Land, la Terre, la Tierra; this word in any language represents safety, a sense of belonging and life in every shape or form you can imagine. But when you purchase real estate in Mexico, do you own a bundle of rights (right to possession, control, exclusion, enjoyment, disposition, right to derive income)? This answer is found in the books of law of each country.
Mexico, a federal republic, uses civil law consisting of a federal government, 31 individual state governments, and a Federal District. The main difference between civic law and common law is that civil law is statutorily based on jurisprudence, and common law cases are decided individually by looking at the laws. It is important to realize that there are restricted zones in Mexico that require compliance when purchasing real estate in those zones. In Mexico, only Mexican individuals or companies can grant the right to acquire dominion over land and water in a restricted zone. These zones are located 61 miles (100 km) from the international borders and 31 miles (50 km) from the sea coast.
The easy answer is yes, you can purchase lease real estate in Mexico. Foreigners must comply with Mexico’s fideocomiso, which is a system (trust agreement) with the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that foreigners can set up with a financial institution to have indirect ownership of a restricted piece of land through a trustee. The trustee is considered the legal owner of the land, but the beneficiary of this trust maintains the right to lease, sell, or pass it to someone else.
Mexico doesn’t have a National Real Estate Council to control the real estate industry and protect consumers; therefore, agents in Mexico aren’t subject to licensing.
The recipe is the same in the Americas, where Industrial real estate is a favorite for investors because of the growing popularity of e-commerce. The most attractive locations are on the outskirts of big cities and the northern border of the country.
According to the Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) statistics from 1999–2020, almost half of Mexico’s FIE comes from the USA (47%), Spain (12%), Canada (7%), Japan (4.6%), Germany (4.5%), Netherlands (3.6%) and Belgium (3.6%). Foreign investment flow is shared among four main categories: manufacturing at 48%, finance at 14%, mining at 5% and hospitality at 3.5%.
The hospitality industry is always an interesting option to choose from in a country such as Mexico, which is bordered by the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and has a climate that can please a broad variety of customers. The other aspect of investing in the hospitality industry is that U.S. currency is used for most transactions.
Many American farmers answered my questions about where they will grow food when all farmlands fall in the hands of developers; the answer was Mexico. The ancient civilization of the Aztecs developed Mexico City on top of a volcano where there were several islands. The engineering of the Aztecs has proved to be extremely inventive and successful with a watering system for agriculture.
Today, the most popular exports are sugar, coffee, fruit, and vegetables. There is no doubt that the United States benefits from Mexican agriculture. Foreign Investors who have an interest in investing in agrarian properties, however, will be subject to land size limitations.