Baja International Realty · Land guide
Understand what is being offered, what paperwork exists and which steps apply before you buy or sell. A practical starting point for land in Los Cabos and nearby Pacific and East Cape areas.
“Ejido land” can describe different situations. The name of a community, a map pin or an MLS description does not establish the legal status of a particular parcel. Start with the exact documents and current registry information.
Identify whether the interest concerns an allocated parcel, common-use land or a settlement lot. These do not all follow the same transfer route. A parcel certificate records agrarian rights; it is not private-property title. [1]
Assembly authorization is a step, not proof that a parcel is already private property. For an eligible parcel, the individual title process involves the RAN and subsequent Public Property Registry recording. Ask for evidence of the actual stage reached. [3]
Review the issued title, the exit from the agrarian register, Public Property Registry information and the subsequent chain of ownership. The first sale after conversion can still involve preference-right formalities. [7]
Use these steps to organize the investigation. The transaction route must be determined for the particular land and the people involved.
Identify the ejido, parcel or lot number, municipality, approximate area and exact location. Explain whether you want a personal home, development site, agricultural use or another project. Confirm that the land shown on the visit is the land described in the paperwork.
Request the relevant certificate or title and current registry evidence. Ask an agrarian attorney to review who holds the rights, the seller’s authority and any succession or competing claim. RAN registration and rights-status certificates are useful parts of that review. [4]
For a sale of parcel rights under Article 80, the statutory route is to another ejidatario or recognized avecindado of the same ejido. Mexican nationality alone is not enough. Have the buyer’s actual eligibility checked before choosing a contract or paying a deposit. [2]
Compare the survey, boundaries and measured area. Check legal and physical access, occupation, water, electricity, topography and planned use with the relevant professionals and authorities. Ownership status and permission to build are separate questions.
Ask the reviewing professionals to identify outstanding documents, notices, filings and any conversion steps. The agreement should address who performs and pays for each step, payment release conditions, deadlines and what happens if a required condition cannot be met. Obtain advice on the appropriate payment arrangements.
A parcel-rights transfer involves a written agreement with witnesses, ratification before a public certifying officer, applicable preference-right notices, notice to the comisariado and RAN registration. Private-title transactions follow their own closing and registration route. Keep final documents and verify completion rather than relying only on a filing receipt. [5]
A foreign buyer cannot acquire ejidatario or avecindado status under the nationality requirements in the Agrarian Law. Buying former ejido land after a valid conversion to private property is a different transaction. [1]
For privately titled property in the restricted coastal zone, foreign buyers must also address Mexico’s foreign-ownership rules, commonly through an authorized bank trust (fideicomiso) for residential property. A trust does not itself convert ejido rights into private title. Have the attorney, notario and bank confirm the route for your case. [6]
There are possible routes, but forming a Mexican company does not by itself make ejidal rights transferable to it. Identify the land’s status first.
An ordinary Article 80 transfer is limited to ejidatarios or recognized avecindados of the same ejido. A company does not qualify. [1]
After completed dominio pleno and registration, acquisition may be possible, subject to first-sale preference rights and foreign-investment rules. [1] [8]
Article 75 permits a formal contribution to a company with ejido or ejidatario shareholders, subject to assembly formalities, Procuraduría Agraria review and other safeguards. Foreign participation requires separate review. [1]
Agricultural, livestock or forestry land: foreign participation is capped at 49% of the Series T shares representing this land. This is not a blanket 49% limit for every Mexican property company. [8]
Coastal restricted zone: a qualifying Mexican company with foreign shareholders may directly acquire property for nonresidential purposes, with the required notice to SRE. Property for residential use requires the authorized bank-trust route under Articles 10–11. A company’s name or corporate purpose alone does not establish the property’s actual use. [8] [10]
Development projects: qualifying corporate construction, subdivision and other property-development activities can be treated as nonresidential until commercialization or sale to third parties. This does not remove the agrarian requirements or authorize the development itself. [9]
Before committing: have an agrarian attorney and the closing notario review the land records, proposed use and company ownership together. Confirm the permitted route and outstanding conditions before agreeing payment terms.
A well-organized property file helps identify the buyers you can approach and the conditions you can actually offer.
Gather the parcel certificate, common-use certificate, title or other documents relevant to your case. Identify all holders and any representative or succession issue. Describe the interest being offered accurately; do not advertise an expected future title as though it already exists.
Ask for a review of names, parcel numbers, maps, boundaries, area and registry history. List what is missing, who must supply it and whether proceedings or competing claims need resolution. An unresolved file changes the transaction timetable.
Determine whether the proposed transaction concerns agrarian rights, private property, a lease or another arrangement. Ask who can legally acquire the particular interest. If conversion is contemplated, obtain case-specific advice on eligibility and outstanding steps; do not promise that every parcel can be converted.
Ask which people have preference rights and how notice or a valid waiver must be documented. The rules for a parcel-rights sale and for a first sale after dominio pleno are different. These formalities should be built into the transaction plan, not left until the last moment. [7]
Compare genuinely similar transactions and the status of their paperwork, access and services. Document what the price includes, the payment currency, who pays transaction expenses and any conditions still to be completed. Ask for a written tax and cost estimate for the specific seller and transaction.
Coordinate signing, payment conditions, applicable registration and possession arrangements with the professionals handling the matter. Keep copies of notices, receipts, signed documents and final registry evidence. Agree how any remaining practical obligations will be handled.
The list varies with the transaction. Start by identifying what exists; the reviewing professional should specify the complete file and which originals or certified copies are needed.
Do not treat it as a substitute for confirming the holder’s rights, buyer eligibility and the required formalities. Ask what legal effect the specific document has and which registrations or other steps remain.
Common-use land has a different legal framework. Ask an agrarian attorney to identify the permitted route and required ejido decisions for the proposed arrangement; do not assume that an individual parcel-rights contract applies. [1]
Check the actual title. Settlement lots (solares) can have their own title and private-law treatment under the Agrarian Law. A location inside an ejido does not settle the issue by itself. [1]
There is no reliable single timetable for every property. Ask for a staged estimate identifying documents, assembly or registry steps, notices and unresolved issues. The guide does not promise conversion, approval or a closing date.
Ask for a separate review of land use, water, access, environmental requirements and the proposed development. Clear ownership paperwork alone should not be used as evidence that a project is authorized.
Send the location, approximate area, whether you are buying or selling and the names of the documents available. Start with a description of the situation; arrange how to share document copies with the people reviewing the matter.
Don and the BIR team can discuss the property, your objectives and the information needed to identify next steps. Legal eligibility, title and transaction documents need review by a qualified agrarian attorney and the appropriate notario or authority.
WhatsApp Don ↗
don@bircabo.com
+52 624 129 6245
This guide provides general information, not a legal opinion on a specific property. BIR does not issue titles or guarantee regularization.
Sources consulted October 16, 2026. Official materials are in Spanish. Confirm current requirements and the correct procedure for the specific property.