The Beginning

My favorite place on earth is Playa Del Carmen, Mexico as I have continued over the years to visit every summer. There was a reason. On my 13th trip to Playa in June 2007, I looked at Dave (my dear, patient hubby) while poolside and said, OK…let’s make the move. He said that We’ll figure out the rest later. That is when it all started…
We returned home on June 20th and all I did for weeks was research businesses, how to make an income while in MX, how to move to MX, etc.
Starting a business and moving to Playa is not as easy as it may appear. We were unsure of how we were going to make money there. July 19th, Dave and I, along with four friends, went back to Playa as I needed confirmation that I was not crazy for wanting to move there. We stayed another 5 nights. We did not relax the entire trip as I lugged my friends all around Playa all the way down to Tulum. By that Sunday, the place that we would call home in Puerto Aventuras went under contract and Linda (a friend that I lugged down there) had decided that she and I needed to be business partners there! Linda will remain in the US and I will make the move.

Me and Linda

Just to give you a brief rundown of our recent experiences…We had to figure out what kind of company to start, what is going to be somewhat profitable, and what kind of company that could successfully run without much experience in Mexico’s culture and language. In my research, definitely catering to the locals that cater to the tourists is the way to go.
Everything was a challenge including coming up with a name for the company, as we had to come up with four different ones in case the one we REALLY wanted was taken. Actually, Prime Properties Management and Leasing was the last one on our list but the only one chosen by the Government. We had to figure out if we were to start a corporation, an LLC, or some other type of structure. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to authorize the creation of the company. Because we chose to create a corporation (S.A de C.V), Charter and Bylaws had to be drafted by a Notary. On Sept 13th we had to make another trip to Playa to meet with a Notary to sign “the big book” in which the Charter and Bylaws are printed in. Before the Charter and Bylaws are drafted and you sign with the Notary, we had to assign someone as your Attorney in Fact (Power of Attorney) for the company as this person will be able to make some decisions on on behalf prior to us getting our FM3 Visas. We also need a Statutory Examiner. This position must be held by someone unrelated to our company such as our CPA. I’m a little unclear of their role but as far as I can guess, they are basically an un-biased, third party person to make sure that we are not doing anything illegal within the corporation.

Me and Linda after we signed the "Big Book"

A page from the "Big Book" that shows are names. It's all in Spanish!

OK…So the “big book” has been signed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recognizes that we are a Mexican Company, all parties have been assigned to their respective roles and we are ready to start our new company. We secured an office space in Playa Del Carmen so that we could begin marketing the company and have a physical address to receive mail.
Hold on…there is MORE! Once we signed with the Notary, he provided two copies of the executed charter and bylaws (In Spanish). These are the papers that must be taken to the Federal Tax Register within 30 days (meaning another trip back to Playa) so that the State of Quintana Roo can assign you a Federal Tax ID #. Now, because we are foreigners without an FM3 Visa, we could not register our own company. This is why we had to assign a Mexican National as your Attorney in Fact when we initially set up the corporation. It is truly like the chicken and the egg debate…which came first??? We could not register the company to get a tax ID because we did not have our FM3 Visas. We could not get our Visas without the Registry of the company. ARGH! Fortunately, we have it all worked out though. My attorney that helped us set the company up and guide us in the right direction is a Mexican Citizen (law firm in Mexico City and Austin, TX). Because of this, we assigned him as our “Attorney in Fact” which is giving him power of attorney to make decisions. He was able to travel to Mexico City to register the company for us. We were VERY blessed as it could have potentially cost us thousands just to send Carlos to Mexico to register it for us but fortunately, his family lives in Mexico City and all he charged us was $280 for the plane ticket…no charges for his time or expenses while he was there. WHEW!
With all of that said, Carlos email me last night to inform me that the registration was a SUCCESS… it’s official. Prime Properties Management & Leasing is now a legal company in Quintana Roo, Playa Del Carmen Mexico. It’s not affiliated in any way to the company I work for now. It’s been a very trying last three months for both Dave and I but we did it! We are recognized by the Mexican Government as being an official, tax-paying Mexican Corporation! I am the CEO, Linda is the CFO and Dave is now the Attorney in Fact (legal titles).
Next...applyin for the FM3 Visa's.