Property check from abroad
Find out where your property in Chile stands without traveling: title, debts, company and the land itself, in one report
A property check from abroad brings together in one report what the public records say and what can be seen on the ground: who is registered as the owner, whether there are mortgages, embargoes or prohibitions, whether property tax is owed, the status of the company when the property is in its name, who occupies the land and whether its boundaries match the title. You do not need to travel, and since the certificates are public, for most of the check you do not need to sign a power of attorney either.
If you live outside Chile, you often know very little about your property there: who is registered as the owner today, whether it carries any debt, whether someone is living on it, or whether the company that holds it is still in good standing. When you want to sell, rent, refinance or simply have peace of mind, you need that answer complete and in one place.
The check brings together what the public records show and what can only be seen on the ground. We request the certificates from the Real Estate Registrar, review the property tax account and the fiscal appraisal, review the company when the property is in its name, and visit the land with our surveyors. You receive a written report, in English or Spanish as you prefer, with what we found and what to do about it.
What this area covers
- Certificate of current ownership: who is registered as the owner today
- Certificate of mortgages, encumbrances and prohibitions
- Property tax debt with the Treasury and fiscal appraisal with the SII
- Review of the company, if the property is in its name: good standing, representatives, shareholders and tax status
- Site visit with photos and a check of occupation and boundaries by our surveyors
- Written report, in English or Spanish, with the findings and the next steps
When it makes sense
Before selling, renting or refinancing, because any buyer, bank or tenant will ask for the same records and it is better to know them first. After an inheritance, when it is still unclear whether the property was registered in the heirs' names. If you left a power of attorney with someone in Chile, to confirm it was not used for something you did not authorize. And if nobody has looked at the property in years.
Also when the property is held by a Chilean company. In that case the property is only as sound as the company that holds it, and the check covers both. We explain why in our guide to checking a Chilean company and its property.
What we check in the records
At the Real Estate Registrar (Conservador de Bienes Raíces) we request the certificate of current ownership, which shows who is registered as the owner today, and the certificate of mortgages, encumbrances and prohibitions, which shows what weighs on the property: mortgages, easements, embargoes and court orders. With the Treasury we check for unpaid property tax, and with the SII, the fiscal appraisal.
If the property is held by a company, we also review its good standing, who represents it, who its shareholders are and its standing with the tax service. If you would rather do part of this yourself, our guide to checking your Chilean property from abroad explains what to request and where.
What we check on the ground
A certificate shows what is registered, not what is happening on the land. That is why our surveyors visit the property, take photos, check who occupies it and whether the boundaries on the ground match those in the title.
This is the part that catches problems in time: an occupation nobody told you about, a neighbor who moved a fence, or a difference in area that later blocks a sale or a mortgage. If the property is occupied, our guide to a property occupied while you live abroad explains the options.
What you receive
A written report, in English or Spanish as you request, with what we found in the records and on the ground, and what to do about each finding. If everything is in order, you know it for certain. If a problem turns up, we tell you which procedure applies, whether a title regularization, a correction, a lawsuit or bringing the company up to date, and if you wish, we take care of it.
We send you a written quote before we start, in US dollars or Chilean pesos, and you can pay from abroad using the options on our payment methods page. If you live in the United States, our page for U.S. clients explains how we work with you from there.
- One report, in English or Spanish, without traveling to Chile
- Public records and the land checked by the same team
- Clear next steps if a problem turns up