Buying in Mexico
Can a foreigner actually own property in Mérida?
Yes — and it is routine. It just isn’t familiar.
Mérida sits inside Mexico’s restricted zone, which runs 50 km inland from any coast. Foreign buyers there hold their property through a fideicomiso: a bank trust where you are the named beneficiary. It is not a lease. You can live in it, rent it, remodel it, sell it, and leave it to your heirs. The term is 50 years and it renews.
Outside the restricted zone a foreigner may hold title directly, though they still apply for a permiso from the Mexican Government. Most of Yucatán’s population centres, including all of Mérida and the whole Gulf coast, are inside the zone.
- It gives you the rights and the vehicle to hold title to the property in perpetuity.
- It is a 50-year trust agreement, renewable every 50 years by you or your heirs.
- You can transfer your rights in the fideicomiso to a foreign buyer.
- You may rent, sell, remodel or dismantle the improvements on the property.
- Your heirs may inherit the rights, effectively by-passing probate, should you depart without a proper will.
- There are tax advantages pertaining to capital gains taxes when you sell.
- It is easy to maintain by paying the annual fee to the bank.
Most of what you will read online gets this wrong for Mérida specifically. We have been closing these transactions here since 1994.