I recently purchased a used motorbike. I've got the original OR/CR and a signed Bill of Sale from the seller. I've been told I need to have an attorney "bless" the Bill of Sale. I don't quite know where to start with the process. How do I go about transferring ownership of this bike into my name?
Take the document to an attorney and have them notarize it, I believe the seller may need to show up and sign the document in person. The one by PJs restobar, Atty. Nathan Ramacho, is one I've used in the past but almost any attorney of your choice can do it. Just make sure it is a flat fee (should be a couple hundred pesos) and not a percentage of the sale. Take the notarized document to the LTO to have the name transferred. If the registration needs to be renewed go to a smoke testing shop first.
The last time I transferred a vehicle (about five years ago) the LTO required a copy of the seller's ID -- I also needed to go the the highway patrol to make sure the vehicle was not stolen.
It is actually serious. I sold a motorcycle a week ago and I had to sign 3 times under my ID photocopy.
It's bad when people have to ask if LTO policy is a joke or not. I asked the same thing the when I was told the LTO was super cereal about getting 3 signatures... because everyone knows if you can forge one signature there is absolutely no way you can do it two more times.
I'm through the first step, getting the Bill of Sale notarized. After trying several attorneys, it became apparent that there would be variances in the system. One required the seller to be present, one wanted me to wait for lunchtime to end before they could even confirm that they would bless the document. Finally went to the attorney Rye mentioned. They agreed to notarize the document but only after calling the seller to ensure the sale was legitimate. I won't comment on how easy it would be to circumvent their security precautions. Ended up paying $1,000P for the stamp after the secretary did a weird thing. She wouldn't tell me how much the cost would be. Actually I didn't ask, I assumed they would disclose this but at the end, she came out with the stamped Bill of Sale and said, "cost is 1,000, normally 2,000 but we gave a discount". I know Rye said it would be a couple of hundred but after getting worn down getting to that point I simply paid and left. Little did I know I was only starting the transfer process. LOL
I had to get an attorney to stamp a letter showing a photocopy of my passport information page to confirm I was the same person photographically as on the passport. His assistant charged me P300 - but I heard the old git in the background telling her off and saying she should have charged me P500! I also noticed that he checked my passport from page to page, checking Visa stamps - probably hoping for a reward if he found I was overstaying!