‘I regret doing this’: Ontario woman buys condo in Mexico. 3 years later, it’s still not finished

More than 100 thousand Canadians own property in Mexico, but if you plan to buy real estate you have to be careful. Pat Foran explains.

Over two-and-a-half million Canadians travel to Mexico each year and it’s estimated more than 100,000 Canadians own property there.

But if you plan to buy real estate in Mexico you need to be careful.

An Ontario woman was looking to buy a condominium in Mexico for health reasons as she suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, and she feels much better in the warmer Mexican climate.

Pamela Jarvis of Mississauga walks with a cane and uses special gloves to help support her hands and finds cold Canadian winters difficult.

“My late husband and I used to go to Mexico all the time because it offered some respite for me. I have chronic pain throughout my body. I’ve had rheumatoid arthritis since I was 10 years old.”

It was Jarvis’s dream to buy a property in Mexico and when her husband passed about 10 years ago, she decided she wanted to eventually purchase a condo for her and her two children in Tulum, which is about two hours south of Cancun.

“We were going to buy a little place, rent it out when we are not using it and go there as much as we can for me to get away from cold Toronto winters,” said Jarvis.

Jarvis used a real estate agent and bought a pre-construction condo in Tulum in 2022. The developer wanted 90 per cent of the money in advance so she paid US$167,000 (approximately $237,000 Canadian) up front.

The condo was to be finished in early 2023, but there were constant delays. Jarvis asked a friend to send her recent photos of the building site and was shocked when it appeared nothing was happening.

“The pre-construction condos are not finishing and it’s hard to get your money back,” said Jarvis.

CTV News reached out to the developer but did not get a response. The real estate agent she used did tell us “It’s a sad situation. Unfortunately, it’s happening with other presale complexes in the area as well.”

Jarvis has hired a lawyer and is hopeful the condo will eventually be completed or that she gets her money back, but her dream of a condo in a warmer climate is now on hold.

“It’s been super stressful because it’s in a different country, I don’t know the language and it’s moving super slow. Looking back, I regret doing this,” said Jarvis.

Buying pre-construction condos in other countries does come with risk as you could face incomplete projects, lost deposits or title issues and you won’t have the same legal protections you would have buying in Canada.