A potential buyer could contact you today, but you should check the title deed before you even start considering pricing, photography, or scheduling viewings. A single entry in the land registry can change who is authorized to sign the contract, whether the consent of a bank or other co-owners is required, and how to establish a realistic sales schedule. This does not automatically mean there is a problem; it simply means you need to understand what is happening and what the next steps are.
The title deed is not a document to be pulled only when preparing the purchase agreement. It is the first checkpoint of the entire sale. This is especially true when the sale is part of a move to larger housing, a divorce settlement, an inheritance, or a need to release funds by a specific deadline.
What the title deed actually tells you
The title deed (LV) is an extract from the land registry. It doesn't just state who owns the apartment, house, or land. It also shows legal relationships that can impact the sale, negotiations with the buyer, and the bank financing the purchase.
Simply looking at the extract is fast. However, interpreting it correctly means putting individual entries into the context of the owner's specific situation. For example, a mortgage lien is not an obstacle to a sale. It does, however, require coordinating bank conditions, the purchase price, escrow, and the lien discharge timeline. If you only start addressing this after accepting a reservation, the path to signing can be unnecessarily delayed.
Similarly, co-ownership does not mean the property cannot be sold. It just means you cannot assume one person decides for everyone. In the case of an apartment inherited from parents, siblings often have different ideas about price, timing, and responsibilities. The title deed helps identify from the very beginning who needs to be part of the agreement.
Checking the title deed step-by-step
When reading the title deed, it is not enough to just verify the owner's name. You must look at individual sections of the extract and the date the check was performed. The land registry is a public source, but the status can change between your first look and the actual filing of the transfer application.
Section A: Who is authorized to act
Section A lists the owners or other authorized parties. Verify the full name, national identification number or date of birth as displayed, the size of the ownership share, and any joint ownership by spouses.
This is where differences between how an owner perceives the property and what is legally recorded often appear. An apartment might be used by one former partner, but ownership remains joint. Or one heir may have handled the clearing and maintenance of a house, while several people must decide on the sale. You must align authorization and expectations before opening negotiations with interested parties.
Sections B and B1: What is exactly being sold
Section B describes the properties included on the title deed. For an apartment, check the unit, the share of the common parts of the building, and associated land. For a family house, it is essential to check whether all parcels, access paths, gardens, or outbuildings are listed on the same title deed.
Section B1 contains rights associated with ownership, such as an easement for access in favor of the property. For land and houses, this detail can be critical. If access is through a third-party plot, the buyer and their bank will want to be clear about the legal basis for that access.
A discrepancy between what the owner considers part of the offer and what is actually registered cannot be fixed by a good ad. It is better to clarify it in advance and adjust your presentation accordingly.
Section C: Restrictions that dictate the process
Section C covers restrictions on property rights. These are most commonly bank liens, easements, prohibitions on alienation and encumbrance, execution orders, or other entries that require specific solutions.
Each entry carries a different weight. A lien for a standard mortgage is typically handled by coordinating the repayment of the loan from the purchase price according to bank terms. A life-long easement can significantly affect the pool of interested buyers, the price, and financing options. A prohibition on alienation and encumbrance is often tied to financing, and you need to find out early on what conditions the bank requires to grant consent.
It is a mistake to hide these restrictions or dismiss them with the thought that they will "be resolved somehow." Buyers need to understand exactly what they are purchasing and how the legal status will be settled. Owners need a plan that accounts for the necessary documentation and realistic timelines of institutions.
Sections D, E, and F: Notes, Acquisition Titles, and Other Data
Section D may contain notes, such as information on pending proceedings or other facts relevant to the legal relationships of the property. A "seal" (plomba) deserves significant attention—it is a notice that the registry is processing an application for change. Until it is clear what the proceeding entails, it is not wise to proceed as if nothing is happening.
Section E lists acquisition titles—the documents based on which ownership was registered. This could be a purchase agreement, inheritance decision, gift agreement, or joint property settlement. These documents often help in preparing documentation but do not replace legal assessment of a specific case.
Section F may contain additional information depending on the nature of the property. Not every title deed contains the same data. Therefore, do not work with a simple checklist without context—an apartment in private ownership requires a different check than a family house with multiple plots.
When to check the title deed so it is not too late
Perform your first check before setting your final sales strategy. This allows you to correctly set the price, the scope of documents, and the expected date of sale. A second check makes sense before signing a reservation agreement or taking any other binding step with the buyer. A third should happen immediately before filing the application for the transfer of ownership rights.
This procedure is not a mere formality. Imagine a family selling a smaller apartment that has already chosen a larger house. If they discover a prohibition on alienation associated with the original mortgage only after agreeing with the buyer, they may be pressured by two consecutive deadlines. Timely checking allows you to approach the bank, learn the conditions, and build a sales plan based on reality rather than wishful thinking.
In the case of inheritance, it is advisable to verify that the probate proceeding is truly completed and all heirs are registered in the land registry. For divorce or co-ownership settlements, it is key to know whether the entire property is being sold or only a share. These differences determine the next steps far more than a common idea of how long it will take to find a buyer.
What to do if you find a complication on the title deed
First, obtain an up-to-date extract and background documents for the entries. For a mortgage, this is loan documentation and information from the bank on the debt balance and release conditions. For an easement, it is necessary to determine its exact content, the authorized person, and the practical impact. In the case of a seal or an execution order, do not follow general advice—you must precisely determine the status of the proceeding and base your legal and sales steps on that.
It is important to leave room for decision-making. A complication on the title deed does not have to mean the end of the sale or a reason to accept the first offer under pressure. However, it may change the order of tasks, the pool of suitable buyers, or how the contractual and financial process is structured.
At DREEM, the preparation for a sale begins exactly with this alignment of the reality in the documents with your life situation. The goal is not to find errors for their own sake. The goal is for the price, presentation, communication with interested parties, legal procedure, and handover date to all hold together.
The title deed should be on the table before the first viewing. When you know what it contains and what follows from it, you don't have to deal with unpleasant surprises at a time when your next home, money, or family agreements depend on your decision.
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