Understanding the risks of ‘buying’ property on an ejido
When shopping around for land in the countryside or on the coast, many newcomers to Yucatán come across opportunities to purchase real estate labeled as edijal or de ejido.
At first, everything always looks wonderful, the price might seem low and the person doing the “selling” seems extremely motivated and ready to move things along. But what is an ejido? And how does buying land on one, differ from other types of real estate transactions?
Simply put and ejido or propiedad comunal is an area of communal land collectively used and maintained by a group of people. This means that such lots are not private property and can not be owned by a single individual. This is not to say that purchasing land on an ejido is impossible. If you plan on going down this route, you will have to ensure that all stakeholders are completely on board and then go through a lengthy privatization process with a local assembly. Furthermore, Mexican law prohibits the sale of ejidos to non-Mexicans which means buying by proxy, usually with a trusted local lawyer.
A seasoned Texas businessman who had been living in Mexico for over 20 years said his attempt to buy ejido land near Telchac was one of the most stressful and aggravating events of his life.
It is not uncommon for entire deals to fall through because a single member of the landowners’ group changes his mind — even if it’s after everyone else has already been paid. In these situations, you essentially have no recourse. So as they say, buyer beware.
Senior Editor Carlos Rosado van der Gracht is a Mexican expedition/Canadian photographer and adventure leader. Born in Mérida, Carlos holds multimedia, philosophy, and translation degrees from universities in Mexico, Canada and Norway.
