Buying Property in Diamante
How a foreigner actually takes ownership in Los Cabos — the fideicomiso bank trust, what closing really costs at Diamante prices, and the specific things that catch buyers out in this community.
Yes, foreigners can own in Diamante
Mexico's constitution defines a restricted zone: land within 100 kilometres of a national border and within 50 kilometres of the coastline. Diamante sits inside it. Foreign nationals cannot hold direct title to residential property there.
This alarms people, and it should not. Since 1973 the mechanism has been the fideicomiso — a bank trust. A Mexican bank holds legal title as trustee, and you are named as beneficiary. As beneficiary you hold every practical right of ownership: you occupy it, renovate it, rent it, sell it to whomever you like, and leave it to your heirs. The bank cannot sell it, encumber it, or use it.
Tens of thousands of foreign-owned homes across Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and Cancun are held this way. It is boring, established, and the banks that provide it are the ones whose names you would recognise.
How the fideicomiso works
Term and renewal
The trust runs for 50 years and is renewable for further 50-year terms. Renewal is a routine administrative step, not a re-application, and there is no cap on the number of renewals. If you sell, the buyer either takes an assignment of your existing trust or establishes a new one.
What it costs
Expect a one-time setup in the region of US$1,500–2,500, plus a permit fee payable to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and an annual trust administration fee typically in the US$600–900 range depending on the bank and property value. Confirm current figures with your notary before closing.
The alternative: a Mexican corporation
Buyers acquiring primarily for rental income sometimes hold through a Mexican corporation instead, which can own restricted-zone property directly. It brings accounting and monthly filing obligations that a trust does not, and it changes your tax position on eventual sale.
Decide this before you make an offer, not after. Restructuring later is possible but expensive, and it is one of the more common regrets I see.
What closing actually costs a buyer
Budget 5–8% of the purchase price. The percentage falls as the price rises, because several line items are fixed rather than proportional. At Diamante prices the absolute numbers get large quickly.
| Line item | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition tax (ISAI) | ~2% of value | Paid to the municipality |
| Notary fees | ~1–1.5% | The notary is a state-appointed official, not your lawyer |
| Fideicomiso setup | US$1,500–2,500 | One time, to the trustee bank |
| Foreign Affairs permit | ~US$1,500 | One time |
| Registry & certificates | ~0.5% | Public registry, no-lien certificates, appraisal |
| Title insurance | Optional | Available; I recommend it on resale purchases |
| Annual trust fee | US$600–900/yr | Ongoing, not a closing cost |
Worked at real Diamante prices
| Property | Price | At 5% | At 8% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median homesite sale | $800,000 | $40,000 | $64,000 |
| Median residence sale | $1,446,000 | $72,300 | $115,680 |
| Community median sale | $1,645,000 | $82,250 | $131,600 |
| Median house sale | $2,300,000 | $115,000 | $184,000 |
| Record sale | $11,550,000 | $577,500 | $924,000 |
Indicative ranges for Los Cabos as at August 2026, for orientation only. Exact figures depend on the property, the assessed value and the trustee bank, and are confirmed by your notary in the closing statement. This is general information, not legal or tax advice — take advice from a Mexican notary and your own tax adviser before committing.
Who pays what
The seller pays the brokerage commission and their own capital gains tax (ISR). The buyer pays everything in the table above. There is no equivalent of a US-style buyer-agency fee — my representation of you as a buyer costs you nothing directly.
The purchase process, start to finish
- Offer and acceptance. A written offer (promesa de compraventa) sets price, terms, deposit and timeline.
- Escrow deposit. Typically 10%, held by a third-party escrow company. Never send a deposit directly to a seller.
- Due diligence. Title search, no-lien certificate, HOA account status, property tax status, and — at Diamante specifically — the club membership position on a house, or the surveyed lot area and construction restrictions on a homesite.
- Trust permit application. Your notary applies to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the fideicomiso permit. This is the longest step; allow several weeks.
- Closing. Signed before the notary, who calculates taxes, records the deed and issues the trust. You do not strictly need to be in Mexico — a power of attorney can be arranged.
- Registration. The notary registers the transfer with the public registry. Allow a further few weeks for the recorded deed to issue.
Realistically, 45 to 90 days from accepted offer to keys, with the trust permit driving most of the variance. On a pre-construction purchase the timeline is set by the delivery date instead.
Five things specific to Diamante
1. Nothing has sold above asking — but the discount varies enormously
Across all 51 recorded sales, not one closed above list. The community median is 96.2% of asking. But that conceals a wide spread: El Cardonal and Las Terrazas both closed at a median of exactly 100%, while Beach Estates ran 91.3% and Las Casitas 94.7%. The single deepest cut was a Golf Villa listed at $4,495,000 that closed at $3,700,000 — 82.3%, a $795,000 reduction. Establish which address you are in before deciding how to open.
2. Some of the most expensive listings have no comparable at all
Legacy Founders Estates has $28.75 million of listed inventory and zero recorded sales. Cantinas has one listing at $8,495,000 and no recorded sale. Together that is $37.2 million of asking price — 29% of all Diamante inventory — with no address-level evidence behind it. That does not make the prices wrong, but it does mean an independent appraisal is worth its fee, and that the nearest real comparables sit at Beach Estates.
3. Constructed area does not drive price here
Two Beach Estates houses are asking the same $6,495,000 for 21,100 and 11,204 square feet. Two Las Terrazas listings ask $2,640,000 for 8,339 square feet and $3,499,000 for 4,304. Three Golf Villa sales closed within $100,000 of each other at $449, $543 and $645 per square foot. Position, view and finish dominate. Price per square foot is close to useless as a comparison tool in this community — use it only within a single building.
4. Lot areas are missing from the entire land record
Not one of the 15 recorded Diamante homesite sales reported a lot area to the MLS. You cannot compare land here on a per-square-metre basis from public data at all. Get the surveyed area and the construction restrictions in writing during due diligence — on a build site those two numbers determine what you are actually buying.
5. The market has slowed, and that is in your favour
Recorded sales ran 26 in 2024, 14 in 2025, and 4 in the first eight months of 2026 — roughly six annualised. Dollar volume followed. Meanwhile 40 properties are listed. Fewer buyers competing for more inventory is the environment in which the 82.3% and 84.7% closings above happened. If you are buying, this is a better moment than 2024 was.
The full Diamante Buyer’s Guide
Including a line-by-line closing cost worksheet, all nine neighborhoods with their recorded sales, and the due-diligence checklist I use with my own clients.
Have a question about a specific property?
Send me the listing and I will tell you what the comparables actually say about it.