Tips in buying lands in the Philippines

well if you really like to buy a land in Philippines, you buy a land that is TITLED ,but still you investigate in deffirent offices dealing that certain land if that document is true..

 

What if the pinay inherited more than 1000 sq. m from the parents?

 

Yes, natural-born Filipinos who have acquired foreign citizenships can still own or acquire lands in the Philippines. Within the limits specified by law.

Article XII, Section 8, of the Philippine Constitution provides that natural-born citizens of the Philippines who have lost his or her Philippine citizenship may be a transferee of private lands, subject to limitations provided by law.

Section 7 of the same Article entitles Filipinos to own and acquire lands through hereditary succession, i.e. by virtue of inheritance from a blood relation.

The laws on land ownership by natural-born Filipinos who have lost their Philippine citizenship are governed by Batas Pambansa Blg. 185 (BP 185), which was enacted in March 1982, and Republic Act 8179 (RA 8179), which amended the Foreign Investment Act of 1991.

BP 185 stipulates the guidelines on land ownership by former Filipinos for purposes of establishment of residence while RA 8179 (Section 10) specifies entitlements and conditions for land acquisition for investment purposes.
The following are the provisions of BP 185 and RA 7042, as amended by RA 8179, pertinent to land ownership by former Filipinos:

PARTICULARS

PROVISIONS UNDER BP 185
(Applies to acquisition of land for purposes of residence)

PROVISIONS UNDER RA 7042 AS AMENDED BY RA 8179
(Applies to acquisition of land for purposes of business or commerce)
Size/Area Coverage


*
Maximum of 1000 sq. meters for urban land

*
Maximum of one (1) hectare for rural land



*
Maximum of 5000 sq. meters for urban land

*
Maximum of three (3) hectares for rural land

Land Acquisition for Both Spouses


* Either of the spouses may avail of this privilege

* In case both spouses wish to acquire lands for this purposes, the total area acquired should not exceed the maximum

Additional Land Acquisition

In case he/she already owns urban or rural lands for residential or business purposes, he/she may acquire additional urban or rural lands, which when added to those he/she presently owns shall not exceed the authorized maximum area.

Limits to Acquisition of Land


* A person may acquire not more that two (2) lots which should be situated in different municipalities or cities anywhere in the Philippines, provided that the total area of those lots do not exceed 1,000 sq. meters for urban land or one (1) hectare for rural land for use as residence.


* An individual who has already acquired urban land shall be disqualified from acquiring rural land and vice versa.



* A person may acquire not more that two (2) lots which should be situated in different municipalities or cities anywhere in the Philippines, provided that the total area of those lots do not exceed 5,000 sq. meters for urban land or three (3) hectares for rural land for use as residence.

* Under Section 4 of Rule XII of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 704 as amended by RA 8179, a transferee who has already acquired urban land shall be disqualified from acquiring rural land and vice versa. However, if the transferee has disposed of his rural land, he may still acquire rural land and vice versa, provided that this will be used for business.

* A transferee of residential land acquired under Batas Pambansa Blg. 185 may still avail of the privilege granted under this law.

Use of Land

The acquired land should not be used for any purpose other than for his/her residence.


Section 5 of Rule XII specifically states that “the land should be primarily, directly and actually used in the performance or conduct of the owner’s business or commercial activities in the broad areas of agriculture, industry and services including the lease of land but excluding the buying or selling thereof.

Special Requirements


In addition to the requirements provided for in other laws for the registration of titles to lands, the transferee should submit to the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the property is located a sworn statement showing the following:

* Date and place of birth

* Names and addresses of his/her parents, his/her spouse, and children, if any;
* The area, location, and mode of acquisition of his/her landholdings in the Philippines, if any;
* His/her intention to reside permanently in the Philippines;
* Date he/she lost his/her Philippine citizenship and the country of which he/she is presently a citizen.



In addition to the usual registration requirements pertinent to the conveyance of real estate, the transfer contemplated shall not be recorded unless the transferee submits to the Registry of Deeds of the province or city where the land is situated, the following:

* Certification of business registration issued by the Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection of the Department of Trade and Industry;

* Sworn statement same as that in BP 185;

* Certification from the assessor of the municipality or province where the property is situated that the subject land for transfer is in an urban or rural area;

* If an agricultural land is acquired, a certification from the Department of Agrarian Reform that the land is a retained area of the transferor and an affidavit of the transferee attesting that his total landholdings inclusive of the land to be acquired does not exceed the 5-hectare limit fixed by RA 6657 (the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Act – CARP)

 

Here's the link : Consulate General of the Philippines

 

The beachfront property was not inherited and was bought under the wife's name. But the land in question has 2 titles with 600 sq.m beach frontage having a separate title. The transfer of title in the beachfront was not completed not until 3 months later after we showed interest of buying it. It's kinda suspicious how all of the sudden that title in question gets a title that fast when it's been unprocessed for years. ( thanks to their agent that works at the Registry of Deeds )

Going back to the original question. Where do we check about the citizenship of the wife during that time the land was bought by them?

We all know we can process anything in the Philippines legal or illegal if you bribe the government employee to do something for you. But in avoiding that hocus focus we have to really investigate the titles and the other documents relating to the land. We don't presume that what they always say is true.

That's the toughest part in buying lands in the Philippines because you have to really prove it that what you're buying have legitimate titles and declarations.

 

Here's an example of how we should be cautious in buying lands :

Ombudsman sacks assessor
For the first time, the graft court has convicted a chief of office of the city government of Dumaguete. The penalty: one year suspension without pay.
City Assessor Julius Ricardo was found guilty of �Conduct Grossly Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service� when he issued another Tax Declaration of the assessed value of Uy Matiao Development Corporation changing its effectivity date to 2007 when it was supposed to take effect in the year 2006.

| full story

The Office of the Ombudsman noted that it was improper for Ricardo to �cause the change of the effectivity date of the tax assessment� which deprived the City government of real property tax due in the amount of Php 182, 913.52. The Tanodbayan also recommended the filing of information against Ricardo for violation of Section 3 (e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as amended.
However, Ricardo was exonerated on the following charges: alleged violation of agrarian laws for illegally reclassifying 2.1988 hectares of the 3.6988-hectare property owned by Ines and Geronimo Iso from agricultural to residential; abuse of authority for effecting the transfer of 6, 524 square meters property to Mrs. Taciana Sia without the required certificate authorizing Registration from the Bureau of Internal Revenue; alleged under assessment of the properties owned by Vic and Genevieve Jurlano and Carl Victor and Noralyn Cabrera; falsification of public documents for the loss of Original Tax Declaration in relation to the assessment of the property owned by Uy Matiao Development Coporation and non-assessment of the commercial building of DU EK SAM, Inc. which was unoccupied.
The Ombudsman said that the complainants failed to produce strong and incontrovertible evidences to establish the culpability of Mr. Ricardo.
Mayor Agustin Perdices welcomed the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman and announced that Ricardo will leave office on April 16. Mr. Manuel Dy will replace Ricardo and assume as Officer-in-Charge after a formal turnover. (By Dems Rey Demecillo)

 

I THINK THIS IS A VERY GOOD NEWS.......

 

Here's another issue regarding the property:

The 600 sq.meter beachfront only had the tax declaration but no title even from the previous owners of the land. My question is: Who owned this 600 sq.meter beachfront? Can I get it titled after I purchase the lot?

Also, looking at the plot of the property and the deed...there is no mention of a right of way / Deed of Easement or deed of donation. But there is a road leading to the property.

Are these issues a RED flag in buying the property? Helpful answers are appreciated.

 

hope you'll get that title soon.....
sounds like a nice piece of property ur having.....

 

I'm sorry that I have to answer some of my own questions that I asked here ( others may think I'm a troll again :-) Let's do it for the benefit of those that do not know especially those buying properties that has tax declarations only.

Tax Declarations are not proof of ownership, they are only EVIDENCE
used to prove ownership and must be couple with many more documents
to serve as proof.

Here's what I would do if I were looking at a lot with a tax
declarations only:

1. Get the seller into a causal conversation. You should pretend to
be as dumb as a tree and ready to buy the land. At some point in the
conversation, ask the seller in a causal manner how he/she came about
owning the property. Remember every word the seller says. When they
have explained everything to you, then ask to see the public document
to back up what they just casually told you. If there is no notorized
document to back up their story, smile and walk away.

2. If there is a notorized deed of conveyance, ask for a copy of the
tax declaration and the deed. See if the land is properly identified
by metes and bounds and a Cadastral lot number. If not, than question
the seller more about the technical description of the lot taking
note of everything he/she says.

3. Take the papers to the nearest CENRO or DENR office and ask for the land
classification of the area. Make sure it is classified as A & E land
(alienable and disposable). Also find out WHEN the land was
classified as A & E. If you expect to get a torrens title later, the
date the land was classified as A & E is critical since this date
must be 30 years prior to when you apply for title. You can also get
a lot of this classification questions answer at the Municipal
Government center.

4. Be cautions about areas where there is a lot of land with a high
degree of slope 18% and above. These areas are usually classified as
forest and can not be sold.

5. Now go to the tax assessor's office and ask to see all the tax
declaration on the particular land you are buying as far back as his
file goes. At some point you should run into a notification on the
back of the tax declaration that refers to the sellers deed of
conveyance. When you finds this notation, ask the tax assessor to see
this deed of conveyance so you can compar it with the one the seller
gave you.

6. If the tax assessor does not have a copy on file, record the Doc
No,___; Page No.____; Book No.____; Year___ and notary's name and
address and ask where you might go to get a certified true copy of
the deed of conveyance. That's enough for now......

Special note: It is illegal for a government employee to issue a tax
declaration on land unless it is classified as A & E. Regardless of
this law, in the past many tax assessor ignore this forest
classification and issued tax declarations on the land anyway,
erronouesly classifing it themselves as agricultural land. These
crooked tax assessors was usually involved in a scheme to sale the
unsellable land to an unknowing sole and illegally collect the
capital gains and doc stamps. Anyway, many of these forest lands
still have tax declarations on them because the tax assessor keeps on
collecting a fee to transfer them and he also pockets the taxes. Just
another scame in the Philippines.