Title Checks on Isla Verde Before You Pay a Deposit

The four documents

Each document answers one question, and no document answers another’s. Buyers who pull three of four are usually missing the one that mattered.

Document	Question it answers	Issued by	Cost	Time
Registry extract	Who owns it, and what is registered against it	Land Registry	60 CRC	same day
Building permit	Does the unit legally exist as described	Municipal planning office	40 CRC	3 days
Association debt statement	What the unit owes the building	Owners’ association	free	5 days
Survey plan	Where the coastal lines fall	Land office	80 CRC	5 days

What a clean registry extract looks like

The extract lists the owner, the title type, the registration date and every charge in order. A clean extract shows the seller as sole owner, no mortgage or a mortgage the seller has agreed to discharge at completion, and no annotation marked “dispute” or “lien”.

Three annotations end a purchase. A lien from the association means unpaid service charges that follow the unit. A registered dispute means a court case over the title itself. A “provisional” title means the registry has not finished examining the seller’s own purchase, and cannot transfer what it has not confirmed.

The permit and the unit that does not exist

The building permit describes the building the municipality approved: the number of floors, the number of units and their floor areas. The unit you are buying must appear on it with the same area, within 5 percent, as the contract states.

Two patterns fail this check on the island. The first is the penthouse added after approval, which the registry will not transfer because it is not on the plan. The second is the unit split in two after approval, where the seller owns one registered unit and is selling half of it as a whole. The land ownership guide covers the same problem for houses built on leases with the wrong permitted use.

The debt statement and the meeting minutes

The association’s debt statement says what the unit owes today. The minutes of the last two annual meetings say what it will owe tomorrow: a roof replacement voted in March is a special assessment billed in September, and the debt statement issued in June does not show it.

Ask for both. An administrator who provides the statement but not the minutes is following the letter of the rule, and the minutes are where the 12,000 CRC lift replacement lives. The service charges explainer shows how a fair charge is built up and how to read the budget.

Pros and cons of using a lawyer for the checks

A lawyer pulls the four documents, reads them and writes a one-page opinion for 1,200 CRC. The pros are speed and the opinion itself, which the bank accepts and which you can rely on if the lawyer missed something.

The cons are cost and complacency. Buyers who pay the lawyer tend not to read the documents, and a lawyer paid by the hour reads the extract, not the minutes. Pull the extract yourself as well; it costs 60 CRC and takes ten minutes.

Risks and what to check on the day of signing

Every document has a date, and every date must be recent. The extract and the debt statement should be dated within ten days of signing. A survey plan should be within five years. A permit does not expire, but the plan attached to it must be the one the registry holds.

Confirm the seller’s identity against the extract, not against the agent’s word. The passport name and the registered name must match exactly, including the second surname, or the notary will refuse the transfer on the day.

Who this is for: scenarios

The buyer of a resale condo in a building older than five years needs all four documents and the minutes, and should budget five working days before paying a deposit. The condo buying guide puts the checks into the timeline.

The buyer of an off-plan unit cannot pull an extract, because the unit does not exist yet. That buyer checks the developer’s own title to the land and the building permit for the whole project instead, which the off-plan guide walks through. Project data cards on this site, such as Puerto Lofts, list which of those documents are already on file.

Frequently asked questions

Can I pull the registry extract myself?

Yes. The Isla Verde Land Registry issues extracts online for 60 CRC to anyone who has the plot or unit number. You do not need the seller's consent.

What if the seller refuses to give the unit number?

Walk away. The unit number is printed on every association invoice and on the electricity bill. A seller who withholds it is withholding the extract.

How old can the association debt statement be?

Ten days at signing. Anything older can hide a special assessment voted at a meeting in between, and the debt follows the unit to you.