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This is a document many property owners do not know exists. They have never seen their Historia Registral, nor was the importance of this document explained to them by their attorney.

In order to understand the importance of this document, one has to know that Nicaragua to this date uses the "Hard Copy"property registration system. Everything pertaining to each property in the country is documented in one book or another. The Registry Office walls of each Department (State) are lined with large books. These books are available to the Registry employees and to lawyers doing title searches. These books are never allowed to leave the room they are stored in. This restriction is in place to avoid tampering with the books.

The Historia Registral (Registered History of the property) is a literal transcription of all entries relating to the history of the property found in the Registry Books.

Terminology used in the property registry system:

1. Inscription No.: This is the number under which the property is inscribed. As long as the property size remains the same under subsequent owners, this number will remain the same.
2. Asiento: This indicates the transaction number relating to a particular property. If a property was registered three times (Each under a different owner) the Asiento would read: Asiento No. 3.
3. Tomo: Tomo is the book in which the entries are found. (Think of it as the Filing Cabinet identification number)
4. Folio: This refers to the page number on which the entry can be found.

The system used today has been in use since the 1800s and some books date back to that time.

Example:

1. Every property at one time belonged to the State of Nicaragua. When at first a property was gifted or sold by the State to a private person, that property was given a Property Number.
2. Lets say for example a property in Rivas was sold to Person "A" in Rivas in 1870. The entry would indicate that the Property Number was 10 and was recorded on Page 2. The Book Number was 6. Therefore the entry would read: Incsription No. 10 - Asiento 1 - Tomo 6 - Folio 2 . That original property is known as the "Mother Property" or Propiedad Matriz.
3. As each property gets sold, the property number remains the same, the Asiento number will increase in value by one each time, but the Folio # and Tomo # may change as the books are filled with other entries. Each transaction is registered end entered detailing the buyers, sellers, any corrections to the errors in title documents a lawyer may have made. In other words, anything pertaining to the property and the transfer of title is recorded.
4. If a property is divided due to a sale of only a portion of the property, the property number changes. So our sample property will no longer be known as Property 10 but may now have a number of No 6798 - Asiento 1 (Because this is now the first registration under the new number) - Tomo 138 -  Folio 231 . In the registry books, the origins of the Mother Property will still be discernible and easily identified and traced.
5. The Historia Registral will require up to 2 weeks to be completed. This is a manual process and usually the document is to this date typed on an old fashion manual typewriter.
6. This is one document each property owner should have. Often the lawyer handling the sale will not request a Historia Registral to be produced. Instead he/she may go to the Registry Office, ask for the books and do their own research. This is less time consuming and costly but.

For a real estate attorney, the Historia Registral is the main document by which to determine if a property title is valid. Between this document and the actual property title, all information to ensure a clean transaction is usually at the lawyers fingertips

If you have questions about the validity of your property title, feel free to contact us. If you don't have a Historia Registral and wish to obtain one, Please contact our office.