The In-Depth Answer

Setting up a power of attorney (POA) — which authorizes another person to sign the purchase or sale of a property in your place — involves a few steps.

1) Our standing recommendation is that the POA be prepared by the notario closing your transaction, or by one of the attorneys in their office, guaranteeing that the wording will be accepted by the notario when closing day arrives.

2) If you're in Guanajuato, the notario's office can draft the POA and you simply stop by to sign it. It will be written in Spanish, but if you don't speak the language, a translator will be brought in on signing day to interpret it for you. For buyers and sellers alike, the document will likely include wording that lets the POA holder sign not just the deed but also the escrow company's distribution of funds.

3) If you're away from the city, the notario drafts the document and sends it to you, and then:

a. if you're American or a citizen of a Hague Convention country, you'll get it notarized and then apostilled;

b. if you're Canadian, from a country outside the Hague Convention, or simply close to a Mexican embassy or consulate, you'll bring the document there and sign in front of a consular official.

4) For buyers abroad who didn't sign the SRE permit application while in Guanajuato, the POA will likely also authorize someone to sign that application in their place.