The complete file, piece by piece
This is what the folder of a serious transaction looks like — the one we ask for and the one you should demand wherever you get financing:
- Application and identification. Official ID, proof of income and of address, and information on the asset or cash flow behind it. This is the minimum KYC of any serious origination — and, for habitual lenders, an anti-money-laundering legal obligation we explain in the rules for the habitual lender.
- Credit or loan contract. The full story: amount, separate ordinary and default rates, term, schedule, collateral, prepayments. With a certain date (ratification before a notary or public officer, or registration) to be valid against third parties (2a./J. 161/2019).
- Pagaré tied to the contract. The fast lane for collection (LGTOC 170–174). Tied means: same amount or balances, same rate, cross-reference. "Loose" pagarés for amounts that don't match are a red flag.
- Collateral instrument. A mortgage in a public deed and registered; a pledge with or without transfer of possession registered in the RUG (Sole Registry of Movable Collateral); an assignment of rights notified to the assigned debtor, depending on the asset.
- Amortization schedule, annexed and signed. Your snapshot of the balance month by month. Without it, any balance dispute becomes an expert appraisal; with it, it's simple subtraction. Generate yours in the simulator.
- Disbursement record. An identifiable transfer — no cash without a receipt. It proves how much you received and when the clock started running.
Why this protects the debtor too
- Certainty of balance: the signed schedule prevents creative recalculations and "surprise interest".
- Proof of payments: receipts and recorded installments kill double collections of the pagaré.
- Frozen terms: what's agreed in writing isn't unilaterally "renegotiated".
- Certain date: it also helps the debtor — for example, to prove to the SAT (tax authority) the origin of the funds received.
Red flags from the other side of the table
If whoever is lending to you operates like this, get up from the table:
- Asks for a blank pagaré or one for a larger amount "just in case".
- Hands over no contract or schedule; "here we handle everything by word of mouth".
- Demands ownership of the asset (a sale with a "repurchase promise") instead of collateral: that isn't a loan, it's a disguised forced sale.
- Disburses in cash without a receipt, or asks for payments to third-party accounts with no relation to the creditor.
Serious private credit isn't afraid of paperwork: it lives on it. In the Resources section we gather the official portals to verify each piece — from your credit bureau to the disbursement transfer — before and after signing.