It’s estimated that only 10% of home purchases in Mexico involve a mortgage. Stated another way, 90% of Mexican property deals are cash transactions. For foreigners who move from countries where taking out a mortgage is typical and straightforward, that may seem hard to believe. The reason mortgages are
Airbnb has been doing business in Mexico since 2011. Most people know it began as a way for locals to make extra cash by renting out a room in their home. More recently, investing in short-term rentals (STRs) has become big business, earning the wrath of many who see it
Thinking about using a new property purchase as an Airbnb in Mexico? You may want to familiarize yourself with the anti-Airbnb initiatives gaining momentum here first. In this article, I’ll examine the current restrictions on Airbnb in Mexico City, proposed restrictions in Guadalajara, and where and why there’s been blowback.
As if the news coming out of the U.S. wasn’t bad enough already, I am sorry to pile on. If you’re living abroad and rely on U.S.-based funds to pay for expenses, your taxes are going up. Why? Because of the new U.S. remittance tax signed into law a few
In June, the U.S. announced sanctions on Mexican banks CIBanco, Intercam Banco, and Vector Casa de Bolsa that prohibited dollar-based transfers to or from those institutions to the U.S., as part of a wider effort to disrupt fentanyl trafficking, which I first wrote about here. Yesterday, the Mexican government fined
As a foreign resident in Mexico, Dengue is the viral infection I fear getting the most. The good news is that so far in 2025, Dengue infections across Mexico are down from a year ago. At the same time, these infections are becoming more deadly. (more on that below) If
Yesterday, Donald Trump’s Treasury Department announced it was sanctioning three Mexican banks — Intercam, CiBanco, and Vector Casa de Bolsa — for money laundering activities on behalf of several Mexican drug cartels. Based on an analysis by FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network within Treasury), which looked at transactions executed
I don’t often talk about food on this blog, but I do consider eating well an intrinsic part of living well in Mexico. For those living in or visiting the cosmopolitan city of Guadalajara, there are plenty of ways to satisfy cravings for artisanal chocolate, fine wine, smoked fish, fresh
The U.S. House of Representatives (henceforth the “House”) recently passed a bill that includes a 3.5% remittance tax on money transferred from the U.S. to foreign countries. As part of the dubiously named One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), this tax has been widely condemned in Mexico as an assault on
As a full-time resident of Guadalajara, Mexico the past 3 years, I’ve gained deep knowledge of the best places to eat (from street food to fine dining) and stay, top spots to watch live sports, how to safely get around, and how to have a fun time here. Below are
