He was doing the civil engineering for a developer who could not complete the project or pay the bill so the developer gave him the property to satisfy the bill.

It's the lien followed by the credible threat of a civil lawsuit to perfect the lien. 

This is because Belize is English-speaking and uses common law like in the US while Mexico is Spanish speaking and uses civil law (which is why it is easy for me to understand as I have civil law at home in Quebec).

You may want to look for an estate litigator, or at least an estates and trust firm that does trust litigation too.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this you can always go to a local architect or civil engineer to help you with this.

@Nicholas Townsend, check out the California law regarding notice for entry, Civil Code 1954: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?

@Cj McDougalRead California Civil code 1954 which regulates landlord entry.Unless you read it and have a different interpretation than me In California: The only legal way for a landlord to enter a property without consent is for an emergency or if the tenant has abandoned the property. 

This may help, AB283 and 284 are both in litigation and we will need to see that outcome.

You can always fight or compromise the 10% later with threats of litigation and a complaint to the State's Real Estate Commission.

Every asset type has pluses and minuses.This is why you research and then go after what you discover fits your plan and comfort level.I have some clients that love multifamily and some that say they do not care what the returns are they want triple net.It is doing more than sitting in their bank account or CD rotting away with dismal returns.Investors overseas buy over here getting an 8% secured return and think they have won the lottery compared to the civil unrest and in some cases very high costs of properties for the return where they live.The question for an investor is do you want urban core,suburban,or rural properties?