Nine-point due-diligence checklist for buying land

The dossier consolidates nine checks: 1) a recent registry certificate showing owner, measurements, a chain of title of 10–20 years, encumbrances and annotations (RGP or Second Registry); 2) whether the property falls within the strips of Arts. 122/123 — 3 km of coast, 200 m of lake, 100 m of navigable river, 15 km of border — with a georeferenced survey plan and a written legal opinion; 3) if there is a RIC cadastred zone, request a cadastral report, and if not, commission an independent topographic survey; 4) any communal-land declaration or process at the RIC; 5) whether it came from a state grant (Decrees 1551/60-70/38-71) and whether the restrictions are still in force (registry certificate and FONTIERRAS); 6) the history of agrarian conflict and evictions in the municipality (COPRECON, local press); 7) IUSI clearance, municipal notices and land use (municipality/DICABI); 8) if it is coastline or riverbank, the seller can assign only an OCRET lease, there is no ownership to buy; 9) if the rights are possessory, budget for supplementary titling (at least 10 years of proven possession, a maximum of 45.125 ha, not within state reserves or the FTN, before a civil judge; open to foreigners since the Constitutional Court judgment in Case File 1331-2005).

The research is written in English; quoted figures, source names and the titles of legal instruments stay in the language their source published them in.