First, please remember that while our area is easily accessible by numerous flights and, once you arrive, it has all the comforts of home, just in different packaging:
Mexico does have its own system of property ownership quite different than where you live now.
Even if you are well-versed in real estate transactions in your home country or other foreign locations, you will need help navigating the system here to insure you have proper title and a positive buying experience.
For narrowing down the properties from which you will choose your new home, the best advice is to find a real estate professional with whom you work well and stick with that person, asking him or her to assist you in finding properties, and yes, seeking his or her advice on any property you might find on your own—this is a “buyer beware” system and regardless of what you have heard about a property, or worse, what is represented on the internet, your local agent is the best person to ferret-out the underlying landmines you are surely to encounter attempting to search on your own.