Should I buy in my own name or through a company, and can I close the purchase without traveling to Guatemala?

In your own name: passport and NIT, and the property is recorded in the foreigner's name at the RGP (2024 ICS). Through a Guatemalan company (S.A.): common for developments and for limiting liability, with incorporation at the Mercantile Registry, but it does not get around Art. 123, which requires shareholders who are Guatemalan by birth in the border strip. Buying remotely: a power of attorney granted in public deed form before a Guatemalan consul or a foreign notary, with apostille and sworn translation, then protocolized by a Guatemalan notary (commercial guide). The promise to sell uses a deposit of 5–10% and a typical closing runs 4–8 weeks from accepted offer to recorded testimonio, market practice, not law.