Conveyance in Fee

Procedure in Transferring Registered Land: 1. An owner desiring to convey in fee a registered land must have to execute a deed of conveyance that is sufficient in law. 2. Thereupon, the Registrar makes out in the registration book a new certificate of title, in duplicate, in the name of the grantee, delivering to him the owners duplicate certificate.

The Register of Deeds shall note upon the original and duplicate certificate the date of transfer, the volume and page of the registration book in which the new certificate is registered and a reference number to the last preceding certificate. 4. The original and the owners duplicate of the grantors certificate shall be stamped cancelled
3.

5. The deed of conveyance shall be filed and indorsed with the number and the place of registration of the certificate of title of the land conveyed.

Description of Land: The land object of conveyance must properly described, with lot number, block number, location, boundaries, and area. - if a given piece of property with visible boundaries which were agreed upon by the contracting parties as the land be bought and sold and the vendor by mistake in the description in the conveyance included therein land previously sold to a third person not included in the visible boundaries referred to, an action lie in favor of the vendor to correct the instrument to describe correctly the land to be sold

* Where the description of the titled property appearing in the deed did not tally with that appearing in the certificate of title nor was the location of said property even mentioned, nor the block or cadastral lot numbers written in words and figures the deed is defective and unregistrable.

Rule and exceptions when Boundaries prevail over area: - Where it appears that the land is so described by boundaries as to put its identification beyond doubt , an erroneous statement relative to the area of the questioned parcel may be disregarded because what really defines a piece of ground is not the area but the boundaries therein laid down.

This does not apply however boundaries relied upon do not identify the land beyond doubt. Neither does the rule apply where the boundaries given is in the registration plan that do not coincide with the outer boundaries of the land covered and described in the muniments of title.

Where the sale of real estate was made for lump sum and not at a definite price for a unit of measure, such as per square meter, and although the resulting area upon subsequent verification may be found to be greater / less than the stated in the deed, the price originally agreed may not be increased or decreased so long the vendor has delivered all that is included within the boundaries indicated. However the vendor may suffer reduction in price proportion to what is lacking in area without prejudice on the part of the vendee to rescind the contract if he so chooses. Cc Art 1542.

Conveyance of part of land covered by title: - When a deed in fee is for a part only of the land described in a certificate of title or for one or more of the several lots into which said land shall have been subdivided, the RD does not enter any transfer certificate to the grantee until a plan of such land showing all the portion or lots into which it has been subdivided, been verified and approved by the Director of Lands. However, upon written request of the party concerned the Registrar may make a memorandum of such deed of conveyance on the grantors certificate of title and its owners duplicate, this memorandum will serve only as a notice to third parties of lot has been sold to the person named in the said deed.

if desired by the grantor, instead of cancelling the latters certificate and issuing a new one to the same for the remaining unconveyed lots only, entered on the said certificate and its owners duplicate, a memorandum of such deed of conveyance and of issuance of the and transfer certificate to the grantee for the lot/lots thus conveyed, and the grantors certificate of title such memorandum shall be effectual for the purpose of showing the grantors title to the remainder of the land not conveyed, with the same effect as if the old certificate has been cancelled and a new certificate for such land has been issued.

Discrepancy between subdivision plan and plan of origin reported to court: In case there is discrepancy between the subdivision plan and the original plan, and in the opinion of the Director of Lands such discrepancy may be prejudicial to an adjoining owner / other person having interest in the adjoining land, the matter should be reported to RTC of the city/province where the land lies. The court after due notice and hearing determines the case and all questions arising in connection with such subdivision plan.

Limitation to right of new owner of part of land included in former owners certificate: After annotation of the sale of a portion of land on the grantors certificate of title no subsequent deed and other voluntary instrument relative to the same portion of land may be accepted for registration/ annotation until the necessary subdivision plan and technical description of the resulting lots, as approved by the Director of Lands, shall have been filed with the RD and the proper title issued in the name of the person executing such deed / instrument.

However, the above rule has been relaxed by RA 1096, wherein it is provided that for the purpose of securing loans from banking and credit institutions the legal prohibition against the acceptance for registration / annotation of subsequent deed/ other voluntary instrument shall apply in the case of deeds of sale duly executed by the Government or any of its instrumentalities, with respect to portions of lands registered in the name of the government.

Subsisting encumbrances/ annotations : Encumbrances or annotations that appear in the registration book shall be carried over in the new certificate; excepts so far as they may be simultaneously released or discharged ( Sec 59 PD 1529)

Encumbrances relating to cadastral cost; when carried forward to new title: The vendor or his legal representative is required to pay the cadastral cost in their entirety in case an order apportioning cost has already been issued in cadastral proceedings in which the property being sold, transferred, conveyed is included. If evidence of payment is presented there is no need of carrying forward the annotation relating to the first lien in favor of the Government to guarantee the payment of such cost.

Vested right to contract to sell: A vested right is one which is absolute, complete and unconditional to the exercise of which no obstacle exist and which is immediate and perfect in itself and not dependent upon contingency. To be vested a right must be complete and consummated and one which the person to whom it belongs cannot be divested without his consent.

Sale in behalf of a minor: Under Art. 320and 326 of the NCC, the father / mother of a child owning property worth more than P2k does not automatically becomes legal administration of the latters property, but must apply in court for appointment of legal guardianship of the property, which may be even given by the court to another person for good reasons.

Sale with duress : In order that duress may be sufficient to void a sale contract, Art 1335 of NCC requires be that the intimidation be reasonable and well grounded. That the threatened injury to the person or property is serious, and the person from whom the intimidation comes has the necessary means to inflict the threatened injury.

Inadequacy or non-payment of price alone cannot invalidate sale: Inadequacy of price may be ground for setting aside an execution of sale, but it is not a sufficient ground for the cancellation of a voluntary contract. The absence of a condition of such default should operate to resolve the contract. Mere failure on the part of the buyer to pay the price within stipulated period is not a ground for the resolution of the sale.

Contract of promise to sell, rescissible without court intervention: The contract may be rescinded without going to court according to the stipulation of the parties. Art 1592 of the CC gives the buyer the opportunity to settle his obligation first before the contract rescinded, governs the contracts of purchase and sale and has no application to a promise to sell.

Installment sale with forfeiture clause: In case of sale on installment basis, wherein it was stipulated that in an event of default on the part of the purchaser, the seller may at his option, recover possession of the property and consider all sums previously paid as rental for the use of occupancy of the property. That in a sale of installment ownership or title does not pas until after payment of the last installment, this is in accordance to the LRAs ruling under which contract cannot affect the transfer of ownership and title of the property unless a deed of absolute sale is executed and the instrument is registered accordingly.

Special condition on subdivision lots: there is a prevailing practice among subdivision owners to impose special conditions or obligations upon purchasers of subdivision lots, usually in the construction of buildings and improvements and even prohibiting resale of property within a specified period. Where a contract of sale provides for a restriction of the use the lot sold for residential purposes only, the restrictive covenant is valid as a rule may not be nullified by city ordinance subsequently qualifying the land as commercial.

However, after some radical and substantial change has taken place in the locality the warrant or reclassification of the lot from residential to commercial thereby defeating the objects and purposes of the covenant limiting the use of the land sold for residential purposes, such covenant should no longer be enforced. It cannot stop the inevitable tide of development that has reached the area.

Promise to buy and sell, effect: A promise to buy and sell real estate does not pass title, but gives the parties the right to demand the fulfillment of contract or damages for breach if fulfillment is impossible. However, an accepted unilateral promise to sell, not supported by any consideration distinct from price does not produce a binding and enforceable contract of sale. The essential element the manner of payment of the purchase price. Anyone who gives another an option to purchase, without a consideration, may withdraw it anytime, but if the option is exercised before it was withdrawn, the result is a perfected contract of sale.

Conveyance of land includes improvements thereon: When a land is object of a sale or conveyance, all buildings and improvements existing thereon are deemed to be included, unless otherwise reserved. That the registration of land in the name of a particular person vest in him not only the title to the land but also the title to all the improvements unless reservation is noted with regards to improvement. However if the land was sold on installment after having constructed a house has defaulted in payment ,may he ask a matter of right for an extension of time to pay the overdue on the ground that he made a substantial improvement? That to grant such demand would imply a deviation on the rule that building are mere accessories to land which is the principal, that everything that is built on the soil yields to the soil. Exception is a conjugal property.

Physical delivery of Real estate not necessary: The execution of public document of sale is equivalent to delivery. It is the turning over of actual possession by the vendor to the vendee, is not a legal requisites; However when dealing with registered land delivery is not complete unless 2 requisites concur: 1. The execution of a public instrument in conveyance 2. The registration of the deed which is the operative act that convey and binds the land.

Double sale of the same land: The rule is that the person holding under the prior certificate is entitled to the lan d as against the person who obtained the second certificate covering the same land. A declaration of nullity of one of the titles can be obtained in an action to quite the title. However, where there is bad faith on the part of the purchasers of the same land, the preference is always in favor of the other in view of Art 1544 of the NCC.

Possession how determined: In the case of Sanchez v Ramos where the Supreme Court held that the first in possession and consequently, that in the sale in their favor is superior. That upon a sale of a real estate the execution of a notarial document of sale is sufficient delivery of the property sold. That when the sale is made by means of public instrument, the execution is tantamount to conveyance of the subject matter. To determine who has the better right when the same piece of land has been sold several times by the same vendor, includes not only material possession but also the symbolic possession which is acquired by the execution of public document.

Pacto de Retro Sale: A sale with the right to repurchase or redeem the property sold. However, there seems to be a growing tendency to discourage this kind of transaction by legal imposition of the new requirement that the buyer cannot register his consolidation of ownership without being accompanied by judicial order due to the findings that many sales with the right of repurchase have been devised circumvent our usury laws and that the law looks upon them with disfavor.