(Services) (01)

Lotstudy

A short report on what the rules, the water, the slope and the climate let you build on a lot, what it would cost, and what to check before you sign.

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(At a glance)

Time: 2 to 4 weeks, most of it waiting for the institutions
Fee: A fixed fee agreed up front; if we then design the house, it counts toward the design
You receive: A written report and a meeting to go through it
CFIA name: Estudios preliminares ¹

(Who it is for)

Buyers before closing on a lot
Owners not sure what fits on the land they have
Investors comparing two or three lots

(How it runs)

(01)
Visit and documents
Week 1

We walk the lot, read the cadastral plan and the registry entry, and look up the regulating plan or the national rules that apply.

You receive
- Photos and notes from the visit
- The rules for the lot: coverage, height, setbacks, density
(02)
Consultations
Weeks 1 to 3

We ask the municipality for the land use certificate, check the water supply with AyA or the local ASADA, and read the condominium rules if there are any.

You receive
- The land use certificate, or what it requires
- How water reaches the lot: AyA, an ASADA or a well ²
- The alignments the project will need: roads, rivers, power lines
- Whether any of it lies in the maritime zone ³
(03)
Report
Weeks 3 to 4

We test what fits with a simple volume, set it against the sun, the wind and the rain of the place, and price it with our estimator.

You receive
- The buildable envelope, drawn
- The environmental route that applies ⁴
- Sun, wind, rain and the best months to build
- A cost range for what fits
- The technical studies to order: topography, soils
- A plain answer: buy, negotiate or walk away

(Fees)

The CFIA calls this stage estudios preliminares, and every building project needs it ¹; its minimum fee is 0.5% of the estimated value of the project ⁵. Before there is a project we agree a fixed fee instead, and it counts toward the design if we go on to design the house. A topographic survey or a soil study, if the lot needs one before you buy, is paid to the surveyor or the engineer ¹.

What it comes to for your project, in our cost estimator →

(Not included)

A legal review of the title, which is a lawyer's job and worth doing in parallel
An appraisal
Topographic and soil studies, which we order and coordinate for you

(Questions)

Should I study a lot before buying it?

Yes, if you will build on it. Most of what stops a project is on record before the sale: a land use that does not allow it, no water available, a river setback that takes half the lot, a maritime-zone concession instead of a title. A study takes a few weeks and costs a fraction of a mistake.

How long does the water letter take?

AyA answers a request for water availability within 15 working days, and the letter is valid for 12 months, renewable to 24 ². Where an ASADA supplies the water, it issues its own letter.

Can a foreigner hold land in the maritime zone?

Within 200 m of the high-tide line the land is not sold but granted in concession, and the law does not grant concessions to foreigners with less than five years of residence, or to companies more than half foreign-owned ³. Titled land outside the zone can be bought freely.

Will my project need SETENA?

Since August 2023: under 500 m², no; from 500 to 1,000 m², only on a fragile site such as the maritime zone, forest or the banks of a river; over 1,000 m², yes ⁴. The rule is challenged before the Constitutional Court, so we check it again for each project.