YOUR FAMILY SOLD ONLY PART OF THE LAND. WHY DOES ANOTHER COMPANY HOLD A TITLE COVERING THE REST?

YOUR FAMILY SOLD ONLY PART OF THE LAND. WHY DOES ANOTHER COMPANY HOLD A TITLE COVERING THE REST? Imagine a family owns 150,000 square meters of land. Years later, the family sells approximately 60,990 square meters to a development company. But a title subsequently covers a much larger area. The family claims that approximately 90,000 square meters were never sold. Over time, the property passes through several transfers, and a real estate company becomes a registered owner of a substantial portion of the disputed land. Who owns the portion that the family claims was never sold? Before relying solely on the title or the deed of sale, what questions should be examined? • Does the area described in the original deed match the area eventually registered? • Was the disputed portion included in a later title despite allegedly never being sold? • What do the historical documents, technical descriptions, and records of possession reveal? • What happens when the current registered owner claims to have purchased the property in good faith? • What evidence would the parties need to present before a court can determine ownership? THE ISSUE IS NOT SIMPLY WHOSE NAME APPEARS ON THE TITLE. It is also about the land actually conveyed, the history of the transfers, and the competing claims over the disputed portion. In the case behind this discussion, the Supreme Court allowed the complaint to proceed to trial. It did not make a final determination of ownership. The parties still had to present evidence before the trial court. DUE DILIGENCE MATTERS. For substantial land acquisitions, title verification should be considered alongside the deed of sale, technical descriptions, historical transfers, and actual conditions on the property. If you are involved in a significant land-title dispute, use your reading of relevant legal materials to prepare informed questions for your own lawyer. The objective is to understand the issues, your possible rights and obligations, and the evidence that may matter—not to handle the dispute yourself. SHARE PHILIPPINE REAL ESTATE LAW UPDATES I am your host for this PHILIPPINE REAL ESTATE LAW co-learning channel. Lawyers, real estate lawyers, geodetic engineers, brokers, government employees, developers, investors, landowners, and non-lawyers are welcome to contribute official legal updates and reliable primary sources. Co-learners in this channel who are expert Philippine real estate lawyers are encouraged to email me updates so we can share these updates to the public. Please share official links involving Philippine real estate laws, court decisions, DOJ Opinions, DENR issuances, administrative regulations, circulars, implementing rules, and other official legal references. GOV.PH links are welcome. Contributors may come from Cebu, Siquijor, Siargao, Bohol, Panglao, Moalboal, Camotes, Bantayan, Dumaguete, Guimaras, Boracay, Palawan, Samal Island, Davao, Manila, and anywhere else in the Philippines. There are no boundaries in a legitimate co-learning journey. CONTACT AND CO-LEARNING Jan Edmond Ruz ATTORNEY-AT-LAW / LAWYER GEODETIC ENGINEER / LAND SURVEYOR REAL ESTATE BROKER Email: janruzlaw@gmail.com Viber / WhatsApp / Globe: 0917.678.4457 / +63.917.678.4457 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION Land title dispute • Cancellation of title • Reconveyance of property • Overlapping land titles • Recovery of land ownership • Inherited property disputes • Corporate land disputes • Deed of sale verification • Technical description of land • Chain of title verification • Real estate due diligence • High-value land acquisition • Judicial partition • Property ownership litigation • Investor protection #PhilippineRealEstateLaw #LandTitleDispute #CancellationOfTitle #Reconveyance #PropertyOwnership #RealEstateLitigation #LandAcquisition #RealEstateDueDiligence #TitleVerification