What is a reservation deposit (apartado) in Mexico?

How does an apartado work?

1. The buyer picks a unit, usually after a showroom visit or a video call.
2. The buyer pays the deposit and signs a reservation form.
3. The developer takes the unit off the market for the agreed period.
4. Within that period, both sides sign the contract and the buyer pays the enganche.

Each developer sets the deposit amount. The standard is around 1-2% of the property price. The developer also sets the hold period and the refund terms if the buyer backs out, so tell the buyer both before they pay.

Why don't reservations turn into contracts?

A reservation shows intent, but the buyer can still change their mind. If the sales rep goes silent after the apartado and before the contract, the buyer keeps looking at other projects and may find something else.

• The rep treats the reservation as a closed deal and moves on to new leads.
• There's no clear list of documents and dates, so the buyer doesn't know what comes next.
• The reservation status in the CRM doesn't match the unit availability grid, and the same unit gets promised to two buyers.
• The hold period runs out and nobody calls the buyer ahead of time.

Which reservation metric should you track?

Reservation-to-contract conversion: the share of apartados that reach enganche on time. Track it for each sales rep. If one rep's rate is clearly lower than the others', the problem is usually how they handle buyers after the reservation, not the product.

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