2/18/02

C:\Frank\Mexico\Determining Property Ownership.txt

While dealing with an ex-novia (part-time working chica),
I had occasion to doubt her veracity as to the existence of a novio/husband.
My curiosity drove me to try to find out:

1 . Who was this incarcerated "friend" of hers that writes her romantic letters ?
2 . Who owned the house she was living in ?
3 . Who owned the car she was driving ?

It's kind of a long story, but here I'll tell you how to find out who owns the house;

Preface; English don't hack it here. Mexican friends usually don't know a great deal about the mechanizations of their government. Profit from my ignorance and hard experience. This took me several days off (US holidays) and numerous trips. If they want to know why you want to know, tell them you are considering buying the place, but before you spend big bucks on lawyers, you want to do a little checking first because....(You know) (Take plenty of change and small bills in pesos)

1. Xerox a street map.
Make several copies with increasing magnification zeroing in on her neighborhood.

2. Go to her neighborhood and verify street names, or note differences. (in my case, the street signs said one thing, the city plans said another, and the deed records said something else. It took two trips and about an hour-and-a-half of time by pleasant civil servants to resolve this.) If you are fortunate enough to be in an area with street signs, it's a little easier. Note exact location of house and number of houses from the corner, major intersections & street names within a mile, etc. You should be able to pin-point the exact location when they pull it up on the computers.

3. Go to "Catastro Municipal" (Tax Assessor's Office). Take any bus at Benito Juarez (2nd) and Constitucion which includes the word "Palacio" in its markings (current fare 50 cents US).

Location; Palacio de Gobierno (City Hall)
Nivel 2 (3rd floor in english)
Room 3 - Direcion de Administracion (NE side)
Hours: 8-2 weekdays (Go EARLY in the day)

Take the elevator ("P2") and it's the first available door on your left.
Go into room 3, enter and at the extreme left is a sign reading:
"Ayuda para Localizar Terrenos"
"Ayuda para Identificar Propietarios"

4. The nice lady there is Verta (bear'-tah). Approach her desk and ask if you need to take a number from the ticket machine. She'll tell you NO and hand you one of her own numbers - get comfortable.

When your turn comes, give her the street address and name of the colonia. Tell her you want the "lot & block #'s of the property. With luck, she may be able to whip it on you rapidly. If not, eventually she may call in Martin ("Mar-teen'"), who I guess is the big expert.

(A little whining here; If your luck is as bad as mine, you may need to resort to all of the maps I made you xerox earlier. I was unfortunate enough that the place i was checking was known by three different street names: one on the street signs, another in the city plat maps, and a third in the property records. If I hadn't been able to point to the parcel on the computer and say "This one..", They couldn't have found it. When they pulled up the records on the parcel, it came up as the original street name that had been on the street signs. They also provided ownership information that i had been previously told I had to get from the state government.

Ask for copies of everything. For whatever reason these copies cost me a little less than ten bucks.

5. Go back to the standup line (between the ribbons) and ask for your copies, tell them Verta sent you. They will give you a statement.

6. Go outside to the right to the cashier and cough up the pesos (very probably dollars won't do it here). The cashier will give you a receipt.

7. Go back inside (to the front of the standup line) and stand next to the current patron being served by the person that gave you the statement. In a couple of minutes you'll have your copies.

Thank everyone profusely. Neither tips nor bribes are solicited nor accepted.
+++++++
Check the state records (this is where you're supposed to do it, but you need the lot and block numbers. This part didn't work for me, but... You pick up your copies the next day..)

The state building is a big white building about a block SE of the Palacio. It is set back from the street a bit. Go in the main door and take the first door to the right.
Give them the colonia name and the block & Lot # and the address. Ask for copies. Pay cashier and come back the next day for copies.

(I got mine in one hour by kissing up & pleading necessity.)

Tips/bribes neither solicited nor accepted.
+++++++++++++++
This advice is based on my experience and is a product of my ignorance & persistence. If you know better, please share it.