Q. Magandang araw po ! I need assistance po. I am planning to buy a land in Vigan. I am married with an Austrian national. In case po something will happen to me makukuha po ba niya yong titles ng property?
Do we need to show a proof that he’s my legal husband when the documents are on a process?
In buying land, ano po mga documents na kailangang kunin sa previous owner. Cause in time po na gusto kong ibenta yong lupa eh walang problem sa papers. If it is a commercial land do I need to pay anything in the government? Kasi just wanted to keep I think it’s a good investment.
Salamat po. Elenie.
Ans: Hello Elenie, You are qualified to own land either in the Philippines, either as a Filipino citizen or a former natural-born citizen and have the same titled under your name. Kung bibili ka ng lupa at kung ikaw ay Filipino citizen pa rin o kung hindi man at ikaw ay former natural- born Filipino Citizen at isang dahuyan na ngayon, maaring ka ring mag-may-ari ng lupain sa Filipinas subject to certain limitation as provided for by Batas Pambansa Bldg.185 and the Foreign Investment Act of 1991.
In relation to your question about your husband being a foreigner , as a general rule, a foreigner cannot own land in the Phlippines. Except in cases of hereditary succession and by operation of law. Hindi mo na kinakailangan ang proof of citizenship ng iyong husband who is a foreigner kung bibili ka ng lupa sa Pilipinas.
This means that your husband in the event of the death of his Filipino wife , and being your compulsory heir , may own land in the Philippines, even if he is an Austrian national and have the same titled under his name. This is exception to the rule as provided for in Article XII, Section 7 of the Philippine Constitution.
Bago ka bumili ng lupa,whether for commercial , residential or investment purposes, make due diligence first para di ka mag ka problema in the future:
1) Be sure that the land in question has a valid title. Ask the Seller to furnish you a certified true copy of the Transfer Certificate of Title(TCT). With the certified true copy of the title, you can proceed to the office of the Register of Deeds to personally or through your lawyer or representative to check the veracity and authenticity of the document and the existence of such land as appearing in their records.
2) When you received the certified copy of the transfer certificate of title(TCT)from the office of the Register of Deeds, be sure that there is no encumbrance or adverse claim annotated on the title of the land. If there exist such annotations, ask the seller to have the same cancelled first.
3). Ask the Seller to submit to you updated official receipts of the Real Estate tax of the land and a certificate issued by the office of the Municipality/City/Provincial Assessor’s office that the the real estate taxes of the land is updated and has no arrears. You can also ask the seller to produce a certificate from the assessor’s office that the land has no arrears with respect to real estate taxes and other fees.
4) If it the land is agricultural land, ask the seller and to verify if the land is tenanted and has is not subject to the land reform CARL law as the property is within the retention limit of not more than five(5) hectares.
5) In land transaction whether the land is for commercial , residential or investment purposes, the buyer has to pay the corresponding administrative fees and related taxes to the government. Confirm from the seller whether the selling price is inclusive of the capital gains tax, documentary tax,transfer tax. There has to be an agreement who is responsible for the payment of the above taxes and fees, including broker’s commission, if any.
6) Engage the services of a lawyer in your community to act as your counsel and consultant ,in seeing to it that your interest as mentioned above, among others, will be in order and protected.
7). Simultaneous to the making of the the payment to the Seller and the execution of the Deed of Absolute Sale, be sure that the Original Duplicate Transfer Certificate of Title(TCT) be surrendered to you by the Seller .
8) When the above matters are fully addressed, ask your lawyer or authorized representative to make the necessary representations with the BIR for the issuance of Certificate Authorizing Registration(CAR), the payment of taxes, fees and registration and recording of the Deed of Sale with the register the deeds and with the assessor’s office.; and
9. Kaakibat sa pag register ng iyong Deed of Sale sa Office of the Register of Deeds, isusurender mo ang Original Duplicate Transfer Certificate of Title(TCT) para ito ay ma-cancel at maissuance ka ng panibagong Transfer Certificate of Title(TCT) na sa iyong pangalan na nag papatunay ng pag aari mo sa nasabing lupain.
Kung ang mga nakasaad sa itaas ay hindi tugma sa inyong transaction, bago kayo pumirma ng ano mang kasulatan, sumangguni ka muna sa iyong abogado.
Looking forward you’ll find the above in order. Salamat sa pagsulat mo at pag tangkilik mo sa “Batas Pinoy Global Community”.
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