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How Non-Residents Finance a Cabo Property: Mortgages, Developer Terms, and Cash Compared

Alen Fabjan
A contemporary villa terrace with an infinity pool overlooking the Sea of Cortez in Los Cabos at golden hour

If you’re buying in Los Cabos from the United States or Canada, the money has to come from one of three places: a loan from a lender in Mexico, payment terms agreed with a developer on a property still being built, or funds you already have or raise at home. Each one runs into the same Mexican legal structure: the bank trust through which a foreign buyer holds a home near the coast.

This guide works through all three. It covers what Mexican lenders actually publish for foreign buyers, how the trust affects a loan, the one number to compare between offers, and the protections Mexican law gives a borrower. It names no rate you’ll be offered: that comes only from a dated quote for your purchase.

Key Takeaways

  • Near the coast, a foreign buyer holds a home through a bank trust, the fideicomiso, so any loan’s security has to work through that trust.
  • Intercam has published a US-dollar mortgage for American and Canadian buyers (up to 60% of value, 1 to 25 years, variable rate) in an announcement naming Puerto Vallarta-area branches; ask whether it’s available in Baja California Sur.
  • Scotiabank and Banorte publish general-market mortgage terms, and neither page says it lends to non-residents.
  • Compare offers by the CAT, the total annual cost every Mexican lender must disclose, not by the headline rate.
  • You can ask a Mexican lender for a free binding offer, which holds for 20 calendar days.

Why does the fideicomiso shape every financing option?

Because of where coastal property sits. Article 27 of Mexico’s Constitution bars foreigners from direct ownership of land within 50 kilometers of the beaches, and the Ley de Inversion Extranjera calls that strip the restricted zone. Under its Article 11, a Mexican bank can hold restricted-zone property as trustee for foreign beneficiaries, with a permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE). For a specific property, the notary confirms whether it falls in that strip.

The trust gives you the use and benefit of the property, which Article 12 defines to include living in it or earning income from it. It lasts up to 50 years and can be extended at your request (Article 13). A 2012 SRE agreement published in the Diario Oficial set up the system through which the trustee banks’ fiduciary officers file the permit applications, so the bank, not the buyer, handles that filing.

For a lender, the trust raises a practical question: how does it take security over a property it doesn’t hold title to? Mexican credit law, the Ley General de Titulos y Operaciones de Credito, allows a guarantee trust, a trust that secures payment of a debt. Banks are among the institutions allowed to act as its trustee, and a bank can be both trustee and beneficiary of a trust securing a debt owed to itself (Articles 395 and 396). On default, the parties can agree how the trustee sells the property out of court, subject to notice steps the law sets (Article 403). A guarantee trust over real estate must be signed as a public deed before a notary and recorded in the public property registry (Article 404).

The US tax authority has described this kind of arrangement too. In Revenue Ruling 2013-14, the trust it examined required the trustee bank to grant a security interest to a third party, such as a mortgage lender, at the owner’s request. That describes one trust agreement, not every trust. Your own trust deed governs what your trustee may do, so ask any lender exactly how it will take security on your property.

Can a non-resident get a mortgage from a Mexican bank?

Of the three banks checked here, only Intercam has published a product written for foreign buyers. Here is what each bank’s own pages say, read on 8 October 2026.

Lender Currency Financing Term Published average CAT What the page says about foreign buyers
Intercam Banco US dollars, variable rate Up to 60% of value 1 to 25 years Not published Offered to American and Canadian buyers, in an undated announcement naming Puerto Vallarta-area branches
Scotiabank Mexico Mexican pesos Up to 95% or 75%, by scheme 5 to 20 years 12.9% before VAT Lists ID documents for foreign-national applicants
Banorte (Hipoteca Fuerte) Not stated Up to 95% Not stated 12.2% before VAT Nothing

Intercam’s announcement is the only one of the three written for foreign buyers. It names branches in the Puerto Vallarta area, not Los Cabos, and Intercam’s own foreign-client credit page shows no terms at all. Ask whether the product is available for a property in Baja California Sur, and get dated terms in writing.

Scotiabank Mexico says its mortgages are granted in pesos, in places where it has a presence. Its 12.9% average CAT was calculated as of 1 July 2026 on a 20-year loan at a weighted average fixed rate of 10.42% with 80% financing. Its page lists the migration documents and passport a foreign national provides, but it doesn’t say it lends to non-residents. Banorte publishes a fixed rate from 8.80% and a 12.2% average CAT calculated as of 10 August 2026, and its mortgage pages say nothing about foreign buyers.

Treat the Scotiabank and Banorte figures as a picture of the domestic market, not as terms a non-resident will be offered. When you talk to lenders, ask which of them have recently financed a trust-held home in Los Cabos.

Where do Mexican interest rates stand?

Mexico’s benchmark is Banco de Mexico’s policy rate, which its board held at 6.50% at its 24 September 2026 decision. That is the overnight interbank target, not a mortgage rate: lenders set their own mortgage rates and disclose a CAT alongside them. In the same statement, Banxico reported headline inflation rising from 3.10% to 3.42% between the first half of July and the first half of September 2026, while core inflation eased from 3.95% to 3.79%.

A dollar loan, or a loan you take at home against other property, depends on conditions in that market instead. Banxico’s statement also noted that the US Federal Reserve raised its target range by 25 basis points at its September meeting.

Currency matters as much as the rate. If you borrow in pesos but earn in dollars, your payment in dollars moves with the exchange rate. For reference, Banco de Mexico’s FIX rate determined on 7 October 2026 was 17.9780 pesos per US dollar, published in the Diario Oficial the next day. That’s a wholesale reference rate, not a forecast.

How do you compare mortgage offers in Mexico?

Compare the CAT, the Costo Anual Total. CONDUSEF, Mexico’s financial consumer agency, says every institution offering consumer or home-purchase credit must show it. The Ley para la Transparencia y Ordenamiento de los Servicios Financieros defines it as an annual percentage that builds in all the costs and expenses of the loan, and Banco de Mexico sets the method for calculating it. Two offers with the same headline rate can carry different CATs.

Mexican law also gives you a way to get firm numbers. Under Article 6 of the guaranteed-credit law, a lender of a housing loan secured by a real guarantee must give you, on request and free of charge, a binding offer based on the information you declare. It binds the lender for 20 calendar days, provided you accept in writing within that time and submit the listed documents, and the lender still verifies your identity and the information you gave. The law’s definition of a guaranteed loan includes one secured by a guarantee trust.

Before you sign anything, check that the lender is regulated. The banking regulator, the CNBV, publishes a register of supervised entities, and CONDUSEF keeps SIPRES, a public register of financial institutions. CONDUSEF also runs a mortgage simulator that compares interest, total paid, monthly payment and upfront cost, using data from the lenders themselves. It covers the general peso market.

How do developer payment terms work on a presale?

On a property still under construction, the purchase agreement sets the payment schedule, so the terms are whatever you negotiate with that developer. That makes the contract the thing to read closely: what triggers each payment, who holds your deposits, what happens if delivery runs late, and when the trust is set up and the deed signed.

Bank financing for presales exists in Mexico. Scotiabank Mexico publishes a presale mortgage for buying a property before it’s completed, with an average CAT of 13.7% before VAT calculated as of 1 July 2026. Whether any lender will finance a presale for a non-resident in Los Cabos is a question to ask directly. Our guide to the closing process in Mexico covers the steps that come at the end of a presale, when the property is delivered and deeded.

What if you pay without a Mexican loan?

If you fund the purchase yourself, from savings or from a loan taken at home, the Mexican side becomes simpler, because no lender needs security over the trust, but two things still need attention.

The first is currency: if you convert dollars to pesos, the rate and fees you get matter. The second is your home-country tax treatment. In Revenue Ruling 2013-14, the IRS ruled that the Mexican land trust it examined is not a trust for US federal tax purposes. That holding is conditional: it doesn’t apply if the trustee bank holds other assets or may do anything beyond holding legal title to the one property. Ask a cross-border tax adviser how your own trust and your own filings work.

Whichever route you take, the one-time costs on top of the price come due at closing. Our breakdown of Cabo closing costs lists them, and the guide to buying property in Mexico as a foreigner covers due diligence before you commit.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner get a mortgage in Mexico?

Some lenders publish products for foreign buyers. Intercam publishes a US-dollar mortgage for American and Canadian buyers financing up to 60% of value over 1 to 25 years at a variable rate, though its announcement names Puerto Vallarta-area branches. The other two banks checked publish general-market terms. Confirm availability in Baja California Sur and get dated terms.

What is the CAT on a Mexican mortgage?

The CAT, or Costo Anual Total, is the total annual cost of a loan expressed as a percentage, including all its costs and expenses. Mexican transparency law defines it, Banco de Mexico sets how it is calculated, and CONDUSEF says every lender offering home-purchase credit must show it. That makes it the fairest single number for comparing offers.

How much down payment does a foreign buyer need in Los Cabos?

It depends on the lender. Intercam’s published product, in an announcement naming Puerto Vallarta-area branches, finances up to 60% of a property’s value, which leaves at least 40% for the buyer to fund; ask whether it applies in Baja California Sur. Scotiabank and Banorte publish financing of up to 95% for their general-market mortgages, but neither page says those terms apply to non-residents. A dated quote for your purchase is the only reliable answer.

Can I get a loan on a property held in a fideicomiso?

A trust can be used to secure a loan. Mexican credit law allows guarantee trusts, which banks can act as trustee for, and the IRS has described a Mexican land trust that required the trustee to grant a lender a security interest at the owner’s request. Your own trust deed governs, so ask each lender how it takes security.

Choose the route, then get it in writing

Decide first whether a Mexican loan, a developer’s terms or your own funds fit your purchase. Then compare CATs, ask for a binding offer, check the lender on the regulators’ registers and confirm how security over the trust will work. If you’re weighing a purchase in Los Cabos, contact our team to talk through the properties you’re considering. Our fideicomiso guide explains the trust in more depth.

Sources

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