Case 4: Purchasing Properties in Philippines with Fictitious Titles

A three-hectare mid-cost subdivision was located somewhere in Bulacan, Philippines. The house sizes were from 42 - 56 square meters and the lot areas were from 120 - 200 square meters. The price range of the units was from Php700,000 to Php1,000,000. The subdivision was complete and the houses were all built. Rico as an engineer was attracted to the site; he was shown all the documents by the developer. Seeing that it was in order, he bought one unit in the area.

For five years, Rico was religiously paying the developer his monthly amortization. He had only one year left before he completed the payment for his unit. Having the money to pay for his unit in full and to save on interest payments, Rico approached the developer. Rico found out after much resistance from the developer that his title had been mortgaged already. Rico surmised that the developer before duped him by showing him a fictitious title. When the other homeowners found out the scheme of the developer, they collectively charged the developer in Philippine court.

In a similar case, a reputable developer of high-end condominium units somewhere in Metro Manila, Philippines had a good track record in finishing their projects. Many buyers and investors reserved for their many projects, since the specifications for the building and units were all in order. Unknown to the buyers and investors, the mother title of the land was mortgaged. Some of the condominium units also had secondary mortgages to redeem the mother title.

Some buyers were not able to get their Condominium Certificate of Title (CCT) upon full payment of their units, but others were lucky enough to get their CCTs. For those who were still waiting for their titles, which could take more than five years, they were just issued a Certificate of Ownership (a computer printout) signed by an official of the developer to appease them. The developer explained that the buyers had no reason to complain since an official receipt was issued to them and there was a Deed of Sale, which was proof of their ownership of the condo unit.

The developer has a point, but not all buyers and investors can wait forever to get the CCT/s of their unit/s. For those who want to sell their units, they have no CCTs to present to their prospective buyers

In another case, a couple fully paid for a property somewhere in Cavite for Php1.579 million. The developer, however, just ignored their demand letters to get their title. The same developer failed to deliver a title to another buyer after the said buyer fully paid for a property worth Php4.3 million somewhere in Cebu, Philippines. Both buyers filed their complaints at the HLURB. (Philippine Daily lnquirer.10/26/99. p. B6)

Glance at the lessons to learn from this occurence.

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