You won. Now what?

You won the auction. You are not the owner yet. Between the hammer and the title registered in your name there is a sequence of steps worth knowing, so you neither panic nor relax too early.

Step 1 · You pay the balance

If you did not pay in full on the spot, you have until the third day. This deadline is not negotiable: missing it voids the auction and costs you the entire deposit.

Step 2 · The court approves the auction

Once the auction has been held, the court shall approve it if the legal provisions were followed. The approving ruling shall order the cancellation of the registrations or filings relating to the matured senior claim being enforced and those ranking below it, as well as those appearing in the certification used as the basis for the auction and those filed afterwards. It shall likewise authorise the corresponding notarial formalisation and order delivery of the asset.

That single ruling does three big things:

• Cleans up the property by cancelling the liens and filings that must go.
• Authorises the notarial formalisation that turns the auction into a deed.
• Orders delivery of the asset.

Step 3 · Notarial formalisation and deed

A notary protocolises the case-file documents: incorporates them into their protocol and issues the instrument filed with the Registro Nacional. That is where you pay the transfer tax, registry fees, stamps and notary fees you budgeted for in lesson 8.

Step 4 · Registration

The Registry reviews the document and, if all is well, registers the property in your name. Only then are you the registered owner. If the Registry raises a defect, the notary cures it, which is why it pays to work with someone experienced in auctions.

Step 5 · Delivery

With the delivery order in hand, ideally whoever occupies the property vacates. If they do not, placement in possession is pursued (article 148). It is a separate proceeding: add time and legal fees.

What happens to the money you paid

Where assets are sold at auction, the proceeds shall be applied in the following order: 1. Costs. 2. Expenses of care, deposit, administration and maintenance. 3. Payment of interest and principal, following the order of priority where there are several creditors. Any remainder shall be handed to the debtor, unless there is a legal impediment.

It is not your money and not yours to police, but knowing it helps explain why the proceeding stays alive after your payment and why the debtor sometimes reappears.

If something went wrong: challenging the auction

The auction and any defective procedural activity occurring before or during it may be challenged only through the remedies available against the approving ruling. Nullity may be raised after that ruling becomes final, by way of an incidental proceeding, only on the grounds admissible for a petition for review, and is inadmissible if raised more than three months after the ground became known.

The window to fight an auction is narrow and closes fast. If something looks wrong, talk to a lawyer immediately: the clock runs while you are still investigating.