Monjas

About Monjas:

Monjas lies 23 kilometres from the city of Jalapa, on the highway that links Jalapa with Jutiapa. Head south and the RN-19 reaches El Progreso, in Jutiapa, and the Interamericana in under 20 kilometres, a stretch the government rebuilt from end to end a few years ago. That puts the town on a through route rather than at the end of a road, which matters if you plan to run a business here or work in either department. The municipality covers about 256 square kilometres and borders Jalapa, San Manuel Chaparrón and San Pedro Pinula to the north, Jutiapa and El Progreso to the south, Santa Catarina Mita to the east and San Carlos Alzatate to the west.

The town owes its shape to the estate that came before it. The Hacienda de Las Monjas once ran all the way from Jutiapilla to San Cristóbal la Frontera, and the name already turns up in colonial papers from 1773. When the government had the streets and avenues traced, its engineers handed out lots free of charge and families moved in fast; Monjas became a municipality on 26 August 1911, under Manuel Estrada Cabrera. The same government expropriated the hacienda and split it among men close to the president. The old casona in El Campeche, where Antonio Taboada had lived, was pulled down in the 1990s, and the municipal multipurpose hall stands on the spot today.

Farming, trade and money sent home by relatives abroad keep the local economy going. In aldea Los Terrones, six kilometres from town, the Laguna del Hoyo is a lake of about half a square kilometre, known for its shape and for the local legends that give it a volcanic origin. Since 1975 it has served as the reservoir for an irrigation unit built by the Ministry of Agriculture and run since 1997 by a farmers’ association. An improvement project has been adding solar-powered pumping and repairing the canals that serve four aldeas, and mango, lime and vegetables come off the irrigated ground. In the centre, the two-storey municipal market holds more than 240 stalls, a fruit and vegetable hall and bank branches.

The town itself had 13,541 residents at the 2018 census, out of a municipal population projected at just over 31,000. At 955 metres the valley is warm and has a long dry season. That is why a plot with water and the plot next to it without water are two different purchases, even when they share a fence. For families, schooling is well covered: public institutes, a string of private colegios, the Instituto Técnico Industrial Albert Einstein and, since 2014, a weekend programme of the Universidad de San Carlos’s Faculty of Humanities.

Houses in Monjas:

Housing in town is mostly single-family homes on their own lots, and a house sold together with shops or a rentable unit is a familiar package here. Some sit on generous plots. A main house with a separate apartment on a 20 by 20 metre lot is the kind of layout you will come across, and it gives an owner either rental income or room for a second generation. On the main road, about ten minutes from the centre, there are properties that combine a house, commercial units already let to tenants and a wide piece of land. Before comparing prices, check whether the house is inside the town grid on the municipal supply or further out on its own water source.

Land and Lots in Monjas:

On La Recta, the straight run of road leaving town towards Jalapa, a residential subdivision sells urbanised lots of 8 by 16, 8 by 18 and 8 by 20 metres, two minutes from the centre, with the developer financing them over one to ten years. Other lots for sale in Monjas come in similar sizes with ballasted streets, water and electricity already in, about five minutes from town. Further out, the land is agricultural: parcels from half a manzana upwards, some sold with pajas of water near the Río Zarco, and commercial plots of around 2,500 square metres. With farmland, give the water right as much attention as the soil.

Commercial Property in Monjas:

Trade is one of the three legs the local economy stands on, and you can see it from the street. Ground-floor premises along the main road come up both for sale and for rent, sometimes as part of a house and sometimes with tenants already paying. Business in the centre revolves around the municipal market and its 240-plus stalls. Some of the larger commercial plots are offered to rent as well as to buy, which lets a business try the location before tying up capital in it.

FAQ:

• How far is Monjas from Jalapa and the Interamericana?

  Monjas is 23 kilometres from the city of Jalapa along the Jalapa–Jutiapa highway. Going south, the RN-19 reaches El Progreso, in Jutiapa, and the Interamericana in under 20 kilometres. That gives the town a second way out that does not pass back through Jalapa.

• Does irrigated land in Monjas come with its water?

  That depends on how the water is held. Around the Laguna del Hoyo, irrigation is run by a farmers’ association, and some parcels are offered with a set number of pajas of water. Ask the seller to show in writing whether the water is in the deed, comes through membership of the association or rests on a verbal arrangement, and confirm it with whoever manages the supply before you agree a price.

• What should I check when buying a lot on instalments?

  Developers here finance lots over as long as ten years, so the key question is when the lot becomes yours on paper. Check at the property registry whether it already has its own registry entry or is still part of the developer’s larger property, and ask at what point in the payment plan the deed is signed over. Read what the contract says about late payments, and confirm the water and power connections exist and who maintains the internal streets.

• Can old hacienda land cause boundary problems?

  Much of the valley was once a single estate, the Hacienda de Las Monjas, which the state expropriated and shared out early in the twentieth century. Rural land has been divided and inherited many times since, so the markers in the field may not match what is registered. Ask for the full registry history and walk the boundaries with a surveyor before you sign.

• What services does the town have?

  The centre has a two-storey municipal market with bank branches, the municipal offices in Barrio El Porvenir, public institutes and several private colegios. Since 2014 the Universidad de San Carlos has also run weekend degree courses in education here, so students do not have to leave town to study.