Buyers ask me about the purchase price and the closing costs. Almost nobody asks what happens after that — what it actually costs to keep the lights on, the pool clean, and the paperwork current once you own the place. Here is the real number, broken down by category, not one average that hides what you are actually paying for.
Property tax (predial)
I covered this in detail elsewhere, so the short version: on a house you live in, La Paz charges 0.2% of the cadastral value a year. On most homes in the $300,000–$600,000 range, that lands around $300–$450 a year, less if you pay the January discount. This is the cheapest line on the list by far.
Electricity — and the trap to avoid
CFE bills La Paz homes on tarifa 1F, a subsidized residential rate, as long as your consumption stays under the government's seasonal threshold. Stay under it and a normal house with AC running through the summer runs somewhere between $700 and $1,200 a year.
Go over the threshold — usually because the AC runs hard, there is a pool pump, or the house is larger than average — and CFE moves you to DAC, the high-consumption rate. DAC is not a surcharge, it is a different pricing tier entirely, and it can push the same usage to $1,500–$1,800 a year or more. The subsidy disappears the month you cross the line, not gradually. If you are buying a bigger home or one with a pool, ask the current owner for their CFE bills and check which tariff they are on before you assume the smaller number.
Water, propane, internet, and HOA
Water in La Paz is inexpensive and billed by the municipal utility, not by CFE. Propane runs most water heaters and stoves since natural gas is not piped here. Internet is straightforward if unremarkable. Add those three together with an HOA cuota if the property is in a gated development, and you are typically looking at $2,400–$6,000 a year — the HOA fee is what moves this number the most, and it varies a lot by development.
The fideicomiso fee, if you are buying through one
If you are a foreign buyer inside the restricted zone and holding title through a fideicomiso, the trust bank charges its own annual fee — typically $500–$700 plus IVA. This is separate from every cost above and it does not go away; it is the price of the legal structure that lets you own coastal property here at all. Mexican citizens and dual citizens holding via escritura pública skip this line entirely.
Insurance, a caretaker, and the pool guy
These are optional but common, especially for part-time owners: property insurance, a caretaker or property manager to check on the place while you are away, and pool or landscaping service if you have either. None of these are fixed costs — they scale with how much you want handled for you versus doing it yourself when you are in town.
What it adds up to
Two realistic profiles, based on what I actually see on closed sales:
| Profile | Annual carrying cost |
|---|---|
| House with a pool, full-time or frequent use | $5,500–$8,700 |
| Condo in a gated development | $5,500–$10,200 |
The condo can run higher than the house despite being smaller, because the HOA cuota often bundles security, common-area maintenance, and sometimes a shared pool — costs a standalone house owner controls, or skips, directly.
Compared to the carrying costs most of my clients are used to up north, this is genuinely lower — even accounting for the fideicomiso fee that does not exist back home. The gap is mostly in what is not here: no property tax anywhere near US levels, and no forced HOA in a large share of La Paz neighborhoods.
Common questions
Is $5,500–$10,000 a year realistic for a $500,000 home?
Yes, for a typical single-family home with a pool in that price range. A no-pool home without HOA fees can carry for less; a large gated-community property with full amenities can run more.
Does the fideicomiso fee increase over time?
It can rise gradually with the bank, but the bigger swing to plan for is the setup year, which includes the SRE permit and bank acceptance fee on top of the first annual fee.
Can I get an exact number before I buy?
Yes — send me the property and I will pull the actual CFE tariff, the current predial, and, if applicable, the HOA dues, so you are planning on real figures, not averages.
If you are still at the stage of figuring out where you want to be, start with the featured areas — that page has homes for sale in Centro La Paz, Esterito, Caimancito, Pedregal and Puerto Cortés, and the East Cape. For the cost of getting to the closing table in the first place, see what closing costs actually look like and what predial actually costs.
About Richard
I am Richard Gadoury, a licensed real estate agent living and working full time in La Paz, Baja California Sur, with 16 years in real estate between Canada and Mexico. I specialize in La Paz and La Ventana and I also work Todos Santos, Los Barriles, and the Cabo corridor.
Email info@searchbajahomes.com · WhatsApp +52 612-111-3604
Search listings at SearchBajaHomes.com · Meet Richard
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Peso figures converted at approximately 17.2 MXN/USD, September 2026. This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm the numbers on your own property with your notario or accountant.