1. How can I as a foreigner own ocean front property in Mexico?
In 1917, the Mexican Constitution was drafted and passed into law. in the Mexican Constitution, there was a provision that created what is called the Restricted Zone. The Zone is 100 km (62 miles) from the borders and 50 km (or 31 miles) from the coasts. In this Restricted Zone, only Mexicans could own the land. This was done for their own protection, and at the time, it made sense.
However, in file 70's they realized that there was a lot more money outside of Mexico than inside Mexico. So, in 1970, a Bill was passed into law, which created a legal loophole. This Bill stated that a trust, called a 'Fidecomiso' could be set up, with the foreigner as the sole and exclusive beneficiary. Since a Mexican bank holds the title and must administrate this trust, it satisfies the requirements to purchase land in the restricted zone. The beneficiary (foreigner) could control the land by renting it, improving it, selling it, etc.). Cancun is 27 years old. Because of the 1970 Bill, major foreign investment flowed into Mexico and we saw not only Cancun, but also Cozumel, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Ixtapa, etc. take off.
There were however, limitations to the Trust system. For each property you owned, you needed a separate trust. The cost for each trust or Fidecomiso (the Spanish word for Trust) is about 1% to 1.5% to set up (that percentage based on the purchase price of the land). In addition, there is an annual "administration" fee to the Bank of $600-700, for doing nothing more than holding the deed on your behalf.
In 1994, the newest Law was passed, pertaining to the Restricted Zone. This new law, states that a Mexican Corporation, wholly owned by foreigners, can be the Mexican entity required by the Mexican Constitution, to be legal. Now, you own the Mexican Corporation and hold all the papers to it. Your Mexican Corporation holds the deed, which means, you get to personally (physically) possess the deed- This new law provided for a linear form of property ownership within the once 'Restricted Zone'. By linear, I mean that you hold and control your Mexican Corporation, and in the same hand, your Mexican Corporation holds the deed. You no longer need to go through the bank to make requests.
An added benefit to establishing this Mexican Corporation system is that there are no annual fees to pay to the bank and your Mexican Corporation can own more than one property. You do not need to form a separate Mexican Corporation for each property, such as is the case with the Bank Trust system. If you should decide to sell your property in the future, you can either sell your entire Mexican Corporation, or sell just a property from it. Also, after you buy land via the Mexican Corporation system, you are permitted to file a dormancy election, which means, your company is "asleep", until you decide to activate it.
The Mexican Government intentionally made it very easy for foreigners to own land in Mexico. So much so, that in 1998, the Mexican Government noticed that the revenues from the Industry of Foreign Investment & Tourism, surpassed the revenues from the Oil & Gas Industry. It should be noted, that in Mexico, the Mexican Government owns the monopoly PEMEX (all of the Gas stations), which controls the Oil & Gas. All of the revenues it collects are from DIRECT sales. However, the taxes from the Industry of Foreign Investment and Tourism were more than the Oil and Gas Industry. Foreign Investment & Tourism - is now their main source of income and the Mexican Government welcomes your participation.

2. Which is better the Mexican Corporation System or the Bank Trust System?
Until recently, the only way to own property on a Mexican beach was to form a Mexican Trust, usually valid for 50 years, that was held in a Mexican Bank. The Bank is the Trustee and you are the Beneficiary. For the privilege of being the beneficiary to this Trust, you pay $300-$700 a year in maintenance fees. In addition, you needed and still need (if forming a Trust) to hire a lawyer to do the paper work. The lawyer will charge about $2,000. U.S., and then the bank wil! charge another $2,000 U.S. for the creation of the Trust. If you wanted to sell your land, you need permission from the bank, and another Trust would need to be formed. Once again, you would need to hire a lawyer, pay him/her again, pay the Bank, etc... If you wanted to purchase another piece of land, you would need to form another Trust and go through the same process. It is time consuming and costly.
You no longer have to go through all of that. Today you can form a Mexican Corporation. You need at least two people on the board-you and a colleague, family member, etc. This corporation can be 100% foreign owned. The Mexican Corporation owns the land, but you own the Mexican Corporation. The Mexican Corporation is a Mexican entity. The usual cost for this is between $2,000-$3,000 U.S. to set up. Pristine Views in association with Pristine Views in association with Pristine Views in association with Trans Caribbean Trust, has had the sellers agree to take care of all closing cost and the cost to form your Mexican Corporation. You don't have to deal with the annual fees to the bank Trust. In addition, your corporation can own more than one piece of land. You do not have to set up another corporation.
Another added benefit, is that with the formation of a corporation, you can get an FM-3, which is temporary residents visa. Valid for one year, but you can renew it for up to five. This helps, especially if you want to bring your car from another country or if you want to bring household items. It can be a true benefit to have this

3.As a foreigner, do I actually own my ocean front property?
Yes, but not in your personal name, you own it under your Mexican Corporation. Keep in mind that you own 100% of the Mexican Corporation, so you do own the land. You do NOT need a Mexican National or Mexican Citizen to be part of your Mexican Corporation. Your Mexican Corporation is recognized by the Mexican Government, to be a Mexican entity. This is the requirement needed as a foreigner to own ocean front property in Mexico.

4. Can my Mexican Corporation only be used to purchase land that is limited to commercial use, not residential use?
This is true. However, the term 'residential use' means that you have an existing structure on it and are residing in it. Vacant or 'raw' land is NOT considered by the Mexican government to be 'residential', even though the land may be zoned to be residential

5. I have only myself and no friends. How do I form my Mexican Corporation, if I need two people?
We suggest that you have your accountant, or an attorney hold 1% of the Mexican Corporation's shares, with the agreement that he/she will not participate in any vote concerning your Mexican Corporation, or in the making of any profit from your Mexican Corporation.

6. Is the Mexican Corporation a 99-year lease system?
No it is not. You can own your ocean front property by using the Mexican Corporation System, which was designed, and put in place by the Mexican Federal Government, to provide you with certain security in land ownership as a foreigner. Every 99 years, the Mexican Corporation will need to be re-registered to show that it still exists, and that it is still active. You may not be around in 99 years, but those who inherit your Mexican Corporation can file in the Corporation's name.

7. Can the Mexican Government take my ocean front property after I close?
No. Mexico is a land of laws and there are real estate (property) laws just as in the States and Canada. Mexico has had a stable democratic form of government for the past 90 years, and has no plans of changing to a non-democratic form of government.
Plus, with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), there are economic ties to the United States and Canada. Any dramatic change in the Mexican Government, could jeopardize the economic dependency which Mexico has with these two countries. There would not be any benefit to the Mexican Government, by taking away land from its main source of revenue (the Industry of Foreign Investment and Tourism). The Mexican Government would be "biting the hand that feeds them."
Besides that, none of the major hotels chains, such as the Hyatts, Sheratons, Hiltons, etc., would have invested, or continue to invest billions of dollars, if they thought that they were at risk of losing their property to the Mexican Government, or anyone else for that matter.

8. What are Ejido Lands?
Ejido Lands are nothing more than a land "use" grant from the Mexican Government to a cooperative of families for the purpose of using and living off of the land. The Mexican government still owns the land, but has granted the use of it to the families of the Ejido. After 30 or 40 years of use, the Ejido members can petition the government for the actual deed of the property.
They must first prove to the government that they have all agreed on how the property is to be subdivided. This rarely happens. Then they can begin the process of converting the Ejido land from Mexican Government ownership to private ownership.
Before this however, Ejido members can and have sold their 'rights' to their proportionate 'use' of the property.
The Mexican Government just does not want to give land to people for free. Ejido members do not have to pay for the land with money, they just need to be able to prove that they can use the land, and live off of it for 30 to 40 years.
As a foreigner in Mexico, ejido lands are not something you want to get involved in. Ejido members do not own any of the land granted by the Mexican Government. They simply have rights to 'use' the land. This land is owned by the Mexican Government. And, there are no laws that state that the Mexican Government must grant the land to the Ejido members after 30 or 40 years of using the land. The Mexican Government can rightfully say NO, that they will not give the deed to the ejido members even after 30 or 40 years of use.
Ejido lands are owned by the Mexican Government and are for USE by Mexican nationals. It is granted use by the Mexican Government to create affordable living for Mexicans, similar to government run housing in the US. As a foreigner in Mexico, you have NO RIGHTS to use Ejido lands, even if Ejido members say that you can.

9. What happened in Baja California?
What happened in Baja California is that the property in question was owned by the Mexican Government, and was at the time in the Ejido system. However, unlike the norm, the Ejido members decided that living off of the land did not mean that they had to farm it, or use it in that manner. There was nothing preventing them from leasing the land they did not own (they only had the right to use it), to anyone (mostly Americans) for an infinite number of years. And that is exactly what they did. For a couple of decades the lessees (mostly Americans) went on with their lives, and built their homes. They were leasing a land, with an option to buy, from ejido members who only had the right to use it. These Ejido members did not own any part of the land they were leasing.
Well, the government, who owned the land had found a buyer for it and was to sell it. However, they realized what the Ejido members had done. The Mexican Government took action by sending out a notice to the Ejido members that the land was being sold and to get the people off the land. The land that they did not own in the first place. The Ejido members petitioned the Mexican Government with the false hope that they could obtain titles. They told their leasees not to worry. This went on for 13 YEARS.
After 13 years, the Mexican Government sold the land. The Mexican government did not 'take' any land from the Americans. The Americans never owned it in the first place. They took back the property which was theirs to begin with.
Remember, Ejido land is a 'use' grant, not a land grant, and it is ONLY for Mexican nationals.

10. What are the Federal Zone and a beach concession?
The depth is measured from the Federal Zone, which is set back 20m or 66 feet from the high water mark and you cannot build a solid live in structure within it. The Federal Zone is not owned by you but may be enjoyed by you. Therefore, it must remain beach but can have palapas/cabanas, a pier/dock, etc. You simply cannot reside in it. To build a dock or gazebo in the Federal Zone you need to have a beach concession permit, which is very easy to obtain.

11. Do your lots have clear title?
Yes. You see we are brokers, and we get paid our commission when the title transfers from the seller to the buyer and this can only occur with a clear title. Therefore, we research the titles of the property we list before we bring it to the market for showing.

12.Who owns the land?
The land we are seiiing is owned, by peopie (mostly Mexicans) whom have owned the properties for long periods of time. Most have inherited them. Basically, they were granted to the families by the government, probably in return for

13. Is there a conflict of interest for you to represent the seller and the buyer?
Not really. The sellers are familiar with Mexican procedures. If they wish to hire an attorney, they can. We do list the property and must respect their asking price for the land. However, they understand that we have an obligation to represent the people who buy the iand they have on offer. With this in mind, we must advise them, prior to listing their property that once the price is agreed upon, our interests lie with you, the buyer, and not the seller. This is why we want to have the best real estate lawyers represent you. And is why our customer referral rate is 41% {including repeat purchases).