MexConnect.com Forums: General: Living, Working, Retiring: Retiring on a small budget: Page 2

Forums > General > Living, Working, Retiring

1 2 View All

Carron

Mar 8, 2009, 10:51 AM

Post #26 of 29 (3330 views)

Shortcut

Re: [MitchMan] Retiring on a small budget

Can't Post | Private Reply

Thanks for the informed input. Please keep posting!

Rolly

Mar 8, 2009, 11:00 AM

Post #27 of 29 (3330 views)

Shortcut

Re: [MitchMan] Retiring on a small budget

Can't Post | Private Reply

One cannot buy ejido property. One can only buy property that was formerly part of an ejido. One should be very cautious in buying former ejido land to be sure that it was properly separated from the ejido. Properly separated land is safe. I live on what was once an ejido cotton field. Many housing development around my town were once part of Ejido Lerdo.

I have written a good bit about this here: http://rollybrook.com/...ing_buying.htm#ejido
And this:

Ejidos: As a part of the land reforms growing out of the Revolution (civil war) in the first quarter of the last century, the Constitution of 1917 created communal lands called ejidos. Membership in the ejidos was given to soldiers (of the winning side) and to the former workers (serfs) of the great haciendas which were broken up by the land reforms.

Membership in an ejido is hereditary. Each member must specify one family member of the next generation to be in line to inherit the family's membership. My English student, Nery, will inherit a membership from his mother who inherited from her grandfather who was a soldier under General Villa and was one of the original members of Ejido Lerdo. Ejido Lerdo was the first one created, and for a long time it was the largest in the country, but it has shrunk as Lerdo city has gobbled up much of the original area.
I digress because I love learning about these kinds of obscure Mexican customs.

In the beginning, members could not sell their allotted share of the land. The law has been changed to allow the selling or renting of ejido land under certain circumstances. The conversion of ejido land to regular property must be done in a certain manner in order for the new title to be valid. There have been several tragic scams with ejido land that was not properly regularized. These scams have frightened buyers to the point that many prudent folks won't touch ejido land.

Rolly Pirate

Carron

Mar 8, 2009, 11:43 AM

Post #28 of 29 (3316 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Rolly] Retiring on a small budget

Can't Post | Private Reply

Excellent response as usual, Rolly. Again I always advise a potential buyer of any property in Mexico to engage a notario publico at the first possible moment. He/she can tell you within a few hours whether your dream property is actually buy-able, especially by a foreigner, and under what specific conditions.

A notario publico in Mexico is a real estate lawyer, and generally a trustworthy and respected one at that. He/she is nothing like the notary public in the US who simply witnesses a signature and afixes a seal for a couple of dollars. Never, ever, confuse the two.

I bought a former ejido property when I lived in Chiapas about ten years ago, but such properties in that particular village had been available for private ownership since 1978. The land I wanted (OK, lusted after!) had been privately owned almost since that time by one owner and we had no trouble getting a clear title. Nor did we have any problems re-selling it several years later.

MitchMan

Mar 8, 2009, 12:00 PM

Post #29 of 29 (3307 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Rolly] Retiring on a small budget

Can't Post | Private Reply

Hi Rolly,
Thanks for the input on ejido land. I didn't know those precise specifics. Makes a difference in my understanding of ejido property.

I think that I realize now that a lot of problems foreigners may have had with trying to acquire ejido land or formerly ejido land before private title was established is that they were probably suckered in by a scam in part or in whole or had incompetent help in doing so. It seems to me that it may be technically/legally possible for a foreigner to acquire ejido land or formerly privatized ejido land if they can do it legally and properly, but, from my point of view and in my experience, getting something potentially complicated done properly in Mexico is a challenge in and of itself. For the time being, I am staying away from acquiring ejido property as there is so much other real estate available at great prices everywhere, especially if you know where and how to look.

(This post was edited by MitchMan on Mar 8, 2009, 12:15 PM)

1 2 View All