Chile places almost no restrictions on foreign ownership. What it does place on you is a registry system that records title history back a decade — and a defect anywhere in that chain becomes yours on the day you sign.
Ownership of land does not pass by signing a contract. Under article 686 of the Civil Code it passes by registration in the Conservador de Bienes Raíces, the property registry for the district where the land sits.
The practical consequence: what the registry says is what you own. If a mortgage from 2014 was paid but never formally released, it is still there. If an inheritance three owners back was never registered in the heirs' names, the chain has a hole in it. Neither shows up in a bank valuation or a broker's file — and both become your problem on the day you register.
We read the chain back ten years, which is the longest acquisitive prescription period under Chilean law — anything shorter leaves a window in which someone else could still establish a claim.
That the property is registered to the seller, and that the registration is live and not cancelled.
That every transfer for ten years rests properly on the one before it — no gaps, no parallel registrations, no unregistered inheritances.
Live mortgages, usufructs, easements and third-party rights, and whether the ones said to be released actually were.
Court or contractual bans on selling, attachments and precautionary measures that block or condition the sale.
That the description in the deed matches the registry and the municipal record. Discrepancies are common and expensive to fix afterwards.
Building permits, final municipal approval, and unpermitted extensions — the single most common surprise cost for a buyer.
Property tax, and in a condominium the common expenses, which in Chile attach to the unit rather than to the person who ran them up.
A Chilean tax number, required to complete the purchase. Obtainable without residency and without you being here.
Before any money moves and before you sign a promise of sale. This is the step people skip and regret.
Optional but usual when there is a mortgage or a condition to clear. Done properly it is what protects your deposit.
Drafted by a lawyer and signed before a notary. We appear for you under power of attorney if you are abroad.
Filing at the Conservador. Until this is done and accepted, you are not the owner. Filings with defects get observed and sent back.
Utilities, property tax, and the ongoing obligations that come with owning Chilean real estate as a non-resident.
Read the full guide: buying property in Chile as a foreigner →
This page is general information about Chilean law, not legal advice, and it does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Figures in UF vary daily. Every matter turns on its own documents.
Send us the address or the property roll number and we will tell you the fee and the turnaround before we begin. If we find something that makes the purchase a bad idea, you will hear it in plain terms.
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