Thanks for this info. It’s still helpful in home purchasing even after your original posting 2 years ago. We just purchased a place in Merida and found your article extremely helpful.

B&K

As far as we have been able to determine, there is no known process by which abandoned properties are seized by the state and sold. When an owner dies, right of ownership passes to the heirs, who may or may not be known. In some cases, the right of ownership then passes to heirs of heirs, through marriage, etc. To buy such a property, you would likely have to track down the heirs, whether living in Merida, Mexico City, Florida, California, Spain, etc; obtain agreement from all that they wish to sell; obtain legally-acceptable signatures for Merida Yucatan Mexico (which can involve documentation from local Mexican consulates, additional attorneys, notaries, etc); and finally pay everyone off at the same time when the transaction takes place at the offices of a Merida Nortario (specialized, government licensed real estate attorney).

Because of various revolutions, rights of ownership of home properties are well protected in the Mexican constitution. Even residents of a property with no documentation of ownership have strong legal rights, particularly after a number of years.

If you are ever driving from Merida to Progreso you will see an example of this: the carretera takes a bend to the east near the small former railroad station and current tienda at the tiny pueblo of San Ignacio. The owner refused to sell her property and the state moved the highway instead. You don’t see that much in the USA. Likewise, in the absence of special legal situations, the state cannot seize land without finding all the heirs just as a private buy must.

Also, “abandoned” may be a relative term. Perhaps the owners know exactly where each other all live and the condition of the property, but they simply do not have the means to maintain the property. Contacting the offices of the Catastro of the Ayuntamiento may be of some help in locating ownership or at least finding if there is one on record.

(I’m not an attorney in Mexico or anywhere else in the world. Your mileage may vary.)

Peter,

Eric Partney of Mexico International, the oldest and largest of Merida’s web-based real estate agencies, has many happy buyers. (as do a large number of other agents)

We are thinking of buying something under USD $90,000 if anyone can recommed a good realtor.

Many thanks,

Peter

If you have a particular house or land that you will like to find the owner for, you can contact Adriana at adriana@yucatanyes.com and they will find it for you.