Nota simple: how to read it before making an offer

What's inside a nota simple

• The identification of the finca, the registered property, with its Código Registral Único (CRU): it's the property's ID card at the Registro.
• The holder or holders of the registered rights and the nature of those rights: full ownership, mortgage, usufruct.
• The extent, nature and limits of those rights: how much each person owns, whether there's a court attachment, an easement, a charge.
• The description of the property as it stands at the Registro: surface area, boundaries, annexes.

The Registradores say it plainly: the nota simple has "valor puramente informativo", purely informational value, and it isn't legal proof of what the asientos, the registry entries, contain. That's what the certificación is for, the public document signed by the registrador, the registrar. For deciding whether to make an offer, the nota simple is more than enough; at the signing, the notary will request the up-to-date registry information.

How to request it, what it costs, how long it takes

• Online, from the Colegio de Registradores website: you give the finca (address or CRU) and the interest behind the request, which the registrador assesses as legitimate. Anyone about to buy has that interest.
• The official price the Registradores quote for an online request is €9.02 plus VAT, and the nota arrives in "un plazo medio inferior a dos horas", on average in under two hours; the online request system (FLOTI) sends it by email within 24 hours.
• In person, at the Registro de la Propiedad for the district where the property is.

If you're buying with me, I request it and we read it together. If you request it yourself, keep in mind that the nota is a snapshot of the situation on the day it's issued: the Registradores warn that afterwards "pueden haberse producido cambios", changes may have happened. That's why I always ask for a fresh one before the arras, even if I already have one from two weeks earlier.

What I check, line by line

1. The owner The name on the nota has to match whoever signs the sale. If there are two or more owners, they all have to sign; if one has died, the inheritance has to be settled first.
2. The cargas (encumbrances) Mortgages, court attachments, easements, third-party rights. A mortgage isn't a problem if it's cancelled at the signing using the sale price; a court attachment needs to be understood before you go any further.
3. The description The surface area and annexes should match what you've seen and what the listing says. An enclosed terrace or an extra room that doesn't exist at the Registro is a question to ask right away.
4. Garage and storage room These are often separate fincas, with their own nota. If they're being sold along with the house, I request the nota for those too.
5. The date If the nota is more than a few days old, I request a new one before the contrato de arras is signed.

What to do if something doesn't add up

A nota with a mortgage, an extra co-owner or a different surface area isn't a no: it's a question for the seller, and the answer should be in writing. Plenty of things get sorted before the signing at the notary, from cancelling a mortgage with the sale price to correcting a surface area; others change the price, and a few make you walk away from the house. In all three cases, it's better to know before you've paid the arras.