Guides
Buying in Tijuana, explained
Written for buyers coming from the US side: how a foreigner actually takes title, what closing really costs, and what the market here looks like once you stop reading headlines.
Buying in Mexico
Mexican-American? You May Not Need a Fideicomiso to Buy in Tijuana
The bank trust is for foreigners. Since a 2021 reform, anyone born abroad to a Mexican parent is Mexican by birth — and a Mexican buys in Tijuana with the deed in their own name. What it saves, the paperwork, and where it gets complicated.
4 min read
Neighborhoods
Buying Land in Altamira: Central Lots, and Why Zoning Beats the Avenue
Real lot sizes without moving to the outskirts. But a commercial street does not make your lot commercial: two adjoining lots can carry different land uses, and everything depends on that document.
4 min read
Neighborhoods
Buying in Colonia Libertad: You Are Buying Traffic, Not Residential Appreciation
Right next to the San Ysidro crossing. A lot facing the avenue is worth far more than an identical one on a side street — and because it is an old neighborhood, the paperwork is part of the job.
4 min read
Neighborhoods
Buying Land in Ciudad Jardín: Low Price, and the Line Item That Can Cost More Than the Lot
The price per square foot is far below the west side, and here some lots do accept bank financing. Bringing water, sewer and power to the lot can cost more than you saved on the price.
4 min read
Neighborhoods
Living in Privadas del Pacífico: The Good, the Awkward, and Who It Is For
Some of the last new gated housing in Tijuana priced for first-time buyers. It is also delivered with bare concrete floors and an uninstalled water heater — and that belongs in your budget from day one.
4 min read
Neighborhoods
Living in Valle del Alamar: The Good, the Awkward, and the Riverbed Check
Established subdivisions at east-side prices: the schools and shops already exist, they are not promised. What almost nobody tells you is that some blocks sit near the federal zone of the Alamar riverbed.
4 min read
Neighborhoods
Living in Agua Caliente: Central, Close to the Border, and the Finish Level Nobody Mentions
A direct route to the San Ysidro crossing without cutting through downtown, minutes from Zona Río. The point that causes the most arguments: the list price is usually the most basic finish level — no tile, no kitchen, no closets.
4 min read
Neighborhoods
Living on Tijuana's Scenic Highway: The Honest Guide
An ocean view twenty minutes from the city. Also fog, salt air, and a highway that sometimes closes. What nobody tells you before buying on the Tijuana–Rosarito Scenic Highway.
3 min read
Buying in Mexico
What Closing Actually Costs in Tijuana
Budget 7 to 10 percent on top of the price if you are buying with a fideicomiso. Here is what each line is, who charges it, and which ones you can shop for.
7 min read
Buying in Mexico
What Happens to Your Mexican Property When You Die
The fideicomiso lets you name beneficiaries directly, and that is the part almost nobody explains. Done right, your heirs skip the Mexican probate process entirely.
6 min read
Cross-border
Your U.S. Car Insurance Does Not Work Here
Your policy stops at the line. In Mexico an accident without coverage can put you in a holding cell, not a claims queue. What you actually need before you drive across.
7 min read
Cross-border
Renting Out Your Tijuana Place While You Are Not There
It can work, and it works less often than the spreadsheet suggests. The reason is almost never the rent: an empty house in another country needs somebody local, and that is a real line item.
4 min read
Cross-border
Schools in Tijuana: Three Paths, and the One Question That Decides Your Neighborhood
Many children here live in Tijuana and attend school in San Diego. Whether that is your plan changes which neighborhood you should look at — so decide it before you decide the house.
3 min read
Buying in Mexico
New Construction vs. Resale in Tijuana: How to Actually Decide
A headline price on new construction here can mean bare concrete floors, no kitchen and no closets. That is not a scam — it is a finish tier. Four questions that decide it, and what to check before paying for something that does not exist yet.
4 min read
Cross-border
Cost of Living: Tijuana vs. San Diego, Honestly
Everyone quotes a percentage and the percentage is useless. What actually drops, what barely changes, and what gets more expensive — plus the one variable that decides whether your savings are transformative or merely nice.
4 min read
Cross-border
Healthcare and Insurance if You Live in Tijuana
Medicare does not cover care in Mexico. Three systems, what Americans here actually do, and the five questions to answer before you move — including the one-page medical summary that costs nothing.
4 min read
Buying in Mexico
Buying in Tijuana, Week by Week: What Actually Happens and How Long It Takes
Two to three months is normal. When it runs long it is almost always one of four things — and three of the four are the seller's paperwork, not yours. The full process, week by week.
4 min read
Cross-border
Is Tijuana Safe? The Honest Answer Nobody Gives You
We are not going to tell you the news is fake, and we are not going to hand you a statistic. City-wide numbers answer a question you are not asking. Here is the one you actually are, and how to answer it street by street.
4 min read
Buying in Mexico
Clean Title in Baja: Ejido Land and Horror Stories
Every buyer hears the story about the family who lost their house. It is real, it is almost always the same story, and the thing that went wrong is a thing you can check before you sign.
4 min read
Buying in Mexico
U.S. Taxes on a House in Mexico
Owning in Mexico does not take you out of the U.S. tax system. FBAR, the fideicomiso reporting question the IRS settled in 2013, rental income in both countries, and the exchange-rate trap when you sell.
4 min read
Buying in Mexico
Paying for a House in Mexico From the U.S.
U.S. banks will not lend against Mexican property, so most Americans arrive as cash buyers. How the deposit, the escrow, the wire and the exchange rate actually work — and the one account you must never wire to.
4 min read
Buying in Mexico
Can a Foreigner Own Property in Tijuana? Yes — Here Is How the Fideicomiso Works
All of Tijuana sits inside Mexico's restricted zone, so a foreign buyer takes title through a bank trust. What that actually means, what it costs to budget for, and the one shortcut that costs people their house.
4 min read
Cross-border
Living in Tijuana, Working in San Diego: What the Border Actually Costs You
The price gap is why you are reading this. The crossing is what decides whether it works. The three ports of entry, why SENTRI changes the math, and the free test to run before you make an offer.
4 min read