Select Mexico Properties

There’s no doubt about it. You can find a long history of fraudulent Mexican land deals. Property laws were (and are!) different here, and buyers had few legal protections. Land sales were paid for in cash, and there were only spotty ownership records available. Challenges to an owner’s land rights were common, and since Mexico recognizes squatters’ rights, rightful owners often lost their land. To remedy this, the federal government has made some substantial changes in the laws that govern buying land in Mexico. As a result of these changes, buying land in Mexico has never been safer!

The Mexican constitution prohibits direct foreign ownership of land within 50 kilometers of a coastline and within 100 kilometers of a national border. The government recognizes the importance of encouraging foreign investment, so it created a system that affords non-citizens and citizens alike a reliable, trustworthy means of acquiring ownership rights to land in Mexico.

A fideicomiso is a bank trust designed to hold the deed to land in an “exclusion zone.” Fideicomiso trusts can be used to hold land in non-exclusions zones as well, and many Mexican citizens prefer to establish one to hold their properties.

The fideicomiso basically establishes fee-simple ownership rights to land. The bank, which acts as a fiduciary, holds the deed to the land in trust and must act in the sole interest of the trust beneficiary – the owner of the land. The fideicomiso means that buying land in Mexico has never been safer for citizen and non-citizen owners alike.

In addition to the fideicomiso, ownership interest is perfected when the deed is registered by a notario publico, a quasi-judicial Mexican official. The Notario Publico is a real estate attorney who has been appointed to examine, certify and record property transactions. Once a Notario Publico has recorded a land sale, it is very difficult for anyone to challenge the owner-of-record’s right to the land.

As an added measure of security, buyers can purchase title insurance on any of the properties that Select Mexico Properties sells through reputable firms like First American Title and Stewart Title. Title insurance protects the safety of your investment in land against imperfect title challenges.

With all of these protections in place, buying land in Mexico is safe. You can be assured that once the purchase of your property is complete, your full ownership interests will be recognized and respected. If you would like more information on buying land in Mexico, please contact a Select Mexico Properties sales representative today.

Photo Credit: Scott Robinson