Mexican real estate glossary: Spanish terms explained (Baja California Sur)

The Spanish terms you'll see in deeds, permits and tax bills, in plain English.

Acta aclaratoria

Clarifying deed that corrects errors in an earlier deed

ADDAT

Ejido assembly that delimits, assigns and sets the use of ejido land

Aguinaldo

Mandatory year-end bonus (at least 15 days' pay, by Dec 20)

Alineamiento

Official street-line and setback certificate

Aportación (CFE)

Charge for extending power lines to your lot

Apostilla

Apostille (Hague Convention certification)

Arancel

Official fee schedule (e.g., for notarios)

Arrendamiento

Lease

Arroyo

Dry wash that floods in storms; don't build in one

Asamblea ejidal

Assembly of all ejidatarios; the ejido's top authority

Avalúo

Appraisal

Avecindado

Mexican resident of an ejido for 1+ year, recognized by the assembly

Aviso de terminación de obra

Notice of completion

Baja (del RAN)

Cancellation of a parcel's agrarian registration when it becomes private

Bitácora de obra

Site logbook kept by the DRO

Canje

Exchanging your residency visa for a resident card at INM

Carta de instrucción

Instruction letter to the trustee bank

Carta de no adeudo (fiduciaria)

Bank's letter that the trust fees are paid

Catastro / clave catastral

Cadastre / cadastral (tax-map) ID

Certificado de libertad de gravámenes

No-lien certificate

Certificado parcelario

RAN certificate of an ejidatario's parcel rights (not ownership)

Cesión de derechos

Assignment of rights; on ejido land it is not ownership

Cesión de derechos (ejidales)

Assignment of ejido rights; not ownership, and a red flag for foreign buyers

Cesión de derechos fideicomisarios

Assignment of trust beneficiary rights

CFDI

Official electronic invoice

CFDI / factura

Mexican electronic invoice

CLABE

18-digit Mexican bank account number for transfers

Clave catastral

Cadastral account number of the property

Comisariado ejidal / consejo de vigilancia

Ejido executive board / oversight board

Concesión

Federal permit to use public land such as the beach zone

Condominio / reglamento / cuotas

Condo regime / bylaws / HOA fees

Constancia de no adeudo

Certificate that no fees or taxes are owed

Constancia de situación fiscal

SAT certificate showing your RFC and tax regime

Contador

Accountant

Contrato de obra

Construction contract

Contrato de obra a precio alzado

Fixed-price construction contract

Contrato de promesa de compraventa

Promise-to-purchase contract

Cuota de mantenimiento

Monthly HOA fee

Cuota extraordinaria

Special assessment (condo)

CURP

Mexican population ID number

CURP / RFC

Population ID / tax ID

Derecho de preferencia

Government preference right to buy (art. 89)

Derecho del tanto

Right of first refusal (Ley Agraria art. 84)

Desarrollo Urbano

Municipal urban development and permits office

Deslinde / levantamiento topográfico

Boundary survey / topographic survey

Dispensa

Exception (e.g., to the minimum lot size)

Dominio pleno

Full private ownership granted to a former ejido parcel by assembly vote

DRO (Director Responsable de Obra)

Licensed professional responsible for the works

e.firma

SAT electronic signature

Ejidatario

Holder of ejido rights (must be Mexican)

Ejido / dominio pleno

Communal agrarian land / full private ownership

Escritura (pública) / testimonio

Public deed / certified copy of the deed

Factibilidad

Feasibility letter confirming a utility can serve the lot

Fideicomiso / fiduciaria / fideicomisario (sustituto)

Trust / trustee bank / (substitute) beneficiary

Finiquito / liquidación

Final settlement on leaving a job / severance on dismissal

Folio real

The property's file at the public registry

Fondo de garantía

Retention held back from contractor payments

Gestor

Permit runner

Impuesto sobre hospedaje

State lodging tax on short-term rentals

INAPAM

Senior citizens' card and institute (60+)

Incorporación voluntaria (IMSS)

Voluntary IMSS enrollment

INDAABIN

Federal appraisal agency

ISAI / ISABI

Municipal acquisition tax

ISR

Mexican income tax, including on rental income and on gains from a sale

ISR / IVA

Income tax / value-added tax

IVA

Mexican value-added tax

Manifestación de impacto ambiental (MIA)

Environmental impact statement

Menaje de casa

Household goods (customs)

Notario público

Notario (a senior, state-appointed lawyer)

Parcela / tierras de uso común

Individual ejido parcel / common-use ejido land

Permiso de importación temporal (TIP)

Temporary import permit for a foreign car outside the free zone

Persona trabajadora del hogar

Household worker

PHINA

RAN's public database of ejidos and their history

Pipa

Water truck

Pipa / cisterna

Water truck / cistern

Pleamar

High-tide line used to measure the federal zone

Poder (amplio / especial)

Power of attorney (broad / specific)

Póliza maestra / carátula

Condo master policy / its declarations page

Posesionario

Person recognized as holding an ejido parcel without being an ejidatario

Predial

Annual property tax

Prestanombres

Front person holding title for someone else

Presupuesto de gastos

Notario's itemized closing estimate

Preventa

Presale

PROCEDE / FANAR

Federal programs that measured and certified ejido parcels

PROCEDE / FANAR / RRAJA

Federal programs that certified ejido land (1993–2006 / 2007–2015 / 2016–)

Procuraduría Agraria

Federal agency that advises ejido members and attends key assemblies

Protocolizar

Formalize a document in a notarial deed

Régimen de propiedad en condominio

Legal condo regime that defines units and common areas

REPNA

National water-rights registry

RFC

Mexican tax ID

RNIE

National Foreign Investment Registry

RPPC

State public property registry

Servidumbre de paso

Recorded access easement

Sociedad mexicana

Mexican company, which can hold property directly

Solar urbano

House plot in an ejido's urban zone; private once titled and recorded

SPEI

Mexico's interbank instant transfer system

Sustitución de fiduciario

Moving a trust to another trustee bank

Tesorería Municipal

Municipal treasury where predial and ISABI are paid

Tierras de uso común

Ejido common-use land, which can't be sold to individuals

Título de propiedad (de origen parcelario)

RAN-issued property title after dominio pleno

Tribunal Unitario Agrario

Agrarian court

UDI

Inflation-indexed unit used for some tax caps

UMA

Unit used to index fees (MXN 117.31/day in 2026)

UNE

A bank's complaints unit

Uso de suelo

Land-use authorization

Usucapión (prescripción positiva)

Acquiring property by long possession

Veda

Restriction on new water extraction

ZOFEMAT

Federal maritime-terrestrial zone (20 m beach strip)

Zona libre

Border and peninsula zone where foreign cars don't need a TIP