What the nota simple is and why to request it before selling

There's a two-page document that can kill a sale at the notaría (the notary's office): the nota simple (an official extract from the Property Registry). Requesting it before selling costs little and avoids nasty surprises. Here's what it contains and why it matters to you.

What it is

The nota simple is an informational extract from the Registro de la Propiedad (Spain's Property Registry) about a specific property. It is not a title deed, nor does it replace the escritura (title deed): it is a photograph of the registered status of your home right now.

Anyone can request the nota simple for any property (the Registry is public), but as a seller you want to be the one who reviews it first.

What information it carries

• Ownership: who is listed as owner and in what proportion. This is where the classic surprises appear: the flat is still in the name of a deceased relative, there's a co-owner you didn't know about, or the ownership doesn't match the person who will sign.
• Charges: mortgages (even if paid off but not cancelled), embargoes, easements, usufructs, resolutory conditions. Everything weighing on the property shows up here.
• Property description: surface area, boundaries, ownership quota in the community. Sometimes it doesn't match reality (unregistered extensions, for example).

Why request it BEFORE selling

Because every problem in the nota simple is a problem the buyer (or their bank) will find anyway — but discovered late, it costs you the sale:

1. Mortgage paid off but not cancelled. Very common. You need an escritura de cancelación (cancellation deed) registered: it takes weeks. If you discover it at the notaría on signing day, goodbye sale.
2. Incorrect ownership. Unadjudicated inheritances, unliquidated divorces, unregistered donations. Everything is fixable, but it needs time and sometimes a notary and a lawyer.
3. Embargoes or annotations. If there's an embargo, it must be lifted before selling. Better to know in month one than in month six.
4. Surface-area discrepancies. If the enclosed terrace isn't registered, the buyer's bank may value it lower and throw off the mortgage.

Golden rule: request the nota simple the same day you decide to sell. It's the deal's medical check-up: better to know everything at the start.

How to request it

It's requested at the Registro de la Propiedad where the property is registered, in person or online. You need the property details (municipality, and if you have them, the registry property number or the reference on your escritura). The cost is a small fee.

Careful: the nota simple expires in practice — its information is valid for the moment it's issued. For the sale, request an up-to-date one when you're serious, not the one from three years ago. And keep it with the rest of the sale documents: the day the buyer or their bank asks for paperwork, you have it all in one folder.

What to do if something odd shows up

Don't panic: almost everything has a solution. The order is:

1. Take the nota simple to your lawyer or advisor and let them tell you what needs cleaning up.
2. Calculate timings: cancelling a mortgage takes weeks; an unprocessed inheritance, months.
3. Don't sign arras (an earnest-money agreement) with a tight escritura date until it's resolved.

Selling with a clean nota simple is selling without friction: the buyer signs calmly, their bank raises no objections, and you don't renegotiate downwards at the last minute over a registry issue.

Are you going to sell in Cullera or La Safor? At Llevant Patrimonial we review the registry situation with you before putting the flat up for sale. Opening soon.