How foreigners really own property here
The fideicomiso, the restricted zone, the notario, what closing actually costs — and the one type of land to walk away from every single time.
Buy it. Build it. Own it with your eyes wide open.
The plainspoken guide to buying, building, and owning a home in Mexico—from someone who did it.
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Chapter One · 40-second sample
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Chapter 1: The Vacation Illusion
By 2014, our life was starting to change, although I don't remember us ever sitting down and calling it that.
We'd been vacationing in Mexico since 2008, staying at a long list of all-inclusives and hotels on both coasts, and I'd spent those same years running my businesses, the kind that never let you fully leave. When you're younger and trying to get ahead, you don't think much about the time you aren't taking. You keep hammering down. By 2014, work was calmer, we were more established, and time away, especially with family, was beginning to matter more.
Watch or listen to the podcast.
Episode 1: The Vacation Illusion: Before You Buy in Mexico.
Start with the conversation, then explore the book and free checklist.
When “what if this wasn’t just a vacation?” meets reality.
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 friction nobody puts in the brochure
Banking, residency, utilities, contractors, hurricanes, taxes on both sides of the border — handled honestly, without hype and without fear.
What happens after the keys
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.
Get the Riviera Maya Edition.
Paperback and Kindle are available on Amazon. Kindle Unlimited members can also read the ebook with their subscription.
An entrepreneur, not a realtor.
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 bought, then rented, then bought again, then built. Three properties, plus a spec house we built on one of our own lots in Akumal — finished in 2026 and 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.
Checklists, Resources & Channel
Pair the book with practical checklists, real-world build documentation, and video walkthroughs from Akumal.
Reality Checklist & Build Cost Sheet
Join the list and download the Reality Checklist starter pack immediately — the questions I wish someone had made me answer before buying in Mexico. You'll also get the full build cost sheet as each season of the channel rolls out. An honest note now and then; no spam, no pitch-fest.
Unsubscribe any time by replying to an update or emailing [email protected]. I'm retired — building a giant mailing list is not my retirement plan.