Doing Business records the full sequence of procedures necessary when a business purchases land and a building to transfer the property title from the seller to the buyer so that the buyer can use the property for expanding its business, as collateral in taking new loans or, if necessary, to sell to another business. Every required procedure is included, whether it is the responsibility of the seller or the buyer or must be completed by a third party on their behalf. Local property lawyers and property registries provide information on required procedures as well as the time and cost to complete each of them.

To make the data comparable across countries, several assumptions about the business, the property and the procedures are used.

Assumptions about the business
The business:

• Is a limited liability company.

• Is located in a periurban area of the country’s most populous city.

• Is 100% domestically and privately owned.

• Has 50 employees, all of whom are nationals.

• Performs general commercial activities.

Assumptions about the property
The property:

• Has a value of 50 times income per capita.

• Is fully owned by another domestic limited liability company.

• Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years.

• Is adequately measured and filed in the cadastre, registered in the land registry and free of title disputes.

• Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required.

• Consists of land and a building. The land area is 6,000 square feet (557.4 square meters). A 2-story warehouse of 10,000 square feet (929 square meters) is located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition and complies with all safety standards, building codes and other legal requirements. The property of land and building will be transferred in its entirety.

• Will not be subject to renovations or additional building following the purchase.

• Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of any kind.

• Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural activities, are required.

• Has no occupants (legal or illegal), and no other party holds a legal interest in it.

Procedures
A procedure is defined as any interaction of the buyer or the seller, their agents (if an agent is legally or in practice required) or the property with external parties, including government agencies, inspectors, notaries and lawyers. Interactions between company officers and employees are not considered. All procedures that are legally or in practice required for registering property are recorded, even if they may be avoided in exceptional cases. It is assumed that the buyer follows the fastest legal option available and used by the general public. Although the business may use lawyers or other professionals where necessary in the registration process, it is assumed that it does not employ an outside facilitator in the registration process unless legally or in practice required to do so.

Time
Time is recorded in calendar days. The measure captures the median duration that property lawyers or registry officials indicate is necessary to complete a procedure. It is assumed that the minimum time required for each procedure is 1 day. Although procedures may take place simultaneously, they cannot start on the same day. It is assumed that the buyer does not waste time and commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. If a procedure can be accelerated for an additional cost, the fastest legal procedure available and used by the general public is chosen. If procedures can be undertaken simultaneously, it is assumed that they are. It is assumed that the parties involved are aware of all regulations and their sequence from the beginning. Time spent on gathering information is not considered.

Cost
Cost is recorded as a percentage of the property value, assumed to be equivalent to 50 times income per capita. Only official costs required by law are recorded, including fees, transfer taxes, stamp duties and any other payment to the property registry, notaries, public agencies or lawyers. Other taxes, such as capital gains tax or value added tax, are excluded from the cost measure. If cost estimates differ among sources, the median reported value is used.