What foreign buyers ask us before they hire us.

You usually have more than one route. We can formally demand that the developer comply, file a complaint before PROFECO, Mexico's federal consumer protection agency, or take the claim to court to rescind or enforce the contract.

Which route fits depends on what your contract says, what you have paid and how the developer responds. Many matters settle before they reach a court.

The first step is a review of your contract and payment records. It tells us which options are realistic for you and what each one involves.

• Developer disputes
• Why we settle before litigation when we can

It is a 30-minute video call with the attorney who would handle your matter, for a flat $320 USD. If you hire us afterward, the full $320 is credited against your fees.

You pay first and then pick a time on our calendar. If you can, send your contract and payment records beforehand, so the call goes to your questions rather than to reading.

• Book a consultation

Your signed purchase contract and any amendments, plus proof of every payment you made. Bank statements and wire confirmations carry more weight than the developer's receipts.

Add anything in writing about delivery or the unit: emails, WhatsApp messages, delivery notices, brochures and the developer's promises. If the developer has offered a new date, a refund plan or a termination agreement, send that too and don't sign it yet.

Copies are enough at this point. If an original is needed later, we tell you when and why.

• How to document evidence for a property dispute

Yes. PeninsuLawyers represents buyers and has no affiliation with any developer, broker or closing firm in the Yucatán Peninsula.

Our founding partner was in-house legal director for a Mexican real estate developer. That is why we know how these contracts are written and how developer legal teams respond.

Before we take a matter we run a conflict check, so we ask for the names of the developer and of anyone who sold or referred the property to you. Whoever you hire, avoid a law firm the developer recommends.

• About the firm

Often, yes. Before we agree to take a matter over, we review what has been filed and signed so far and run our conflict check.

Tell us at the outset what stage the matter is in, and send the filings, receipts and any agreements you already have.

Yes. We review purchase contracts before you sign, check the developer and the property, and represent buyers at closing.

If you are not sure which review you need, the Quick Check tells you in four questions, at no charge.

• Contract review
• Closings and due diligence
• Quick Check

Intake: we gather what we need to act for you, including the signed engagement letter, your power of attorney, your contract and your payment records.

Negotiation: we formally demand that the developer comply, usually with a demand letter, and negotiate with them.

Conciliation: the claim goes before PROFECO, which calls both sides to hearings to try to reach an agreement.

Litigation: the claim goes before a court.

Not every matter goes through every stage. Many settle before they reach a court.

Nobody can promise a date, because much of the timing is in other hands: how quickly the developer responds, PROFECO's hearing calendar and the courts' workload.

As a general reference only: negotiation usually takes from a few weeks to a couple of months; a PROFECO conciliation often takes several months and can approach a year; a lawsuit commonly takes more than a year.

Your attorney confirms what to expect in your own case.

No, and no lawyer honestly can. What you can recover depends on your contract, your payment records, the route your claim takes and how the developer responds.

What you get from us is a straight assessment. Your attorney explains your options and the risks of each one, and every decision to accept an agreement is yours.

It is the formal notice that tells the developer what they breached and what you require. It creates an official record, places the developer in default where the contract doesn't already do so, and shows that you tried to settle before going further.

We send you the draft to review first. Once you approve it, we usually serve it through a Mexican notary, which leaves an official record even if the developer refuses to receive it.

• Demand letters
• Writing a demand letter to a developer in Mexico

Usually 30 days, although your contract may set a different period. Your attorney confirms the date it ends.

If the developer doesn't answer in time, the matter usually moves to a complaint before PROFECO, or to another legal route when that fits the claim better.

Not before a lawyer reviews it. Amendments, new delivery dates, refund plans and termination agreements can change or waive rights you would otherwise claim.

Ask for any offer in writing, and keep everything the developer sends you. A good agreement states what each side must do, by when, and what happens if it isn't honored.

The decision to accept is yours. Your attorney explains what you would gain and what you would give up.

Yes. PROFECO, the Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor, protects consumers who buy from a supplier in Mexico, and being a foreigner or living abroad does not keep you out.

Whether your purchase qualifies depends on your contract and how you bought. Your attorney confirms that before anything is filed.

• What PROFECO is, explained for foreign buyers
• How to file a PROFECO complaint as a foreign buyer

PROFECO is not a court. It summons the developer to hearings where both sides try to reach an agreement, and it sets its own calendar, so hearings can be rescheduled.

Conciliation doesn't always end in a refund on the spot. If it fails, the claim can continue through other routes, such as a PROFECO technical opinion or a lawsuit, and your attorney explains which one fits your case.

No. With your power of attorney, the firm attends on your behalf and tells you afterwards what happened.

Typically the amounts you paid plus the 20% legal bonus that Article 92 Ter of the Federal Consumer Protection Law grants. It cannot be waived by contract, and a lower penalty in your contract does not reduce it.

Some claims, such as larger contractual penalties or other damages, may need a different route, like a lawsuit or a negotiated settlement. Your attorney confirms what applies to your contract.

• Late delivery penalties: what foreign buyers can claim

When several buyers have the same developer, the same breach and the same claim, Article 99 of the Federal Consumer Protection Law lets them file one complaint before PROFECO, with a common representative. The group follows the same procedure and timeline as an individual complaint.

Your claim stays your own. What you can recover depends on your own contract and payments, nothing is pooled or averaged, and you decide for yourself whether to accept any agreement.

Each buyer's information is confidential. No one in the group sees another buyer's name or details, or how many buyers there are.

• PROFECO claims
• Group complaints before PROFECO

No. With a power of attorney, the firm serves the demand letter, files and attends before PROFECO, and appears in court on your behalf.

Consultations and updates run by video call, email and WhatsApp, and you can sign the power of attorney where you live.

It is what lets the firm act for you in Mexico without you having to travel. We prepare the text for your matter; you only sign it.

• Cross-border power of attorney
• The power of attorney for Mexican real estate

There are three usual routes: before a notary where you live, followed by an apostille; at a Mexican consulate; or before a Mexican notary if you are in Mexico. The last two usually don't need an apostille.

Before you ship anything, email or WhatsApp us a scan of the signed document so we can check it. A mistake found after shipping costs weeks.

Send it by courier with tracking and delivery confirmation, without folding the pages, to the address we confirm with you.

When it arrives, our notary in Mexico formalizes it, a step called protocolization, which takes about 10 to 12 business days. Then the formal steps of your matter can go ahead.

We answer messages within 48 hours. If a question needs research or a decision from someone else, we tell you so and when to expect a full answer.

Yes. What you share with the firm, including in a consultation, is protected by professional secrecy under Mexican law.

We never share one buyer's information with another, including inside a group complaint.

Once two things are done: you have signed the engagement letter and the initial fee has been paid. Until both are in place, the firm does not act on your behalf.

The engagement letter sets out the scope of the work, the fees and how third-party costs are handled. If a name, address or figure in it is wrong, tell us and we send a corrected one.

Right after, we prepare your power of attorney and tell you which documents we still need.

Your fees cover all of our work through the first three stages: negotiation, PROFECO conciliation and litigation. Your engagement letter sets out the amounts, including any success fee.

Costs charged by third parties, such as notaries, protocolization, certified translations and couriers, are separate. We quote them for your approval before incurring them.

If you had a consultation with us first, its $320 is credited against your fees.

IVA, Mexico's value-added tax, applies to legal fees and is shown on each invoice. It does not apply to amounts you recover.

Once your payment is credited and your tax details are confirmed, we issue a CFDI, the official Mexican electronic invoice.

By international wire transfer, through Wise, or by card through Stripe. Payment instructions come with your engagement letter and with each invoice, and an international wire can take a few business days to arrive.

PeninsuLawyers never changes its bank details by email. If a message gives you new payment instructions, don't pay: call us first on the number listed on our contact page, because fraudsters imitate law firms' emails to divert wires.

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