Vacation-you is forgiving. Owner-you is not. This is the practical, no-hype roadmap for Canadians and Americans who fell for Mexico on vacation — and are smart enough to suspect there's more to the story.
You've vacationed in the Riviera Maya. Maybe more than once. Somewhere between the second morning coffee and the third sunset, a thought showed up uninvited: what if this wasn't just a vacation?
That thought isn't foolish. It's just incomplete. Most of what you'll find online about buying in Mexico comes from someone selling real estate, a development, or some version of the Mexico dream. This is the other thing: insight from someone who simply lived through the process — vacationed, rented, bought, built — and is willing to talk about the opportunities and the realities in the same breath.
The fideicomiso, the restricted zone, the notario, what closing actually costs — and the one type of land to walk away from every single time.
Banking, residency, utilities, contractors, hurricanes, taxes on both sides of the border — handled honestly, without hype and without fear.
The first 90 days, staff and property management, renting it out, the exit, and the estate planning that protects your family instead of surprising them.
I'm Trevor Schaafsma — an entrepreneur, not a realtor. My wife and I have been coming to the Riviera Maya since 2008. We vacationed, then rented, then bought, then built. Three properties so far, a fourth under construction in Akumal, managed from thousands of kilometers away. I split my time between Akumal and Salmon Arm, British Columbia.
I don't sell real estate and I don't represent buyers or sellers. What I offer is perspective — the kind you can only get from someone who already made the mistakes.
The book lands in 2026. Join the list and you'll get the free Reality Checklist pack when it ships, plus an honest note now and then — what's changing on the ground in Mexico, what I'm learning on the build, no spam, no pitch-fest.
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