The usual way this choice gets framed is finish against character, or warranty against maturity. New means nothing to fix and nothing grown in yet. Resale means established gardens, known neighbors and somebody else’s taste in bathrooms.
All true, and all of it is the part you can see on a viewing.
There is a difference you cannot see, and it is written into a Mexican consumer standard rather than into either property. It changes what your contract is allowed to do to you, and it applies to one of these purchases and not reliably to the other.
The difference: a warranty floor that only one side gets
NOM-247-SE-2021 is a Mexican official standard issued in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on March 22, 2022, and you can read it in full at dof.gob.mx. It sets obligations on developers, builders and others selling housing to the public, and among them is a minimum warranty.
It sets minimum warranty periods on residential property sold by a developer, and the text is explicit that they cannot be given up: “Estos plazos son irrenunciables.” The longest minimum applies to structural matters, a shorter one to waterproofing, and a shorter one again to other elements.
Check the periods written in your own contract against that floor. A contract offering less than the standard’s minimum is offering less than something the standard says cannot be waived, and that is a question to put in writing before you sign rather than after.
Now the scope, at numeral 1. The standard applies “únicamente a los proveedores que sean fraccionadores, constructores, promotores y demás personas que intervengan en la asesoría y venta al público de inmuebles destinados a casa habitación”: only to providers who are subdividers, builders, promoters and others involved in advising on and selling housing to the public.
A purchase from a developer or builder is squarely inside that scope. A private resale, from one owner to another, is not a sale by a provider of that kind, so we do not apply the standard to a resale between two private owners.
That is the asymmetry. Buy new from a developer and you have a warranty floor that cannot be contracted away. Buy a resale from a private owner and you are relying on what your own contract says and on what your own inspection found.
It does not make new construction the better choice. It means the two purchases carry risk in different places, and the resale puts more of it on your own diligence.
BHHS Baja publishes the buyer’s Bill of Rights that this standard requires.
New construction
What you gain. The warranty floor above, on a building nobody has lived in. Current construction standards. Systems under warranty rather than at an unknown point in their life. And, if you buy before completion, the chance of a better price or position.
What you give up. Certainty about what you are getting, in proportion to how early you buy. A completed new home you can walk through is a different proposition from a floor plan and a rendering.
What to check.
- What warranty periods the contract actually states, against the minimums above.
- Who performs warranty work and how a claim is made. A warranty is only as good as the entity standing behind it.
- What is included at what specification, in writing rather than in a brochure.
- Whether the development is complete, or whether you will own in a building site for two more years.
If you are buying before completion, our guide to pre-construction goes into the contract in more detail.
Resale
What you gain. You can see it. That sounds obvious and it is the whole advantage. You can see how the building has aged, how the pool plant sounds, where the sun actually falls at four in the afternoon, and whether the neighbors’ terrace looks into yours. You can ask the owners’ association what the dues have done over five years rather than what they are projected to do.
What you give up. The warranty floor, and the assumption that anything is new.
What to check.
- The age and service history of every major system: air conditioning, pool equipment, water storage and pumps, and the roof.
- Waterproofing specifically. On a resale nothing obliges anyone to warrant it, and it is the element most likely to have been repaired rather than replaced.
- The community’s dues history and any assessment already levied or anticipated.
- Whether predial is current. A certificate that it is paid is required before a sale can be authorized, so arrears surface at closing, but you want to know about them earlier than that.
- What has been changed, and whether it was permitted.
The inspection point, which matters more on a resale
Do not assume an inspection will be arranged for you as part of the process. Commission it yourself, in writing, and get it done before you are contractually committed rather than after.
On new construction the warranty floor gives you a fallback. On a resale it is your inspection or nothing.
If you are buying remotely, that inspection is doing the job your own eyes would otherwise do, which makes it more important rather than less.
What is the same either way
The trust. A foreign buyer in Los Cabos will normally hold through a fideicomiso in both cases, because the property sits in what is known as the restricted zone.
The acquisition tax. Charged on the highest of the contract price, the cadastral value and the expert appraisal, whichever you buy.
The notario. Required for both. On a developer sale the standard above obliges them to explain how the costs of the deed are made up, and on a resale it is still the right thing to ask for. Ask for that breakdown either way.
The question that decides it
Not “new or old”. It is: where do you want your risk to sit?
New construction places more of it on the developer delivering what they promised, with a warranty floor behind you if they do not. Resale places more of it on what you and your inspector find before you sign, with the compensation that you are looking at the actual thing.
If you can inspect thoroughly, and you know the market well enough to read what an inspection finds, the resale’s risks are ones you can see and price. If you are buying remotely, or without that local knowledge, the warranty floor on a new build is doing work that your own eyes would otherwise do. That is a reason to weigh the two differently, and it has nothing to do with which property is nicer.
What we cannot tell you
Prices, or a premium for new over resale. We hold no current figure and our community pages are a better source than a general rule.
Whether a particular developer will deliver. We have no verifiable track record data on any of them.
What an inspection costs. It varies with the property, and we have no sourced figure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a new build in Mexico come with a warranty?
NOM-247-SE-2021 sets minimum warranty periods, longest for structural matters, shorter for waterproofing, and shorter again for other elements, and states those periods are irrenunciables, meaning they cannot be waived. Check the periods in your own contract against that floor. The standard applies to sales by subdividers, builders, promoters and others selling housing to the public.
Does the same warranty apply to a resale?
No. The standard defines its scope as providers of that kind, and a private sale from one owner to another is not such a sale. How much of the standard’s consumer protection reaches a private resale is less settled, and it is not something to rely on either way: on a resale what protects you is your contract and your inspection.
Can a developer offer a shorter warranty?
The standard states that these periods cannot be waived, so a contract offering less sits below a floor it says cannot be given up.
Should I get a home inspection on a resale in Los Cabos?
It is the main protection you have on a resale, and it should not be assumed to happen automatically. Commission one in writing and complete it before you are contractually committed.
What should I check on an older property here?
The service history of the air conditioning, pool equipment, water storage and pumps, and the roof, with particular attention to waterproofing, along with the community’s dues history and whether predial is current.
Do I need a fideicomiso either way?
Normally yes. A foreign buyer in Los Cabos holds through a bank trust whether the property is new or resale, because the property sits in what is known as the restricted zone. The notario confirms it for a specific parcel.
Is new construction more expensive?
We are not publishing a premium figure. Ask us what is actually available in a given community across both, which is a better basis than a general rule.
Still weighing the two? Talk to us about specific properties rather than the categories, and we can arrange an inspection on anything you are serious about. On a resale that is where the real difference shows up, and it is the one thing you can commission yourself rather than take on trust.