registration is that the agreement include, as an attachment, a confidentiality notice signed by both parties. In other words, the protection of your information does not depend on your agent’s goodwill, it is a legal requirement from the very first document you sign.
How Long Does It Take to Sell My Property?
This is, honestly, the question that creates the most anxiety, and the short answer is that there is no magic number. But there is something important to understand about our specific market, because it changes expectations quite a bit.
Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay have a mixed market. On one hand, there are local buyers who purchase a property as their first home, and those decisions tend to happen relatively quickly, since they already know the area and the payment process is often more straightforward. On the other hand, a very significant part of the demand comes from outside buyers, both foreigners and Mexicans from other states, who purchase as a second home or as an investment. This second group naturally tends to take more time to decide. They are comparing options from afar, often visit the city only a couple of times a year, coordinate international financing, or simply want to take their time deciding since they do not live here to revisit the property as often as they might like.
This means the time it takes to sell your property largely depends on which type of buyer ends up being interested in it, and both are completely valid and valuable, just with different paces.
As for the closing process once you have a firm buyer, it is also worth being precise here. The 60 to 90 day range we mentioned generally applies when a fideicomiso is involved in the transaction, regardless of whether it is the buyer or the seller who requires it, since there are several possible combinations depending on each party’s situation. Sixty days is a reasonable average in that scenario. When the transaction does not involve any fideicomiso, the closing process can be considerably shorter.
Will I Pay a Lot of Taxes When Selling?
This is a valid concern and deserves its own in depth article, but here is what you need to know for now. Selling generates an Income Tax (ISR) on the profit from the sale. There is a possibility of accessing a full or partial exemption from that tax, but your RFC is an essential requirement for this, and this benefit only applies if you hold residency in Mexico. That is why your checklist below asks for your RFC and a proof of address showing that RFC, specifically for this purpose. We will go deeper into how this exemption works, with practical examples, in an upcoming article dedicated entirely to taxes when selling in Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay.
Document Checklist for Sellers
Before the list, something worth clarifying, just as we mentioned in the article for buyers. This documentation is not a whim of your agent or your agency, it is grounded in law. Some items are also subject to the notary’s judgment and interpretation, so depending on the particulars of your case, you could be asked for additional documentation beyond what is listed here.
All documentation must be submitted as high resolution scanned PDFs, with the information clearly visible. Photographs are not accepted, and some of these documents will also need to be presented physically to the notary.
- Passport
- Another valid, current official ID (a driver’s license, for example)
- CURP, applicable only if you hold residency in Mexico
- Proof of permanent residency, only if you hold it
- RFC certificate issued by the SAT, valid for no more than three months, applicable only if you hold residency in Mexico
- Marriage certificate, only if you are married. In that case, your spouse will also need to appear to sign and be properly identified, since their participation is part of the process
- Proof of address showing your RFC (only electricity or phone bills are accepted), required if you are seeking the ISR exemption mentioned above
- Original title deed. This point deserves an important clarification. Once you hand it over, the notary keeps it permanently, it is not returned to you once the sale is complete, and certified copies are not accepted in its place. If for any reason you cannot find or have lost your original deed, it is best to request a second testimonio as soon as possible from the notary office where you originally signed your purchase, since that process also takes time
- Property tax receipt paid up to date through the closing date
- Client identification form “KYC” (provided by your agent)
- Controlling beneficiary form, if it applies to your case (provided by your agent)
- Certificate of no water debt, obtained during the month of closing (Seapal if the property is in Jalisco, Oromapas if it is in Nayarit)
- Certificate of no maintenance fee debt, obtained during the month of closing (only if your property belongs to a condominium or gated community with HOA dues)
- Additional documentation, if required based on the specific conditions of the sale or the offer
My Recommendation
Gathering this documentation ahead of time, even before you have a buyer at the table, is one of the best decisions you can make if your priority is a smooth sale. As a certified agent affiliated with AMPI, I always review this list with you from the very start of the process, precisely so the closing timeline does not get delayed by missing documentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the closing process take when selling a property in Puerto Vallarta? When a fideicomiso is involved, the closing process generally takes around 60 days as a reasonable average, sometimes extending up to 90. With national buyers that do not require a fideicomiso, the process tends to be considerably shorter.
Is my personal information protected when selling my property? Yes. The Federal Law on Protection of Personal Data (LFPDPPP) protects your information, and your listing agreement must also include a confidentiality notice as an attachment, under the Mexican official standard registered with PROFECO.
Will I pay taxes when selling my property in Mexico? Selling generates an Income Tax (ISR) on the profit from the sale. You may be able to access a full or partial exemption if you hold an RFC and residency in Mexico. We will go deeper into this in an upcoming article.
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