In Tulum, the first sheet a pre-sale buyer gets is the proforma: price, down payment, payments, and delivery date on one page. It looks like a deal summary. It isn’t. It’s a sales document, and what matters is often what’s missing. Here we break it down line by line.
The proforma we’re going to break down
To avoid speaking in the abstract, we built a sample proforma using payment schemes that appear in real listings from our own catalog, reviewed on September 30, 2026. The apartment is made up; the structures are not.
- List price: 3.000.000 MXN (about 166.500 dollars at the day’s exchange rate, 18,02 pesos per dollar).
- Down payment: 30%, that is, 900.000 MXN.
- During construction: 40%, 1.200.000 MXN in monthly installments.
- At delivery: 30%, 900.000 MXN.
- Bigger down payment discount: 2% if you put 40% down, 4% if you put 50% down.
The 30-40-30 structure is from Casa Yaxche, a pre-sale in our catalog in Playa del Carmen at 3.990.000 MXN with delivery in ten months. The tiered discount is from Zen Park Residences, in Cancún: down payment of 30, 40, or 50%, with 2% and 4% discounts on the latter two, the rest in 30 interest-free monthly installments, plus 10% at delivery and another 10% at closing. In Tulum, proformas move with these same pieces.
Line 1: the list price
The first question isn’t how much it costs, but when that price is from. In pre-sales, prices rise in phases: the first buyers pay less, and that step-up is precisely the sales pitch. Ask for the dated price sheet and how many units remain in that phase. If no one will give it to you in writing, the pricing ladder is just a pitch.
And compare against delivered product. Aldea Savia, in our old catalog, was marketed in pre-sale “from 1.685.000 MXN” with footprints starting at 48,80 m²: about 34.500 pesos per square meter. Today unit D35 in that same development is reselling at 3.990.000 MXN with 134 m²: about 29.800 pesos per square meter. They’re different units and it’s not a rule, but it’s a useful reminder: the pre-sale square meter doesn’t always end up below the finished square meter.
Line 2: the down payment
900.000 pesos leaving your account in the first month, before the building exists. Three questions before you sign:
- Where does the money go? To an account in the developer’s company name or to a construction trust, never to a personal account.
- What document do you sign? Usually a promise-to-purchase agreement. Read it in full: your protection lives there, not in the proforma.
- What if you back out? Almost all contracts impose a penalty. Know it before, not after.
Line 3: payments during construction
1.200.000 pesos in monthly installments. If construction lasts 24 months, that’s 50.000 pesos a month. “Interest-free” is true, but not free: you’re financing the build. What you need to know is what construction progress backs each payment. Ask for the contract to tie installments to a construction schedule and for the developer to share progress photos or reports. If payments are due by date and construction runs on its own timeline, all the risk is yours.
Line 4: the bigger down payment discount
It’s the most tempting line. With a 50% down payment, the 4% discount is 120.000 pesos off our proforma. But to get it, you advance 600.000 pesos more than with 30%, and you leave that money in the project until delivery.
That 4% is what the developer pays you for financing them and taking construction risk. It can be a good deal. The math to run is how much those 600.000 pesos would earn elsewhere during the build, and what happens to them if the project runs late. A discount eaten up by a year’s delay stops being a discount.
Line 5: the delivery date
It’s the line most often missed and least discussed. In our old catalog we have ten Tulum developments that promised delivery between December 2019 and June 2022. Those dates overlapped with a pandemic and the largest construction boom in Tulum’s history, and many projects in the area slipped.
What to look for in the contract: a specific date, a defined grace period, and a penalty payable by the developer if they exceed it. If the proforma says “estimated delivery” and the contract repeats the same with no consequences, the date is an intention, not a commitment.
Line 6: the payment at delivery
900.000 pesos upon taking possession. If you plan to pay it with a loan, note that a Mexican mortgage for a foreign buyer is possible but not simple, and the bank values the finished unit, not what you’ve paid. If you plan to fund it with the sale of another property, lock in timelines. Coming up short at delivery is the most expensive way to lose a down payment.
What the proforma doesn’t say
Here’s what almost never shows up on the sheet but does come out of your pocket:
- Closing costs. Acquisition tax, notary, registry, and appraisal. It’s prudent to set aside 5% to 8% of the value: between 150.000 and 240.000 pesos on our proforma.
- Bank trust. Tulum is in the restricted zone, so a foreigner buys through a bank trust, with an opening fee and an annual charge. Ask the bank for a quote before you sign.
- Fit-out. Many proformas price the unit as a finished shell or “ready to furnish.” The furniture, appliances, and air-conditioning package is sometimes separate.
- HOA/maintenance fee. It starts accruing at delivery, whether you use the unit or not. Ask for the estimated amount and what it covers.
- Rental management. If the plan is to rent, the manager’s commission comes out of your income, not the price. And the rent they promise is not part of the proforma; it’s part of the brochure.
The checklist to bring to the meeting
- Dated price list with remaining units in the phase.
- Full promise-to-purchase contract, not just the proforma.
- Building permit and environmental permits for the project.
- Receiving account in the company’s name or the construction trust.
- Construction schedule tied to payments.
- Delivery date with grace period and penalty.
- What the price includes and doesn’t include: furnishings, parking, storage.
- Written estimate of maintenance and closing costs.
So, is pre-sale worth it or not?
It can make sense, especially with developers who have delivered on time in the area and with contracts that protect the buyer. But you don’t make the decision off the proforma: you make it with the contract, the permits, and by comparing against what’s already built and for sale today.
If you have a Tulum proforma on the table, write to us and send it over. We’ll review it with you line by line, tell you what to ask, and compare it with what’s already delivered for sale in the same area.
Payment schemes, prices, and delivery dates taken from listings published on inversionesdemexico.com and reviewed on September 30, 2026; exchange rate of 18,02 pesos per dollar from the same day (open.er-api.com). The 3.000.000 MXN proforma is an example. The 5% to 8% closing-cost range is illustrative: it depends on the municipality, the notary, and the transaction. This article does not replace legal or tax advice.
Versión en español: Desarmamos una proforma de preventa de Tulum, línea por línea · Versão em português: Destrinchamos uma proforma de pré-venda em Tulum, linha a linha · Version française: On décortique une pro forma de prévente à Tulum, ligne par ligne
