First-time buyer in Mexico City: how much cash buffer after closing?

C

CommonBook

Homeowner
MX$270,000 is the cash I expect to have left after the deposit and estimated closing costs. The purchase would be a 2-bed serviced apartment in Mexico City priced at about MX$9,900,000, and the inspection could still identify routine work needed during the first year.

I’m trying to decide what must be protected before completion rather than treating the whole balance as available for the apartment. Which amounts should I verify first: the initial service-charge payment, insurance excess, moving costs or likely repairs? Furniture can be delayed, but I want to preserve a genuine emergency fund and make sure the first mortgage payment is already covered.
 
I’d ring-fence the emergency fund first, including enough for the first mortgage payment, rather than treating all MX$270,000 as house money. Next allow for moving, the insurance excess and any service charge due soon after completion. Repairs identified by the inspection come before furniture; the second bedroom can stay basic for a while. If those essentials consume nearly everything, the purchase price is probably too close to your ceiling.
 
What does “serviced” include here, and do you already know the amount and payment timing of the service charges? That could materially change the calculation. Also, is the MX$270,000 left after buying insurance and making the first mortgage payment, or merely after closing? It sounds workable for cosmetic jobs, but thin if the inspection finds something urgent.
 
I wouldn’t assign fixed percentages before the inspection. Make two lists instead: costs required before moving in, and items that can wait six months. Get prices for anything the inspection flags, confirm upcoming service charges, then reserve emergency cash and the insurance excess. Furniture should be the flexible category. If the mandatory list leaves almost no untouched cash, lowering the target price is safer than trying to make the buckets fit.
 
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