How to Find your Puerto Vallarta Dream Home

Before searching, it is recommended you first identify the area, or areas, you like best. Most people already are aware at the outset whether the want a home, condominium or wish to build. But where is a little more complicated. To help identify the neighborhood best for you, there are four important factors you should take into consideration:

1. Location: Where do you want your property to be situated:beachfront, city, golf, marina, gate community, rural?
2. View: Is a view important, if so, of what? Ocean, golf, marina, mountain, jungle, city?
3. Size: How many bedrooms and what type of secondary rooms? What about terraces?
4. Amenities: What do you need to be close to? City center, shopping, medical centers, schools, golf, marinas, beach?

Here's some additional information that can help you with this process:

• Check out this article on homeownership options: Home 
Ownership options in Vallarta and Nayarit
• And this article on the most popular neighborhoods may prove helpful: Vallarta & Nayarit's Most Popular Real Estate Neighborhoods
• Then, check out the Regions section for more information including photos, maps, local amenities and the real estate that is currently available, for Vallarta’s most popular real estate areas.
• For a more visual view of the whole region, check out the Regional Map available under Search using Map View - this shows the borders of each region with a short description of the type of real estate to be found there.

Once you’ve identified the regions that you like these, it’s time to start searching for properties. You’ll find at the bottom of each region or sub-region page, properties that are currently for sale in that region. Or, you can utilize these two search engines:

1. Quick Search: Enter your search criteria and the results flows below. Continue to tweak your search until you find the properties you like best
2. Map Search: If you prefer a more visual presentation, try searching for properties on a map of the region. Choose 
 your search criteria and the properties that fulfill those results will appear on the map. Click on any one of the property icons for more information.

Create a "My Favorites" account

• Save the properties you like best to your favorites list
• No need to create a password & username, unless you want to save your list long term
• We won’t contact you, nor share your email address with anyone - our promise

Once you’ve identified the regions that you like these, it’s time to start searching for properties. You’ll find at the bottom of each region or sub-region page, properties that are currently for sale in that region. Or, you can utilize these two search engines:

• Buying real estate in Mexico is different than in Canada and the U.S. - the laws are different
• To be legal the transaction has to be in Spanish
• Most sellers prefer to work through an intermediary

You could just contact the listing agent for each property that you’ve saved in your Favorites, but you might want to do a little homework in this area as well, as working with a good agent is an important and integral part of the buying process. They not only will provide you access to the properties you’d like to view, but they can also inform you further about the buying process, and most importantly, they will be negotiating on your behalf.

So choose someone you are comfortable with. Check out the agent descriptions in Professionals, where many have their resumes along with satisfied customer testimonials. Also, visit the Vallarta Real Estate Agents Directory.

And lastly, ask people who have already purchased what their opinions are; they’ve already been through the process.