Check a property before buying or leasing it

When to use

The company is about to buy or lease a specific property and nothing has been signed yet. Not for signing the lease itself — use property.lease-office. Not for the yearly property tax after the purchase — use property.property-tax.

Before you start

• The intended use is written down in one sentence; it decides which checks matter (planning in S5, power and floor load in S7).
• The budget ceiling is decided; the agent does not negotiate.
• You know whether the seller/lessor is a private person, a company, or a receiver in insolvency.

What a run requires2

The trail11 steps

1. S1

   Fix the property identityagent

   Get the full address and the cadastral number from the seller or lessor; if they cannot produce the cadastral number, find it on kadastrs.lv by address.

   Done when the cadastral number and the registered area are written in the check file. ⛔ A street address is not a property identity — two "the same" addresses can be different cadastral units.

2. S2

   Pull the cadastral reportagent

   From kadastrs.lv: area, cadastral value, land-use category, building data (year, floors, area), encumbrances shown in the cadastre.

   Done when the report is saved and the numbers are copied into the check file.

   ⛔ Compare the cadastral area with the area the seller claims — a mismatch is a finding, not a detail.

3. S3

   Pull the Land Register extractagent

   Order a current extract for the property: owner(s), mortgages, prohibitions, servitudes, notes on pending claims.

   Done when the extract (dated) is saved and owner + encumbrances are written in the check file. ⚠ verify current extract fee and delivery time on zemesgramata.lv. ⛔ A copy of an old extract handed over by the seller is not evidence — order your own, dated today.

4. S4

   Check the counterpartyagent

   If the seller/lessor is a company: registration status, board members, insolvency or liquidation marks on ur.gov.lv. If a private person: name matches the Land Register owner exactly.

   Done when the register check is saved with its date, and any mismatch with the Land Register owner is flagged.

5. S5

   Check planning and permitted useagent

   Ask the municipality (or check its published territory plan) what use is allowed on the plot; for buildings, whether the premises are registered for the intended use.

   Done when the allowed use is written next to the intended use, with the source and date. ⛔ "It used to be an office" is not a permitted use.

6. S6

   Check debts attached to the propertyagent

   Ask for property tax arrears status and, for the last utility invoices, the closing balances (electricity, water, heating) and whether any are pledged or in dispute.

   Done when each debt source is answered in writing or flagged as "refused to answer — finding".

7. S7

   Inspect and check the building documentsagent

   Visit the property: measure against the plan, photograph every room, look for unregistered rebuilds. Check that technical passports, energy certificate and (for work use) fire-safety documents exist.

   Done when photos and a document list are in the check file, with gaps named. ⚠ verify when an energy certificate is mandatory for the transaction type, likumi.lv.

8. S8

   Estimate value and prepare the summaryagentneeds approval · owner

   Approval · S8 · owner — the run stops until a named person records the decision

   Compare the asking price with the cadastral value and at least two market references (comparable listings or an appraiser if the sum justifies it). Write the one-page summary: facts, findings, risks, go / no-go recommendation.

   Done when the owner has received it.

9. S9

   Decideownerneeds approval · owner

   Approval · S9 · owner — the run stops until a named person records the decision

   Go / no-go, and the maximum price.

   Done when the decision is recorded via management.decision-record.

10. S10

    Support the transaction, do not signagent

    The purchase is closed before a sworn notary (zemesgrāmata entry follows) — the agent prepares the document list and books the notary, but a named person signs and pays. [approval: owner] [irreversible]

    Done when the signed transaction and the notary's details are recorded, or the no-go stands.

11. S11

    Record and hand overagent

    Save the Land Register application confirmation, link the property to its goal via bc goals add, note the expected property tax so property.property-tax can pick it up.

    Done when the property exists in the records with owner, date of acquisition and next obligations.

Checks — how we know it worked

• Land Register extract, ordered by us, dated within the last 14 days, shows the expected owner and no undisclosed encumbrance.
• Cadastral area = area in the transaction documents = area on site (± documented tolerance).
• The municipality's answer on permitted use is in writing, not verbal.
• Every debt source from S6 has a written answer in the file.
• The price the owner approved is within the budget ceiling and the S8 value estimate.

If it goes wrong

What each step leaves behind

1. S1the cadastral number and the registered area are written in the check file. ⛔ A street address is not a property identity — two "the same" addresses can be different cadastral units.
2. S2the report is saved and the numbers are copied into the check file.
3. S3the extract (dated) is saved and owner + encumbrances are written in the check file. ⚠ verify current extract fee and delivery time on zemesgramata.lv. ⛔ A copy of an old extract handed over by the seller is not evidence — order your own, dated today.
4. S4the register check is saved with its date, and any mismatch with the Land Register owner is flagged.
5. S5the allowed use is written next to the intended use, with the source and date. ⛔ "It used to be an office" is not a permitted use.
6. S6each debt source is answered in writing or flagged as "refused to answer — finding".
7. S7photos and a document list are in the check file, with gaps named. ⚠ verify when an energy certificate is mandatory for the transaction type, likumi.lv.
8. S8the owner has received it.
9. S9the decision is recorded via management.decision-record.
10. S10the signed transaction and the notary's details are recorded, or the no-go stands.
11. S11the property exists in the records with owner, date of acquisition and next obligations.

Evidence to keep

Cadastral number · Land Register extract (dated PDF) · ur.gov.lv register check (dated) · municipality's written answer · S6 debt answers · inspection photos · S8 summary · the decision record · notary and transaction details after S10.

How this playbook improves

After every 5 runs ask: how many days from ask to decision, and which extract or answer waited longest? Did any S2–S7 check miss a problem that appeared after the deal? Did the S8 estimate hold within 10% of the final price? A new version changes the step that caused the wait or the miss, and says so in its change note.