What to check before buying land

What you see is not always what you buy

When buying land you sign on documents, not on what seems to be seen during the visit. The listing may copy Catastro's surface area, the deed may record an extent from a century ago and the fence may not be where it should. Each of those figures can tell a different story.

The essential technical checks

Before signing, it is worth verifying:

• 01Real measured surface area: how many square metres it really has, not how many the papers say.
• 02Boundaries: where the limits are and whether the current enclosure matches the documentation.
• 03Documentary consistency: whether reality, Catastro and deed tell the same story or there are discrepancies.
• 04Existing constructions: whether there are buildings and whether they are declared in the deed and Catastro.
• 05Visible accesses and easements: passageways, pipelines or easements affecting the land.

The legal and planning checks

The registry situation, charges and the land's planning classification are reviewed with the registry extract, the Land Registry and the municipal planning; the notary, your lawyer or the administration are involved there. The technical measurement and physical verification part is what we provide from MideFinca.

If the check detects discrepancies, you will have data to negotiate the price, demand that the seller regularise before signing or walk away from the deal in time.